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Jailed former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, used front men and shell companies to acquire a hidden stake in privatised fertiliser company, Notore, a British police detective told a London court on Wednesday.

Detective Constable Peter Clark also said Ibori had bought two apartments in Washington in 2001 worth a total of $4.43m, previously unknown assets to add to a list of six other properties in four countries worth $11m.

According to Reuters, the court was shown footage of one of the properties, a palatial residence in Abuja complete with marble columns, crystal chandeliers and a private gym.

Ibori was jailed for 13 years in Britain last year after pleading guilty to 10 counts of money-laundering and fraud in one of the biggest embezzlement cases seen in the country.

A three-week confiscation hearing began at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Monday during which prosecutors will present evidence of Ibori’s assets and seek court orders to have them seized.

Clark, who has investigated Ibori’s finances since 2005, said the ex-governor was linked to Notore via a shell company incorporated in Mauritius and a circle of associates.

“It is my belief that James Ibori has some sort of hidden interest in the company, Notore,” Clark said.

A spokesman for Notore, who was present in court on Wednesday, denied that Ibori had hidden assets in the firm.

“He does not own shares in the company and no other shareholder or shareholders hold shares for him in trust so far as the company is aware,” the spokesman told Reuters, asking not to be named.

Notore, which is not listed, grew out of the state-owned fertiliser company, NAFCON, which went bust in 1999. As part of a privatisation programme, Notore took over NAFCON’s assets for $152m in 2005, according to its website.

Clark told the court that police had seized five files labelled NAFCON that linked Ibori to Notore at the office of London lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, who is serving a 10-year jail term for his role in laundering Ibori’s millions.

Gohil had incorporated a company in Mauritius under the name, Notore Chemical Industries Mauritius Limited, which Clark said appeared to be a shell company that would own part of Notore.

Gohil had written in 2005 to Jite Okoloko, now chief executive of Notore, asking him to “confirm your instructions” regarding NAFCON and giving bank coordinates for transfers.

Gohil also wrote a memo about a visit he made to Lagos in 2005 during which he took part in a meeting with Ibori, Okoloko and Henry Imasekha, who is named as a co-conspirator in one of the two British indictments against Ibori, Clark said.

Gohil’s memo said the men discussed how equity in Notore would be split between various shareholders. They put the value of the company once it would be up and running at $1.2bn.

A separate diagram drawn up by Gohil was described by prosecutor, Sasha Wass, as a “route map for the ownership of Notore.” It suggested that more than half of the firm, a stake valued at $39.7m, would go to Ibori, Okoloko and Imasekha.

Clark testified that a three per cent stake was allocated to Mike Orugbo, now a member of the Notore board.

“He was a front man used to purchase NAFCON from the Nigerian government. He obtained three per cent to do so,” Clark said.

http://www.punchng.com/news/british-detective-links-fertiliser-firm-notore-to-ibori/

The Federal Government has proposed a total of N14.07tn as budget for the next three years, with a proposal to spend N4.495tn in the 2014 fiscal year.

The 2014 proposal is N425bn less than the N4.92tn proposed by the Federal Government for 2013.

It also proposed N4.743tn and N4.839tn for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years, respectively.

These were contained in the 2014-2016 Medium Term Expenditure Framework submitted to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday.

The document, which was obtained by our correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, stated that the 2014 budget figure represented a 9.57 per cent drop from the 2013 budget of N4.987tn.

The government also projects that crude oil production will drop from the current 2.526 million barrels per day to 2.388 million bpd in 2014.

The MTEF also set $74 as the oil price benchmark for the 2014 fiscal period against the 2013 benchmark of $79 per barrel.

According to the document, the Excess Crude Account, whose balance stood at about $9bn at the end of 2012, declined to about $5bn in June 2013, following a series of draw downs to meet revenue shortfalls arising from the disruption of oil production.

The government stated in the document, “We have projected crude oil production for 2014 to be 2.3883mbpd. This figure is lower than 2.526mbpd budgeted in 2013.

“It is hoped that government’s efforts at tackling the (oil theft) problem will yield further results in the medium term, hence, production is estimated at 2.5007mbpd and 2.5497mbpd for 2015 and 2016.”

The document stated that the implementation of 2013 budget was on course, adding that as of the end of the second quarter, a total of N600bn had been released for the implementation of capital projects with cash backing of N598.89bn.

This, the government said, was due to the revenue challenges occasioned by reduced inflows for oil and non-oil revenue sources.

Of this amount, the actual utilisation as of the end of July was 71.5 per cent.

This is coming on a day the Senate resolved to begin deliberations on the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper presented to it by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Projections contained in the METF are expected to drive revenue generation efforts, as the document contains essential features such as the production quota, oil benchmark and revenue projection, which will guide Senators to legislate on the proposed 2014 budget.

