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Monday, 5 February 2018
Harry Kane has big balls & nothing can stop Mo Salah: 7 things we learned from the Premier League this weekend
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Italy appoint Di Biagio as interim coach
The former Roma and Inter star will take charge of the national team for friendlies against Argentina and England in March
Italy appoint Di Biagio as interim coach
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Alexis could help Man Utd reach Champions League final – Macari
The Manchester United legend believes the addition of Alexis Sanchez makes the club an entirely different proposition in Europe
Alexis could help Man Utd reach Champions League final – Macari
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Pastor Adeboye: RCCG to celebrate G.O's birthday with 76-hour concert in 16 countries
The RCCG G.O’s birthday celebrations will begin on Feb. 26 and end on March 1, 2018.
Pastor Enoch Adeboye is celebrating his birthday with a 76-hour concert in 16 countries.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)will turn 76 years old on March 2, 2018.
In honor of this huge achievement, The Guardian reports that the RCCG youth wing is throwing a 76-hour concert from Feb. 26 to March 1, 2018.
The announcement was made by Mr. Precious Akingbade, the RCCG National Young Adults, and Youth Pastor, at a news conference in Lagos state.
He said: “We are dedicating 76 out of 8,760 hours of the year to praise God for the life of Daddy Adeboye.
“It aims at ushering a new pattern of worship that will redefine the perspective of men to worship and praise in this dispensation.
“Countries that will be participating this year are Nigeria, U.S, Canada, England, Australia, Spain, Scotland, United Arab Emirates, Cameroon, Kenya, Netherlands, Sweden, Malaysia, South Africa and Ireland.
“This is a giant step in our quest to bring Marathon Messiah Praise to the doorstep of every living being.
“We will be having two separate stages this year — Nigeria and the Diaspora.
“The Nigeria stage will be at the Youth Center, Redemption Camp, while the Diaspora will have 15 stages spread across 15 participating countries.
“The stage in Nigeria will host the 76 hours of praise and worship non-stop while the stages in Diaspora nations will share the 76 hours among themselves, and it will hold concurrently.
“Over 100,000 live participants and over 10 million viewers are expected to attend and watch the event.”
Mr. Akingbade added that this event will be made possible by over 4,000 registered volunteers.
The 76-hour Marathon Messiah Praise, entitled “The Great Redeemer”, will be held at the Youth Center, Redemption Camp, Km 46, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
Pastor Adeboye’s birthday
In 2017, the RCCG G.O turned 75 years old.
It was marked with a 75-hour praise marathon, themed, “The Sovereign God,” that started on February 27, 2017.
The marathon was lead by Nigerian gospel singer, songwriter, saxophonist, televangelist, and Director of Music with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Kunle Ajayi, with some help from over 140 worshippers.
Pastor Adeboye also received birthday messages from his wife, Pastor Mrs. Folu, Lagos state Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and the general public.
Pastor Adeboye: RCCG to celebrate G.O's birthday with 76-hour concert in 16 countries
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Metuh: Ex-PDP Secretary appears in court on stretcher after jail threat
The embattled PDP chieftain had been threatened with jail if he didn't appear before the court.
Former National Publicity Secretary of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, was wheeled to his money laundering trial at a Federal High Court in Abuja on a stretcher on Monday, February 5, 2018.
His dramamtic appearance comes on the heels of Justice Okon Abang's directive that the embattled PDP chieftain show up in court or have his bail revoked.
Metuh had asked for an adjournment of proceedings on health grounds after failing to appear on Thursday, January 25.
His lawyer, Onyeachi Ikpeazu (SAN), told the court that he was on admission at the Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital for an undisclosed ailment.
Ikpeazu presented a letter written by a doctor in the hospital to the court, but both the judge and the prosecutor questioned the authenticity of the letter.
The judge said that the letter which Metuh wanted the court to rely on to grant the adjournment was not a proper document before the court.
Metuh's trial
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, on a seven-count charge bordering on fraud and money laundering.
The alleged offence involved $2 million and N400 million which the defendant allegedly received from the office of then-National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, in 2014.
While the money was earmarked "for security services" in the exhibits presented to the court, Metuh allegedly spent it on the party and personal affairs.
Metuh: Ex-PDP Secretary appears in court on stretcher after jail threat
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BREAKING: Olisa Metuh brought to court on stretcher
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BREAKING: Olisa Metuh brought to court on stretcher
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Sen. Bukar trains 400 youths on yoghurt making, poultry production
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Sen. Bukar trains 400 youths on yoghurt making, poultry production
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Super Bowl: Philadelphia Eagles beat New England Patriots to win 1st title
Zach Ertz scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown for the Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles beat New England Patriots to win win the 2018 Super Bowl that held on Sunday, February 4.
Zach Ertz scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown as the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the encounter to win their first Super Bowl title.
