Microsoft battles US over warrant for drugs case emails

 FromTechnology

ImageThinkstockImageMicrosoft stores the disputed emails at its data centre in Dublin

Microsoft is returning to court to continue its fight against the US government's demand that it hand over emails stored at an Irish data centre.

The messages involved are alleged to contain details of narcotics sales.

In 2014, a court ruled in favour of the government's claim that because it had jurisdiction over the US-based company, it could force it to hand over data it controlled, even if stored abroad.

But Microsoft suggests that would put it in breach of privacy laws.

Instead, the company argues that the US"must respect the sovereignty of other countries" and has indicated that Washington should use legal assistance treaties if it wants access to information held in Ireland and other data centres outside the United States.

Ireland has already said that it would consider such a request "expeditiously".

So, the stand-off is being viewed as a test case that will determine the extent of the US government's powers over tech companies that offer cloud-based services.

ImageThinkstockImageThe case involves emails alleged to contain details of illegal trade of narcotics

Apple, Amazon, HP, eBay, AT&T, Verizon and Salesforce are among US companies that have voiced support for Microsoft's appeal.

"They think they have already lost quite a lot of business in Europe over monitoring and surveillance concerns, and they are afraid it will get worse if there is a perceived carte blanche for the US authorities to access emails stored abroad," said Carsten Caspar, from tech consultancy Gartner.

"The EU has stronger privacy requirements, at least on paper, compared with other parts of the world, so tensions between the US and Europe are highest. But other countries are also concerned by US access to foreign records."

'Open floodgate'

Microsoft says that it wants to ensure people can "trust the technology on their desks and in their pockets".

"If the US government is permitted to serve warrants on tech companies in the United States and obtain people's emails in any country, it will open the floodgate for other countries to serve warrants on tech companies for the private communications of American citizens that are stored in the United States in a data centre owned by a foreign company," the company's lawyer Brad Smith recentlytold the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

"Imagine the immediate implications for journalists, advocacy organisations, or government officials here."

ImageGetty ImagesImageMicrosoft says the US government needs to balance privacy and national security

However, federal prosecutors involved in the case note that it "typically takes months" to obtain information via treaty requests, while warrants issued directly to US companies can be handled much more quickly.

They add that Microsoft's system of storing data where customers say they are based is open to abuse.

"A criminal user can easily manipulate such a policy to evade the reach of US law enforcement by the simple expedient of giving false residence," they state in court papers.

And they add that, anyway, US-based bodies have a legal obligation to comply with warrants issued under the Stored Communications Act, regardless of where the related electronic records are kept.

"With the benefits of corporate citizenship in the United States come corresponding responsibilities, including the responsibility to comply with a disclosure order issued by a US court," they wrote.

"Microsoft should not be heard to complain that doing so might harm its bottom line."

Microsoft's lawyer has said that if it loses the appeal, he will try to take the matter "all the way to the Supreme Court".

Queen Elizabeth II becomes longest-reigning UK monarch

 FromUK

ImageHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth IIImageA new official photograph has been released to mark the occasion

Queen Elizabeth II becomes Britain's longest-reigning monarch later when she passes the record set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

The Queen will have reigned for 63 years and seven months - calculated at 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes at about 17:30 BST.

Prime Minister David Cameron will lead tributes in the House of Commons and there will be a River Thames salute.

The Queen, who is 89, will spend the day on official duties in Scotland.

The exact moment the Queen reaches the milestone is not known because her father, George VI, passed away in the early hours of 6 February 1952.

Business in the Commons will be postponed for half an hour so MPs can pay tribute to the Queen.

On the Thames, a flotilla of historic vessels, leisure cruisers and passenger boats will take part in a procession between Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.

The bridge will lift as a sign of respect and HMS Belfast will sound a four-gun salute.

The BT Tower in central London will scroll the message "long may she reign".

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Analysis

ImageGetty Images

By BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell

It will be day 23,226 of her reign. The Queen is determined that it should in no way be exceptional.