The President of the Senate, David Mark, who presided over Wednesday’s plenary, advised his colleagues to study the document well, preparatory to proper deliberations on the budget when further details were provided.

Earlier, the Senate had unanimously agreed to review the 2013 budget performance on another legislative day so as to ascertain the true state of the nation’s economy.

This was sequel to a point of order moved by Senator Abdul Ningi, who drew the attention of his colleagues to a statement credited to the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, that the 2013 budget was no longer implementable.

Ningi said he was worried by the minister’s statement, which he noted should be a matter of great concern to his colleagues because the senior public officer had yet to deny the report.

He observed that part of the minister’s argument was that the benchmark being used for the budget was over bloated and had made it impossible to implement.

Ningi insisted that the alleged declaration by the minister should be discussed because the benchmark fixed for the 2013 budget was $79 whereas the current price of the commodity in the international market was $107 per barrel.

http://www.punchng.com/news/fg-proposes-n14tn-budget-for-three-years/

Eight people were injured in the attack at the base, where as many as 3,000 people work.

A helicopter rescues someone from Washington Navy Yard.

Civilians were escorted from Washington Navy Yard as law enforcement searched for the gunman.

Law enforcement officers arrived on the scene within minutes of Monday morning's shooting.

A gunman who died after killing 12 people at a naval installation in Washington DC has been identified as a former Navy serviceman.

Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, died in a gun battle with police during the rampage at Washington Navy Yard.

Eight others were injured in the attack, which began at around 8:20 local time (12:20 GMT) on Monday.

US President Barack Obama ordered flags be lowered to half mast at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

He said he mourned "yet another mass shooting" and condemned the "cowardly act".

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Continue reading the main story
Aaron Alexis

Born in New York City in 1979; last known address was Fort Worth, Texas
Full-time US Navy reservist from 2007 till discharge in 2011, ranked petty officer 3rd class
Awarded National Defense Service medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service medal
Said to have been Buddhist convert, but had gun-related brushes with law in 2004 and 2010
Profile: Aaron Alexis
No motive is known for the attack, whose dozen victims ranged in age from 46 to 73, said the authorities.

Police initially responded to reports of two other armed suspects, but after exhaustive searches Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier said on Monday night they were all but certain that Alexis was the only gunman.

Witnesses said the suspect sprayed bullets in a hallway and fired from a balcony down on to workers in an atrium at the heavily secured installation in the US capital.

He was reportedly armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun that he took from a police officer at the scene.

Chief Lanier told reporters that the attacker "was engaged in shooting with police officers" when he died. "There is no question he would have kept shooting," she added.

Valerie Parlave of the FBI said that the suspect, who was employed by a subcontractor that was working on a US Navy intranet network, had a valid pass to enter Washington Navy Yard.

Alexis was formerly a petty officer 3rd class who served full-time in the naval reserve from 2007-11, said the US Navy.

It was not immediately clear why he left the military, but unnamed military officers told US media there had been a series of misconduct issues during his service.

According to media reports, Alexis was a Buddhist convert who had had two previous gun-related brushes with the law.


Journalist Bud Kennedy describes Aaron Alexis as "serious" and "popular"
In 2004 he was arrested in Seattle for shooting a construction worker's car tyres, in what he described as an enraged "black-out".

And he was questioned by Fort Worth police in 2010 after firing his gun through the floor of an upstairs apartment. He said it was an accidental discharge.

In addition to those killed in Monday's rampage, one police officer was shot in the legs, a female civilian was shot in the head and hand, and another woman was treated for a shoulder wound.

All three were expected to recover, said Washington Hospital Center officials.

Five others required medical treatment, mostly for minor injuries, said Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray.

As news of the shooting emerged, emergency vehicles and police surrounded the complex, while helicopters hovered overhead.

The US Senate buildings and six nearby schools were temporarily placed on lockdown as a precaution, while flight departures were briefly suspended at Reagan National Airport.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24120333

