Paris balcony boy family thank Mali 'Spiderman'

The family of a small boy dramatically rescued after dangling from a balcony in Paris, France have expressed their thanks to the Malian man who saved him.

"He's truly a hero," the boy's grandmother said of migrant Mamoudou Gassama, who scaled four floors to pluck the child from danger.

The four-year-old's father, who had left him in their flat and gone shopping, faces charges of failing to look after his child, reports say.

Mr Gassama will be given citizenship.

French President Emmanuel Macron personally thanked him, gave him a medal for courage and said he would also be offered a role in the fire service.

More details have begun to emerge of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Why was the boy on the balcony?

The boy left Réunion, where his mother and grandmother live, about three weeks ago and moved to Paris to join his father, who works in the city. His mother and the couple's second child were due to join them in June.

The father lived on the sixth-floor of the building in northern Paris, the building's concierge told BFMTV.

The boy had already fallen two storeys before somehow managing to grab hold of the fourth-floor balcony, according to this version of events.

When asked by a resident in the neighbouring fourth-floor flat where he lived, he is reported to have pointed upwards.

His mother told Antenne Réunion that the boy's father was not used to looking after him on his own and had left him alone before.

"I can't justify what my husband did. People will say it could have happened to anyone and it has happened to other people. My son was just lucky," she said.

After doing the shopping, the boy's father had delayed going home to play Pokemon Go, prosecutors said.

Could the neighbour have done more?

Some reaction to the incident has focused on a man on the balcony of the neighbouring fourth-floor flat, who appears to be close enough to the boy to lift him before Mr Gassama arrives.

But the neighbour told Le Parisien newspaper that he was holding on to the boy's hand but could not pull him up because of a divider separating the two balconies.

"I didn't want to take the risk of letting go of his hand, I thought it better to do things step by step," he said.

He said the boy had been wearing a Spiderman outfit, was bleeding from his toe and had a torn nail.

Firefighters came into his flat and climbed over the balcony divider to reach the boy and Mr Gassama, he said.

Where is the boy now?

He has been taken into care by the French authorities, French media said.

The father is reported to have been left devastated by what happened, BFMTV said.

The French offence of failing in one's legal duty as a parent can be punished by two years in prison and a fine of €30,000 ($35,000; £26,000).

His mother is also due to be interviewed by social workers in Réunion, Antenne Réunion said.

Speaking to French TV station RMC, the boy's grandmother described how she felt seeing the video of her grandson hanging off the balcony.

"My God, I was very shocked. My grandson, my grandson, save him!" she said.

"Thankfully he [Mr Gassama] knew how to climb, because there were a lot of people below but he didn't just fold his arms. He raced up to the fourth floor. That was truly incredible. He was very brave," she said.

Who is Mamoudou Gassama?

The 22-year-old left the town of Yaguine in south-western Mali as a teenager in 2013.

He took the migrant route across the Sahara desert through Burkina Faso, Niger and Libya, and crossed the Mediterranean to Italy in 2014 at the second attempt after having once been intercepted at sea by police.

"I had no means to live and no-one to help me," Mr Gassama told Mr Macron.

During his journey, he spent a year working in Libya, where migrants are frequently exploited and even enslaved by gangs.

"I suffered a lot. We were caught and beaten but I did not lose hope," he said.

'Used as a slave' in a Libyan detention centre

He told Mr Macron that he had

Tiger can still beat my record - Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus said Monday he believes Tiger Woods can still overhaul his record of 18 Major Championship victories.

Woods last won a major almost exactly 10 years ago, when he battled to a memorable playoff win at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines in Southern California.

That victory left him four shy of Nicklaus's tally of 18 majors, a target that has looked increasingly beyond Woods in recent years during long injury layoffs.

Nicklaus however, who will host this week's Memorial tournament in Ohio, said he is convinced Woods can win Majors again after playing with him on Monday at Shinnecock Hills, the venue for the 2018 US Open.

"While Tiger has not had that much fun the last 10-years, and I would hate to go through what he's has been through as he's been through a lot, but he's a hard worker, he's a tough competitor and he's still driven, so that's why I would never count him out," said the 79-year-old Nicklaus.

"Nobody ever said 'how's your record, Jack?' as I've always said that if Tiger comes back and plays then I've said he's still got a shot at breaking my record.

"Whether he does or he doesn't, and even with now 10-years passing it doesn't make any difference he's still a great athlete and a great golfer."