Details shortly…
Super Bowl: Philadelphia Eagles beat New England Patriots to win 1st title
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Sports: Trump spent Super Bowl Sunday with cheerleaders at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort — and left the lavish party early
Just like last year, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted a Super Bowl party at their swanky Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
President Donald Trump spent his second Super Bowl in office at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Just like last year, he and first lady Melania Trump hosted a lavish party at the private club, where cheerleaders and a marching band livened up the festivities.
But the first couple left the party early. Here's how they spent Super Bowl Sunday:
The Florida Atlantic University Marching Band came to Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. They performed "Hail to the Chief," "Boogie Wonderland," and "Shut Up and Dance."
Source: White House pool report
The school's cheerleaders were there, too.
Before the game started, Trump opted out of the traditional presidential interview and instead released a statement honoring members of the armed forces. "We hold them in our hearts and thank them for our freedom as we proudly stand for the national anthem," he said, in a thinly veiled shot at NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.
Source: Business Insider
Son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, son Barron Trump, daughter Tiffany Trump, and social media director Dan Scavino were at the event, too, according to the White House pool report.
Trump seemed to enjoy the festivities. The first lady's silk/satin blue bomber jacket with red and white trim was $2,100.
Source: Kate Bennett, AMIRI
But the Trumps left the party after the halftime show to head back to the White House aboard Air Force One.
Trump tweeted a message of congratulations to the Eagles after the game. "Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles on a great Super Bowl victory!" he wrote.
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The folly of misplaced aggression
I still remember it like it was yesterday. His mother had been on compulsory bed rest from the time his pregnancy was seven months. It was as if the pregnancy was not going to make it to term. Even the doctors were very worried and they did not hide it, largely because they could not even if they wanted to. But God almighty took over. In spite of the various stages of complications, the baby was delivered at the appropriate time by caesarian operation. When he was handed over to me, I was overwhelmed by an admixture of feelings. I did not know whether to laugh or to cry. As I looked at the bundle of joy and reminisced on what we had been through in the two months preceding his birth, I could only break into singing. That was when the full meaning of the name God had given me for him even before he was conceived hit me. Jesujoba. Jesus reigns. I had never heard that name before then and I felt a little awkward when it was first laid on my heart. Now it made sense. That was 30 years ago today. Please join me in wishing my son Jesujoba a happy birthday.
Have you ever made a fool of yourself? I guess we all do from time to time. At such times, what do you do? Laugh at yourself or nurse a mini-depression? Very often, even teachers become victims of what they teach against! I always teach that assumption is the lowest form of knowledge and leaders should never take anything for granted. That postulation is still true because what happened to me a few years ago in London is what happens when this rule is broken.
I booked a flight to the USA that also involved a few days layover in London. On the day I was to leave for Washington DC, for some strange reason, I assumed that my flight was for the following day. I knew my flight was for a particular day of the week but I made a wrong assumption on the date the day fell on! On that assumption, I confidently went online to take advantage of the 24-hour pre-flight check-in service. My curiosity was aroused when the computer informed me that I could not use the service. When I tried to find out why, I discovered that the flight I was trying to get on had left two hours before what I thought was an advance checking in session. My initial reaction was to panic. I felt so disappointed with myself. But I had a rethink and just burst out laughing at my own foolishness. That helped me to clear my thinking process. Thereafter I felt better and mustered the courage to call the airline and explain my dilemma. They graciously agreed to put me on the next day’s flight on the condition that I paid a penalty.
There is another dimension to this. How do you feel when, after feeling like a Messiah, thinking you were helping or being good to someone, you discover, after you had betrayed emotions of exasperation before them that in actual fact they were the one helping you? Or you vented so much anger on a subordinate or even your spouse or child, only to discover later that they were innocent and totally undeserving of your aggression. How did that discovery make you feel?
A young lady got to the airport to board a scheduled flight only to discover that the flight was going to be delayed by several hours. Having cleared security and being already in the shopping arcade located in the boarding area, she knew she was in for a long wait. She entered the airport bookstore and bought a book to keep herself busy while waiting. She also bought a packet of biscuits. She then settled down in an armchair in the airport to rest and read while snacking on her packet of biscuits. She placed – so she thought – the packet of biscuits on the armrest that separated her seat from that of a man who was also waiting for his flight. Then she brought out her book and started reading. The man in the next seat brought out a magazine, opened it and started reading. When she took out the first cookie, the man took one also. She felt irritated but said nothing. She just thought: “What cheek! I could just punch him in the face. The least he could have done was ask!” Each time she took a biscuit, the man took one too. This was infuriating her but because it was a public place, she didn’t want to cause a scene. The ritual continued until there was only one cookie remaining. Then she thought: “Ah… What would this glutton do now?”