It begins. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday for two days of talks, that could possibly extend to Saturday. The talks are meant to come up with a blueprint on how and when Syria will hand over its cache of chemical weapons. At the same time, the United States has started sending arms to Syrian rebels.
Here are the latest developments for Thursday in the ongoing civil war in Syria, and the international reaction to it.
-- Rebel groups, the Syrian National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army, deny they have received weapons from the United States.
"We have some promises from the U.S. administration of shipment of weapons in a short period of time, but until now we have not received any," Free Syrian Army Political and Media Coordinator Louay al-Mokdad told CNN. "We hope that in the next short period of time we will start receiving weapons because we have promises from EU countries and the U.S. that they will help us and support us."
Louay Safi, spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, said Syrian rebels are receiving weapons, "but not directly from the United States."
-- The United Nations report on last month's alleged chemical attack outside Damascus will "probably" be published on Monday and there will "certainly be indications" pointing the origin of the attack towards the Assad regime, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said during a live interview on French radio RTL in Paris on Thursday.
-- U.S.-funded weapons have begun flowing to Syrian rebels, a U.S. official told CNN. The official confirmed details first reported by the Washington Post but would not speak publicly.
Putin's Call for Peace Is America too war weary? Senator: Russia played a card on Syria Disarming the Assad regime
"That is something we are not going to dispute but we are not going to publicly speak to it," the official said.
The weapons, which are not American-made although are funded and organized by the CIA, started to reach rebels in the last two weeks, according to the source.
The artillery provided were described as light weapons, some anti-tank weapons and ammunition.This is in addition to the non-lethal aid that the U.S. has been providing.
-- Russian President Vladimir Putin took to The New York Times to argue against military intervention in Syria and jab his U.S. counterpart.
Using an op-ed "to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders ... at a time of insufficient communication between our societies," Putin made a case much like U.S. President Barack Obama did Tuesday night -- although their arguments could hardly have been more different.
Striking Syria would have many negative ramifications, Putin argued in a piece that went online Wednesday night, including the killing of innocent people, spreading violence around the Middle East, clouding diplomatic efforts to address Iran's nuclear crisis and resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "unleash(ing) a new wave of terrorism."
Moreover, the Russian leader said such action without the U.N. Security Council's approval "would constitute an act of aggression."
"It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance," Putin said.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/12/world/meast/syria-developments/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

AMERICA TO STRIKE SYRIA WITH LIMITED TARGETED STRIKE.. MORE DETAILS LATER


SOURCE:BBC

Pls how can download whatsapp on Nokia Asha 301? I was told it does not support the app.

Pls how can download whatsapp on Nokia Asha 301? I was told it does not support the app.

.Cost per mega watt: Nigeria spends N303m; Ethiopia N131m; China N163m

The Federal Government is spending N303 million on generation of each megawatt of electricity through the Zungeru hydro project, which is relatively more expensive than what obtains in Africa’s and world’s biggest hydro-power projects, according to a Daily Trust investigation.
The Zungeru project in Niger State, meant to generate 700 megawatts, will gulp $1.3 billion (N 212 billion), making the cost per mega watt to be about $1.857 million.
An analysis of the cost and capacity of hydro projects in other parts of the world showed that the Zungeru project is among the most expensive. It beats Africa’s biggest hydro-power plant which is located in Ethiopia as well as the world’s biggest, located in China.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will generate 6,000mw - that is nine times bigger than Zungeru - at the cost of $4.8 billion. This mean it would cost about N131 million ($800,000) per megawatt, less than half what it would cost the Federal Government through Zungeru.
The Three Gorges Dam in China, which is the world’s biggest hydro project with 22,550 mega watts, was completed in 2012 at the cost of N3.7 trillion ($22.5 billion). The per-megawatt cost is N163 million (about $997,782), slightly above half of what Nigeria is spending on the power to be generated by the Zungeru dam.
For its part, the second biggest hydro dam in the world, the Itaipu Dam, was built at N3.2 trillion ($19.6 billion) to generate 14,000mw, meaning a megawatt costs about N229 million ($1.4m). The dam is jointly owned by Brazil and Paraguay, and is situated along the borders of the two South American countries.
President Goodluck Jonathan flagged off the Zungeru project in May, with a completion date of 2018. The project was first initiated in 1982.
During the ground-breaking ceremony, Minister of State for Power Hajiya Zainab Kuchi said the cost of the project was “attractive”.
“The total cost of construction is USD 1.293 billion giving an attractive energy cost of less than 5 cent/kwh,” she had said.
When contacted for comments on this story, spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, Ms Kande Daniel, said Zungeru project was not expensive when compared to similar projects elsewhere.
In an emailed response to questions by Daily Trust, she said: “Information I gathered indicate that the construction cost of dams across the world is determined by more than one singular factor, say size, for instance. Topography and other factors come to play.
“We can safely conclude that no two dams are the same, and that cost of construction is not determined solely by size.
“Our engineers say also that the figures you see for Zungeru include the cost of transmission components as well as cost of evacuation of power.”
She said costs of other large hydro projects around the world range from $1 million to $7.6 million per kilowatt (sic), and therefore Zungeru “is comparatively on the low side.”
Slow pace
The Zungeru project is being executed by Chinese firm, CNEEC-Sinohydro Consortium, and financed on 25:75 debt equity ratio between Nigeria and the Exim Bank of China.
Though the cost of Zungeru is relatively higher, the Ethiopian project is moving faster. Both dams have the same completion date of 2018, and by April 2013, the Ethiopian project had reached 20 per cent completion just two years after flag off.
But four months after Jonathan performed the ground breaking ceremony of the Zungeru plant, only preparatory work has started at the project site, Daily Trust investigations revealed.
When a Daily Trust reporter visited the project site some weeks ago, few Chinese engineers were seen, carrying out some skeletal construction work.
CNEEC-Sinohydro’s deputy project manager, Mr. Xiaonie, said proper construction works were yet to start because another Chinese company, Hydrochina Kunming Engineering Corporation, was being awaited to deliver the engineering design of the project.
“We are waiting for the design from China. I do not know what is making the delay in the delivery of the engineering design. If we do not have the design, we can’t start any meaningful work,” he said.
He said it would take another three months before construction work would begin at the site, when the design would have been delivered and equipment being shipped from China would have arrived.
He said they were now putting up temporary structures that would serve as offices and housing accommodation for the staff of his company, as well as clearing the site for the construction of permanent housing and office accommodation.
During the ground-breaking ceremony in May, Kuchi had also said the project would water about 5,000 hectares of land among 88 communities in three local governments of Shiroro, Rafi and Wushishi.
Zungeru is second biggest hydro power station after Kainji to be built in Niger state, swelling the number of stations in the state to four-the others being Jebba and Shiroro.
The dam transmission lines would link Jebba-Shiroro line and the line at Tegina to feed the national grid, she had said.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Habu Usman, a farmer in the area, said they were beginning to lose confidence because of what he called delay in executing the project.
“My prayer is that the government is not playing politics with the project, considering the snail speed at which the project takes off and for the fact that next general election is around the corner,” he said.
Chairman of Zungeru Development Association, Malam Salmanu Yusuf, said earlier hitches over compensation have been resolved.
“At the beginning, the project suffered some hiccups, but now all has been resolved. Initially issue of compensation hindered the progress of work at the project site, but now the first half of beneficiaries has been paid and the second batch will soon be paid,” Yusuf said.


