SON destroys N10bn worth of substandard goods

NAN

The Director General of Standard Organisation (SON), Dr Joseph Odumodu, on Monday said that organisation destroyed substandard goods worth N10 billion in the last four years.

Odumodu disclosed this during his official visit to the Headquarters of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in Lagos.

According to DG,  the items were destroyed from 2011 to date.``In the next few years, we will reduce substandard products to 15 per cent.

``Now, we are going through the period of change since the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected based on his honesty and integrity.

``I am pleading to you all to change from all ramifications because many people are dying day by day of cancer as a result of substandard goods coming into the country.

``You should all be part of the positive change by complying with the e-Product Registration and e-Provision Clearance Certificate platform,’’ Odumodu warned.

Chief Boniface Aniebonam, the Founder of NAGAFF, urged freight forwarders and clearing agents to collaborate with SON to reduce substandard products.

He said that seized containers should be checked and conveyed to SON base by the officials of the organisation instead of checking points.

``Enlightenment platforms and strategic processes can help in solving all the problems encountered during cargo importation as well as cargo clearance," Aniebonam said.

He stressed the need for continued campaign to remind agents on the actual time for moving out cargo from ports.

Chief Eugene Nweke, President of NAGAFF, said that trade could not be facilitated under rigid and uncoordinated process and procedures.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president of NAGAFF was represented by the National Deputy President, Mr Oluwole Adeyemi.

Nweke said that there was need for harmonisation and coordination to enable his members to blend with the era of e-commerce trade facilitation.

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Ajayi Crowther University to graduate 11 first class, others

NAN

The Ajayi Crowther University in Oyo, Oyo State, would be graduating 11 first class out of the 370 graduands at its forthcoming 7th Convocation slated for Dec. 5.

This was made known by the  Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University, Prof. Dapo Asaju, during a news conference held at the institution on Monday to herald the convocation.

He said that 68 of the graduands bagged second class upper, 166 made second-class lower, while 113 students graduated with third class.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convocation would take place in the Faculty of Law building, donated by the family of Chief (Mrs) Folorunsho Alakija.

Asaju said that a convocation-lecture would be delivered at the school auditorium on Dec. 4 by Prof Jide Alo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Research), University of Lagos.

The theme of the lecture is, ``Faith Based Universities and National Development: Towards a Mandate Re-Appraisal’’.

to him, the repackaging was for more positive image for the university and make it a force to reckon with across the world.

Asaju said that the institution would soon commence its post- graduate programmes, adding that 70 per cent of its approved post-graduate courses would take-off by March, 2016.

``We have also concluded plans to start the Department of Environmental Sciences.

Also, we have 110 hectares of land along Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway where we hope to start our Colleges of Medicine and Agriculture.

``There, we expect that the 64 dioceses will erect at least a building as part of our expansion programme,’’ he said.

Congolese army, rebel clash claim 30 lives

NAN

 At least 30 people including a UN peacekeeper were killed in clashes pitting the army and UN troops against Ugandan rebels in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
A statement by a rights group that documents violence in North Kivu province on Monday said that clashes broke out in the town of Eringeti, when ADF rebels attacked a military headquarters.
They said that Congolese forces killed at least 14 rebels while rebels killed at least seven civilians with machetes.
Eight Congolese soldiers and one UN peacekeeper from the Force Intervention Brigade, which has a mandate to conduct offensive operations, died in combat, the statement said.

The group also said that at least 500 civilians have been killed in the area since October 2014, most in overnight raids by rebels carried out with machetes and hatchets.
The UN mission and Congolese army are yet to comment on the issue.

FIFA release Ballon d'or three finalists

Ballon d'or Finalists

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar  have made the final three- man finalists  for the 2015 Ballon d'Or competition after the shortlist was whittled down from 23 names to just three.

Messi is the favourite to land the accolade, having led Barcelona to a famous treble last season, while Ronaldo is looking to defend his crown and draw level with the Argentine for overall wins.

Were he to pick up the Ballon d'Or at the ceremony in Zurich on January 11, 2016, it would be Messi's fifth World Player of the Year title, more than any other player.

This year he is joined on the podium by Barca team-mate Neymar, who netted 10 goals en route to Champions League glory, including scoring in the final against Juventus in Berlin.

The Brazilian was also the joint-third top scorer in La Liga last season with 22 goals – and already has 14 this term – though his haul was put in the shade by those of Messi (43 goals) and top scorer Ronaldo (48).