As if he read her thoughts, the man, taking the last cookie, divided it into two, giving her one half. What? That was too much! This was the height of impudence. She was livid with rage! Before she could decide what expletives to use on the ‘scrounging’ stranger, her flight was called. In a rage, she took her book, her things and stormed to the boarding place. As she sat down inside the plane, she looked into her purse to take her eyeglasses. To her surprise, her packet of cookies was there, untouched and in fact unopened! As she realized that she had made a mistake, she felt so ashamed! All the while, her biscuits were kept in her purse. Her anger at the perceived presumptuousness had kept her from knowing that she was actually the scrounging party! While she had been seething in anger, thinking that she was sharing her cookies with him, it turned out it was the man that shared his cookies with her, without feeling angered or bitter. Unfortunately, there was no chance to explain herself or to apologize.
Scriptures teach us that a generous soul shall be made fat. Too many times however, we are so absorbed in our own needs and feelings that we become nasty to people who were doing us a favour. No matter how nasty you feel about any situation, rein in your feelings especially when it involves other people. There are too many people eager to say what’s on their mind instead of minding what they say. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had negative thoughts towards or made certain unkind statements about someone only to discover that they were actually getting your back all the while?
One great rule of meaningful living is “Always make your words sweet. You never know when you may have to eat them!”
Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!
The post The folly of misplaced aggression appeared first on Tribune.
The folly of misplaced aggression
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'What a game!' – Soccer/football world reacts to the Eagles winning Super Bowl LII
Philadelphia won its first NFL title, with the husband of an American soccer star scoring the winning touchdown
'What a game!' – Soccer/football world reacts to the Eagles winning Super Bowl LII
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Man City tiring? De Bruyne feeling like 's***'
The Premier League leaders’ busy schedule is already taking its toll, the team’s star midfielder said
Man City tiring? De Bruyne feeling like 's***'
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World: Labor dept. plan could let the boss pocket the tip
The Trump administration is moving to give restaurants and other employers more control over workers’ tips. But critics have denounced the plan as legalizing wage theft and accuse the administration of suppressing evidence that lends credence to the charge.
In December, the administration announced a proposal to undo portions of a 2011 regulation that blocked employers from collecting tips and distributing them to anyone other than the workers who customarily receive them.
Under the new proposal, for which the public comment period ends on Monday, employers could use workers’ tips for essentially any purpose, as long as the workers were directly paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
The restaurant industry, which has fought the Obama administration regulation for years, argues that the change would allow employers to share the tips of waiters and waitresses with so-called back-of-the-house workers like cooks and dishwashers.
“We think it’s unfair for a busboy who picks up dirty dishes to be able to get tips but for a dishwasher who cleans the dishes not to be allowed to share the tips,” said Angelo Amador, senior vice president and regulatory counsel at the National Restaurant Association.
But labor advocacy groups and former Obama administration officials argue that the regulation would legalize a vast income transfer from workers to employers, who would be permitted to pocket the tips.
“There is a lot of wage theft, tip stealing in restaurants and other sectors where workers depend on tips,” Christine Owens of the National Employment Law Project said. “This would be one more reason for employers to take workers’ tips and do whatever they want to do with them.”
A study by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, estimated that the change would cost current tipped workers $5.8 billion a year in pay. It cast doubt on the idea that employers would use the money to compensate other workers better.
Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the Labor Department who oversaw the study, said that under standard economic theory, employers were unlikely to pay workers more than needed to attract and retain them, which they are by definition already doing in most cases.
She predicted that if the regulation took effect and employers decided to share tips with these workers, “their base pay would be reduced and there would be no more take-home pay.”
The Labor Department estimated that the rule would affect about 1 million waiters and waitresses and over 200,000 bartenders. Workers in other industries, like hairstylists and manicurists, would also be affected.
Many tipped workers would not be affected, however, because the law would continue to prevent employers from taking the tips of those who earned less than the minimum wage. The law allows workers to be paid below the minimum wage as long as their tips make up the difference.
The proposed rule has generated a surprising amount of attention, attracting more than 180,000 comments from the public by Friday. That is roughly two-thirds the number of comments that the Obama administration’s proposal to increase overtime eligibility — which affected millions more workers and nearly every industry — generated after it was formally unveiled in 2015.
At least one major business group and some restaurant owners wrote that the rule would allow employers to put in place new pay practices that benefited both them and workers.
“It used to be that our servers typically made 1.5 to two times more than our kitchen staff, which is a big gap, but now they make two to four times more,” wrote Kim Snuggerud, who owns the Hilo Bay Cafe in Hawaii. “This gap can be better managed with this change in the regulations. The wage disparity creates many problems, from morale issues to higher turnover.”
In an interview, Snuggerud emphasized that she was not a supporter of President Donald Trump and tended to favor minimum-wage increases and “big government.”
But many self-identified former restaurant owners, along with many workers and customers, wrote in to oppose the rule, saying it was unfair and might even amount to theft.
Adding to the controversy is the Labor Department’s failure to include a numerical analysis of the costs and benefits of the rule when it formally released the proposal. A long-standing executive order typically requires such an analysis for regulations that would have an economic impact of at least $100 million.