http://dailytrust.info/index.php/top-stories/5013-i-n-v-e-s-t-i-g-a-t-i-o-n-zungeru-hydro-among-world-s-most-expensive

The federal government yesterday threatened to scrap the National Youth Council of Nigeria, (NYCN) if the struggle for power among the various factions continues.
The crisis led to the sack of the former youth minister Inuwa Abdulkadir.
Supervising minister of Youth Development, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, made the threat in Abuja at a meeting convened with key youth stakeholders in the country in attendance.
Abdullahi said the federal government would not hesitate to partner with other youth groups if the council fails to serve the interest of the Nigerian youths that they are representing.
He said the federal government is obliged to youths in the country but not to the NYCN, adding that if they cannot help resolve challenges facing youths, government will be forced to partner with other youth organisations.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Tunji Olaopa, while describing the crises as a struggle for power, said the youth would remain emasculated, disenfranchised and insignificant if there is no platform to hear their voice.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to apologise to the former Youth minister Abdulkadir, who he sacked due to the alleged failure to conduct election of the council.
HURIWA’s request for an apology is contained in a statement signed by its national coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko and national media affairs director, Miss Zainab Yusuf.
The association described as “wrongful and deceitful” the sacking of the minister, adding that, the explanation given by the presidency on the matter is “absurd”.
HURIWA expressed disappointment on the handling of the issue, saying that, “President Jonathan will approve the sacking of his cabinet minister ‘Gestapo’ style through a broadcast by a lowly-rated media assistant in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation”, the statement said.

http://dailytrust.info/index.php/news/4875-fg-threatens-to-scrap-youth-council

The Federal Government has said that the nation will shut down if all the demands by striking university lecturers were to be met.
Information Minister Labaran Maku stated this in Abuja yesterday while addressing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
He was specifically reacting to why the government was yet to reach a compromise with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) amidst its claim of spending huge resources on the development of tertiary education in the country.
Maku appealed to the ASUU to have a rethink on its demands and understand that there were many competing demands from other sectors.
He said the huge funds spent to restore normalcy in some hitherto crisis-torn parts of the North could have been used to develop the educational sector.
“If we say we will not work until every particular problem we face in this country is resolved, then, I am sure there is no sector that will work. If we all insist that every sector’s problem must be completely solved, that we will down tools and that we will not work, then, the country will stop working,” he said.
“We are partners of the ASUU. We are friends. They are our patriots, and we understand the critical role that the universities teachers are playing in creating a new society that we are hoping to have. But at the same time, this is a reality question that we need to look at and we have to put the nation first.
“I know that all of us desire more from the system, but the truth is that there are limitations and from the limitations we have, we believe that the ASUU really needs to do rethink and ensure that we reopen our universities because really, we are feeling the pain of our children being at home and this, indeed, is completely avoidable,” Maku said.
http://dailytrust.info/index.php/top-stories/4808-ASUU-demands-will-cripple-govt-fg

Dangote Group, the West African conglomerate founded by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to borrow an additional $3.3 billion to invest in a $9 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Nigeria, Nigeria’s BusinessDay has reported.

