ONE WORD

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II/AFP Queen Elizabeth II, New Zealand’s head of state, said she was “deeply saddened” by the attacks on two mosques on Friday which left 49 people dead. “I have been deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch… At this tragic time, my thoughts and prayers are with all New Zealanders,” she said in a message. “Prince Philip and I send our condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives,” she said, paying tribute to emergency workers and volunteers providing support to the injured. Queen Elizabeth, 92, the world’s oldest and longest-serving living monarch, is the queen of 15 other realms besides Britain, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. She last visited New Zealand in 2002 as part of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of her accession to the throne. AFP Source:https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2019/03/queen-elizabeth-deeply-saddened-by-new.html

Egor Efiok Egor Efiok, a Nigerian filmmaker who took to Facebook to disclose the challenges she's been facing lately disclosed that might lose her house in the UK. Though Egor Efiok did not disclose why she might lose her house in the UK, however she disclosed that it got her depressed as it is part of everything she worked hard for in 1994. She wrote; source:https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2019/03/nigerian-filmmaker-egor-efiok-to-lose.html

Osinbajo and Buhari The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari may be “poorer” than he was in 2015, according to a report by DailyPost. The report revealed that Osinbajo made the statement while disclosing that Buhari’s assets declaration form he saw indicated that the president was poor. In a statement signed and forwarded to DAILY POST on Friday by Osinbajo’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, also thanked Nigerians for voting Buhari for a second term. The statement reads partly: “Everybody knows that this was not exactly an easy campaign but I believe that God saw, first the heart of Mr President. “Here is an honest man, and as I said during the course of the campaign, even his worst enemies agree that he is a man of integrity. “In any event, there are many few Nigerians who would have been Minister of Petroleum, Governor of the whole of the Northeast, Head of State, not once or twice, but thrice, and...

A 63- year-old businesswoman, Mrs Mabel Alli, on Friday prayed an Igando Customary Court in Lagos, to end her 41-year-old marriage to her husband, Richard, alleging that he sleeps with their daughters and has impregnated her sister. She told the court that her husband sexually molested all their three daughters and was a womaniser. “After impregnating my sister, he took one of our daughters to the hospital to have an abortion. “My 13-year-old girl also reported to me that he always sneaks into her room to have intercourse with her. “I have caught my husband red handed on top of our third daughter. My friends and domestic staff are not exempted, I have caught with them too,” NAN quoted her as saying. The petitioner said that her husband was fetish and also wanted to use her for money ritual in order to finance his political ambition. “He has taken me to various herbalists in Badagry, Sango and other places for money ritual; I followed him because he said it was for goodwil...

French President Emmanuel Macron (file photo)                                                        Credit: AFP The British government must offer a “clear” answer on its intentions for Brexit before the EU summit next week, the French presidency said Friday after UK lawmakers voted to seek a delay if no withdrawal deal is reached soon. “Without any clarity, no solution is possible,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, adding that if the current withdrawal deal is rejected, a “clear and new alternative plan” must be presented or else Britain will have to leave the EU with no deal. The summit next week is seen as the last chance for Prime Minister Theresa May to secure unanimous approval from the other 27 EU members for any Brexit delay. May is expected to again submit the withdrawal deal to lawmakers next week, though it has already b...

The deposed leader of an IS-backed faction of Boko Haram has been detained by more radical elements who seized control of the group, three well-informed sources have told AFP. Uncertainty has surrounded the fate of Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi after he was replaced as leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) last month. An audio recording about his removal appeared online some two weeks ago, sparking speculation as to whether he was still alive or dead. Three sources told AFP last week that Al-Barnawi had been deposed. The regional military force fighting the jihadists in northeast Nigeria has also acknowledged the development. Colonel Timothy Antigha, spokesman for the N’Djamena-based Multinational Joint Task Force, said the change of leadership was the result of an “internal crisis”. “The Islamic State West Africa Province announced the sack of Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi and the appointment of Abu Abdullahi Ibn Umar Albarnawi,” he added in a statement. One source ...

The Lagos State Building Control Agency on Friday began the demolition of defective buildings. Those affected are mainly within Lagos Island and over 180 houses will be demolished in the exercise. The demolition followed the Itafaji tragedy where many lives were lost on 63, Massey Street. General Manager of LASBCA, Mr Lekan Shodeinde told newsmen that 20 would be demolished today. The agency’s task force began with the demolition of a three-storeyed building on 60A Freeman Street, Epetedo. A pregnant woman, the proprietor of the nursery/Primary school and 19 others, including no fewer than 12 pupils died on Wednesday, witnesses and hospital sources said. The pregnant woman was one of the persons rescued from the rubble, immediately after the building collapsed, but she died in the hospital. Most of the victims were rescued from the rubble on Wednesday, but died at the General Hospital as doctors failed to save them. 10 different families occupied the first and the g...

