₦airaland Forum

Multimillionaire mass killer: Heavy-gambler gunman who killed 59 people and hurt 527 in Vegas took TWENTY-THREE guns in TEN bags into his Mandalay Bay sniper's nest - where he set up assault rifles legally converted to fully automatic on tripods.

*Stephen Paddock killed at least 59 people and injured 527 when he opened fire on concertgoers Sunday
A SWAT Team blew open the door to the Las Vegas suite he was using as a sniper nest, but he'd shot himself
Cops recovered 23 guns, some with scopes and military-grade ammo, two with tripods, at least one full auto
Other semi-auto weapons had been modified with legal bump-stocks that simulate fully automatic fire
*He'd smashed two windows of his corner suite to create a kill box at the Route 91 Harvest music festival below
*He also had 19 other guns, as well as explosives and as-yet-undetermined electronic devices, at his home
"Paddock, 64, made a fortune in real estate but also gambled heavily on poker and slot machines, brother said
"He lived in a $400,000 retirement home with girlfriend Marilou Danley, 62, who is currently in Tokyo, Japan
*Paddock had no criminal record, no army training and no religious or political affiliations, his brother said
*Police are still trying to figure out his motive. Other than his gambling, his life appeared largely unremarkable
*Paddock's father was a 'psychopathic' serial bank robber who spent eight years on the FBI Most Wanted list
*People trying to locate missing family members in Las Vegas should call 1-800-536-9488


The man who shot dead 59 people and injured 527 others in Las Vegas on Sunday night was a multimillionaire who took a huge arsenal of 23 guns into his Mandalay Bay hotel room, which he transformed into an elaborate sniper's nest before opening fire on a country music festival on Sunday.

Stephen Paddock, 64, had made millions from real estate deals, according to his brother; he also owned two planes and several properties across the US, and seemed normal apart from his passion for gambling large sums.

But he'd also secretly amassed a massive arsenal of 42 firearms. At least one of those was automatic, while another two had been modified with a legal bump-stock devices that allows semi-automatic guns to give full-auto fire of up to 800 rounds a minute. Several had scopes, and packed military-grade ammunition.

He took 23 of those guns into his Mandalay Bay suite over several days and set up two rifles on tripods at windows overlooking the Route 91 Harvest country music festival.

Thousands of rounds of ammunition were also found in the suite, enabling him to fire repeatedly over the course of 72 minutes. His car had several pounds of a fertilizer used in bomb-making.

Paddock had lived in 27 residences in Nevada, Florida and Texas as an adult, but other than that he had apparently lived a quiet and unremarkable life - and the reason for his assault remains a mystery.

The retired accountant had worked as an internal auditor at Lockheed Martin for three years in the late 1980s, and was a manager and investor in apartment complexes located in Mesquite, Texas and California, which made him millions, according to his brother.

Local police said they had no run-ins with the man, not even traffic violations, and his brother described him as 'just a guy who lived in Mesquite who drove down and gambled in Las Vegas and... liked burritos.'

So the discovery that he had used 10 suitcases to methodically move an arsenal up into his Mandalay Bay room over the preceding weekend came as a shock to those who knew him.

Eric Paddock said he thought his brother was far from a gun fanatic.

'He had a couple of guns but they were all handgun, legal... he might have had one long gun, but he had them in a safe,' he said.

He said he didn't know about the 23 guns that were found in the hotel room.

A law enforcement source told the Wall Street Journal that they found at least one fully automatic rifle among the batch, which included AR-15-style rifles and AK-47-style rifles.

And it later emerged that two other semi-auto guns had been legally modified with bump-stocks that allow them to function like fully automatic rifles, pumping out 400-800 bullets a minute.

Bump-stocks replace the gun's shoulder rest with a 'support step' that covers the trigger opening. By holding the pistol grip with one hand and pushing forward on the barrel with the other, the shooter's finger comes in contact with the trigger.

The recoil then causes the gun to buck back and forth, 'bumping' the trigger and firing off multiple shots. But because the finger is technically pulling the trigger each time, it still counts as a semi-auto weapon.

Still others could have been properly converted into fully automatic fire, the LA Times reported.

Among the weapons found in the room were four Daniel Defense DDM4 rifles, three FN-15s and other rifles made by Sig Sauer. A handgun was also found.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said on Monday it wasn't clear whether the full-auto gun was modified, or if it was originally made that way.