According to a company official who spoke to BusinessDay, a consortium of local and foreign banks will finance the project. The Dangote Group and the consortium of financial institutions will officially sign the term loan agreements on Wednesday, September 4.

The refinery, which will be located at the Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas (OKLNG) Free Trade Zone in Nigeria’s southwest region, will be Nigeria’s first private and Africa’s largest petroleum refinery, with a projected daily production output of 400,000 barrels a day. The refinery is expected to decrease Nigeria’s dependence on oil imports and boost Aliko Dangote’s fortune significantly in the medium to long term.

While the Nigerian government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna have a installed refining capacity of 415,000 barrels per day, they operate at less than 30% of their capacity. This means that Nigeria, one of Africa’s top oil producers, relies heavily on foreign refineries.

In May this year, Dangote raised $4.5 billion from a consortium of Nigerian banks for this same project. The Dangote Group is committing $3.5 billion of its own equity to the project and is seeking an additional $2.25 billion from development funds. The total cost of the project is pegged at between $9 and $10 billion, a figure that easily ranks among the largest contributions by a private sector group to Nigeria’s economy.


“We are not resting on our oars as we seek to make possible what could be the single largest contribution to this government’s economic transformation agenda, with our investment of $9 billion in the largest refinery/petrochemical/fertiliser complex in Africa,” said a Dangote Group official who spoke to Business Daily.

Dangote was ranked 43rd on Forbes 2013 World’s Billionaires list with a fortune of $16.1 billion in March. His fortune, most of which lies in shares of publicly traded Dangote Cement , has since climbed to $19.9 billion.

The refinery is expected to be fully operational by 2016.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2013/08/28/nigerian-billionaire-aliko-dangote-to-borrow-3-3-billion-for-refinery-project/

His interview with the doomed American President 'Tricky Dicky' Richard Nixon in 1977 was a TV classic.

Veteran broadcaster Sir David Frost has died of a heart attack at 74. Pictured with wife Carin

Sir David Frost has died from a heart attack at the age of age of 74
He had been giving a speech on the Queen Elizabeth on Saturday
Forced President Nixon to admit involvement in Watergate Scandal
Has been described a 'fearsome interviewer' by David Cameron
Sir Michael Parkinson said he 'never said a nasty word' about anyone

Veteran broadcaster Sir David Frost has died at the age of 74 after a heart attack while on board a cruise ship.

A family statement said he was aboard the Queen Elizabeth on Saturday night where he was to give a speech.

Sir David's career spanned journalism, comedy writing and daytime television presenting, including The Frost Report.

Internationally, he will be remembered for his revealing interviews with former US President Richard Nixon.

A statement said: "His family are devastated and ask for privacy at this difficult time. A family funeral will be held in the near future and details of a memorial service will be announced in due course."

The BBC's Barney Jones edited his Breakfast with Frost programme on the BBC for more than 10 years.

Of his friend and colleague, he said: "David loved broadcasting, did it brilliantly for more than 50 years and was eagerly looking forward to a host of projects - including interviewing the prime minister next week - before his sudden and tragic death. We will all miss him enormously."

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Sir David was an extraordinary man, with charm, wit, talent, intelligence and warmth in equal measure.

"He made a huge impact on television and politics."

Hello, good evening....
Born in Kent, Sir David studied at Cambridge University where he became secretary of the Footlights club, and met future comedy greats such as Peter Cook, Graham Chapman and John Bird.

Continue reading the main story
“
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He so effortlessly roamed all across the piste... from comedy to current affairs to light entertainment for 50 years”

Loyd Grossman
After university he went to work at ITV before he was asked to front the BBC programme That Was The Week That Was, which ran between 1962 and 1963.

Casting a satirical eye over the week's news, the show boasted scriptwriters including John Cleese, John Betjeman and Dennis Potter.

The Frost Report brought together John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in a sketch show which would influence many comedy writers including the Monty Python crew.

Sir David's often-mimicked catchphrase "hello, good evening and welcome" was by now in full use.

One of The Frost Report's most enduring pieces was the "class sketch", featuring Cleese, Barker and Corbett.

The Frost Programme for ITV followed, which saw Sir David move away from comedy into in-depth interviews with political figures, royalty and celebrities.

It was on this programme that he had a terse interview with then prime minister Margaret Thatcher over the sinking of the Argentine cruiser Belgrano during the Falklands conflict.