A dead baby was discovered in a drain yesterday at Ladega market in Ikorodu. According to eye witness account, the baby was thrown into the drain around 3pm. The discovery of the dead baby attracted a crowd of onlookers and sympathizers to the scene. Residents of the area who trooped out in their numbers rained curses on the mother of the baby who is yet to be identified as at the time of filing this report. Source:https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2019/03/new-born-baby-found-dead-inside-gutter.html

This photo taken on March 14, 2019 shows residents of Barangka in Manila, gathering water. – Manila has been hit by its worst water shortage in years, leaving bucket-bearing families to wait hours for a fill up from tanker trucks and some hospitals to turn away less urgent cases. (Photo by Noel CELIS / AFP) Manila has been hit by its worst water shortage in years, leaving bucket-bearing families to wait hours to fill up from tanker trucks and some hospitals to turn away less urgent cases. Taps are dry from four to 20 hours per day in the homes of about half of the Philippine capital’s roughly 12 million people due to rolling outages driven by a dearth of rain and inadequate infrastructure. “I have learned to take a bath using only seven pitchers of water,” Ricardo Bergado told AFP as he lined up with his buckets. “I even save the bath water to flush our toilet.” The shortages started hitting late last week, with some areas in eastern Manila seeing the supplies of water into t...

The Senate has approved the thirty thousand Naira (N30,000) national minimum wage. The lawmakers also approved Seventy-five thousand naira(N75,000) as penalty for non-compliance. This agreement was reached by the Senate Committee on New Minimum Wage, according to Senator Shehu Sani(Kaduna Central). In a tweet on Thursday, the lawmaker said, “The Senate Committee on New National Minimum wage met yesterday and approved the new national minimum wage bill; 30k as minimum wage and 75k as penalty for non-compliance.” The Senate on Tuesday appointed Senate Deputy Majority Whip, Sen. Francis Alimikhena, as acting chairman of the ad-hoc Committee on Minimum Wage. The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, who made the announcement at plenary on Tuesday, said Alimikhena would work in an acting capacity while the Chairman, Sen. Olusola Adeyeye, was away on health grounds. Saraki charged the committee to expedite action on the matter to enable the Senate catch up with the House ...

No fewer than 500 entrepreneurs and business owners are to benefit from free digital skills training by SKDC Global Limited and Mind the Gap team of Google in Nasarawa State. Mrs Stella Ajige, the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of SKDC company, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)on Friday in Lafia that the training would be online so as to aid the trainees to learn at their pace. She, however, said that upon completion of the online training, they would undergo offline practical training classes for a period of two months and written examinations before receiving certificates. SKDC global is an emerging company established by a group of entrepreneurs specialised in different endeavours,including fashion designing, catering service, entertainment and ICT. Currently, the organisation is championing the creation of opportunities for small and large-scale businesses to thrive in Nasarawa State. Ajige told NAN that SKDC global limited and Mind the Gap team from Goo...

A man aims a Remington firearm at the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Adrees Latif Connecticut’s supreme court ruled Thursday that US gunmaker Remington can be sued over the 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook elementary school in which one of its weapons was used. The attack just before Christmas left 20 school children and six staffers dead. The 4-3 ruling by the state court raised hopes among the victims’ families of punishing the marketers of the powerful Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle used by the shooter, Adam Lanza. It also sets a precedent that could lead to more lawsuits against manufacturers whose guns are used in mass shootings. The ruling on Thursday overturned a lower court’s judgment rejecting the lawsuit, which charged that Remington Outdoor Co., arms distributor Camfour, and the Connecticut store which sold the gun used in the massacre could be held liable. Lanza was a 20-year-old with known developme...

Everything you need to live well Lagos Fashion Week, in continuing our mission to raise the profile of African designers at home and beyond, will be presenting targeted activities aimed to give designers exposure to industry stakeholders in the city of London. The goal is to provide designers with access to new markets and simultaneously nurture partnerships internationally for future opportunities. From the 2nd to the 5th of April, #LagosFW will host a series of events in London and Lagos, featuring a selection of African designers. Some of the participating brands, are beneficiaries of the International Trade Center’s SHETrades in Commonwealth program which aims to connect three million women to market by 2021. BETWEEN US BETWEEN US will represent the vibrant and dynamic facets of African design and community, with a focus on its diversity, from traditional handcraft and local production to cultural and political messaging through fashion. The pop-up recognises that each b...

