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10 Feared Dead in Lokoja Tanker Accident by Raphael Bichene

10 Feared Dead in Lokoja Tanker Accident by Raphael Bichene

Not less than 10 persons have been confirmed dead after a petrol tanker exploded at Felele area of Lokoja, Kogi State Capital, on Wednesday.

According to witnesses, the incident occurred around 8:00 a.m. when the tanker lost control and rammed into oncoming vehicles.

Some of the victims include Kogi polytechnic students and a primary school pupil.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that for more than one hour, no fire service within the state capital responded to the emergency.

Reacting to the explosion, the Kogi state Governor, Yahaya Bello, expressed shock and sorrow.

In the statement signed by his spokesperson, Onogwu Muhammed, the governor expressed his condolence to the families of those affected by the occurrence.

“It is very sad to learn of the tragic loss of lives, many vehicles, property and other valuables in the petrol tanker fire.”

The governor, however, urged the students of Kogi State Polytechnic to remain calm and peaceful, stating that he shared in their grieving moment over the death of some of their colleagues in the disaster.

Source: Premium Times

Eiffel Tower Closed For Two Hours After Bomb Threat by Raphael Ogar

Eiffel Tower Closed For Two Hours After Bomb Threat by Raphael Ogar

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated for two hours Wednesday after an anonymous caller threatened to blow up the great edifice in the heart of the French capital, police said.

After an inspection, nothing suspicious was found and the Eiffel Tower was able to reopen to visitors.

“A man phoned up, shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ and said he was going to ‘blow up everything’” at the Eiffel Tower, said a police source, who asked not to be named.

A security cordon was put around the monument, traffic diverted and the Eiffel Tower evacuated at 12:15 pm (1015 GMT).

Its operator SETE said in a statement that after a thorough search nothing was found and the tower was able to reopen at 2:15 pm.

The monument had reopened on June 26 after its longest closure since World War II forced by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Eiffel Tower usually receives about seven million visitors a year, some three-quarters from abroad, although even after reopening numbers are down sharply due to travel restrictions amid the pandemic.

Source: AFP

Former World Heaviest Man Defeats Coronavirus. By Raphael Bichene

Former World Heaviest Man Defeats Coronavirus. By Raphael Bichene

Mexican who was once the world’s heaviest man has beaten the coronavirus, helped — he believes — by several years of dieting, exercise and stomach-reduction surgery that saw him shed hundreds of kilos.Juan Pedro Franco used to weigh 595 kilos (1,310 pounds) — more than the average male polar bear and enough to be certified by Guinness World Records in 2017.The 36-year-old now weighs around 208 kilos, but his history of diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease made his battle against the virus particularly grueling.“It’s a very aggressive disease. I had a headache, body ache, breathing difficulty, a fever. I was a very high-risk person,” Franco told AFP from his home in the central state of Aguascalientes.Mexico, which has the world’s fourth-highest COVID-19 death toll, has the highest obesity rate on the planet among children and the second-highest among adults.A quarter of the more than 74,000 Mexicans who have died after catching the virus were overweight.Many of the dead suffered from at least one underlying condition such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity, often associated with a poor diet and lack of exercise.“Patients who are diabetic, have hypertension and heart disease are more susceptible to serious complications” from the virus, said Jose Antonio Castaneda, the doctor who headed the team that treated Franco’s obesity.“Their chances of pulling through are very slim,” he added.His patient, who was once too heavy to get out of bed, was an exception.Franco, who lost his 66-year-old mother to COVID-19, believes that his weight loss treatment — including three operations — helped him to survive because his diabetes and hypertension are now under control.

Nigeria at Risk Without Restructuring by Ada Nkong

Nigeria at Risk Without Restructuring by Ada Nkong

The Pan African Institute for Global Affairs and Strategy (PAIGAS) made up of Retired Career Ambassadors and Distinguish Intellectuals says Nigeria is at risk unless it finds the courage to restructure.