“When you put out a proposed rule, you have to put out the analysis you have that shows the impact of it,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the committee that has oversight over the department. “I think, frankly, if they do that, people would be outraged.”
When it released the proposal, the department said that the omission was the result of “a lack of adequate data and the speculative nature of determining how employers, employees and customers would all react.”
But several former Labor Department officials said that while uncertainties and data limitations complicated any effort to measure costs and benefits, economists had well-established practices for addressing them.
“There are assumptions one has to make, but you build that into the analysis,” said David Weil, the former head of the division that enforces minimum-wage and overtime rules, which also produced this proposal. “On its face, it’s just a ridiculous assertion.”
Shierholz said it had taken her team of four primary researchers less than two weeks to generate their estimate.
A Labor Department spokesman said that the department had sought public input about how to estimate costs and benefits when it released its proposal and that it “intends to publish an informed cost-benefit analysis as part of any final rule.”
The spokesman pointed out that the 2011 rule also did not include a detailed cost-benefit analysis, though former Labor Department officials say that was because the rule codified existing policy and did not change policy.
On Thursday, Bloomberg Law reported that the department had, in fact, produced an economic analysis, but that Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and his aides had chosen not to release it after it showed that the cost to tipped workers could be substantial.
The department declined to comment. But two former Labor Department officials said they had been briefed on the analysis by people currently at the department and echoed this account.
Michael Hancock, another former top official in the division that produced the proposal, said he found it unimaginable that the department would not have produced an economic analysis because officials at the Office of Management and Budget, who must typically sign off on new regulations, would refuse to do so without one.
“At least during my time, OMB jealously guarded the executive order,” said Hancock, who worked at the department for two decades beginning in 1995. “They always insisted if it’s even close to the threshold that you’ve got to do an economic analysis, no matter how challenging.”
The restaurant industry contends that the Obama-era regulation is illegal because it goes beyond what the underlying law supports. It asked the Supreme Court to review the Obama rule after appellate courts in different parts of the country split on the issue.
“I would say the process was not followed in 2011,” Amador said. “If there’s any flaw here, it’s that an illegal regulation passed in 2011.”
But Hancock said the proposed change would be highly vulnerable to a legal challenge if completed because omitting an economic analysis denied the public a chance to comment.
“The rule-making process is designed to give the public an opportunity to have their voices heard,” he said. “If you don’t include the economic analysis that underlies all of this, the public never had an opportunity to do that. I think it’s going to create legal problems.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
World: Labor dept. plan could let the boss pocket the tip
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Three feared dead in gas explosion
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Three feared dead in gas explosion
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Strategy: All the ads that ran during the Super Bowl so far, in order
Super Bowl commercials included ads from Doritos, Bud Light, and Wendy's.
Super Bowl 52 is underway.
This is a list of the ads that have run so far.
This year, NBC is reportedly charging $5 million per 30 seconds of commercial showing time. Some of the world's biggest companies have spent millions on a premium spot for Sunday night's show.
A note: We've only included the ads that aired nationally. You may recall seeing some other ads during the big game this year, but they were likely regional buys, which won't have aired in all markets.
Check out the list below.
Sprint – Evelyn
Bud Light – Ye Olde Pep Talk
Ram Trucks – Icelandic Vikings
Wendy's – Iceberg
Sketchers
Doritos/Mountain Dew – DORITOS BLAZE vs. MTN DEW ICE
Tide – It's a Tide ad
Bud Light – The Bud Knight
Quicken Loans – Rocket Mortgage
Avocados From Mexico – #GuacWorld
Diet Coke – Twisted Mango – Groove
Jeep – The Road
Tide – It's Another Tide Ad
Weather Tech – American Factory
Pringles – WOW
Febreze – The Only Man Whose Bleep Don't Stink
Michelob Ultra – The Perfect Fit
Squarespace – Make It
Ram Trucks – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tourism Australia – Dundee
TurboTax – "The Thing Under The Bed"
Persil ProClean – Game-Time Stain-Time
Strategy: All the ads that ran during the Super Bowl so far, in order
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AMEN seeks FG’s intervention to stop SMEDAN evacuation notice
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
THE Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN) has called on the federal government to intervene in an issue concerning the evacuation notice issued to them by the authorities of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on January 29, 2018. The President of AMEN, Mr. Fredrick Nwokeleme made this call on Friday during a press briefing in Lagos.
Nwokeleme said, “I want to use this medium to call on the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Minister of Trade and Investment, Director General of SMEDAN and those who are into small and medium scale businesses to come to our aid on this issue of evacuation from the Industrial Development Centre (IDC), Ikorodu.
“We are pleading with them that they should erect more clusters in the centre so as to accommodate some of our members that don’t have access to it. Instead of erecting structures they are telling us that they want to renovate the existing structures that my members have borrowed money from financial institutions to renovate. Why can’t they use the money for the renovation to build more clusters knowing that the present administration is clamoring for made-in Nigeria goods?”