He also said that the ammunition ranged in size from .308, usually used in hunting rifles, to .223, associated with AR-15s and other assault rifles - the latter being military-grade, the New York Daily News reported.

Eric said the revelation of his brother's deadly plan, which saw thousands of rounds falling on a crowd of 22,000 people at a music festival below, was as unexpected as seeing a meteor suddenly landing on his street.

The shocks only grew in number Monday as police raided two of Paddock's properties.

The first was his Mesquite home in a sleepy retirement community, which he purchased for just over $369,000 in 2015 according to public records.

What they found was a second arsenal, even bigger than the one in the Mandalay Bay room.

Some 19 additional firearms were in the house, along with the explosive Tannerite - which is used to make explosive targets for target practice - and several thousand rounds of ammunition, Lombardo said Monday.

He added that electronic devices were also found, but that they are still being examined to determine their purpose.

Photos of the property showed the garage door torn off its hinge and crumpled after the search.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4942856/Las-Vegas-gunman-SIXTEEN-guns-TEN-suitcases.html#ixzz4uRhu4EU0

BEVERLY HILLS, October 02, (THEWILL) – At least 17 people were killed over the weekend in Cameroon’s restive anglophone belt in clashes linked to a symbolic declaration of independence by the anglophone minority

Amnesty International said “at least” 17 people were killed by security forces in the country’s two English-speaking regions, a figure that concurred with a toll given by official sources, who said two Nigerians were among the dead.

The separatists chose October 1, the anniversary of the official reunification of the anglophone and francophone parts of Cameroon, to declare independence for “Ambazonia”, the name of the state they want to create.

The symbolic declaration of independence was made Sunday on social media by Sisiku Ayuk, who describes himself as the “president” of Ambazonia.

“We are no longer slaves of Cameroon,” he said.

“Today we affirm the autonomy of our heritage and our territory.”

The crisis provoked by the protests, which was exacerbated at the start of 2017 when internet access was cut for three months, has intensified in recent weeks with the push to symbolically proclaim independence of the English-speaking regions.

Ahead of the declaration, Cameroonian authorities announced a temporary curb on travel and public meetings across the Southwest Region, adding to a curfew in the neighbouring Northwest Region, also English-speaking.

The majority of Cameroon’s 22 million people are French-speaking, while about a fifth are English speakers. The legacy dates back to 1961, when a formerly British entity, Southern Cameroons, united with Cameroon after its independence from France in 1960.

Since November, the anglophone minority has been protesting against perceived discrimination but the government deployed security forces at the weekend in English-speaking regions, notably Buea in the southwest and Bamenda, the main town in the northwest and a hub of anglophone agitation.

One of the leaders of the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF), Joshua Osih, told reporters that the security forces were “firing real bullets at the protesters” but stressed that he was not a supporter of the secessionist movement.

In Ndop, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Bamenda, two people were “shot dead”, according to sources, while one was killed in Kumbo on the sidelines of the protests, city mayor Donatus Njong said.

Also in Kumbo, three prison inmates were shot and killed trying to escape while security forces were mobilised for the deployments in anglophone regions, a source close to regional authorities said.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s long-serving president, 84-year-old Paul Biya, took to social media Sunday to condemn “all acts of violence, no matter where they come from or who is responsible.”

However, the European Union has called on all sides to be responsible and “respect the rule of law and avoid any act of violence.”

http://thewillnigeria.com/news/seventeen-including-two-nigerians-killed-in-cameroon-as-anglophones-declare-independence/

Optional09:
Lie lie liars! I can give you names of the families that own most of the lands RCCG stole from and the court cases you are yet to win and the once you paid millions on. I hate lies

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Optional09:
Since the creation of Nigeria these are what has been happening, disagreements, more disagreement, more more disagreements, I am only waiting for soon to come disaster.

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Can there be more than one captain in the ship? I liken the situation to that

BEVERLY HILLS, October 02, (THEWILL) – The Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Daddy GO, on Sunday revealed how the church bought its massive campground located along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway for N6,000.

He disclosed that he was almost forced into debt while trying to purchase three hectares of land around Iju for N54,000 but resisted the temptation to run into debt while trying to procure the ministry’s redemption camp.