She has let it be known with some emphasis that she does not want a fuss to be made.

It is evidently viewed as bad form for one long-lived queen to be seen in any way to be celebrating the passing of a record set by another long-lived queen.

But of course that is precisely why 9 September 2015 is notable in its way. Elizabeth II will become the longest-reigning monarch in British history, passing the record set by her great-great-grandmother Victoria.

And in an institution as old as the monarchy, that is a rather striking measure to add to the other memorable features of her reign.

She may not want there to be a fuss but it would seem that a good number of British citizens, to say nothing of those from further afield, believe that her record-breaking reign deserves a little recognition.

A constant amid gale-force changes

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Buckingham Palace has released an official photograph to mark the occasion, taken by Mary McCartney in the Queen's private audience room.

This is where she holds weekly audiences with prime ministers of the day, and receives visiting heads of state and government.

The prime minister's official spokeswoman said Mr Cameron had paid tribute to the Queen at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Mr Cameron said the Queen had a "remarkable record" and was "a symbol of Britain's enduring spirit admired around the world".

It is understood that Wednesday will be a normal working day for the monarch with no special celebration.

She will be joined by the Duke of Edinburgh to open the £294m Scottish Borders Railway and make a steam train journey with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The Queen is taking her traditional summer break at this time of year at her private Scottish home, Balmoral.

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Queens of the modern age

ImageGetty Images

ImageElizabeth II has reigned for 63 years and seven months, beating Queen Victoria's record

• Victoria became queen at 18 while Elizabeth was 25
• Elizabeth II rides in the same coach as Victoria did for the annual State Opening of Parliament
• Both queens were shot at by a lone gunman while out riding near Buckingham Palace
• Elizabeth loves the private royal estate at Balmoral, which was bought by Victoria
• Victoria ruled over an empire of 400 million people. Elizabeth is head of state for 138 million people

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Queen Victoria became queen at the age of 18 and ruled for 63 years, seven months and two days.

Queen Elizabeth's reign has included 12 prime ministers, two more than served under Victoria.

One of those prime ministers, Conservative Sir John Major, rejected any suggestion the Queen had been too passive as head of state: "The monarchy wouldn't be as popular if they were part of politics - they're above and beyond it.

"But when the Queen meets her prime minister she has the opportunity to question, to ask, to counsel. Nobody knows and no prime minister is going to tell you exactly what happens at those meetings. So those who say she's been too passive, how can they possibly know?"

The Queen is sovereign of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK, and Brian Mulroney, former prime minister of Canada, said she remained extremely popular there.

'Genuinely exceptional'

He also told BBC Radio 5live that while her position might appear only "symbolic", she had played an important role on the world stage, notably in the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

"She has her own way of conveying a view on an important national or international issue that, if you know her in any way, is unmistakeably clear.

"The fact that she has exercised authority in such an impeccable manner, her own reputation and her own personal conduct has been flawless... the only conclusion I can come to is that she is a genuinely exceptional person."

Anti-monarchist group Republic said the Queen's long reign was a reason for reform not celebration.

Chief executive Graham Smith said: "It is now time for the country to look to the future and to choose a successor through free and fair elections, someone who can genuinely represent the nation."

Migrant crisis: Australia ups refugee intake and plans Syria strikes

FromAustralia

ImageGetty ImagesImageMr Abbott says all new refugees will undergo health and "character" checks

Australia is to take in thousands more Syrians, amid growing pressure to do more to help those displaced by violence in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Wednesday announced that Australia would accept 12,000 Syrians from persecuted minorities.

That is on top of the 13,750 overall intake of confirmed refugees for 2015.

Australia will also expand its role fighting the so-called Islamic State (IS) to include its Syrian strongholds.

ImageGetty ImagesImageAustralia is extending its airstrikes from Iraq into Syria

The Australian air force has been bombing IS targets in Iraq for about 12 months, but the US last month asked Australia to help pursue targets in Syria.