The problem, according to Nwokeleme, started from a misunderstanding between the association and the State Coordinator IDC Ikorodu, Mrs. Chinyere Nwoke.
He explained, “We have a place at Ikorodu IDC centre given to us by SMEDAN about five years ago. The centre is about 19 acres of Land which have been encroached by private individuals and we have about 40 or more local entrepreneurs occupying the centre whose products have been approved by NAFDAC. They borrowed money from financial institutions including Bank Of Industry (BOI) to finance and put the centre in order. We were doing business there without encountering any problem until recently when the State Coordinator, Mrs. Chinyere Nwoke, came demanding for some unwarranted money from us.
“Many of our members have been paying the money without knowing until it came to our notice as executives. We decided to find out where the money was going to. It was then we discovered that the money was not going to the appropriate source which is the government’s purse. We had to write a letter to the SMEDAN authority who replied that the money should be refunded to us. She She only refunded that of 2016. That was where our problem started.”
The letter on the notice of evacuation which was addressed to Nwokeleme of AMEN and signed by Nwoke stated: “As directed from SMEDAN headquarter, I write to inform you to leave the premises by Friday 9th of Febuary, 2018 in order to allow the commencement of renovation work of the centre.”
However, Nwokeleme noted that such evacuation and renovation action counter the promise the SMEDAN authorities made to the association before they accomodated the land and it would jeopardize the business and create insecurity in the state.
He said, “Before we commenced activities in Ikorodu the SMEDAN assured us that we will be given enough time if there is need for evacuation but what has happened now is the opposite. The authorities should suspend renovation of the centre in Ikorodu because we have done that. They should instead build clusters for a thousand and one entrepreneurs still out there.
“If SMEDAN should carry out their threat in seven days, where will my members put their machines, how are they going to service the loans they acquired from financial institutions? Some of the entrepreneurs in the centre has fifteen workers each. The total number of employees there is over 100. Last year we were mandated by the Ikorodu local government to employ the indigenes of Ikorodu which we accepted. Most of the badoo incidents experienced in Ikorodu were caused by idleness. What will happen if these employees are pushed outside?”
The post AMEN seeks FG’s intervention to stop SMEDAN evacuation notice appeared first on Vanguard News.
AMEN seeks FG’s intervention to stop SMEDAN evacuation notice
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‘IBAI to extend insurance coverage to over 3m farmers’
By Rosemary Onuoha
THE National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, has said that the Index Based Agricultural Insurance, IBAI, will expand insurance products for agricultural lending from the current coverage of 0.5 million to 3.8 million agricultural primary producers.
Director, Inspectorate of NAICOM, Mr. Barineka Thompson, who disclosed this at a seminar for insurance journalists in Benin, Edo State, said that IBAI is a relatively new financial instrument for transferring agriculture risks from individuals or groups of farmers to (international) risk carriers (Insurers).
Thompson said, “Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) is looking to expand insurance products for agricultural lending from the current coverage of 0.5 million to 3.8 million agricultural primary producers. The insurance facility Pillar is designed to expand insurance products for agricultural lending to agricultural primary producers and help reduce credit risks and increase lending across the entire value chain.”
Thompson said the purpose is to compensate farmers in the event of a loss resulting from shared risks, rather than individual risk, associated with weather fluctuations, disease outbreaks or poor yield.
“Traditionally, when risks or a loss event such as a major drought, epidemics or other hazards affects a large population all at the same time or small rural farmers, and often in difficult circumstances, even over a relatively small area or region, assessing the losses of each individual insured party that is affected is not feasible. Traditionally, the insurer will not have the resources to assess each claim individually in a short period even in the best conditions.
“In an Index-Based System, when a claim is triggered for a specific area, all insured units (farmers) within a given geographical area and having similar characteristics, are compensated at the same payout rate, usually a percentage of the sum insured, on events specifically covered by the policy (usually those for which the proxy(ies) meet the specified triggers).
The post ‘IBAI to extend insurance coverage to over 3m farmers’ appeared first on Vanguard News.
‘IBAI to extend insurance coverage to over 3m farmers’
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Transfer news & rumours: De Gea to force Real move
Goal takes a look at the biggest transfer news and rumours from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and beyond
Transfer news & rumours: De Gea to force Real move
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EXTRA TIME: Bakambu, Zaha, Marega send heartfelt messages to injured Sako
The African stars wished the 29-year-old speedy recovery from the injury that rules him out for the remainder of the season
EXTRA TIME: Bakambu, Zaha, Marega send heartfelt messages to injured Sako
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Secondus reacts to Babangida’s advice to Buhari
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Prince Uche Secondus has reacted to the statement by former President Ibrahim Babangida advising President Muhammadu Buhari to step aside for younger generation, saying that it vindicated the stance of the leading opposition party.
According to a statement issued by Ike Abonyi, his media adviser, in Abuja on Sunday, that former leaders were speaking out about the lacklustre performance of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) “it’s a confirmation of what the PDP has been saying all the while that the ruling party lacked the democratic wherewithal to lead the country,”
The party boss said the PDP was working hard to regain power in 2019 and save the country from collapse.