Adeboye narrated, “When this place became too small I asked my elders to look for a bigger space. Then, I just graduated from the university with less than two years. So, they eventually saw a land around Iju for N54,000.

“Funny enough, I was not even having even N54. My elders were angry with me because I refused to borrow. In fact, if our church was the kind of churches where they vote, I’d have been impeached because I told them I was not going to borrow.

“Few days later, a member was going to Ibadan from Lagos and he saw the land and called that the people were ready to accept N6, 000. I told him not to even negotiate and we quickly paid for it. That is our redemption camp today,” he said.

Adeboye made this known on Sunday at a special Independence Day service at the church international headquarters in Ebute Meta, Lagos, where he delivered a sermon with the title: ‘Freedom for all’.

He further advised Nigerians against beating the drums of war, pointing out that the effects of war are detrimental. The cleric narrated the ordeal of an Igbo girl, whose resuscitation during the Civil War, took more than human efforts.

“During the civil, I was working in Ondo state, and so we were very close to Ore. And of course those of you who are old enough to remember, the toughest battle of the civil war was fought in Ore, and for months after the war was over, there were still skeletons scattered all over in the bush.

“After the war, we took in an Igbo girl; she was supposed to come and be a house help; but we spent three months nursing her back to health, because she was so weak, she couldn’t even carry a bottle of coke.

“After we nursed her back to health, physically, we had to nurse her back to mental health. We had to keep on reminding her that the war is over, but she would wake up at night shaking asking “where am I?” “Which side is the army coming from?”

“We had to spend time to tell her stop chasing lizards, because towards the end of the war, they were, according to her, no lizards left in the east, because they were used for food.

“Please, don’t talk about war. I don’t want war. I don’t want war in Nigeria,” the RCCG Overseer said.

http://thewillnigeria.com/news/how-we-bought-rccg-redemption-campground-for-just-n6-000-adeboye/

A serious crisis that could lead to a long closure of government hospitals across the country is looming; as the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has taken a deft move to stop the recent agreement reached by the Federal Government, with other health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), antagonized JOHESU’s demands, and condemned the signed agreement.

As the professional rivalry between the doctors and other health professionals in the health sector continue unabated the NMA specifically declared its opposition, to almost all the issues raised and demands made by JOHESU, describing them as unacceptable, has kicked against the agreement recently reached with other health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

The NMA specifically opposed to salary harmonization, one of the important issues which were part of the agreement reached with JOHESU, and declared that the doctors cannot receive the same salary as other health workers.

In a letter hurriedly written to the Minister of Labour and Employment, the NMA warned: “NMA is totally opposed to salary harmonization as doctors are not prepared to receive the same salary as other health workers.

“It is not happening anywhere in the world. JOHESU/AHPA has no legal or factual basis to demand the release of a circular on the adjustment of CONHESS as was done for CONMESS as the adjustment was done to partly correct observed distortions in relativity between in CONMESS.

“The FG should disregard this demand as NMA shall not accept another distortion of the relativity between CONHESS and CONMESS. Circular SWC/S/04/S.176/VOL.11/464 dated 3rd January 2014 and the precursor agreement of 2nd of January, 2014 must be upheld.”

The letter signed by the NMA President, Prof Mike Ogirima and the Secretary General, Yusuf Tanko Sununu added: “The FMOH should as a matter of urgency review the nomenclature of the other health care professionals provided it does not violate the teaching hospital Act but allow them to rise to the peak of their career (GL 17/CONHESS 15).

“The NMA is opposed to the demand for appointment of non-medically qualified personnel as a consultant in hospitals. There is no circular or law or scheme of service that authorized this just as it is against international best practices.

“The interest of the patient is sacrosanct as multiple consultants with opposing instructions would lead to anarchy in the clinical care of patients with deadly consequences.”

The NMA opposed and rejected most of the issues on which agreement was reached with JOHESU, thus sending a warning signal that professional rivalry may lead to the serious crisis in the health sector.

NMA referred to JOHESU demands an agreement reached with the union by the government as an aberration in health service in the country and called on the government to urgently redress it.

http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/crisis-looms-health-sector-nma-moves-stop-fgjohesu-agreement/

She carry watermelon?

horsepower101:
But there are igbos in the south south. It's not like igbos start and end in the south east. Unless you are trying to play Nigerian politics on me.