At the same time, Sir David began work on The David Frost Show in the US.

He later conducted a series of interviews with Mr Nixon, who had resigned the presidency two years earlier, in which the former president came close to apologising to the public for his role in the Watergate scandal.

Their exchanges were eventually made into the film Frost/Nixon - based on a play - which saw Michael Sheen portray Sir David Frost to Frank Langella's Nixon. Sir David himself appeared at the premiere of the film in 2008.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23920336

Eating more fruit, particularly blueberries, apples and grapes, is linked to a reduced risk of developing type-2 diabetes, suggests a study in the British Medical Journal.

Blueberries cut the risk by 26% compared with 2% for three servings of any whole fruit - but fruit juice did not appear to have the same effect.

The research looked at the diets of more than 187,000 people in the US.

But Diabetes UK said the results of the study should be treated with caution.

Researchers from the UK, US and Singapore used data from three large studies of nurses and health professionals in the US to examine the link between fruit consumption and the risk of contracting type-2 diabetes.

In these studies, 6.5% of participants (12,198 out of 187,382) developed type-2 diabetes.

The studies used food frequency questionnaires to follow up the participants every four years, asking how often, on average, they ate a standard portion of each fruit.

The fruits used in the study were grapes or raisins, peaches, plums or apricots, prunes, bananas, cantaloupe, apples or pears, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries and blueberries.

The researchers' analysis of the data showed that three servings per week of blueberries, grapes and raisins, and apples and pears significantly reduced the risk of type-2 diabetes.

While all fruit was shown to reduce the risk, these fruits appeared to be particularly effective.

The researchers said this could be due to the fact these fruits contain high levels of anthocyanins, which have been shown to enhance glucose uptake in mice. The same fruits contain naturally-occurring polyphenols which are known to have beneficial effects.

In the study paper, they wrote: "Fruits have highly variable contents of fibre, antioxidants, other nutrients, and phytochemicals that jointly may influence the risk."

But the glycaemic load of different types of fruit - the quality and quantity of carbohydrate they contain - did not fully explain the results, the study said.

Juice effect
When they looked at the effects of fruit juice consumption, the researchers found a slightly increased risk of type-2 diabetes.

The study calculated that replacing weekly fruit juice consumption with whole fruits could bring health benefits.

For example, replacing fruit juice with blueberries could reduce the risk of contracting type-2 diabetes by 33%, with grapes and raisins by 19%, apples and pears by 13% - and with any combination of whole fruit by 7%.

Replacing fruit juice with oranges, peaches, plums and apricots had a similar effect.

Qi Sun, study author and assistant professor at Harvard School of Public Health, said, in general, fruit juices contained less of the beneficial compounds found in whole fruits.

"The juicing process gets rid of the fruit, just leaving fluids which are absorbed more quickly, causing blood sugars and insulin levels to rise if they contain sugars.

"To try to minimise the risk of type-2 diabetes as much as possible it is reasonable to reduce fruit juice consumption and increase consumption of whole fruits."

Experts say the best way to reduce your risk of developing type-2 diabetes is to eat a balanced, healthy diet that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables and to be as physically active as possible.

'Unreliable'
Dr Matthew Hobbs, head of research for Diabetes UK, said the study provided further evidence that eating plenty of whole fruit was a key part of the balanced diet that will minimise the risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

However, he said the links between type-2 diabetes and specific types of fruit or fruit drinks should be treated with caution.

"Some of the findings are based on a number of assumptions and models which may have distorted the results significantly.

"For example, the researchers used surveys to ask participants how often they ate certain foods. This type of survey can often be unreliable as people are more likely to remember certain types of food."

Kamlesh Khunti, professor of primary care diabetes and vascular medicine at the University of Leicester, said the large study showed that eating any fruit is good.

"Eating all kinds of fruit works and there is still a reduction in risk.

"The government recommends eating five portions of fruit and vegetables every day."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23880701


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One of the biggest canyons in the world has been found beneath the ice sheet that smothers most of Greenland.

The canyon - which is 800km long and up to 800m deep - was carved out by a great river more than four million years ago, before the ice arrived.

It was discovered by accident as scientists researching climate change mapped Greenland’s bedrock by radar.

The British Antarctic Survey said it was remarkable to find so huge a geographical feature previously unseen.

The hidden valley is longer than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It snakes its way from the centre of Greenland up to the northern coastline and before the ice sheet was formed it would have contained a river gushing into the Arctic Ocean. Now it is packed with ice.

The ice sheet, up to 3km (2 miles) thick, is now so heavy that it makes the island sag in the middle (central Greenland was previously about 500m above sea level, now it is 200m below sea level).