For the sixth straight time, the final three-man Ballon d’Or shortlist does not include a single Premier League player, while it is a decade since an Englishman last made the final three (Frank Lampard in 2005).

BLACK FRIDAY: Saudi Arabia beheads 50 People Today

Reuters

Saudi Arabia has planned  to execute more than 50 people guilty of terrorism, in a single day.

The information about executions was recently released in Saudi media, which said that up to 55‘Al-Qaeda terrorists’ and‘criminals’ from the town of Awamiyya will be executed in the next few days. However, it hasn’t been specified when and how exactly the executions will take place. Awamiya, in Eastern Province where the authorities suppressed protests in 2011, has a predominantly Shiite population. According to sources, the executions may be carried out after Friday prayers.

One of the prisoners is accused of attempting to buy nuclear material in Yemen worth $1.5 million for use inside Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi plan has been slammed by Amnesty, which said that executing dozens of people “in a single day would mark a dizzying descent to yet another outrageous low for Saudi Arabia.”

“Saudi Arabia’s macabre spike in executions this year, coupled with the secretive and arbitrary nature of court decisions and executions in the kingdom, leave us no option but to take these latest warning signs very seriously,” said James Lynch, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International.

This year has seen a sharp increase in the number of executions in the Kingdom. About 150 people have already been put to death. This is already a 26-percent increase on 2014.

The number of executions in 2015 is catching up with the Kingdom’s all-time annual record of 192, which was documented by Amnesty International in 1995. The watchdog has been scathing of the Kingdom’s human rights record, saying they “fall far short” of global norms.

thebreakingtimes.com 

Suicide bomber hits Shi'ite Muslim procession in north-east Nigeria: Organisers

 Scene of the Bombing

AFP

 A suicide bomber on Friday blew himself up among crowds at a Shia Muslim procession outside the north Nigerian city of Kano, in the latest violence to hit the troubled region.

The attack happened in the village of Dakasoye, some 20km south of the city, during a march by followers of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

The group, led by Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, said on its website the blast happened at 2pm (9pm Singapore time) and that "scores" had been killed.

But there was no official indication of casualties and one of the organisers told AFP: "It's a huge crowd so it's too early to give a precise figure of casualties.

"We now have the other suspect in custody."

The organiser, who asked to remain anonymous, said the bomber ran into the crowd before he could be spotted and detonated his explosives.

"He was dressed in black like everyone else. His accomplice was initially arrested and confessed they were sent by Boko Haram," he added.

"They were part of the young men abducted by Boko Haram in (the Borno state town of) Mubi last year and taken to Sambisa Forest where they were given some military training.

"They were sent to Kano 11 days ago and kept in a house specifically for this attack."

The bomber detonated his explosives after realising his accomplice had been arrested, the organiser added.

Boko Haram, the radical Sunni militants who want to create a hardline Islamic state in north-east Nigeria, has previously been blamed for attacks on Shia Muslims in the region.

Last November, at least 15 people were killed and some 50 others injured in a suicide bombing targeting the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura in the city of Potiskum, in Yobe state.

Ashura marks the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

In April, a suicide bomber targeted a group of Shi'ite Muslims outside an open-air mosque, also in Potiskum. He killed himself and wounded three worshippers.

Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has left at least 17,000 dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless, condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.

The followers were on a "symbolic trek" from Kano to Zaria, in neighbouring Kaduna state, where Zakzaky is based, to mark the 40th day of Ashura.

Their arrival on Dec 3 is designed to coincide with the gathering of pilgrims at Hussein's tomb in the Iraqi city of Karbala.

Friday's attack came after a female bomber killed eight in the northeastern city of Maiduguri last Sunday and four teenage girls blew themselves up in northern Cameroon on Saturday killing five.

Boko Haram has increasingly used suicide bombers against "soft" civilian targets since the start of a military offensive earlier this year that has pushed them out of controlled territory.

Pope warns Kenyan youths on corruption

 Pope Francis

Pope Francis urged young Kenyans on Friday not to succumb to the sweet lure of corruption, and urged them to help those tempted by “fanatical” ideologies.

Scrapping a prepared script, the Latin American pope addressed a packed Nairobi stadium with the down-to-earth and spontaneous style that has endeared him to Catholics and others around the world, Reuters reported.

“The spirit of evil takes us to a lack of unity. It takes to tribalism, corruption and drugs. It takes us to destruction out of fanaticism,” the pope said, urging young people not to give in to these vices.