Mr Abbott's announcement is a major policy change. Several days ago he said Australia would take more Syrian refugees, but only as part of existing quota.

Europe is struggling to cope with its worst migrant crisis since World War Two, with tens of thousands crossing European borders.

The European Commission is due to announce plans to distribute 120,000 asylum seekers among EU member countries, with binding quotas.

Analysis: Wendy Frew, BBC Digital Editor, Sydney

When senior Liberal politician, and close colleague of Tony Abbott's, Mike Baird said Australia had to do much more to help refugees, you could almost hear a collective gasp in political circles.

More than any international criticism of Australia's stance on refugees, the New South Wales premier's plea last week to Mr Abbott to "do even more" and "do it now" would surely have weighed heavily on the prime minister's mind.

Similar calls from other Liberal state premiers followed and thousands of Australians took to streets demanding the government help solve the biggest migrant crisis in decades.

Mr Abbott on Wednesday finally took note, announcing what will be one of Australia's biggest intakes of refugees since World War Two.

'Generous response to the emergency'

"This is a very significant increase in Australia's humanitarian intake and it's a generous response to the current emergency," said Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

"Our focus for these new 12,000 permanent resettlement places will be those people most in need of permanent protection - women, children and families from persecuted minorities who have sought temporary refuge in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey," he said.

In recent days, a number of prominent government members have said Australia should only accept Christians from Syria.

That position has been widely criticised by other political parties, Muslim associations and international charity groups, who say decisions should not be made on the basis of people's religious beliefs.

Mr Abbott said the government was not discriminating, as both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities were being persecuted "and we are prioritising all of them".

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ImageReuter

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Financial aid

Australia will also give A$44m ($32m; £21m) to the UN to directly pay for the support of 240,000 displaced people in countries neighbouring Syria and Iraq.

That would increase Australia's total humanitarian aid to the Syria and Iraq conflicts to A$230m since 2011, Mr Abbott said

Asked why it had taken the government so long to react to mounting public and political pressure, Mr Abbott said he did not want to rush a decision without taking advice.

"I think we are all in the grip of grief, really, as we saw the tragedy unfolding on our television screens [but] the responsibility of government, the responsibility of prime ministers in particular is to act in a measured and considered way," he said.

The government's decision to extend air strikes into Syria, a sovereign state, has been criticised in some quarters. Syria has not, unlike Iraq, asked for international help to fight IS.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said on Wednesday the move was illegal, reckless and dangerous.

He said the UN had not approved the air strikes and the government's claim it could make the strikes under "collective self defence" was not true.

Article 51 of the UN charter guarantees "the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United nations".

"As odious as [Syrian president Bashar al-Assad] is, Syria does not pose a threat to any other country," Mr Wilkie said.

Bangkok shrine attack suspect 'gave device to bomber'

 FromAsia

ImageAPImageThe suspect was surrounded by dozens of officers and wearing body armour

Thai police say a key suspect in the Bangkok shrine bombing has confessed to giving a bag containing a device to the man who carried out the attack.

National police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri's announcement came as the suspect, Yusufu Mieraili, was taken to a train station in Bangkok to re-enact the alleged handover.

The 17 August blast at the Erawan Shrine killed 20 people.

Two foreign men are in custody, but the bomber himself has not been found.

The man, wearing a yellow T-shirt, was seen placing a backpack at the popular shrine and leaving, shortly before the explosion.

'It was a bomb'

Mr Prawut told reporters at the Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok: "This is the area where he met the man in a yellow shirt to exchange the backpack."

"Yusufu said the backpack that he carried was heavy and it was a bomb," he said.

ImageAPImageMr Meraili was transported by tuk-tuk to the railway station

The suspect had allegedly told police that he travelled to the station from an apartment in the outskirts of Bangkok where police had found bomb-making materials in an earlier raid.