But while Woods has not tasted success since 2013 in capturing a remarkable eighth WGC - Bridgestone Invitational title, Nicklaus does believe Woods needs to learn how to win again.

"Tiger does need to learn how to win again, absolutely", said Nicklaus

"I recall in the '86 Masters I hadn't won for a couple of years and I got to the last round, and I got into the back nine after struggling on the front nine but then I made a putt on nine and I finally remembered how to play.

"So, in holing a couple of putts suddenly you remember particularly if you have been a champion at one time as you will remember and you will have that to draw on.

"That's what I had to draw on and Tiger has that also to draw on but he's got to through the barrier of not having done it for a while.

"When you haven't won for a while that always happens. That's just human nature but when you have a guy as good as Tiger is and as competitive as he is, he'll break through that barrier and I would not be surprised to see Tiger win this week.

"He loves this golf course and he's played well here in the past, and his rememberance of what he's done here will come back into his head.

"That will help him play better."

The 42-year old Woods has returned to the Nicklaus hosted Memorial for a first occasion since 2015 to tee-up in what will be his ninth event of 2018, and for a first occasion since sharing 11th place earlier this month in the Players Championship.

Woods first won the Memorial in 1999 and then successfully defended his title in both 2000 and 2001 before winning for a fourth occasion in 2009 and a fifth title in 2012.

Zimbabwe parliament sets new date for Mugabe hearing

Zimbabwe’s parliament said on Monday that former President Robert Mugabe was scheduled to answer questions this week related to diamond mining operations during his tenure, but an official said senior ruling party politicians opposed this.

Mugabe was originally scheduled to appear before the mines committee on May 9, which would have been his first public appearance since he was ousted in November, but the invitation letter had never been sent.

Parliament wants the 94-year-old to give evidence over his 2016 declarations that the state had been deprived by mining companies of at least $15 billion in diamond revenue.

A parliament notice said Mugabe would answer questions on Wednesday, subject to confirmation. It did not elaborate.

But a parliament official privy to the issue said it was unlikely Mugabe would appear before the committee because this was opposed by some influential ruling ZANU-PF politicians.

“They are saying they do not want their old man to be embarrassed especially by the opposition members of parliament. It will not happen,” said the official, declining to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the press.

Temba Mliswa, the mines committee chairman said parliament had written the letter and Mugabe had received it. He had not, however, confirmed his attendance.

Mliswa said there were also suggestions that Mugabe could perhaps give evidence at his house or in camera, away from the public eye, but this had not been finalised.

Sony takes controlling stake in EMI Music Publishing

Sony is buying a controlling stake in EMI Music Publishing, giving it control over two million songs by artists from Queen and Carole King to Alicia Keys and Pharrell Williams.

The $2.3bn (£1.7bn) deal will make Sony the world's biggest music publisher.

Sony's publishing business already includes 2.3 million tracks, including the Beatles catalogue.

Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida said streaming services had led to a "resurgence" in the music business.

"We are thrilled to bring EMI Music Publishing into the Sony family and maintain our number one position in the music publishing industry," he said.

"In the entertainment space, we are focusing on building a strong IP [intellectual property] portfolio, and I believe this acquisition will be a particularly significant milestone for our long-term growth."

Sony is raising its stake in EMI Music Publishing from 30% to 90% by buying the stake held by Mubadala Investment Company.

Sony's purchase of EMI Music Publishing is the biggest move so far by Mr Yoshida, who took over the reins from former chief executive Kazuo Hirai earlier this year.

Mr Yoshida and Mr Hirai were together instrumental in reviving Sony's fortunes by selling its struggling PC business and launching the successful PlayStation 4 games console.

Sony also unveiled its business strategy and financial targets for the next three years on Tuesday.

The Japanese giant said it would continue to focus on electronics, entertainment and financial services.

The hardware business - which includes home entertainment products, mobile communications and imaging and camera products - is expected to generate the most cash in the coming years.

In April, Sony reported net profit of 380bn yen for last year, a seven-fold increase on 2016.

Almost all of its divisions saw an improved performance, but sales in the PlayStation unit jumped almost 300%.

Nigerian victims face their human traffickers at Paris trial

Sixteen members of a mostly female network of Nigerian human traffickers operating forced prostitution rings in France went on trial last week in Paris, facing their accusers as the trafficked women testified to being lied to, beaten and raped.

Plaintiffs at the High Court of Paris began giving testimony on May 14 against a group known as the “Authentic Sisters”, saying they were trafficked from Nigeria, abused and forced into prostitution. While eight women are testifying in the case, a total of 49 victims have come forward. The defendants are being tried for procuring and trafficking in human beings, crimes that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.