The canyon still runs “downhill”, though, and meltwater from the ice sheet seeps out below sea level at the northern end – at a relative trickle, rather than a torrent. Glaciologists think the canyon plays an important role in transporting sub-glacial meltwater produced at the bed towards the ocean.


The canyon was discovered by researchers working on one of the great scientific puzzles – how much will the Greenland ice sheet contribute to sea level rise if, as predicted, the Arctic continues to warm as greenhouse gases increase?

They sought the answer with myriad flights using radar to bounce signals back off the bedrock underneath. Ice is transparent to radio waves at certain frequencies.

Studying the data collected mainly by Nasa and researchers from the UK and Germany over decades, they were amazed to stumble across the canyon.

The lead author, Prof Jonathan Bamber of Bristol University said: "With satellite images instantly available on a mobile phone we could assume that the Earth has been fully mapped, but there's clearly a lot left to discover. We're incredibly excited about this - it really is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery to find something on this scale."

Prof David Vaughan from British Antarctic Survey (Bas) told BBC News: “The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets hide a lot. It’s pretty surprising to find this canyon. Greenland isn’t that big for a canyon of that size, and for it to survive in its pre-glacial form after successive glaciations is quite something.”

Prof Vaughan said the canyon would have been partly uncovered at the time of the last interglacial 100,000 years ago. “There’s likely be some sort of bacteria down there - whether it’s viable is a different matter,” he said.

The canyon has never been seen by humans, who didn't exist four million years ago. If the Greenland ice sheet melts completely it will raise global sea level by 7 metres and swamp many major cities, so hopefully this is one great geographical feature that won't become a tourist destination.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23866810

A severed human head has been sent to the boss of Kenya's police commission, Johnston Kavuludi, who has been trying to reform the service.

A box containing the head and two human hands covered in blood also had the message: "Kavuludi, you are next".

The police say they are interpreting it as a death threat.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Nairobi says the incident appears to show that, in some quarters at least, opposition to reforming Kenya's police runs deep.

He says Kenya's officers are often described as among the most corrupt in the region.

Mr Kavuludi was appointed last year to lead efforts to reform the police force.

This was identified as one of the key challenges following the post-election violence five years ago in which more than 1,000 people were killed.

According to the Daily Nation newspaper, the box was covered in yellow polythene and was deposited in a flower bed outside the National Police Service Commission offices in central Nairobi.

The police were alerted about two hours after the box was left on Thursday afternoon.

Nairobi police chief Benson Kibui linked the head to the previous discovery of a torso on a farm outside the city, the Daily Nation reports.

Source:BBC

The craving of Nigerian youth to acquire paper qualification at all costs was the focus of a public discourse during the orientation programme of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) early in May.
It was learnt that some desperate youth pay various sums of money to be awarded degrees by unaccredited educational institutions. Sixty-two of such ‘graduates’ were arrested at a fake NYSC orientation camp in Nasarawa State recently. When they were quizzed, they confessed that they paid some money to acquire degree certificates to enable them to participate in the NYSC scheme and subsequently secure employment.
“We paid between N120,000 and N200,000 to be admitted into the camp,’’ one of the fake graduates said.
They said that after acquiring the degree certificates, they also needed NYSC discharge certificates to complete the circle, as NYSC certificate was a prerequisite for employment.
Stakeholders and experts have blamed the growing obsession for paper qualification on the type of education that was bequeathed to Nigeria by the British colonialists. They also attribute the high unemployment rate in the country to the preference for the acquisition of certificates instead of skills.
Mr Edmund Onwuliri, Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, National Directorate of Employment (NDE), said that one of the problems facing the country was the erroneous emphasis placed on paper certificates. “Everybody believes that you can only be productive when you have gone to school, but then what is education? Education is what arms you with the right language to give expression to your natural talents,’’ he said.
Mr Bayo Omoboriowo, a graduate of Chemistry from the University of Lagos, urged the people to desist from undue obsession for certificates. “A certificate is a document which simply certifies the completion of a course. It places power in your hands to enable you to access what the certificate has the tendency to offer,’’ said Omoboriowo, who is now a photographer.
He stressed that the acquisition of certificates should not be a do-or-die affair, adding that a person could still make it in life without necessarily possessing a certificate.
Omoboriowo said that he developed interest in photography at a very early age, adding that he later decided to adopt photography as a profession even though he studied Chemistry in the university.
He conceded that his education had helped him to harness his potentials.
“Young people don’t have to worship certificates; all they need to do is to ensure that they get enough knowledge to make them relevant in this time and age.
“Your skill and talent would always make a way for you. In a case where the acquisition of certificate seems to be problematic, then skill acquisition might be a way out.
“It is observed that many people who are not so good in regular school work could be very good in technical education; so, there should be provision for technical education and human development in our scheme of things,’’ he said.
Samson Agboko, a civil servant, urged parents to refrain from forcing their children to study particular courses.
He said that although parents ought to guide their children in making career choices, their courses of study should be determined by their individual abilities.
Nevertheless, Onwuliri said that efforts to address the high level of unemployment in the country require a shift of emphasis toward skill acquisition and technical education.
“The fact that you have a university degree does not guarantee that you are going to get a good job or live well. All the same, anyone who knows how to apply his hands to work in a pragmatic way will live better.
“White-collar jobs are in short supply nowadays and the economy is struggling.
“It is only when the economy is vibrant that you begin to see more room being created to absorb the labour force but if the economy is wobbly, what do you expect?’’ he asked.
Onwuliri noted that most of the artisans who engaged in house-finishing tasks like tiling, Plaster of Paris (POP) fittings, among others, were from neighbouring countries like Togo and Republic of Benin. He said that the foreigners were usually preferred to their Nigerian counterparts because they were very competent and resourceful.
“We have been advocating the incorporation of entrepreneurship development into the curriculum at all levels of education, particularly in secondary and post-secondary institutions. That is a veritable way of promoting skill acquisition.
“We are also encouraging graduates to learn skills after graduation and that is why the NDE is establishing skill acquisition centres all over the country.
“We have up to 80 different trades that we offer training on and we counsel you first and after the counseling, you select what you want and you will be trained in that area.
“NDE has offices in all the states of the federation and the FCT, so you are free to walk into any of the offices to make enquiries,’’ Onwuliri added.
All the same, analysts insist that the government and other stakeholders should play greater roles in efforts to check the perceptible mania for paper certificates.
They argue that measures should be put in place to enable the youth to harness their potentials and check the endless search for white collar jobs.