Prince Secondus spoke to party supporters who came to receive him as he arrived Asaba, Delta state on Sunday.
The PDP chairman maintained that APC has failed woefully and Nigerians were now yearning for real democrats which PDP with its experience was the only viable option.
According to him, the ongoing rebuilding and repositioning in the PDP now was aimed at rebranding the party to meet the challenges ahead.
Secondus told Delta PDP members to support Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who he observed was transforming the state and ensure that the strength of the party remained with the people.
ALSO READ: IBB tells buhari to go home 2019
“Delta is a PDP state and will remain a PDP state because through the party the state has experienced phenomenal development,” he said.
He urged the people to go get their PVC, which reminded them was their real instrument of their power.
Secondus charged members across the country to brace up and respond to the wish of Nigerians by “chasing the APC out of their political life.”
The post Secondus reacts to Babangida’s advice to Buhari appeared first on Tribune.
Secondus reacts to Babangida’s advice to Buhari
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Sunday, 4 February 2018
Sports: Trump takes a thinly veiled shot at NFL protests in presidential message prior to Super Bowl
Trump has been loudly against player protests of police brutality through the entire NFL season, and slipped in one more attack before Super Bowl kickoff.
- President Donald Trump reminded football fans once again that he "proudly stands for the National Anthem," ahead of kickoff of the Super Bowl.
- Trump's message comes in lieu of a presidential Super Bowl interview — the first time a president has skipped such an interview since the tradition was started by George W. Bush in 2004.
President Trump took one final shot at NFL players' protests before kickoff of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
"We proudly stand for the National Anthem," Trump wrote in what he called a "Presidential Message on Super Bowl LII" released just a few hours ahead of kickoff. The message also included calls for supporting the troops and a reminder that service members are "always in our thoughts and prayers."
Players kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and systemic racism within the justice system became one of the biggest stories of the 2017 NFL season. Trump seemingly made the protests part of his agenda several times during the season, even calling for protesting players to be fired.
Trump's "Presidential Message on Super Bowl LII" comes as he forgoes a tradition that dates back to 2004 — declining to take part in an interview on Super Bowl Sunday.
You can read the entirety of Trump's message below.
Sports: Trump takes a thinly veiled shot at NFL protests in presidential message prior to Super Bowl
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World: Thousands of islamic state fighters flee in syria, many to fight another day
Thousands of Islamic State foreign fighters and family members have escaped the U.S.-led military campaign in eastern Syria, according to new classified U.S.
As many of the fighters flee unfettered to the south and west through Syrian army lines, some have gone into hiding near Damascus, the Syrian capital, and in the country’s northwest, awaiting orders sent by insurgent leaders on encrypted communications channels.
Other battle-hardened militants, some with training in chemical weapons, are defecting to al-Qaida’s branch in Syria. Others are paying smugglers tens of thousands of dollars to spirit them across the border to Turkey, with an eventual goal of returning home to European countries.
The sobering assessments come despite a concerted effort to encircle and “annihilate” — as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis put it — Islamic State fighters in Raqqa, the group’s self-proclaimed capital, which fell in the fall, and pursue other insurgents who fled south into the Euphrates River Valley toward the border with Iraq.
“ISIS fighters are fleeing Syria and Iraq,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in remarks in Washington last week, using an acronym for Islamic State. “Jihadis are going underground, dispersing to other safe havens, including on the internet, and returning to their home countries.”
Gen. Paul J. Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters last week that the remaining Islamic State leadership, even while on the run, still had “fairly robust” communications with its shadowy network of fighters now on the lam.
While President Donald Trump highlighted the liberation of almost all of the Islamic State’s territory in Iraq and Syria in his State of the Union address last week, U.S. military and intelligence officials say the group is still able to inspire and enable followers to carry out attacks. Trump seemed to acknowledge this in his speech, noting, “There is much more work to be done.”
Analysts say they are also seeing signs that Islamic State fighters are adopting guerrilla tactics to terrorize civilians.
“The group is transitioning into an underground organization that places more weight on asymmetric tactics, like suicide bombings against soft targets in government-secured areas like Baghdad,” said Otso Iho, a senior analyst at Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center at IHS Markit in London.
Iho cited an attack by two suicide bombers in Baghdad last month that killed three dozen people and injured 90 more. The attack took place in a busy Baghdad square where day laborers gather to look for work.
Estimates of how many fighters may have escaped into the deserts of Syria or Iraq and beyond are difficult to pin down, but U.S. and other Western intelligence and counterterrorism analysts with access to classified assessments put the number in the low thousands. Many are traveling with spouses and children who are likely to have been radicalized during more than three years of Islamic State control of the region and could pose security risks as well, analysts say.