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Igbo should be seen as a nation and not a tribe to give a perfect understanding of its constituents and Biafra is that enclave or country that will accommodate the different nationalities........

horsepower101:
That's doesn't make sense. Having sealine doesn't make you rich automatically. If not, so many African countries won't be poor.

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it doesn't.......but it gives you economic advantage.....its serious calamity if you both a land lock and brain lock country

horsepower101:
But what happens when the oil uniting us run out or becomes worthless on the world market. Some people don't see past their noses.

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Beyond the oil, a more valuable asset is the seaports.....the shoreline

Odingo1:
You spoke well, but unfortunately South East is blocked from receiving anything good in Nigeria by the FG.
South Africa have a rail line that covers the whole country, 6 Standard International Airport that you can useto land in any part of south Africa, 7 standard sea port that cut across the country.
What is preventing FG to have one standard international Airport in the east, one sea port, railway in the east and you want them to be happy in Nigeria.

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I sometime wonder why it was difficult for GEJ to do these things even though he attempted in the case of Enugu Intrnational Airport. Is the airport still operating as an international airport?

ElsonMorali:
Nigeria has the opportunity to be a super power and Africa's numero uno advocate If she remains one, united and indivisible entity.

Agitations for a sovereign state of whatever is based on bad politics, selfishness, myopia and wishful thinking.

We have some reckoning in the world today Because of our sheer number.

What is left is for us to get rid of these current crop of "leaders" and get in place people who are selfless and know How to manage resources both human and natural to lift everyone out of this doldrums.

Most new nations these days are borne out of idealistic and wishful thinking and desires.

"Biafrans" think their path to glory is being blocked by other tribes in Nigeria. Yet for the past 17 or so years of democracy, their leaders have shown the same level of greed, rapaciousness and insensitivity that is so common among Nigerian politicians.

We shouldn't be fighting ourselves, we should band together and form a formidable force to chase away all these so-called leaders who have mortgaged the future of the unborn children of the common man.

Biafra won't be any better than Nigeria. It probably will be worse. Even within the major ethnic groups in Nigeria, there's still discrimination.

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Good submission. But the question is, where do we get the angels to run the government? In the absence of this, the situation remains and the agitations continue. Living life in circle!

Odingo1:
Eastern Nigeria is the life line of Nigeria.
There is nothing like South East in Nigeria Constitution.
What we have in Nigeria is Eastern Nigeria,Northern Nigeria, Western Nigeria and Mid-Western Nigeria.
Geopolitical is of recent during Obj tenure and is not in Constitution.

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You seem to make sense here. However, the fear is that if one section is allowed to go others will follow and the entire union will dissolve.

Odingo1:
Too much dependent on break away region and lack of self confidence that the former will not survive without the later

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In some cases this is true.

bodejohn:
I was just discussing this with my wife last night. She was reporting the scenes of the Spain and Catalonia on CNN to me.

I am also at a loss why countries would lock down tribes or regions who are willing to secede forcing them to go through the bloody route to the actualization of their dreams.

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Is it the instinct to dominate and rule over?

Spain's Catalonia and Nigeria's Biafra seem to share common destiny. Just by east of Nigeria, Cameroon's Ambazonia (English speaking)in the southern part is also fighting to separate from the French speaking part of norther Cameroon. The state of California in the United States of America has been toying with the idea of an independent nation for awhile.

There are several nations seeking to break away from parent nations today.
Why do nations fear breakups and hold the other party down in an unholy and dissatisfied union. Russia, UK etc are facing similar problem.
Why can't UN set the rules and requirements for nations seeking independent to meet and why does it finds it difficult to intervene despite prolong agitation from separatists until so much blood is spilled.
Just musing about current world situation as more nations seek to split

obonujoker:
No.

Moreover Christians should be ready for more persecution as the day of the Lord draws nigh.....

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Will the persecution be against only the Christians and by who?

IamKashyBaby:



OOHH MY GOSH!

I never even know that he died 3 days ago.. So does it mean we shud say GOOD BYE to all the Playboy bunnies ?