Mr Mieraili, who has not been charged, was intercepted earlier this month as he attempted to cross the border into Cambodia.

Police have not confirmed his nationality but say he was carrying a Chinese passport.

ImageAPImageThe blast took place at the Erawan Shrine which honours the Hindu god Lord Brahma

The suspect was also taken to the Erawan Shrine as part of a police re-enactment, according to AP news agency.

On Tuesday, he was taken to visit apartments in other parts of Bangkok where police said they found the bomb-making materials as well as passports.

Thailand's police regularly conducts re-enactments with suspects, a practice which has been criticised as implying guilt before trial.

ImageEPAImageThai police had earlier arrested another suspect named as Adem Karadag

The other man in custody has been named by local media as Adem Karadag.

Local media have quoted police sources as saying that they are hunting for the alleged mastermind of the attack, who is thought to have left Thailand a day before the attack.

Police also released a photo of the man, who was named as 27-year-old Abudureheman Abudusataer, also known as "Izan" or "Ishan".

Child mortality falls by 50% since 1990 - report

ImageThe greatest risk is during the first few days after birth, the report says

Child mortality has fallen by more than 50% since 1990, a report by the World Health Organization and UN children's agency Unicef says.

It says that 25 years ago 12.7 million children under five died, but this year the figure is projected to drop below six million for the first time.

But aid agencies warn that huge challenges remain.

They point out that the UN target of reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 will not be met.

The rate fell by 53% over this period, the report says.

Stark inequality

"We have to acknowledge tremendous global progress," said Unicef's deputy executive director Geeta Rao Gupta.

"But the far too large number of children still dying from preventable causes before their fifth birthday... should impel us to redouble our efforts to do what we know needs to be done".

The report says that 16,000 children under the age of five still die every day. Many become victims of preventable illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhoea or malaria.

And almost half the deaths are linked to malnutrition, the document says.

The greatest risk is during the first few days after birth - 45% of all deaths occur before the child is a month old.

The report also highlights the stark inequality of life chances for the world's children.

It says that those born in sub-Saharan Africa have a 1-in-12 chance of dying before their fifth birthday. In wealthy nations the risk is 1-in-147.

British Airways plane catches fire in Las Vegas

A British Airways plane bound for London has caught fire at Las Vegas airport, forcing the evacuation of 172 people on board on emergency slides.

Airport officials said at least 13 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

US Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the left engine of the Boeing 777-200 caught fire before take-off.

The plane was seen engulfed in flames and smoke. The fire was later put out.

ImageEPAImageA plume of black smoke was seen billowing into the sky from the planeImageAPImageFirefighters put out the fire after the evacuation of the passengers and crew

Flight 2276 was bound for London's Gatwick airport.

There were 159 passengers and 13 crew members on board.

The airport tweeted: "Received first call at 4:13 PM (23:13 GMT); flames were spotted at 4:14, and by 4:14 response was underway."

It added: "@LASairport had the fire out and all passengers off BA flight by 4:18 PM - excellent work by our ARFF team."

Airport officials said at least 13 people were taken to the city's Sunrise hospital, most of them with injuries sustained while sliding down inflatable chutes during the evacuation.

Jacob Steinberg, a Guardian journalist who was on board the plane, tweeted:"Was asleep as the plane took off. Came to a crashing halt. Smell of smoke. Initially told to stay seated, then shout of evacuate."

He later added: "Could smell and see smoke but was on other side of plane. One person said fire melted a couple of windows."

Some of those on board said there was smoke in the cabin as one exit was opened and immediately declared unsafe.

Eyewitness Reggie Bugmuncher said she was waiting at a gate for her flight when she heard people saying: "Oh, my God."

She said looked out the window and could see "bursts of flames coming out of the middle of the plane", the Associated Press news agency reports.

An investigation into the blaze is now under way after what was clearly a lucky escape, the BBC's James Cook in Los Angeles reports.

Officials later said one runway was shut down, but three others continued to operate.