“It is rare to get this many women to testify,” said a social worker for Bus De Femme, who did not want to be named for security reasons. Bus De Femme, an NGO that provides a range of health and social services to sex workers in Paris, provided pro-bono lawyers for the victims in the case.

In some cases the group’s volunteers and staff worked for years with the women to build up enough trust to convince them to testify. “These girls are often incredibly traumatised and terrified to speak out,” the social worker said. Nigerian members of Bus De Femme’s staff, some of whom are former sex workers themselves, played an integral part.

Of the 16 accused, 11 are women and five are men. Four are currently serving time in prison for previous offenses. The prosecution alleges the accused operated their prostitution network across multiple countries including France, Italy and Spain.

During the first week the judge heard testimony from four women and the preliminary defence from two alleged traffickers, Mark “Hilary” Irorere and his wife Happy Irorere, who are thought to have been the ringleaders responsible for coordinating the women’s affairs once they arrived in Europe.

Promised restaurant or nanny work

While the details of each victim’s testimony are different, important elements are common throughout, indicating there was a systematic approach to the trafficking operations. The plaintiffs, some under 18, claim that before leaving Nigeria they were promised economic opportunities in France unrelated to sex work. One plaintiff testified she was told she would be working in a new restaurant operated by one of the accused; another, that she would work as a nanny.

Before leaving Nigeria the women were taken to voodoo priests, some of whom used body scarification in a ritual to “seal” the women’s contracts with their traffickers. Other women were told they were haunted by “bad spirits” and must pay their traffickers upwards of €70,000 for protection. Plaintiffs testified that both the voodoo priests and their traffickers warned them not to tell anyone about the payments. They would face extreme punishment for talking to police, they said, and family members might be killed.

There have been numerous reports of voodoo priests being involved in Nigeria’s trafficking rings. Earlier this year Oba Ewuare ll, the traditional ruler of Nigeria’s kingdom of Benin – where 90 percent of Nigerian sex trafficking originates and where most of the plaintiffs are from – formally cursed those priests who take part, according to the New York Times. During a ceremony that all priests in the region were required to attend, he declared all people trafficked in his jurisdiction to be released from their voodoo bonds and placed a new curse on any priests continuing the practice.

The plaintiffs testified that they were given fake passports and visas, which they would pay for from the money they earned in the future. They were brought to the home of their future madame and were kept there under strict restrictions, except when they were out seeking new clients.

The women were forced to pay for expenses ranging from food to housing to various fees, totalling exorbitant amounts far in excess of what they were told upon beginning their journeys. Plaintiffs said they had no idea they would be forced t

APC replies Wike for accusing Nigerian govt of planning to kill him

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State has replied the state governor, Nyesom Wike over his claim that the federal government was planning to assassinate him.

The governor, who made the revelation during the third year anniversary thanksgiving service of the Wike administration at Living Faith Church in D-Line, Port Harcourt, said that the plot will fail, because God will continue to defend him.

According to Wike, “Intelligence report available to us as at this morning indicate that they are plotting to assassinate me in a crowd and claim it was accidental discharge “.

“The level of conspiracy against Rivers State is unfortunate. Instead of focusing on governance, they focus on how to assassinate me or frame me up”.

“I am not afraid of my residence being searched by the Police, but I know their evil intention”, he said.

Reacting, however, the Rivers State APC Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, said the governor was up to create mischief, hence his false alarm.

He said, “The governor is doing what he knows best, that is to raise baseless allegations whenever he is up to some mischief.

“Whenever he is up to some mischief, he raises wild allegations in another direction to divert attention from whatever sinister thing he is about to do until he finishes with it in the hope that people will not follow up. That is exactly what informs this statement being credited to him now.”

The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Over 1800 guests and members of the public will be having breakfast with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they celebrate their nuptial at the Windsor Castle.

Thousands of royal enthusiasts, clad in the national colours, have also thronged the St. George’s Chapel to catch a glimpse of the anticipated matrimony between the Prince and the former ‘Suits’ actress.

Members of the Royal family and a huge number of celebrities across the globe will be among the 600 invited guests to grace the historic occasion. Another 2,640 members of the public have also been chosen to witness the ceremony from the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Meanwhile, Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, is stepping in for the father of the bride, as he prepares to walk Ms Markle down the aisle.