England boss Gareth Southgate has shared his thoughts on the decision of Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi to switch his international allegiance from England to Nigeria back in 2015. Although Iwobi represented England at U16, U17 and U18 level, he has strong allegiances to Nigeria through his mom and dad, and was born in the country’s commercial capital Lagos. While the likes of Iwobi and Wilfried Zaha have been lost to African countries after representing England youth teams, the English Football Association recently won the race for the services of West Ham’s Declan Rice and invited him to the Three Lions eight days after he got his FIFA clearance. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Southgate said : ”If you look at any of our junior age groups now, over fifty percent of the players have dual nationality. ”Some can play for more than two countries, so increasingly that’s a complex decision. It’s a complex landscape. ”I know people are questioning the rules but at the m...

The black box(Cockpit voice recorder) from the doomed Ethiopian Airlines that could solve the mystery of the crash has arrived in Paris for investigation today. The contents of the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder are expected to provide critical details about what caused the disaster that left 157 dead on Sunday. Two men carry suitcases containing the flight recorders from the Ethiopian jet into the French air accident investigation authority this afternoon. The French agency insists that its investigations are not aimed at assigning blame but at finding out what went wrong to make recommendations to improve air safety around the world. More than 40 countries, including US, have grounded Boeing's 737 Max 8 or refused to let them into airspace. source:https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2019/03/black-box-from-crashed-ethiopian.html

According to a report by Daily Trust, some individuals and groups from within and outside Sokoto metropolis have continued to throng the house of a couple in Sokoto where baby girl was born with an Arabic inscription on her chest, thigh and back as well as crescent sign on her ankle. The miracle baby, who was born March 2, 2019, is the fourth child of her parents who have been married for 16 years now. The father, a Mobile Police officer ,Alhaji Hussaini is based in Katsina. The mother Saratu Yusuf ,24 ,of Garkan Sardauna Sokoto North Local Government  told  Caliphate Trust that she never experienced anything unusal during the pregnancy. “The pregnancy went very smoothly much more than others. I had no complication, from the beginning to the day I gave birth at Police Clinic along Barth Road Sokoto. The labour started at about 6 am and delivered exactly at 6pm,” she recalled. She added that the baby, who weighed 2.5kg at birth, has remained in good health. “We d...

Everything you need to live well The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) is the world’s largest art museum and a historic monument located in Paris, France. It is a central landmark of the city and houses approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century over an area of 72,735 square metres (782,910 square feet). In 2018, the Louvre was the world’s most visited art museum, receiving over 10.2 million visitors. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the urban expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and, in 1546, was converted by Francis I into the main residence of the French Kings. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display th...

A woman who is blind tried to stop her husband’s secret wedding after she arrived a court moments after the signing of the wedding certificate The woman only identified as Mrs Chidzoka, arrived at the Harare Magistrates’ court in Zimbabwe, when her husband John Chidzoka and his new bride Charity Tembo were heading for a photo shoot. Mrs Chidzoka was at a loss for words after she discovered it was too late for her to stop the wedding. “I never thought that my husband would betray me in this manner,” said a visibly distraught Mrs Chidzoka. “I would have understood if it was any other woman but not my tenant. “These people are taking advantage of the fact that I am blind hence I cannot see what will be happening right under my nose. Honestly, I am heartbroken.” It is understood that John has been married to Mrs Chidzoka for more than 11 years now but they did not bear children during their marriage. Tembo, who is said to have been a tenant at Chidzoka’s homestead for about t...

cyber security Cyber security experts have expressed worries over the implementation of none impactful cyber security solutions to organisations which has resulted in increased loss of money and data by organisations, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt. Engr. Ike Nnamani, president, Demadiur Systems, publishers of Nigeria Cyber Security report hinted Nigeria CommunicationsWeek part of its company’s 2018 report which identified none impactful implementation of cyber security training and solution for the rising cases of cyber-attacks as contained in the report that is yet to be unveiled to the public. “From what we saw in our last year’s report, volume of cyber crime is still in the increase in spite of awareness. More so, we witnessed cyber security solutions vendors selling solutions that are not impactful to fortifying organisations’ cyber defences, which results in the problems remaining,” he said. William Makatiani, managing director, Serianu, described the situation a...