McCarran is a major airport in the US, handling more than 40 million passengers last year.

Migrant crisis: EU to announce plans for quotas

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is due to announce plans to tackle Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War Two.

Under the proposals, 120,000 asylum seekers will be distributed among EU member countries, with binding quotas.

This comes after thousands of mainly Syrian migrants began trekking northwards through Europe this weekend.

Hungary has been warned to expect an additional 40,000 migrants by the end of next week.

Vincent Cochetel, a regional co-ordinator for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, also urged the Hungarian authorities to improve registration and reception procedures.

Hungary has become a key point on the journey north for the migrants, with more than 150,000 people arriving this year.

The authorities there are now reinforcing a border fence designed to keep migrants from entering from Serbia and are toughening asylum laws.

In a separate development Australia, which has been under pressure to do more to help displaced people, has announced plans to take in more Syrian refugees.

The government said it would accept 12,000 Syrian refugees from persecuted minorities.

'Important first step'

The migrant crisis and how to resolve it has exposed divisions within the EU.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Romania have opposed the idea of mandatory quotas.

On Tuesday, though, Poland appeared to soften its position. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz said the country would accept more migrants than the 2,000 it first offered to take.

Germany has welcomed Syrian migrants, waiving EU rules and saying it expects to deal with 800,000 asylum seekers this year alone. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said his country could cope with 500,000 a year for several years to come.

ImageAPImageHundreds continue to enter Macedonia as they head north

The planned EU quota system would allocate 60% of migrants now in Italy, Greece and Hungary to Germany, France and Spain, reports say.

The numbers distributed to each country would depend on GDP, population, unemployment rate and asylum applications already processed.

Countries refusing to take in migrants could face financial penalties.

Also planned are measures to help the economies of countries in the Middle East and Africa, and deter people-smugglers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that quotas were an "important first step".

Speaking alongside the visiting Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, she added that the EU needed an open-ended "system to share out those with a right to asylum".

'Dysfunctional' approach

ImageReutersImageA Hungarian camerawoman was sacked after being accused of tripping fleeing migrants

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has meanwhile labelled the EU's approach to asylum seekers "dysfunctional".

"It is clear that this is a serious crisis, but for me it is also clear that if Europe would be properly organised, it would be a manageable crisis. We are talking about 4-5,000 people per day, in a union that has 508 million people".

The mass migration has seen those seeking an end to persecution, conflict and hardship travel by boat, bus, train and on foot, from Turkey, across the sea to Greece, through Macedonia and Serbia, and then to Hungary from where they aim to reach Austria, Germany and Sweden.

Hundreds continued to cross on Tuesday from Serbia into Hungary, where there were scuffles with police and a protest against being registered, with migrants chanting "no fingerprints".

A Hungarian TV camerawoman was sacked after she was accused of deliberately tripping up a male migrant carrying a child.

The two migrants, who fell to the ground, were among dozens fleeing police during a disturbance near a registration centre at Roszke.

More migrants came northwards through Macedonia from the border with Greece.

The UNHCR says a record 7,000 Syrian migrants arrived in Macedonia alone on Monday and 30,000 were on Greek islands.

The Greek island of Lesbos has seen a build-up of 20,000 migrants, some living in squalid conditions while they wait to be processed.

The UNHCR meanwhile highlighted the growing scale of the challenge, releasing new figures that suggest it expects 400,000 migrants to have arrived in Europe by sea in 2015.

The majority are Syrian, and the UN says many are now seeking a better life in Europe because of poor conditions in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon - caused in part because of a drastic shortfall in multilateral aid programmes.

ImageAP

ImageMore migrants are crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos

ImageReuters

ImageThose arriving on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Kos eventually make it to Athens

ImageGetty Images

ImageAsylum-seekers arriving in Hungary from Serbia fought to get on a bus to a reception centre

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A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

APC Issues Warning To Mimiko, Metuh

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state has warned the State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, and the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Olisah Metuh, against discouraging the anti-corruption war embarked upon by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement issued and signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Omo’ba Abayomi Adesanya, APC noted that Nigerians voted for Buhari because the President promised to handle corruption in the country.