Many have described the ceremony as the wedding of the year.

background

Prince Harry, grandson to the Queen and the son of the Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is marrying Hollywood actress Meghan Markle.

He is sixth in line to the throne.

They met through mutual friends in 2016 and the prince popped the question as they cooked roast chicken one night.

Big Ag turns to peas to meet soaring global protein demand

Cargill, the global grains trader, sees the future of protein in the humble pea.

In a joint venture at a Wisconsin plant, flour milled from Iowa yellow peas is mixed with water and spun at high speed through stainless steel drums, separating the protein from starch and fiber.

The resulting powder ends up blended into waffle mixes, sports drinks, nutrition bars and protein shakes - small examples of a much larger push by the world’s biggest agriculture firms to find alternative plant-based proteins to feed people and livestock worldwide.

“When we looked at where is the future going, the pea is the up-and-coming thing,” said David Henstrom, Cargill Inc’s vice-president of starches, sweeteners and texturizers.

Peas are in many ways the ideal modern American food: protein-rich, plant-based and gluten-free. While the market remains relatively small, the demand for pea powder and other emerging protein sources is soaring, from the middle classes in China and the health-conscious in California to livestock producers and fish farmers who need to fatten animals on ever-tighter budgets.

Cargill and its competitors - such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM.N) and Richardson International, the biggest Canadian grain handler - are investing in specialty ingredients in search of higher profit margins than they can extract from bigger commodity crops such as soybeans, corn and wheat.

Cargill invested an undisclosed sum in January in a joint venture with PURIS, a family-run company that started in Iowa as a seed company and now owns the Wisconsin pea-powder plant. The two firms are also working to boost the protein content in peas through cross-breeding, which has not been previously reported.

Cargill rival ADM is building its own pea processing plant in North Dakota and signing contracts with farmers to buy and grow yellow peas, Ken Campbell, ADM’s president of specialty ingredients, said in a statement to Reuters. Company researchers are also studying another 30 types of protein options, including nuts and seeds.

Other firms are trying to draw more protein from canola, oats and many other so-called emerging proteins, and Cargill has explored insect-based feed for fish and poultry.

Seed and chemical firm DowDuPont Inc (DWDP.N) told Reuters it plans to launch a canola seed supercharged with protein through traditional cross-breeding as soon as next year.

Richardson International started construction in April of a C$30-million ($23 million) laboratory in Winnipeg to study proteins and other food ingredients. The firm is exploring a move into pea and oat protein concentrates that could start next year, senior vice-president of technology Chuck Cohen said in an interview. France-based food ingredient company Roquette is building plant in Manitoba to produce pea proteins in North America, which currently imports from Europe.

SOARING DEMAND

Projections for soaring sales from alternative plant proteins have enticed large grain traders that make money by buying, selling, storing, shipping and trading crops. Years of oversupplied grain markets and thin margins have squeezed the trading operations of ADM, Bunge Ltd (BG.N), Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Co – known collectively as the “ABCDs” - although conditions have improved recently.

Global demand for protein – whether from meat, aquaculture or plant sources – is booming in part due to rising incomes in emerging markets in Asia and Africa, industry analysts say. In North America, consumers are shifting their diet preferences to include more protein, and 35 percent of U.S. households last year said they follow a specific protein-focused diet, such as Paleo or low-carbohydrate, according to research conducted by Nielsen.

The trend is driving a shift in grocery shopping. In the year ended July 8, 2017, sales of plant-based food and beverages in the U.S. increased 14.7 percent over the previous period, according to Nielsen. Sales of meat alternatives are growing especially within prepa

Man charged with stalking Rihanna after 'breaking into her home

A man has been charged with stalking Rihanna after allegedly breaking into her home in the Hollywood Hills.

Eduardo Leon, 27, has been charged with one felony count each of stalking, first-degree residential burglary and vandalism, and one misdemeanour count of resisting arrest.

Leon, from Fullerton, California, is accused of hopping a fence and entering a house owned by singer, who was not home at the time of the alleged incident on May 9.

I t is said the accused spent about 12 hours inside the home and was arrested the next day after being discovered by the singer's assistant.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday in the Foltz Criminal Justice Centre in Los Angeles, officials said. If convicted, Leon faces a possible maximum sentence of six years in state prison.

The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Google under investigation for ‘secretly tracking Android users

The long-running feud between Google and Oracle has officially spilled over into the tech-privacy debate, with Oracle prompting an Australian investigation into Google’s alleged tracking of Android phone users. 