Jose Mourinho has admitted he wants Manchester United to face a Premier League rival in the Champions League quarter-finals. The draw for the last eight of the competition takes place at 11am on Friday with United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Juventus, Barcelona, Ajax and Porto in the pot. United secured their place in the last eight, following a stunning comeback against Paris Saint-Germain. When asked about his ideal quarter-final line-up, Mourinho told RT: “I would like English teams to play against each other, without any kind of preference. “But I would do two matches between English teams, which would mean two teams would be in the semi-finals. “I think if the draw gives something like Manchester City versus Manchester United, or Tottenham against Liverpool, for example, I think would be absolutely fantastic matches. “My second choice would be not by tactical or emotional reasons but by what I think would be fantastic extra motivation I would do Ajax ver...

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah. Nigeria and India are working on ways to enhance the $12 billion yearly bilateral trade between both countries in a way that would focus on investment. Receiving the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Shri Abhav Thakur, in his office, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah in a statement, lauded the relationship between Nigeria and India but said it has become necessary to expand it beyond trade for increased investment. Recalling the fundamental co-operation between both countries and their common heritage in the Commonwealth of Nations, he said Nigeria is restructuring her economy and bilateral relationships should reflect same. The Minister welcomed the envoy’s interest in Project Mine, a new initiative by Nigeria to develop world-class special economic zones to position Nigeria as the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in sub-Saharan Africa, and a major exporter of made in Nigeria goo...

Aisah, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, has been given a new appointment by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) Aisha on Thursday was appointed as the UNAIDS Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the appointment came as a result of the expiration of the initial appointment in 2018. Aisha while accepting the appointment, urged women in Nigeria to conduct regular HIV and AIDS tests to guard against Mother-to-Child transmission of the disease. She said this on Thursday when she received a delegation of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) led by its Executive Director, Mr. Michiel Sidibe, at the State House, Abuja. She said the measure would ensure treatment of women living with the disease to have babies free of HIV and AIDS. The wife of the President assured the delegation of her commitment to continuing the advocacy against the sprea...

Malware attack Four African countries made the list in terms of top 10 countries by share of users attacked by mobile malware; Nigeria climbs from fifth place in 2017 to third in 2018. Kaspersky Lab researchers have seen the number of attacks using malicious mobile software nearly double in just a year. In 2018 there were 116.5 million attacks, compared to 66.4 million in 2017, with a significant increase in unique users being affected. Despite more devices being attacked, the number of malware files has decreased; leading researchers to conclude that the quality of mobile malware has become more impactful and precise. These and other findings are unveiled in Kaspersky Lab’s report Mobile malware evolution 2018. As the world becomes more mobile, the role of smartphones in business processes and day to day life is growing rapidly. In response, cybercriminals are paying more attention to how they are distributing malware and the attack vectors used. The channels through which...

[FILES] Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Transactions on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on a downward note yesterday, occasioned by sell pressure in some blue-chip stocks, especially Learn Africa and Transcorp Hotel, as market capitalisation depreciated by N56 billion. Yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI) was down by 149.49 absolute points, representing an increase of 0.48 per cent, to close at 31,210.79 points. Similarly, market capitalisation decreased by N56 billion to close at N11.639 trillion. The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in large and medium capitalised stocks, amongst which are, Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Transcorp Hotel, Eterna and Guaranty Trust Bank. Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said “Despite yesterday’s sell-offs, we expect positive corporate earnings releases to drive the performance of the equities market in the near term.” Market breadth closed negative, recorded nine gainers against 20 losers. McNichol led the ...

Another batch of 174 Nigerians stranded in the North African country, Libya were on Thursday night deported. The deportees were received at the cargo wing of the Lagos International Airport by officials of National Emergency Management Agency. The Coordinator, of NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office, Mallam Idris Muhammed noted that with this batch, the total number of stranded Nigerians deported from Libya is now 12,574. In addition, Muhammed said over 4,900 of the deportees have been trained on various skill acquisition and empowerment training by International Organization for Migration, IOM through Special Funding facilitated by the European Union. He said most of them have set up various businesses in their choice of occupation. He explained that Thursday’s flight was the 64 flights since the Programme of Assisted Voluntary Returnees initiated by European Union but being implemented by IOM started in April, 2017. The deportees were brought back aboard Al Buraq Airline in Boein...