“Let’s hold hands together, let’s stand up as a sign against bad tribalism,” he said, grasping the hands of two young people on stage.

Tribal loyalties often trump political allegiances in Kenya, and some other African nations, sometimes sparking violence.

After being welcomed into the stadium with rapturous singing and dancing, including by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the first lady and clergy, the pope was cheered throughout his speech.

The president reshuffled his cabinet this week after several ministers were embroiled in corruption allegations.

Corruption “is like sugar, sweet, we like, it’s easy,” Francis said. “Also in the Vatican there are cases of corruption.”

Paris attacks: France holds memorial for victims

France is to hold a national memorial service for the 130 people who died in the Paris attacks two weeks ago.

Friday’s service in central Paris will bring together 1,000 people, including President Francois Hollande as well as survivors and victims’ families, the BBC reports.

A minute’s silence will be held and the names of all the victims read out.

Attackers with assault rifles and suicide belts targeted a number of sites in the capital. Islamic State later said it was behind the assault.

In a series of co-ordinated attacks on November 13, the gunmen opened fire on restaurants and bars in the city and stormed a concert hall, where 89 people were shot dead.

hmm.. Church Where You Can Check If Your Name Is In Heaven Or Hell With Just N20,000

Russian war plan; Activists throw stones, eggs at Turkish embassy in Moscow

AFP

On Wednesday several hundred young activists  hurled stones and eggs at Turkey’s embassy in Moscow and brandished anti-Turkish placards after Ankara downed a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.

The activists broke several windows at the Turkish embassy as Moscow police urged them to stop the protest but did not intervene. According to an AFP photographer report from the scene,  some chanted slurs against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while one of the placards read; “Turkey you will remain without gas."

Obasanjo, Gowon, Shonekan, Tinubu storm Ikenne for HID Awolowo

Dignitaries from all walks of life on Wednesday stormed the  Ikenne, Ogun State, home of the late ex- Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for the burial of his wife,  Hannah Idowu Dideolu ( HID)  Awolowo, who died in September 19.

The inter-denominational service held at Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Kehinde Sofola Way, Ikenne, was graced by former heads of state, past and current governors, politicians, captains of industry, religious leaders and others.  Even the common man on the street was not left out of the carnival-like funeral ceremony in the church and other places in the city.

Those that attended the interdenominational service were former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon,  ex- Head of the Interim National Government (ING), Chief Ernest Shonekan,  ex-Chief of General Staff, Oladipo Diya, and the National Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi.

Also in attendance were former governors of Ogun State,  Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Otunba Subomi Balogun, ex- Lagos governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and his Ondo State counterpart, Niyi Adebayo.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, some senators, Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Olusegun Mimiko  (Ondo) Ben Ayade  ( Cross Rivers) , Jubrilla Bindiow (Adamawa), Rauf Aregbesola ( Osun), Abiola Ajimobi  (Oyo), Minister of Health, Prof. Wole Adeosun, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu and business mogul, Aliko Dangote, were also in Ikenne to pay their last respect to the matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty.

KOGI Guber Election: APC to replace Audu;INEC set Dec 5 for Supplement Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC ha set to conduct supplementary elections on December 5 in the 59 polling units where the governorship election was cancelled in Kogi State last Saturday.

In the same vein, the All Progressives Congress, APC which was coasting home to victory before the election was declared inconclusive is to present a candidate to replace Prince Abubakar Audu, the party’s candidate who died in the midst of the election.

According to the INEC, returning officer for the election, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, had announced Audu as having polled 240,827 votes to top the election with Wada scoring 199, 514 votes.

kucha, however, declared the election inconclusive on the fact that no party could be declared the winner since the number of cancelled votes was more than the difference between the APC and the PDP.

 Election was cancelled in 59 polling units across 18 Local Government areas of the state due to non-usage of the card reader, over voting, ballot snatching, violence and other irregularities.

In his words,“Since the number of cancelled votes was 49,953 while the difference between the votes scored by the APC and PDP candidates stood at 41,353, the election could not yet be declared as conclusive,” Kucha submitted.

Soyinka kicks against faith-based uniforms in schools

Nigerian Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has on Monday kicked against a situation where pupils wear uniforms depicting their religious affiliations to schools across the country.

The Professor spoke during the inauguration of a N750m school built by the Osun State Government in Ejigbo. The school was named after him.

Though Soyinka expressed happiness at the honour done on him by Governor Rauf Aregesola, he warned against diving the pupils along religious lines by allowing them to wear uniforms that typified their religious affiliations.