The Australian competition and privacy regulators are jointly looking into Oracle’s allegations that Android phones quietly tell Google where users are located, even if they have location services turned off, and even if there is no SIM card in the device. 

These allegations first surfaced in November media reports. While the source of the information was not disclosed at the time, security expert Ashkan Soltani—formerly the Federal Trade Commission’s chief technologist—claimed Oracle had disseminated the story, and had been trying to do so for months. 

Oracle has now openly repeated the allegations in a presentation to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC,) which is probing Google and Facebook’s impact on the advertising market—spoiler: they own it. Oracle also said Android devices sent Google detailed information on people’s searches and surfing. 

Crucially, Oracle claimed all of these surreptitious data transfers add up to about a gigabyte per month, for which the user has to pay.

“We are exploring how much consumers know about the use of location data and are working closely with the Privacy Commissioner,” the ACCC said in a statement. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said it was “making inquiries with Google.” 

Google, which has been fighting Oracle in court for years over the code used in Android, hit back at its nemesis by pointing out that Oracle is a major player in the behind-the-scenes trafficking in people’s data. 

“Google is completely focused on protecting our users’ data while making the products they love work better for them. Users can see what data is collected and how it’s used in one easy place, My Account, and control it all from there,” Google said. “Like many of Oracle’s corporate tactics, this presentation is sleight of hand, not facts, and given that Oracle markets itself as the world’s biggest data broker, they know it.” 

“Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymized and is not tied or traceable to a specific user,” the company added. 

Oracle declined to respond to Google’s parry.

Ronaldo leads Portugal’s 35-man squad

Portugal have named Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo, in their 35-man provisional squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Ronaldo again will lead Seleção das Quinas to this summer’s tournament after he captained the team four years ago in Brazil.

The 35-man squad announced on Tuesday by Portugal coach, Fernando Santos is made up of three goalkeepers, thirteen defenders, nine midfielders and nine strikers.

The squad include: Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes, Beto, Rui Patricio

Defenders: Vitorino Antunes, Bruno Alves, Cedric, Joao Cancelo, Jose Fonte, Luis Neto, Mario Rui, Nelson Semedo, Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, Ricardo Pereira, Rolando, Ruben Dias

Midfielders: Adrien Silva, Andre Gomes, Bruno Fernandes, William Carvalho, Joao Mario, Joao Moutinho, Manuel Fernandes, Ruben Neves, Sergio Oliveira,Forwards: Andre Silva, Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eder, Gelson Martins, Goncalo Guedes, Nani, Paulinho, Ricardo Quaresma, Rony Lopes

Musk tells Tesla Staff he is planning ‘reorganization

Tesla's chief executive officer told employees on Monday the company is undergoing a “thorough reorganization,” as it contends with questions over its production schedule and two crashes last week involving its electric, self-driving cars.

CEO Elon Musk said in an email that as part of the reorganization it was “flattening the management structure to improve communication, combining functions where sensible and trimming activities that are not vital to the success of our mission” in an email that was confirmed by Tesla after being disclosed earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Senior Tesla executives have departed or cut back work

Waymo, Alphabet Inc's self-driving unit, said on Sunday that Matthew Schwall had joined the company from Tesla, where he was the electric carmaker’s main technical contact with U.S. safety investigators. Last week, Tesla said Doug Field, senior vice president of engineering, was taking time off to recharge.

Tesla is at a critical juncture as it tries to fix production problems that have slowed the rollout of its Model 3 sedan, a mid-market car seen as key to the company’s success, and as it expands on other fronts.

The company has registered a new car firm in Shanghai, China, in a likely step toward production in China.

Musk said on a May 2 earnings call that the company was “going to conduct sort of a reorganization restructuring of the company ... this month and make sure we’re well set up to achieve that goal.”

He added that “the number of sort of third-party contracting companies that we’re using has really gotten out of control, so we’re going to scrub the barnacles on that front. It’s pretty crazy. You’ve got barnacles on barnacles. So there’s going to be a lot of barnacle removal.”

Tesla will still rapidly hire critical positions “to support the Model 3 production ramp and future product development,” Musk said in the email.

Tesla faces a variety of issues

Investors gave a rare rebuke to Musk after he cut off analysts on the earnings call asking about profit potential, sending shares down 5 percent despite promises that production of the troubled Model 3 was on track.