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u seem to be in love with his mag........
the bunnies have long relocated

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Efewestern:
you can't compare Catalonia to the one happening in Nigeria, they didn't go about dragging unrelated group into their agitation, they didn't preach hate against others, they didn't insult others with different views, they didn't tell you "Your views are inconsequential " for dragging you & your people into their agitation.

Catalonia got my support, even tho some world powers like US are not in support of the secession I believe they go about their agitation in a reasonable and peaceful way. their leaders fought for the interest of their people, not touts who can't argue intellectually.

One thing to note is that, Spain practice a system of government different from ours (FEDERATION) So it was easier for them to pull out, reason we should first fight to get a regional government before thinking of secession.

I hope we go back to the way we are before, I hope Nigeria learns from this Spain saga, and I hope those secessionist group in Nigeria learn that you can't achieve anything by chest beating and insulting others .

Unfortunately, despite clean bill of manner of approach given to Catalonia Separatists, they have not succeeded much in the realization of their dream just like Biafrans after many years of agitation. Spanish government is opposed to their demands and have likewise pulled out tanks to stop the referendum from holding.
However, methink we must understand how the government of the day think and approach the issue likewise. Between Biafra and Catalonia i can't tell who will gain independent first.

Despite claims that she would receive nothing from his fortune, Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal Harris, 31, will keep a stunning home worth $7 million and a $5 million lump sum, it has emerged.
A watertight prenup had apparently blocked Harris from receiving a penny of the 91-year-old's $43 million fortune on his death. Instead, it was divided between his four children, the University of Southern California and a list of charities.
But that same prenup in fact promised Harris a substantial package of money, as well as the four-bedroom Hollywood Hills house that Hefner bought her in 2013, TMZ reported.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4936782/Hugh-Hefner-leaves-wife-Crystal-Hollywood-home-5m.html#ixzz4uGUx2Lzi

A former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has said that Nigeria has failed as a country.
Mr. Obi stated this in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, on Saturday during the 2017 Independence anniversary lecture at the Akanu- Ibiam International Conference Centre where he was a guest lecturer.
The former governor spoke on the topic “Change and changing Nigeria through harnessing of investment potentials of Ebonyi state: yesterday, today and tomorrow”.
He expressed regret that the country was still operating in the past with no qualified leadership to revitalise the economy.
He blamed the country’s situation on the “cumulative leadership failure” from independence in 1960.
Agitations
Mr. Obi said more Nigerians are bound to agitate except the leadership challenges of the country are addressed.
He said the recent agitations by the Indigenous People on of Biafra and other groups indicate that more of such would be coming.


“Whenever they talk about Nigeria at 57, I refuse to talk. My opinion is that Nigeria is a failed country, period. And that is why you are seeing so many agitations you are seeing today. The agitation is not ending, it’s just beginning,” he said.
“It is a cumulative effect of leadership failure over the several years of this country and you can’t stop it because you now have millions of young people in their productive age doing nothing, you can call them anything.”
He spoke on the need to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth so as to stop them from further agitation.
“If you don’t have a job and you have not eaten food in the morning, afternoon and night, tomorrow you are a potential terrorist, quote me anywhere. The only way to stop that is to give them jobs,” he said.
“We are moving from baggage economy to knowledge economy. So, the country should stop dwelling on solid minerals because it is a baggage economy and nobody lives with it. This is what Nigeria is doing and we are still talking about oil which is already destined to finish one day,” Mr. Obi stated.
He called on the government to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals are mainstreamed in the development agenda of the country.
“Nigeria should queue into Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), not in signature. The country is there in signature and it is the only country that got involved in Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and did not achieve one goal because as soon as we signed the signature, we threw it away and came here and started doing things wrongly.
“China put MDGs in their developmental agenda, they mainstreamed it in their developmental agenda and they are targeting to lift 16million people out of poverty but I don’t know how many people Nigeria will lift in the next 10 years because there is no such measurable goals, everything is done in confusion,” he said.
“Our reserve is weak today and we are not talking about savings rather we are borrowing more. In 2007, all our debts were written off and we didn’t owe anybody. But in 2017, we have accumulated a debt of $69 billion and nobody is thinking how do we get over this because what we are doing is based on nothing. We just borrow money and share,” Mr. Obi stated.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/244672-nigeria-is-a-failed-country-peter-obi.html

Can there ever be peace and harmony among the different religions of the world? Can Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh etc live in harmony?
We should be very mature with our comments as we marshal out out reasons