He (Soyinka) said there should be nothing to divide pupils along religious lines, adding that the feeling of holier than thou was one of the factors that brought about the abduction of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram insurgents.

He said, “One of the ways we can reduce this fatalistic sense of holiness is to reduce the element of difference. I wish to implore that we do not distinguish our children by their religions.”

Soyinka, however, commended the governor for what he had done to improve the standard of education in the state.

The governor described Soyinka as the greatest scholar in Africa.

He said that in the first quarter of next year, his government would also inaugurate another set of schools in the same category.

Aregbesola said, “We can construct a good road that will last for 50 years and we are doing that, but this can never compare to the enlightenment an educated person receives in terms of its value to the society and humanity.

“The state of education prior to our coming was appalling and frighteningly so. Zoos were better than the places where the pupils were receiving education. Many of them were dilapidated and falling down.

“These schools were, therefore, not encouraging any serious learning or character building. The result was that the pupils themselves were behaving like animals. They were forming cult groups, fighting regularly with dangerous weapons and engaged in all immoral acts.

“These are children, aged seven and above. My heart bleeds to see the public education system disintegrate and become dysfunctional,” he submitted.

Fifa Court to decide on Blatter, Platini in Dec

The adjudicatory chamber of Fifa's ethics committee has opened proceedings against suspended President Sepp Blatter and European soccer boss Michel Platini after ethics investigators called for sanctions against both men, Fifa said on Monday.

Fifa said on Monday the adjudicatory chamber intends to come to a decision during December.

Blatter and Platini were suspended for 90 days in October, engulfed by a deepening corruption scandal as the sport faces criminal probes in Switzerland and the United States.

Failure to Resurrect Audu: Youths Threaten to Kill Prophet

The remains of former Kogi governor, Prince Abubakar Audu was this afternoon laid to rest at Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government Area. The burial rites were conducted by a team of Imams from across Igalaland at his residence.

Controversy had trailed the burial of the former governor when rumour went into town that he had resurrected. A prophet had earlier promised to revive Audu to life.

There was drama between the prophet and members of the Audu family, who had refused to let him in. The youths of Ogbonicha broke the door to the room where Audu was laid to allow the prophet gain access.

However, the prophet failed to resurrect Audu, prompting the youths to go berserk, threatening to kill the prophet.

The burial was well attended as scores of the who-is-who in Nigerian politics as well as members of the business community were in Ogbonicha to give their last respect to the departed hero.

Remains of Audu Abubakar former Governor of Kogi state

Mascherano likely sidelined for Roma tie

 Mascherano

Champions league holders Barcelona are highly unlikely to have centre back Javier Mascherano available for Tuesday's Champions League Group E match at home to AS Roma, coach Luis Enrique said on Monday.

Mascherano, an Argentina international who has been an integral part of Barca's recent glittering run, was forced off in the first half of Saturday's 4-0 La Liga win at Real Madrid after taking a blow to the thigh and replaced by Frenchman Jeremy Mathieu.

"Masche has a very big knock on the quadriceps," Luis Enrique told a news conference previewing the clash against the Italian side at the Nou Camp.

"He was not able to train today and the logical thing is that he won't feature tomorrow because he is a key player for us and we don't want to take any risks," added the former Spain midfielder, who had a stint in charge at Roma in 2011-12.

Argentina captain Messi returned to action for the first time since injuring his knee at the end of September as a second-half substitute at the Bernabeu.

"He seemed in very good shape to me," Luis Enrique told reporters.

"It was an enormous joy for everyone in the Barca family to see the world's best player back on the pitch.

"All that is needed now is playing time in his legs and to charge his batteries and we can get back to enjoying Leo,” Enrique added.

Barca are on a high after thrashing their arch rivals and fullback Dani Alves told an earlier news conference it was the best performance against Real he had seen.

"The 'Clasico' in which Barca have been most superior was this one," Alves said.

"Not because of Real's failings but due to our own merits," added the Brazil international.

"We were incredible in all areas, everyone bringing their best. I think it was perfect."

Pastor's Wife murder: Man Arrested

Officers in Indianapolis have arrested a man in connection with the murder of Amanda Blackburn, 28, a pregnant woman who was shot and killed in a home invasion, police said.

Early Monday, Police Sgt. Kendale Adams named the suspect as 18-year-old Larry Taylor. He faces a preliminary charge of murder in the November 10 shooting. Marion County prosecutors will decide upon a final charge.