In the latest of two reported crashes last week that have drawn attention, a Tesla Model S sedan was traveling at 60 miles per hour (97 km per hour) when it smashed into a fire truck stopped at a red light in South Jordan, Utah, about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City on Friday night, police said on Monday.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said on Monday “at this point it doesn’t appear that NTSB is investigating” the Utah crash.

The Tesla driver suffered a broken ankle and was taken to a hospital while the firefighter was not injured, the police said.

Witnesses said the Tesla sedan did not brake prior to impact, police said in a statement, adding it was unknown if the Autopilot feature in the Model S was engaged at the time.

“Tesla has not yet received any data from the car and thus does not know the facts of what occurred, including whether Autopilot was engaged,” the company said in a statement on Monday.

The NTSB said last week it was investigating a Tesla accident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 8 that killed two teenagers and injured another — the agency’s fourth active probe into crashes of the company’s electric vehicles.

Autopilot, a form of advanced cruise control, handles some driving tasks and warns those behind the wheel they are always responsible for the vehicle’s safe operation, Tesla has said.

A U.S. traffic safety regulator on May 2 contradicted Tesla’s claim that the agency had found that its Autopilot technology significantly reduced crashes.

Tesla shares dipped 0.5 percent to $299.45 on Monday.

Senator Omo-Agege withdraws from resumption at Nigerian Senate

Contrary to the avowed intention to resume legislative session on Tuesday, senator Ovie Omo-Agege representing Delta central did not appear in plenary today.

The embattled lawmaker has premised his resumption on the high court judgement that vacated the suspension slammed on him by the hallowed chamber.

Omo-Agege was suspended over his comment allegedly tarnishing the image of the senate.

He, however, approached the court to challenge senate’s decision to suspend him.
When the court delivered judgement in his favour, he made declarations that he was going to be in plenary to continue to represent his constituents.

The Senate leadership has,however, reconsidered its position and decided late Monday night to comply with the judgement of the Federal High Court and do nothing to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from his scheduled resumption.

The Senate stated, “As an institution that obeys the law and court orders, the Senate has decided that it will comply with the judgement of the Federal High Court and do nothing to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from resuming in his office and at plenary from tomorrow May 15, 2018, pending the determination of the application for stay of execution”.

“The Senate leadership has been briefed by our lawyers on last Thursday’s judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on whether the Senate has the legal authority to suspend a member for certain misconduct or not.

“We have equally filed an appeal against the judgement of the court and a motion for stay of execution of the judgement at the Court of Appeal.

“The Senate has been advised that since the motion for stay of execution of the Thursday (May 10, 2018) judgement shall be heard and possibly determined on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, we shall therefore respect the subsisting High Court judgement and await the appellate court’s decision on the pending motion”.

However, Omo-Agege’s inability to resume as promised may not be unconnected with the pending determination of the application by the upper chamber for stay of execution of the judgement delivered in favour of the lawmaker.
Also, the forthcoming findings of the expanded senate and House of representatives investigation committee set up to unravel the circumstances that led to the invasion of the National Assembly and the snatching of the senate mace may not be favourable to Omo-Agege.

CAN General Secretary, Musa Asake is dead

The General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr. Musa Asake, is dead.

PRESS  confirmed that Asake died on Friday morning (today) in Abuja after an illness.

The death of Asake came about two weeks after he led a nationwide protest called by CAN against the killing of Christians by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

His death was confirmed by his brother and former member of the House of Representatives, Jonathan Asake.

Jonathan told Press , “Yes, he died this morning. We are right now in the mortuary. I was with him yesterday (Thursday) in his house.”

Manchester United do not celebrate coming second - Mourinho

Manchester United "don't celebrate second position", says manager Jose Mourinho after his side sealed the Premier League runners-up spot with a 0-0 draw at West Ham.

United, denied victory by the inspired form of West Ham goalkeeper Adrian, moved four points clear of third-placed Tottenham with one game left.

It means Mourinho's side will finish four positions better off than last year, which was the Portuguese's first season at the club.

And although Mourinho said he felt "OK" about finishing second, he added: "I am not jumping around - that's not my nature or my history. Manchester United are the same.

"The top four is obviously important but it's better to finish second than fourth and it's better to be second for months and months and months than losing that position and that control.

"We don't celebrate second position but we are happy because for a few months, we realised it was impossible to win the league and, of course, the target is the second position.

Despite West Ham's attempts to generate an atmosphere at the London Stadium for this fixture - by adding huge concourse motifs of their former captains and record breakers - there were a large number of empty seats.

And the game was reflective of an end-of-season affair, with the only moment of note in the later stages being a confrontation between both sets of players following Paul Pogba's foul on Mark Noble.