http://dailytrust.info/index.php/news/4198-nigerians-obsession-with-certificates

A House of Representatives committee has uncovered what it called massive tax fraud by 21 commercial banks in the past seven years.
The House Committee on Finance, which has been probing tax remittances to government coffers by banks between 2006 and 2013, said yesterday this was part of the findings of its investigation.
Chairman of the committee, Rep Abdulmumin Jibrin (PDP, Kano), who released the initial findings in Abuja yesterday, said commercial banks have dubiously turned taxes collected on behalf of the government into another venture.
He said in a statement that “balances reported in the published audited accounts of some banks show huge variance with the figures submitted to the committee, and data submitted to the CBN in their monthly returns on the same issues were found to be different from what was tendered before the committee.”
Jibrin, who did not mention the amount involved, said, “It is obvious that over the years government has lost billions of naira in fraudulent and underhand dealings corruptly designed by some banks to evade tax. This is in addition to being massively and callously short-changed by banks saddled with the responsibility of collecting and remitting taxes.”
He said it was also discovered that some banks created exemption rules for themselves in total disregard for the provisions of extant tax laws, particularly violations of the stamp duty, withholding tax and VAT acts, with some chief executives deliberately refusing to make available the required information to the committee.
He said there were inconsistencies and huge variances in some data provided in different pages of documents submitted to the committee, thus making it “to conclude that many banks blatantly engage in the creative accounting technique of inflating their operating costs to reduce their exposure to taxes.”
“Preliminary findings show a poor quality of returns by the Banks, discrepancies in data submitted, outright refusal to present documentary evidence and blanket violations of existing laws, self exemption from existing rules, false declaration, manipulation and distortion of information among others.
“There are also many cases of late remittances or outright failure to remit money collected on behalf of government. These despicable acts of gross misconduct clearly depict the unscrupulous and roguish character of some banks and their chief executive officers. For the Committee on Finance, this is unacceptable,” he added.

http://dailytrust.info/index.php/top-stories/3963-reps-uncover-massive-tax-fraud-in-banks

Bradley Manning plans to live as a woman named Chelsea and wants to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible, the soldier said Thursday, a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for sending classified material to WikiLeaks.

Manning announced the decision in a written statement provided to NBC's "Today" show, asking supporters to refer to him by his new name and the feminine pronoun. The statement was signed "Chelsea E. Manning."

"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," the statement read.

Manning's defense attorney David Coombs told "Today" in an interview that he is hoping officials at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., will accommodate Manning's request for hormone therapy.

"If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure they are forced to do so," Coombs said.

Coombs did not respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press on Thursday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/22/bradley-manning-chelsea-manning_n_3794629.html?1377177261

[s]Insurgents Dressed As Soldiers Kill 4 In Kano[/s]
Insurgents Dressed As Soldiers Kill 4 In Borno

If he had given his life to Jesus, it will not make headline news... behold is on the frontpage. what a wasted and perversed generation. may God have mercy on us...

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