As Biafrans demand for a referendum to determine their fate, tense crowds have formed outside polling stations in Catalonia ahead of an independence referendum banned by the Spanish government.
Regional officials said ballot boxes were ready and predicted a big turnout.
The Madrid government has pledged to stop the vote and dozens of police vehicles have left their base in the port of the regional capital Barcelona.
Overnight, thousands of separatist supporters occupied the schools that were to be used as voting centres.
Police say they will be evicted.
Referendum organisers had urged voters to turn up "to defend" the polling stations at 05:00 (03:00 GMT) and to wait for voting to start at 09:00. They called for peaceful resistance to any police action.
"I have got up early because my country needs me," said Eulalia Espinal I Tarro, 65, who was outside a Barcelona school.
"We don't know what's going to happen but we have to be here."
Sunday would be an "important date for democracy", regional Vice-President Oriol Junqueras told TV3, the main Catalan public channel.
"We have overcome many obstacles, there's nothing that we cannot rise above," he added. "If we don't defend our own rights then who will?"
The ballot papers contain just one question: "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?" There are two boxes: Yes or No.
The referendum has been declared illegal by Spain's constitutional court and thousands of extra police have been sent to the region. Many of the extra officers are stationed in two ships in the port of Barcelona.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41457238

chubinwa:
y is it almost common among a proletariats.

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So that they can move on to the bourgeoisie

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Mille:
Lol. That was how the same ICE train took off with two of my luggages at Frankfurt, the day I first arrived Germany.

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Really....I hope u eventually recover your luggage

Statsocial:
So sad. As a lawyer once said it is better for a guilty man to walk free than for an innocent man to be jailed...

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But these things happen everywhere. But we might feel it's only here.

SAN FRANCISCO, September 25, (THEWILL) – The world’s first self-flying taxi has been launched at the Jumeirah Beach Park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) of Dubai was the brainchild of Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA).

According to Dubai Media Office, the two-seater AAT, capable of transporting people without human intervention or a pilot, has been supplied by Volocopter, a Germany-based specialist manufacturer of automated air vehicles.

The AAT, expected to be put into use in the fourth quarter of the year, is powered by electricity and is highly safe. Its design comprises 18 rotors to ensure secure cruising and landing in case of any rotor failure, said RTA.

“It is environment-friendly as it is powered by clean electricity, and it has very little noise. It has a maximum flight time of approximately 30 minutes at a speed of 50 km per hour, and a maximum air speed of 100 km per hour,” according to RTA.

“After the remarkable success of the first driverless metro in the region, we are glad to witness today the test flight of the Autonomous Air Taxi,” said Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

“This is another proof of our commitment to positive change. We are constantly exploring opportunities to serve the community and advance the prosperity and happiness of society,” he added.

http://thewillnigeria.com/news/dubai-launches-self-flying-taxis-worlds-first/

BEVERLY HILLS, September 29, (THEWILL) – Trials of Boko Haram suspects in Nigeria will take place behind closed doors with no media present, a justice ministry official with knowledge of the matter told AFP on Friday.

The move was made on security grounds following discussions between the government and the Department of State Services intelligence agency.

“There will be no access to the media,” said the official, who pleaded anonymity.

“The decision was based on the need for confidentiality because of security issues that may come up during the trial.”

The justice ministry announced last week that the trials of more than 1,600 suspects were scheduled to begin from October 9.

It blamed delays in prosecution on poor investigation techniques such as lack of forensic evidence, “over-reliance on confession-based evidence” and logistical problems.

As of September 11, only 13 cases linked to the eight-year insurgency had been concluded, with nine convictions, according to the government.

Human rights groups have criticised Nigeria’s military for the arbitrary arrest of civilians and detention of suspects for lengthy periods of time without access to legal counsel.

The announcement that due process was finally to begin was given a cautious welcome but a ban on media access will likely raise concerns about transparency.

The ministry source said the British High Commission and US Embassy in Abuja, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Red Cross would be given “observer status”.

“They will be able to monitor how proceedings are carried out and obviously the suspects will be given legal representation,” he added.

The trials will take place in military detention facilities in Kainji, Kogi state, and New Bussa, in Niger state, both in central Nigeria.