Amanda Blackburn, who was married to Resonate Church Pastor Davey Blackburn, was 12 weeks pregnant when she died.

The couple's 1-year-old son was home when the shooting occurred, but was unharmed. Pastor Blackburn discovered his wife after returning from the gym that morning, the couple's church said.

Amanda Blackburn was taken to Indiana University Methodist Hospital in critical condition, where she later died.

"My wife was such a beautiful, gracious, loving woman of God," Davey Blackburn said in a message to his congregation then. "I have not only lost my ministry partner and support but also my very best friend, he said.

Blackburn said he will take time to grieve and focus on his young son, all the while remaining optimistic.

"I hold firm to the belief that God is still good, that he takes our tragedy and turns it into triumph, and that the best truly is yet to come,” Blackburn reaffirm.

Onazi out for 10 days after injury against Swaziland

Super Eagles and Lazio midfielder Ogeny Onazi is set to be out for 10 days from an injury he sustained in

Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Swaziland.

Onazi was part of the Super Eagles team that beat Swaziland in the second leg of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers to progress to the third round.

Lazio confirmed the news on their official website.

"The tests which were carried out showed the presence of grade one strain of the abductor longus in the right thigh," the club announced on Friday, November 20.

"He will start specialized treatment today, and the recovery time will be determined after additional tests in a week or 10 days."

Five dead in Palestinian attacks in Tel Aviv

A Palestinian fatally stabbed two people in a Tel Aviv office building and three other people were killed in an attack in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Israeli police and the army said.

In the latest attack near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank, a police commander said a Palestinian drove along the shoulder of the main road and shot at crawling traffic, killing three people and wounding others.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attacker's car stopped when it hit another vehicle and the driver was seized. He said an American citizen was one of three people killed. The others were a Palestinian and an Israeli.

At least seven other people were wounded, a medical source said. The attack brought to 18 the number of Israelis and others who have died, along with 80 Palestinians, in a wave of violence over the past seven weeks.

The American was identified as Ezra Schwartz, 18, who was studying in Israel, according to a Facebook post by the American Jewish Committee. CBS's Boston affiliate said Schwartz was from Sharon, Massachusetts.

In the Tel Aviv attack, a police spokeswoman said the assailant who had attacked worshippers gathered for afternoon prayers in a shop that sells Jewish religious items in the building was apprehended and a third person was wounded.

Police say 49 of the 80 Palestinians killed in recent weeks died at the scene of attacks on Israelis and most of the rest died in violent protests in the occupied West Bank and near the Gaza border.

Palestinian allegations that Israel was trying to alter the religious status quo at a Jerusalem holy site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, where al-Aqsa mosque stands, and to Jews as Temple Mount, have partly fueled the violence.

Earlier on Thursday, three 15-year-old Palestinian girls attempted to infiltrate an Israeli military post in the West Bank, the military said.

Soldiers apprehended them, and the military said three knives were found in their possession. 

Gunmen attack luxury hotel in Mali capital; free 80 hostages

Malian special forces stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years.

State television said 80 hostages had been freed but the French newspaper Le Monde quoted the Malian security ministry as saying at least three people had been killed in the initial attack. An eye witness outside the hotel said gunfire could be heard from time to time.

A senior security source said the gunmen had burst into Radisson Blu hotel at 7 a.m. (0200 ET), firing and shouting "Allahu Akbar", or "God is great" in Arabic, and begun working their way through the building, room by room and floor by floor.

Some hostages escaped under their own steam while others were freed after showing they could recite verses from the Koran, one security source said.

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad to return to Bamako, his office said. French President Francois Hollande said France would "use all the means available to us on the ground to free the hostages".

The raid on the hotel, which lies just west of the city center near government ministries and diplomatic offices, comes a week after Islamic State militants killed 129 people in Paris.

The identity of the Bamako gunmen, or the group to which they belong, is not known.

Northern Mali was occupied by Islamist fighters, some with links to al Qaeda, for most of 2012. They were driven out by a French-led military operation, but sporadic violence has continued in Mali's central belt on the southern reaches of the Sahara, and in Bamako.

One security source said as many as 10 gunmen had stormed the building, although the company that runs the hotel, Rezidor Group, said it understood that there were only two attackers.

The hotel's head of security, Seydou Dembele, said two private security guards had been shot in the legs in the early stages of the assault.

"We saw two of the attackers. One was wearing a balaclava. The other was black-skinned. They forced the first barrier," Dembele told Reuters.