Al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch says eight European hostages it is holding are alive. In a statement on Twitter, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said it would soon release a video of the captives. Five of the hostages are said to be French, the nationalities of the others are not clear. The statement came after rallies were held across France organised by families of four of the hostages. The events in Paris, Saint-Cere, Nimes, Nantes and Orleans marked 1,000 days of their captivity. “We would like to reassure the families and parents of the hostages of their children’s safety. We…
Author: tech
New clashes have taken place in Brazil despite President Dilma Rousseff’s attempt to respond to protesters’ demands and halt the violence. Trouble was reported in Belo Horizonte and Salvador, the two cities hosting Confederations Cup matches on Saturday. Largely peaceful protests continued in dozens of Brazilian cities on Saturday, including Sao Paulo. President Rousseff announced several reforms on Friday as she tried to bring an end to days of demonstrations. The demonstrations began over transport fare rises in Sao Paulo, but quickly grew into nationwide rallies encompassing a raft of issues, from corruption and the poor quality of…
By: Mark Hodgkinson 1 Andy Murray sometimes eats up to four Feast ice-creams a day (though only when at home between tournaments — and not when preparing for Wimbledon). “I can eat ice-cream from midday until I go to bed.” 2 He says: “I’m not one of those sportsmen who practises a strict policy of sexual abstinence before playing. Tennis is not like boxing. I remember a former world heavyweight whose trainer banned him from having sex for the six weeks before a fight. In tennis we play every week, so with a boxer’s mentality, we’d always be…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the newly elected President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, to focus seriously on the urgent challenges of improving productivity of members of the organised labour for a faster economic growth. In a statement in Abuja weekend congratulating the new TUC leader, the former Vice President said productivity is one of the factors that boost a country’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to him, productivity is the best argument that workers can put forward to seek better wages. He added that both the employers and workers have…
President Goodluck Jonathan will on Sunday travel to Yaounde, Cameroun, to participate in the Summit of West and Central African Heads of State and Government on Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea which opens there on Monday. The summit has been convened against the background of rising incidents of piracy in the resource-rich Gulf of Guinea. President Jonathan will join other Heads of State of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central Africa States (ECCAS) in the Camerounian capital to deliberate on new proposals and a joint action plan to tackle piracy…
President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated General Theophilus Danjuma on the conferment on him of the high traditional title of Jarmai Zazzau by the Emir of Zaria, His Royal Highness, Shehu Idris. President Jonathan joins General Danjuma’s family, friends, associates, former colleagues in the Armed Forces, protégés and admirers in all parts of the country in felicitating with him on being honoured yet again for his immense contributions to the development of the nation. The President believes that General Danjuma’s splendid career in the Armed Forces and public service of the Federation, as well as his colossal philanthropy and generosity to communities…
By: Bolaji Oyegunle, London Due to civil unrest in Brazil, next year’s World Cup may be held in England if the rioting continues. England, it was learnt is being suggested as a back-up host because of the quality of the stadia and infrastructure. One Brazilian news website last night claimed the FA had already made a confidential offer. Neither the FA nor football’s governing body FIFA, the organizers of the World Cup however denied the proposal. More than a million Brazilians have taken to the streets this week in anger at the £25blillion so far spent on…
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo has released the progress report on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the West African sub-region, showing Sierra Leone taking the lead. Mr Ouédraogo said five other countries are also projected to record a minimum seven per cent growth rate in 2013, sufficient to meet the MDGs particularly the goal on poverty reduction, and more than double the global growth rate. He disclosed this while presenting the first biannual report to the 70th session of the Council of Ministers in the sub-region which opened in Abidjan on…
Once upon a time, news from my family in Nigeria centered on the dead or dying. Tired of all the negative news, I sent out a fatwa: give me news of deaths and risk instant death! My folks knew I didn’t mean literal death. They also knew the sharpness of my tongue. A family member once said (unfairly, I might add) that if I were goat meat, he would eat everything except my mouth! I didn’t mind that ‘yabis’ because the avalanche of negative family news ceased. I remembered a family member recently and realised I hadn’t heard about…
Imagine a country – a country with a population of, say, 63million people. Imagine that in that country, over 80,000 women are raped and 400,000 sexually assaulted every year, and over two per week killed by a current or former partner. Imagine that in that country one in three girls age 16-18 report experiencing unwanted sexual touching at school and nearly a third of girls in relationships aged 13-17 have experienced physical or sexual violence. Imagine that within that society, in which one in four women will experience domestic violence, half of 16-18 year olds wouldn’t know where to…