Hearings will also be held in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, where Boko Haram was founded in 2002 and which has been at the epicentre of the long-running violence.

http://thewillnigeria.com/news/boko-haram-trials-to-be-held-behind-closed-doors/

That Nigeria has failed to be self sufficient in food production is perhaps an agreeable consensus for most Nigerians who hear the statement. What has however failed to achieve consensus is the amount of food Nigeria actually imports. At times, a range is given, while at other times, figures slightly differ as data sources attempt to capture just how much Nigeria spends to import food. This, in a country which has over 80 million hectares of arable land it can cultivate, and 180 million people that need to be fed.
Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture, at this year’s meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) in Port Harcourt, said during his remarks to ‘declare the meeting open’ that Nigeria’s food import bill is $22.5 billion.
Ogbeh went further to explain that this reflected how insecure the country is in food production, using this to emphasise the need for concerted efforts in increased food production across all types of crops and even livestock.
At an exclusive interview secured after the NCARD meeting with Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development, the first objective was to clarify the assertion made by Audu Ogbeh, the senior minister for Agriculture.
Asked; We’ve been working with $5 billion as the value of Nigeria’s food import bill which is no longer sustainable, but, at the National Council on Agriculture meeting, the figure was put at $22.5 billion. Can you shed some light on this?
Lokpobiri in response, said; That has been the figure. When we came, the statistics we have showed Nigeria’s food import bill is $22 billion. And that figure itself is being disputed, because some people are saying the figure is far less than what we actually spend on food import; because we import virtually everything. Nigeria was in trade deficit with every other country.

Today we are happy that some countries within the region at least come to Kano, Sokoto, Jigawa. They are entering Nigeria to come and buy goods but before, we were in trade deficit with every country in the world; including Benin republic.
Lokpobiri in response to another question further said; If we are importing food to the tune of $22 billion, that is money that effectively the private sector can earn in Nigeria. There is no excuse why we have to spend $22 billion importing food, there is no excuse for Nigeria to spend $5-6 million to import rice daily.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s official data contradict both ministers’ claims
The Agriculture Promotion Policy document for 2016 – 2020 which was released by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), noted that; Nigeria still imports about $3 to $5 billion worth of food annually, especially wheat, rice, fish and sundry items, including fresh fruits. As a result, Nigeria is not food secure. Wastage levels remain high in production areas, reducing supply of feedstock to processing factories, requiring them to keep importing supplies. The net effect is limited job growth across the agricultural value chain from input production to market systems, and continued use of limited foreign currency earnings to import vast quantities of food.
It further stated that Nigeria still imports a significant amount of food. Nigeria is also not earning significant foreign exchange from agriculture, meaning we are losing on both ends.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures also fails to align with the Ministers
A collation of “food related items” imported into Nigeria as captured by the NBS foreign trade statistics are classified by the bureau as; Live animals; animal products; Vegetable products; Animal and vegetable fats and oils and; Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco.
In 2013, the cumulative value of imports classified under these headings amounted to N1.27 trillion naira, and approximately $3.53 billion at an exchange rate of N360 to $1. In 2014, the value was N1.28 trillion or $3.57 billion; in 2015, N1.16 trillion or $3.23 billion, and as at September 2016, N829 billion or $2.3 billion.
Adding a cumulative estimate of $2 billion for both rice and wheat will put each of these annual figures between $5 and $6 billion, still a far cry from the $22 billion asserted by both ministers of agriculture.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) also has contrary data

A 2017 PWC report titled; transforming Nigeria’s agricultural value chain, which indicated estimates were deduced using a combination of sources including the World Bank, NBS, FMARD, UNCTAD, and the CBN, put the country’s food import bill at $5.3 billion.
As at 2016, the top five agricultural imports according to the report were Fish – $1.46 billion; Wheat – $1.07billion; Sugar, molases and honey – $373 million; Milk, cream and milk products – $295 million; and Fixed vegetables, fat and oil – $250 million. Cumulatively, the top five agricultural imports translate to approximately $3.45 billion.
The World Bank’s figures also don’t seem to align with the Ministers