PAIGAS made this submission following a video conferencing which focused on two items on the list of the Senate circular namely, the Federal Structure and Power Devolution; and Nigeria Police and Nigerian Security Architecture.

The NGO had earlier received an invitation from the Senator Omo- Agege Chaired 1991 constitutional review committee to submit a memorandum. The NGO appreciated the committee stating that the review is timely.

“Immense thanks and appreciation are due to the Distinguish Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) for extending invitation to Nigerians of all strata to respond to their laudable effort to review the 1999 Constitution (as amended)”.

“This initiative of the Ad-hoc Committee is not only timely and apt, but also crucially important, given the humongous challenges that our country faces at this time in all spheres of national life, including even the existential threat”.

As a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), The Pan African Institute for Global Affairs and Strategy (PAIGAS) made up of Retired Career Ambassadors and Distinguish Intellectuals, is privileged and honored to be able to respond to this patriotic call of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee and make its contribution. 

See below the brief on the video conferencing

On the 3rd of September 2020, PAIGAS organized a video conference for three hours involving academics, intellectuals and retired Career Ambassadors of Nigerian extraction from within and outside the country. A copy of the report of the conference is herewith attached for the ease of your reference. Essentially, the discussions at the conference These issues were robustly discussed within the context of the National Conference of 2014 with recommendations proffered on political restructuring and State Policing. The argument was that the Nigerian state is currently challenged by a crisis of transformation but that “if the core issues upon which Nigerians are divided are collectively addressed, agreed upon and enshrined in the Constitution, the potential for eliciting real transformation in the country will be achieved.” Nigeria is at risk unless it finds the courage to restructure, and restructuring Nigeria definitely transcends the politics of party loyalty.

Another point made during the video interaction was the need to resuscitate the conclusions and recommendations of the 2014 National Conference with reference to political restructuring, form of government, national security and the question of State Police. In this connection, the point was amply made that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) was defective in the sense that it vested too much power in the President of the Federation with the subjection of the exercise of most of the Executive powers of the State to the Executive powers of the Central Government.

Additionally, a pertinent question was asked at the video conference: “As a Country, are we ready to move from State to Nation?” It was argued that “For many, Nigeria as politically constituted is stifling, retrogressive and Anti-Federalist” and the non-implementation of the recommendations of the Conference has done great disservice to the Nigerian State and Citizens.

Another perspective that came out of the interaction vis-à-vis the 1999 Constitution (as amended) was the need expressed for emphasizing leadership implementation. In this connection, a robust call was made on the need to focus on the implementation of the Constitution by ensuring that the various arms of government are held accountable for their actions or inactions, and that the country’s leadership works towards consciously developing an advanced economy. Leadership, particularly of the political class, must stop the reckless abuse of the Federal Character principle and focus on merit, competency and inclusiveness in its actions and policies.

Another point that emerged during the web interaction was that Nigeria is a Federalism in search of a workable Federalism. Consequently, it is imperative that we agree that Nigeria, as presently constituted, is not a Nation and should not be treated as one. It was also stressed that our Federal system is over-centralized especially as the 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants the Federal Government sixty-eight items on the exclusive list and thirty items on the concurrent list. To address some of these challenges, it was proposed that accountability and transparency must guide governance at all levels, not the pursuit of political, selfish and sectional interests. There is need to shift focus from Nationalism (nation building) to State building with citizens embracing and acknowledging that we are different, but can work together to advance State development.

Conclusion

Distinguished Deputy Senate President, Distinguished Senators and members of the Ad-Hoc Committee:

We have thoroughly deliberated on the mandate of the Ad-Hoc Committee and your request for perspectives of citizens like us and hence we make the following conclusion.