By Theodore Opara A HIGHLIGHT in its own right, the new 911 Cabriolet is one of three new sports cars Porsche intends to launch at the 89th Geneva Motor Show. “With each new generation of the 911, we face the challenge of enhancing our iconic car carefully and yet consistently to meet the needs of the future,” says Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. Alongside the rear-engine 911 Cabriolet, Porsche also unveils the mid-engine 718 T, a 300 hp (220 kW) driving machine available in the Boxster and Cayman variants. The Macan S, with a new V6 turbocharged front engine, completes the debuting trio as a bestseller in the brand’s model range. Four months ago, Porsche launched the new 911 Coupé in Los Angeles. The eighth generation of this timeless sports car is more powerful, more digital and faster than ever before. Now it is the turn of the open-top variant of the 911 to take centre-stage. The S model features a 450 hp (331 kW) twin-turbo engine that delivers...

MFCMFC Lagos Hooliganism between supporters of rival football clubs is not unique to Nigeria. But its destructive effect seems to be more visible in the nation’s league. In the glorious days of football, players, football administrators and the fans adored referees. All over the world, referees are major actors in the game of soccer, which helps to bring people from different backgrounds together, and in the process, break down barriers created by ignorance. However, despite the beauty of football, gangsterism has become associated with it, particularly in Nigeria. Weekly, referees, fans, coaches and journalists get the bitter taste of the ‘deadly concoction’ served at most league venues. It is no secret that in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), many of the clubs deliberately lose on away grounds, gifting the home sides cheap penalties because they want to avoid the wrath of the home fans. To pick three points at away grounds and still be safe, a visiting tea...

Determined to tap from the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), which has dominated discussions across the globe, Microsoft, through its 4Afrika initiative recently organized AI Bootcamp to up-skill developers and drive inclusion in the industry. At present, the number of global organizations deploying AI for sustainability and growth has increased by 270 per cent in just four years. While AI’s acceptance and adoption among businesses is still in early stages, AI is primed to be the driving force of the fourth industrial revolution. In line with this, Microsoft said it would make AI available to everyone on the continent in line with its global mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. The firm also expressed determination to partner with forward-thinking policy makers, innovative startups, technology partners, civil society groups and stakeholders to promote the growth of a vibrant AI ecosystem in Africa that enables inclusive growth...

Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has told Juventus fans that he “will do everything possible to sign Mbappé”, reports Italian daily Tuttosport. Mbappé The young PSG striker has become one of the hottest properties in world football after an outstanding season last year that was topped off with a World Cup win with France, for whom he played an instrumental role throughout the tournament. His form has continued into this season with PSG, as he currently sits behind Messi as the second leading goal scorer in Europe’s top leagues with 25 goals. The 20-year-old has many suitors and as such Juventus would face stiff competition for his signature, particularly from Real Madrid, who came close to signing him in the summer of 2017. But amid the constant links with Madrid, Mbappé stated earlier this week that he intends to stay on at PSG, despite their shock elimination from the Champions League last week at the hands of Manchester United. “Yes, I think I will be there. ...

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has so far registered no less than 73,000 companies within three months under its cost-friendly Business Incentive Strategy (BIS) rolled out in October last year, Acting Registrar-General of the commission, Lady Azuka Azinge has said. Azinge disclosed that, “From 1st October to 31st December, 2018, we registered 73,000 companies and if you look at the previous year, about 30,000 companies were registered in 2017; so you can see the BIS has been successful.’’ She made this known in Abuja, yesterday, saying that the Commission would record a higher number of registration in the first quarter of 2019. She explained that based on popular demand the commission had to go back to the Minister for extension from January 1 to March 31, 2019, as the agency was almost at tail end of the second part stressing, ‘’ So far, we are exceeding what we did last year. We expect to see a higher number which is what we are seeing already in our record.” Azin...

CEO of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu The Federal Government has announced a decline in number of new cases of Lassa fever in the country. Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja, said that the country had witnessed a reduction in the number of people who have died from the disease compared to 2018 adding that the NCDC and partners had continued to sustain response activities in states across the country, despite progress made so far. He said, “An outbreak of Lassa fever was declared in Nigeria on Jan. 21, 2019. Since then, 420 confirmed cases and 93 deaths have been reported in 21 states. The national, multi-sectoral, is coordinating the national response multi-partner Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) led by the NCDC. In addition, the centre has supported Ebonyi, Edo, Ondo, Plateau and Kebbi States in activating sub-national level EOCs for coordination.’’ Ihekeazu noted that fo...