Africa’s food import bill is estimated at a staggering US$30–50 billion, indicating that an opportunity exists for smallholder farmers—Africa’s largest entrepreneurs by numbers—who already produce 80% of the food we eat to finally transition their enterprises into thriving businesses. This is according to World Bank estimates quoted in the Africa Agriculture Status Report which was released at the end of this year’s African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Cote d’Ivoire.
It then begs the question of how possible it is for Nigeria’s food import bill to be $22.5 billion if that of the entire African continent with an estimated 1.2 billion people is between $30 – 50 billion.
The more realistic conclusion

As shown by different sources backed by data and research, Nigeria’s food import bill is at least $5 billion annually, and at most in the range of $7 billion; about one-third of what Audu Ogbeh and Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of agriculture, and minister of state, respectively, assert it is.
The exaggeration it would seem, is far too much.
Conclusively however, World Population prospects published by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, noted Nigeria’s population, currently the seventh largest in the world, is growing the most rapidly, and it is projected to be 411 million by 2050. Invariably, the amount of food produced as a matter of urgency, will need to start increasing rapidly particularly as the country’s food import bill is no longer sustainable. More food needs to be produced; by Nigerians, for Nigerians, and someday, to feed the rest of Africa as well.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/agric-ministers-claim-food-import-bill-22-bn-exaggeration-taken-far/

A man has survived a 160km/h (99mph) ride holding on to the side of a high-speed train in Germany, officials say.
Deutsche Bahn said he grabbed plastic bellows connecting two carriages of the Bielefeld-Hannover express on Thursday, using just a small ledge to stand on.
The 59-year-old man acted after the ICE train with his luggage inside had started moving away from the station.
Rail officials alerted the driver, who slowed down the train before stopping at a station 25km down the track.
"The 59-year-old can thank the rail personnel for the fact that he is still alive," a police spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The man - who was unhurt and is believed to be from Romania - then continued his journey to Hannover inside the carriage.
He was later expected to be questioned by police, reports said.
It was not immediately clear whether any charges would be brought against him.
But in Nigeria we do it and this is often no news as it is a normal style of riding on trains. "It is gratifying to note that the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, has finally taken action – or so it seems – over the dangerous behaviour of hundreds of commuters who sit on the roofs of trains, especially in crowded metropolitan Lagos". It was reported while the situation persists.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41446340

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/safety-another-rails-challenge/

Innocent lives forever blighted: These young men were all accused of rape, had their names dragged through the mud - and then cleared. So, why are so many flawed cases coming to court?

Three young men have walked free from court having been cleared of rape in the past few days alone.
First, Joshua Lines was accused of forcing himself on an undergraduate friend following a boozy night out, despite being too drunk to even remember if they had sex.

Then there was Bartolomeo Joly de Lotbiniere, a high-flying York University student — also accused of attacking a woman after a night on the tiles — whose ‘victim’ only contacted police 14 months after the alleged incident when Joly de Lotbiniere appeared on a television quiz show.
Bartolomeo Joly de Lotbiniere, 22, was accused of raping a geography student at York University after a night out downing cheap spirits and alcopops

And finally, trainee accountant George Owen was found not guilty earlier this week after a jury was shown Facebook messages posted by his alleged victim in which she belittled the incident.
Given the evidence — or lack of it — many will question how these cases ever came to court.

But far from being one-offs, they are part of a steady stream of cases which follow a strikingly similar pattern.
A young man and a young woman, often friends or acquaintances, have sex after a drunken night out. With no other witnesses to the act, the central issue is that of consent. While the man claims the woman agreed to sex, she says — sometimes many months after the event — that she did not.
In each case, the Crown Prosecution Service (cps) decided there was sufficient evidence for the case to be put before a jury.
Only after months of waiting, their lives put on hold, were the accused finally able to tell their side of the story in court.
Time and again, juries have either believed them or the cases against them have collapsed. But even though they have been able to walk free from court, their names will forever be publicly linked with the lurid claims and counter-claims of a rape case.
Because unlike their accusers, who under the law are rightly granted anonymity for life, they have no such protection.
Earlier this year Judge Philip Shorrock wrote a letter to a newspaper lambasting the CPS over its handling of rape cases involving alcohol or drugs.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4935148/These-young-men-accused-rape-cleared.

brainpulse:
The same northern people this hippopotamus & hypocrite thief was abusing and cursing as if she was the one that created them.

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Advice no bi curse....she believes and rejoices with a society where life and living standard promote progress.