In December, Col. Ryan Dillon, chief spokesman for the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq and Syria, said in a briefing with Pentagon reporters: “Syrian regime commanders in eastern Syria suggest that ISIS fighters” from the Middle Euphrates River Valley “may have slipped through porous Syrian and Russian defenses to arrive in areas near Damascus.”
Asked late last month by The New York Times about indications that as many as 1,000 fighters and family members had fled the Euphrates River area just in recent days, Dillon’s command replied in a statement: “We know that the Syrian regime has given ISIS the leeway to travel through their area of operations, but we cannot confirm any alleged incidents or operations that are taking place outside our area of operations.”
The U.S. military is concerned that a Turkish offensive against the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces in Afrin, in northern Syria, has worsened the problem. The SDF has been working with the Americans in former Islamic State-held areas to interdict fleeing jihadis, but those efforts have been greatly reduced as the Kurds have shifted resources to reinforce Afrin.
Mustafa Balli, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters, blamed the Turkish assault on Afrin for what he said was the Islamic State’s resurgence.
“Since this invasion of Afrin by Turkey, ISIS is getting stronger in the south,” he said. “The battle against ISIS in the south, and the Turks in Afrin, is the same battle. The Turks want to give another chance to ISIS to grow again. Before the Turkish invasion, we were very close to finishing ISIS.”
Some 40,000 fighters from more than 120 countries poured into the battles in Syria and Iraq over the past four years, U.S. and other Western officials say. While thousands died on the battlefield, officials say many thousands more probably survived to slip away to conflicts in Libya, Yemen or the Philippines, or have gone into hiding in countries like Turkey. About 295 Americans are believed to have traveled to Iraq or Syria, or tried to, U.S. officials said.
Of more than 5,000 Europeans who joined those ranks, as many as 1,500 have returned home, including many women and children, and most of the rest are dead or still fighting, according to Gilles de Kerchove, the European Union’s top counterterrorism official.
“The thought that these foreign fighters who have participated in this fight now for over two years will quietly leave Syria and return to their jobs as shopkeepers in Paris, in Brussels, in Copenhagen, is ludicrous,” said Selva. “That’s a very compelling problem.”
Still, the number of Islamic State fighters returning home to Europe and North Africa has been much smaller than anticipated, counterterrorism officials say.
That is in part because the Trump administration intensified its focus on preventing fighters from seeping out of Raqqa and Mosul, their former stronghold in Iraq, and more militants fought to the death than expected. Hundreds also surrendered in Raqqa.
Hundreds of others have been captured and are being held by U.S.-backed Kurdish militias in northern Syria, raising fears among U.S. military officials of potentially creating a breeding ground for extremists — repeating a key security mistake of the Iraq War.
But the new assessments, bolstered by reports from analysts and smugglers in the region, suggest that Islamic State fighters are fleeing to more hospitable parts of Syria and Iraq, or to third countries where they can lie low.
Beyond the recent suicide bombings in Baghdad, a major U.S. airstrike last month demonstrates the Islamic State’s continued resiliency and threat, military officials said.
Armed Reaper drones and Navy F/A-18 fighters from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt carried out a strike on Jan. 20 in Al Shafah, Syria, in the Euphrates River Valley, that killed about 150 fighters, the U.S. military said.
The strike, one of the largest single aerial assaults against the Islamic State in three years, was based on intelligence collected over about a week. The strike hit two large buildings that were used as a command headquarters and a media distribution center, military officials said.
The size and concentration of fighters took U.S. officials by surprise. “The ISIS headquarters contained a heavy concentration of ISIS fighters who appear to have been massing for movement,” Maj. Gen. James B. Jarrard, commanding general for Special Operations forces in Iraq and Syria, said in a statement.
“ISIS continues to demonstrate the ability to mass large numbers in its attempt to retain a stronghold in Syria,” the U.S.-led command in Iraq said in the same statement.
Ahmad Ramadan, head of the Euphrates Center Against Violence and Terrorism in Istanbul, said that the Islamic State was still present in many villages east of the Euphrates River — the informal demarcation line between Russian-backed Syrian troops to the west and U.S.-backed Syrian militias to the east. “ISIS nowadays are spreading all over Syria,” he said via Facebook chat.
Government and independent analysts in Syria and in Washington, including the Institute for the Study of War, said there was a thriving trade in smuggling Islamic State fighters across the border into Turkey, where intelligence officials believe they are linking with clandestine cells.
According to the independent British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, senior Islamic State operatives from Raqqa and Deir el-Zour, in the Euphrates River Valley, have paid bribes of $20,000 to $30,000 for safe passage into Turkey.
“I smuggled about 50 ISIS fighters into Turkey,” said Abu Omar, a smuggler between Syria and Turkey, adding that they were a mix of Syrian and foreign fighters, often disguised in women’s clothes to help elude Turkish border patrols.
Abu Omar added that the number of fleeing Islamic State fighters and senior leaders, including many foreigners, increased over the summer when the U.S.-backed offensive against Raqqa began.