What else is there to say? We must address once again a pertinent question which had been earlier asked and which is central to this whole matter of constitutional review and work of the Ad-Hoc Committee. Are we, as Nigerians, ready to move from State to Nation? Few will doubt today that Nigeria, as presently constituted, is in a state of crisis, but crisis and conflicts are not necessarily caused by diversity of peoples but rather by the way multi culturalisms are managed and how they relate to the structure of power. It is our considered view that the remarkable work and decisions produced from the 2014 National Conference are vital assets for addressing these challenges.

Consequently, there is no need for Nigerians to further expend energy, time and resources re-hashing well thought out recommendations on how to re-structure, re-new and re-position the country. The issues, the how and who should implement the interventions have already been articulated and presented to the Government and Nigerians. The onus lies on us all, especially the Law – making arm of Government, to ensure the enactment and implementation of the key recommendations of this very important national exercise which many thought would never have happened.

Submitted with the highest regards.

Ambassador (Dr) Martin Uhomoibhi Professor Osita Agbu

OFR, KSJI, KSGG, D. PHIL (OXON) B.Sc,, Pol.Sc, M.Sc, Ph.D

President/Founder PAIGAS

Assange Complains of Hearing Voices in Prison- Psychiatrist by Raphael Bichene

Assange Complains of Hearing Voices in Prison- Psychiatrist by Raphael Bichene

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange complained of hearing imaginary voices and music while detained in a high-security British prison, a psychiatrist who has interviewed him told his extradition hearing on Tuesday.

Michael Kopelman, a psychiatrist who has interviewed Assange around 20 times, said the former hacker would be a “very high” suicide risk if he were extradited to the United States for leaking military secrets.

He cited as evidence Assange’s “severe depression” and “psychotic symptoms”, which included auditory hallucinations while in solitary confinement in his cell at the high-security Belmarsh Prison in southwest London.

Kopelman told the Old Bailey court in central London that Assange said he hallucinated music and voices saying “you are dust, you are dead, we are coming to get you”.

Assange’s suicidal impulses “arise out of clinical factors… but it is the imminence of extradition that will trigger the attempt,” he added, warning “he will deteriorate substantially” if extradited.

Assange’s partner Stella Moris has previously said she feared he would take his own life, leaving their two young sons without a father.

James Lewis, representing the US government, quizzed Kopelman over the veracity of some of Assange’s claims, suggesting he may have made them up.

Assange faces 18 charges under the US Espionage Act relating to the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Washington claims he helped intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal the documents before exposing confidential sources around the world.

If convicted, Assange — who has been held at Belmarsh for the last 16 months — could be jailed for up to 175 years.

US authorities recently laid out new evidence, alleging that Assange and others at the whistleblowing site recruited hackers.

The extradition hearing is the latest in a series of legal battles faced by Assange since the leaks a decade ago.

In 2010, he faced allegations of sexual assault and rape in Sweden, which he denied.

He was in Britain at the time but dodged an attempt to extradite him to Sweden by claiming political asylum in Ecuador’s embassy in London.

For seven years he lived in a small apartment in the embassy, but after a change of government in Ecuador, Quito lost patience with its guest and turned him over to British police in April 2019.

Source: AFP

Donald Trump Maintains Bank Account in China-NY Times by FranciscaOgar

Donald Trump Maintains Bank Account in China-NY Times by FranciscaOgar

US President Donald Trump has a Chinese bank account and spent years pursuing business projects in the country, the New York Times has reported.

The account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management and paid local taxes between 2013 and 2015.

It was set up “to explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia”, according to a Trump spokesman.

Mr Trump has been critical of US firms doing business in China and sparked a trade war between the two countries.

The NY Times revealed the account after obtaining Mr Trump’s tax records, which included both personal and company financial details.

The newspaper’s previous reports show he paid $750 (£580) in US federal taxes in 2016 and 2017, when he became president.

The Chinese bank account has paid out $188,561 in local taxes.

Mr Trump has been critical of presidential candidate rival Joe Biden and his policies towards China in the lead-up to the US election, taking place on 3 November.

The Trump administration has singled out Mr Biden’s son Hunter and made unsubstantiated claims about his dealings with China. Joe Biden’s income tax returns and public financial disclosures show no business dealings connected to China.

Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organisation, described the NY Times story as “pure speculation” and said that it made “incorrect assumptions”.

He told the paper that Trump International Hotels Management had “opened an account with a Chinese bank having offices in the United States in order to pay the local taxes”.

“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialised and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” Mr Garten said.

“Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose,” he told the NY Times.

The US president has multiple business interests both in the US and overseas. These include golf courses in Scotland and Ireland and a chain of five-star luxury hotels.

The NY Times reported that Mr Trump maintains foreign bank accounts in China, Britain and Ireland.

Source: BBC news

Trump Vows to Block any TikTok Deal that Allows Chinese Control by Raphael Bichene

Trump Vows to Block any TikTok Deal that Allows Chinese Control by Raphael Bichene

President Donald Trump on Monday threw into doubt a deal to restructure ownership of the popular video app TikTok, vowing to block any deal that allows its Chinese parent firm to retain any control.

The comments raised fresh concerns over a weekend deal that appeared to avert a US-ordered ban of TikTok, which the Trump administration has called a national security risk.

The deal would make Silicon Valley giant Oracle the data partner for TikTok with retail giant Walmart also taking a stake in a new entity to be called TikTok Global.

But details of the plan remained unclear, amid differing accounts on the American and Chinese shares of the new firm, and who would be in control of the data and algorithms.

Trump on Monday told Fox News that TikTok’s Chinese parent firm ByteDance “will have nothing to do with it and if they do, then we just won’t make the deal.”

He added Oracle and Walmart “are going to have total control over it. They’re going to own the controlling interest… If we find they don’t have total control, then we’re not going to approve the deal.”

ByteDance, under pressure in China not to give in to US demands, said it would hold an 80 percent stake in TikTok Global after a public share offering.

The Chinese firm said the current plan “does not involve the transfer of any algorithms and technologies” and that reports to the contrary were “rumors.”

A separate statement from Oracle offered a different view of the transaction.

“Upon creation of TikTok Global, Oracle/Walmart will make their investment and the TikTok Global shares will be distributed to their owners, Americans will be the majority and ByteDance will have no ownership in TikTok Global,” Oracle vice president Ken Glueck said.

TikTok — which became a global phenomenon with its brand of short, addictive phone videos — has come under fire in recent months as tensions escalate between China and the west.

Trump has increasingly put national security and his aggressive stance toward China at the center of his campaign, claiming without providing evidence that TikTok is collecting user data for Beijing.

Source: AFP

FG Bars Emirates by Raphael Bichene

FG Bars Emirates by Raphael Bichene

The Federal Government says Emirates Airlines has been included in the list of airlines not allowed to operate in Nigeria as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made this known via his Twitter handle on Friday.

He said the decision was taken after a meeting between members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and European Union ambassadors.

He said the ban would take effect from Monday, September 21, 2020.

“The PTF sub-committee met today with EU Ambassadors to discuss Lufthansa, Air France/KLM ban. The meeting progressed well. Emirates Airlines’s situation was reviewed & they are consequently included in the list of those not approved, with effect from Monday the 21st September 2020,” he tweeted.

The Federal Government had on September 5 okayed the resumption of international flights in the country.

It subsequently released the list of nine airlines granted approval to commence operations.

In the statement announcing the international flights restart in the country, Sirika had noted that Air France, KLM, Etihad, RwandAir, Air Namibia, Royal Air Maroc, Lufthansa, TAAG Angola Airlines were denied approval to commence flight operations.

He said Cabo Verde and South African airlines were denied approval as international flights were yet to resume in their countries.

Middle East Airline, British Airways, Delta, Qatar, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Peace, Virgin Atlantic, Asky Airlines, Africa World Airways, Air Cote-d’ Ivoire, Kenya Airways, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, including Emirates Airlines, were all granted approval to resume.