"It was hardly worth talking about [the incident at the end]. The referee handled it well," said Moyes after the West Ham captain appeared to grab the French midfielder by the neck in a scuffle.

Nigerian diplomat found dead in Sudan home

A Nigerian diplomat was on Thursday found dead at his home in Khartoum, capital of Sudan

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, two security sources were quoted to have confirmed the death who said investigation was ongoing.

Royal Bank of Scotland to pay $4.9bn US subprime fine

Britain's state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland said Thursday it had been fined $4.9 billion by the US Justice Department over its role in the subprime crisis.

The huge sum, the equivalent of 4.1 billion euros, was however less than feared and resulted in a sharp share price gain for the government-owned lender.

RBS said in a statement that it reached a preliminary deal "with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to resolve its investigation into RBS's issuance and underwriting of US residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007".

It follows a separate fine of $5.5 billion agreed in July 2017 with the Federal Housing Finance Agency over the same matter.

Edinburgh-based RBS, which remains 71 percent owned by the British government after receiving the world's biggest banking bailout at the height of the subsequent 2008 global financial crisis, described the news as a "milestone".

?Today's announcement is a milestone moment for the bank," said chief executive Ross McEwan.

"Reaching this settlement in principle with the US Department of Justice will, when finalised, allow us to deal with this significant remaining legacy issue and is the price we have to pay for the global ambitions pursued by this bank before the crisis.

"Removing the uncertainty over the scale of this settlement means that the investment case for this bank is much clearer,? McEwan added.

The lender added that $3.46 billion of the settlement will be covered by existing provisions, while it will take another $1.44 billion charge for the second quarter of 2018.

Shares in RBS jumped 4.5 percent to 288.5 pence in early deals on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was up 0.2 percent overall.

That "a significant obstacle that had been hanging over the bank looks finally to have been cleared", noted analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK.

- Resurgence -

Britain's Conservative government is meanwhile planning to return RBS to private ownership with the aim of selling £15 billion of its stake by 2023.

However, it had stressed that the subprime claims needed to be resolved before it could start selling down its holding.

RBS last year posted its first annual bottom-line profit since 2007, the eve of the global financial crisis, following a huge drop in litigation costs.

And the bank recently revealed that this year's first-quarter net profits more than tripled on lower restructuring costs and rising income.

Earnings after tax surged to £792 million ($1.1 billion, 911 million euros) in the first three months of this year.

That easily beat analysts' consensus forecasts and compared to a £259-million profit in the same period of 2017.

Sepp Blatter opposed to joint World Cup bids amid 2026 proposals

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has reiterated his view that World Cups should be staged in one country rather than co-hosted by multiple nations.

Blatter, 82, said football's world governing body is now interested in co-hosted World Cups because it wants to increase the tournament to 48 teams.

A decision on the hosts of the 2026 World Cup will be made on 13 June.

United States, Canada and Mexico have made a joint bid while Morocco has also bid to host the event.

"To have three big countries together... they have proven they can host it alone, so why are the three together?" Blatter told Mani Djazmi, from the BBC's World Football programme.

Disgraced former president Blatter was in charge of football for 17 years until he was banned amid a corruption scandal in 2015.

The World Cup has only been staged in more than one country once when it was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002, a tournament Blatter says was a "nightmare in organisation".

He said joint bids were denied from Libya and Tunisia for the 2010 tournament, and Spain and Portugal, and Belgium and the Netherlands for 2018, because of a decision from Fifa not to consider a "combined organisation".

Blatter has also criticised a taskforce introduced for the 2026 bidding process which has the power to exclude a bid to host the competition before the vote at Fifa's congress.

"They cannot do that," Blatter said.

"Even if one of the candidates is not a good one, they have the right to be at the congress.

"That's why I'm advocating that Morocco has to go to the congress. Morocco cannot be kicked out before the congress."

How Fayose mocked APC after PDP primaries

Ayo Fayose, Ekiti State Governor has mocked the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the peaceful conduct and successful conclusion of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries in the state on Tuesday night.

DAILY POST reports that Prof. Kolapo Olusola, deputy governor of Ekiti State emerged as the PDP governorship candidate.

Olusola polled 1,191 votes to beat former party spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who polled 770 votes.

Fayose, however, took to his Twitter handle on Wednesday morning to say APC should learn from PDP and be democratic for once.

“Good morning Nigerians. I thank you all for standing by us in Ekiti & @OfficialPDPNig yesterday.