“I was really shocked when I saw them,” he said in a WhatsApp message. “They were wearing cool clothes, classic jeans with many necklaces, trying to disguise as much as they can. They hid their passports in their boots. They were completely shaved; you never guess they are ISIS. They didn’t speak any Arabic, few words.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
World: Thousands of islamic state fighters flee in syria, many to fight another day
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Workclick start operation with 5000 artisans
By Princewill Ekwujuru
On demand service networking company, Workclick has officially commenced operation in Nigeria with about 5000 artisans.
Speaking at the official launch of the service and unveiling of its workers in Lagos, Workclick, Co-founder, Engr. Samuel Ajiboyede, said the entry of the company into Nigeria will drastically reduce the unemployment rate in the country.
Ajiboyede said that the over 5000 skilled workers who have signed up with the platform have been screened and trained to meet up with Workclick standard.
He listed the skilled services currently available on their platform to include; Hairdressing, plumbing, dress making, gardening, barbing, painting, mechanic, dentistry, photography, electrician, etc.
Ajiboyede who noted that Workclick services is also presently available in the United States of America and Kenya, said that the major aim of the company in Nigeria, is to help the large population of skilled persons in the country make additional income; and also to provide professional services to customers at their utmost convenience through the mobile app.
” We currently have patent for Workclick in US, Kenya and Nigeria. Many countries will certainly come on board in the coming year. Here in Nigeria, we are beginning our service with over 5000 skilled workers who are ready to provide their services on demand through our app. The basic thing we want to achieve through our app is to connect skilled Nigerians with those that need their services.
“We believe that through our services, the unemployment rate in the country will be reduced and even those who already have jobs, will make more income through Workclick. We are simply taking over the marketing aspect for skilled individuals and connecting them to customers in their locations,” he said.
Explaining how the service works, Ajiboyede said” Workclick is an app based platform. Through the app, also known as Workclick, we pool a cluster of highly skilled and well-trained experts ranging from gardeners, barber, tailors, plumbers, DSTV Installers to medical practitioners and connect them to customers who need their services.
“The app is available on PlayStore and on App Store. It comes in two forms; one for the worker and another for the customer.
“Before deploying our workers, we thoroughly screen them and conduct further training for them to meet our standard. Once this is done, they return to their various normal job and locations. The app will subsequently alert them when a customer using the app requests for their service.
“Prices for all available services are already listed on the app and we as a company collect only 20 percent as service charge for every job successfully done. The rest of the money goes to the worker. This is what we are about. Empowering skilled people to make more income while doing their normal businesses.”
Admonishing the workers to be good ambassadors of the Workclick brand, Ajiboyede said that feedbacks from users which is one of the many feature of the Workclick app, will enable the platform to rate and kept track of worker’s performance
The post Workclick start operation with 5000 artisans appeared first on Vanguard News.
Workclick start operation with 5000 artisans
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2019: PDP hails IBB’s declaration on Buhari
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday hailed the declaration by former President Ibrahim Babangida that President Muhammadu Buhari should not seek a re-election in 2019 as apt and yet another pointer to the fact that Nigerians across divides have reached a consensus against President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement on Sunday commended the former military President for admonishing the APC’s attempt to use its phoney restructuring agenda as a decoy for wooing voters ahead of 2019 election.
The party said General Babangida’s position on the need for a dynamic, nationalistic and development-driven leadership is a direct reflection of the feeling and aspirations of Nigerians and completely captures the direction of the repositioned PDP for a better Nigeria.
The statement said the fact that General Babangida’s declaration on President Buhari is coming on the heels of a similar declaration by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has further vindicated PDP’s position on the misrule of the Buhari administration and the APC.
The PDP further described as an understatement, General Babangida’s reflection that the Buhari administration and its APC has polluted the nation’s “leadership actuality” adding that it is not unmindful of the yearnings of Nigerians to use the platform of the repositioned PDP to propagate a new coalition that would return the much desired new atmosphere in the polity by producing the president that will acceptable to the majority of Nigerians.
ALSO READ: Statement stands, represents IBB’s thoughts ―Spokesperson
It added: “It is now obvious to all that the time has come for all Nigerians to jettison all personal interests and divisive tendencies and rally forces under a truly national platform as now embodied in the PDP to rescue our dear nation from total collapse.
“In line with the new consensus for the election of a truly Nigerian President in 2019, the repositioned PDP is completely open as the epicentre of the much desired new broad-based political engagement of all Nigerians in their aspirations irrespective of creed, tribe or class.
“The repositioned PDP presents that credible platform, re-engineered with best democratic standards for an unhindered accommodation of all interests from all parts of the country in our collective search for a new beginning.
“We, therefore, urge all Nigerians, particularly our leaders across the board, to join forces with the PDP to once again return the nation to its pride of place as a thriving economy and a truly democratic nation come 2019.”
The post 2019: PDP hails IBB’s declaration on Buhari appeared first on Tribune.
2019: PDP hails IBB’s declaration on Buhari
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