The minister, however, did not state the reason for including Emirate Airlines in his tweet.Emirates airline international flights

Bayern Munich Confirms Thiago Alcantara’s Move From Liverpool by Raphael Bichene

Bayern Munich Confirms Thiago Alcantara’s Move From Liverpool by Raphael Bichene

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed Thursday the club has agreed a transfer with Liverpool for Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

“I can confirm that FC Bayern have finally agreed with Liverpool FC,” Rummenigge told German daily Bild.

“It was Thiago’s big wish to once more do something new before the end of his career.”

It is understood Liverpool will pay an initial fee of £20 million ($26 million) for the player, who has one year remaining on his contract at European champions Bayern, with more to follow in add-ons.

Bayern head coach Hansi Flick congratulated Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on landing Alcantara, who he described as an “exceptional player”.

“‘Kloppo’ is getting a top player and a great person,” Flick said Thursday.

“It was very emotional today when he (Alcantara) said goodbye.”

Thiago, 29, had a year left on his contract at Bayern and had stalled over signing an extension.

The Spain international joined Bayern from Barcelona in 2013 and played a key role in last month’s Champions League final victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

It had been reported a potential move for Thiago was being held up by uncertainty over the future of Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

The Dutchman, who is in the final year of his contract at Anfield, has been linked with Barcelona.

Liverpool, however, have decided to make their move for Thiago now with Manchester United also reportedly chasing the signature of the Spanish playmaker.

He would be Liverpool’s second signing of the summer transfer window and a more significant acquisition than that of Greece left-back Kostas Tsimikas, who was bought to provide cover for Andy Robertson.

Source : AFP

Bill Gates Father Dies by Raphael Bichene

Bill Gates Father Dies by Raphael Bichene

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William H. Gates II, a lawyer and philanthropist who was the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has died at 94.

Gates died Monday at his beach home in Washington state from Alzheimer’s disease, his family announced Tuesday, CBS News reports.

In an obituary, the family credited the patriarch with a “deep commitment to social and economic equity,” noting that he was responsible for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s first efforts to improve global health. The family also touched on his advocacy for progressive taxation, especially his unsuccessful efforts to pass a state income tax on the wealthy in Washington.

“My dad’s wisdom, generosity, empathy, and humility had a huge influence on people around the world,” Bill Gates wrote in a tribute.

Born in 1925, Gates Sr. grew up in Bremerton, Washington, where his parents owned a furniture store. During World War II, he joined the Army following his freshman year at the University of Washington and was en route to Japan when it surrendered in 1945.

He served a year in war-torn Tokyo before returning to the United States and resuming his education, his family said. After earning his law degree in 1950, he began working in private practice and as a part-time Bremerton city attorney.

He formed a Seattle law firm with two other partners that eventually became Preston Gates and Ellis — now known as K & L Gates, one of the world’s largest law firms. The firm was one of the first to work with the region’s technology industry.

Gates Sr. met his first wife, Mary Maxwell, at the University of Washington. They had two daughters and a son — Gates Jr. — and remained married until her death in 1994. Two years later he married Mimi Gardner, then the director of the Seattle Art Museum, with whom he spent the last quarter-century of his life.

“When I was a kid, he wasn’t prescriptive or domineering, and yet he never let me coast along at things I was good at, and he always pushed me to try things I hated or didn’t think I could do (swimming and soccer, for example),” Gates Jr. wrote in the tribute.

“And he modeled an amazing work ethic. He was one of the hardest-working and most respected lawyers in Seattle, as well as a major civic leader in our region.”

That civic work included serving as a trustee of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Planned Parenthood and United Way, and as a regent of the University of Washington, where he led fundraising drives. He also served as the president of the state and local bar associations and in the leadership of the American Bar Association, helping create diversity scholarships and promoting legal services for the poor.

“Bill Sr. was a person who cared about the plight of many, and he had the resources and never-ending civic commitment to do something about it,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement. “He made the choice to use his wealth and influence to advocate for and improve equity in our communities.”