“What you saw here in Ekiti was our party’s demonstration of how the people should choose their leaders.

“I hope the @APCNigeria will also learn from this and be democratic for once.

“Should the @APCNigeria be ready for tutelage on how to conduct free, fair and transparent primary elections, we will be glad to help the party.

Burkina Faso on track for GDP growth of around 6 percent this year - IMF

Burkina Faso’s economy is on track to grow by around 6 percent this year, in line with the last two years’ average, the International Monetary Fund said in a statement on Monday.

Burkina Faso’s economy expanded by more than 6 percent per year on average during 2016-2017, showing considerable resilience in the face of security and weather-related shocks.

‘‘This performance reflects considerable resilience in the face of external shocks, notably three significant terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou over the last two years and a deteriorating security situation in the border regions in the north, as well as poor rainfall in 2017, which threatens food security in the country,’‘ said Dalia Hakura, who led the IMF team that visited Burkina Faso.

This performance reflects considerable resilience in the face of external shocks, notably three significant terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou over the last two years and a deteriorating security situation in the border regions in the north, as well as poor rainfall in 2017, which threatens food security in the country.

The West African nation, which agreed a programme with the Fund in March, will meanwhile aim to reduce its fiscal deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2019 after it ballooned to an unprecedented 7.7 percent last year.

Nina laments, reveals what Imo govt did to her

Ex-Big Brother Naija 2018 housemate, Nina has expressed disappointment in Imo state government for not recognising her.

This was after the winner of the just concluded reality show, Miracle was invited and honoured by the Imo state government as ‘Education Ambassador’

But, Nina who is also an indigene of Imo and a student of Imo state University (IMSU) was not recognised or awarded any appointment.

Reacting on her Instagram page, Nina lamented thus, “Feeling bad right now. I was not recognised in my own state. But it is well.”

Somali gunmen abduct German ICRC nurse in Mogadishu

A German nurse working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was kidnapped in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, the aid group said.

She was seized by unknown armed men from inside the ICRC compound at 20:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

The 10 remaining international staff are being evacuated to Nairobi until further notice, the ICRC told the BBC.

A Somali woman working for the World Health Organization, also in Mogadishu, was shot dead by gunmen on Tuesday.

A relative of the woman, identified as Maryan Abdullahi, said she was targeted while at a market to buy items in preparation for her wedding next week.

There is no suggestion her killing and the abduction are linked.

Decades of conflict have made Somalia one of the world's most dangerous countries for aid workers, but security has improved in recent years and Wednesday's kidnapping is the first involving a foreign worker in almost 10 years.

"We are deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague," said Daniel O'Malley, the ICRC's deputy head of delegation for Somalia, in a statement.

"She is a nurse who was working every day to save lives and improve the health of some of Somalia's most vulnerable people."

Staff believe the kidnappers took their colleague out through a back door, avoiding security guards stationed at the main entrance of the ICRC compound, Reuters reported.

A police hunt for the nurse is under way. It is not known who is behind the kidnapping.

The Swiss-based agency, which has provided humanitarian aid in Somalia for years, has temporarily suspended movement in Mogadishu but said Somali staff would continue ICRC's programs outside the capital.

Somalia collapsed into anarchy in 1991 when war lords overthrew a military regime. Major armed conflict has since subsided, which allowed for parliamentary and presidential elections to take place in 2012.

However, al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants still regularly launch attacks in the capital and elsewhere in the country.

Court remands Dino Melaye in police custody

A senior magistrate court 2 in Lokoja, Kogi state has remanded Senator Dino Melaye, lawmaker representing Kogi West in Police custody till June 11th, 2018.

The senator who was brought into the court in a police ambulance was accused of armed sponsoring.

The embattled senator was on Thursday arraigned at the Magistrate court in Lokoja, Kogi state.

PRESS Reports that, Melaye who was on Wednesday arraigned at the Chief Magistrates Court, Wuse for criminal conspiracy and granted bail for N90 million was re-arrested to immediately face other criminal charges against him in Lokoja, Kogi State.

The Force headquarters, in a statement by its spokesman, Jimoh Moshood had said, “Senator Dino Melaye was arraigned in court by the Police today, 2nd May, 2018 at the Chief Magistrate Court, Wuse, Abuja for Criminal conspiracy, causing damage to government property, attempted suicide and escape from lawful custody.”

However, Melaye was brought into the court premises in an ambulance amid heavy security.