APC instructed Mimiko and his aides not exercise any fear if truly they had not mis-managed the resources of the state since they took over in 2009.

The statement reads:

The fight against corruption is sacrosanct and indispensable. Nigerians voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the last Presidential election, amongst other reasons, because President Muhammadu Buhari promised to nip corruption in the bud. Therefore any attempt to jettison the fight, will amount to breach of trust on our electoral promises to millions of Nigerians. 

Corruption has been the clog in the wheels of our economic, industrial, infrastructural, educational and human development in Nigeria; therefore the need to fight it with all vigour and vitality is sacrosanct and non-negotiable. 

Nigerians’ passionate appeal to Mr President is to be fearless, not to be deterred, and to intensify more efforts against the menace called corruption, in order to bring culprits to book. 

We are aware of the vigorous efforts by the PDP Governors’ Forum Chair, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP leadership and former Ministers under the Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to voraciously rubbish and blackmail the anti-corruption crusade of the APC-led federal government by tainting and painting it as selective, witch-hunt, political attack and a mere time waster. 

The statement credited to the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, on August 1st, 2015, that some people have concluded plans to begin series of petitions against Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Jonathan’s Ministers and PDP leadership to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is baseless and amount to running away from ones shadow.

We advise them not to exercise fears if they are not corrupt, as President Muhammadu Buhari, whom the Nigerian public and the international community has nicknamed ‘Mr. Integrity’ will be fair and just to all in the fight against corruption. 

APC as a Party and by our manifesto, strongly urge all would-be political appointees to be exemplary and lead by example, as there will be no waiver or sacred cow on any corrupt act.”

Cross River Legalizes Death Penalty For Kidnappers

Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, monday signed into law a bill that prescribes death penalty for convicted kidnappers in the state.

The anti-kidnapping bill was one of 10 bills the governor signed into law at the state Executive Chambers witnessed by the Speaker and members of the state House of Assembly, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Ntufam John Okon and the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Tina Agbor and permanent secretaries.

The law also empowers the state to seize assets as well as freeze accounts belong to convicted kidnappers and those who aid and abet kidnapping in the state.

Speaking on another bill he had just signed into law, the Social Housing Law, which makes housing for the vulnerable a right, he described the law as holding emotional significance to him.

“The most emotional bill to me is the Social Housing Law which seeks to provide housing for the poorest of the poor in the state.

Various researches have linked corruption in civil service to housing. It has also been proven that given the salaries of average civil servants, if they don’t originate memos that give them extra money, if they don’t comprise, they is no civil servant in Nigeria that will be able to build a house. So by virtue of our salary structure, you have already created a catalyst for corruption to thrive.

“By this bill, housing in Cross River State is now a right to the citizenry, it may not be justiciable at this point in time but we have created a legal stimulus to drive the structure that we can achieve housing for everybody, and in the process, stamp out all mud and thatch houses in Cross River State.”

As a measure aimed at generating revenue for the state from its abundant water resources despite being pronounced a non-littoral state by the Supreme Court following the loss of Bakassi Peninsula, the governor signed the Water Landing and Fee Charges bill into law.

“When the Supreme Court ruling said that Cross River State is hemmed in, and by implication we ceased to be a littoral state, we are today demonstrating with a simple law that that ruling was wrong because the implication of that ruling is that whatever waterways that exist within the confines of the state is internal and therefore cannot be covered under the Inland Waterways of Nigeria.

So we have the right to regulate it.

“We are going to place a maximum figure on any vessel coming into Cross River waterways. So when it becomes an affront to the federal government they will revisit the ruling.”

Other laws signed by the governor include: Infrastructure Safety and Regulatory Law, Water Front Management and Development Law, Corporate Social Responsibility Agency Law and Tax Exemption Law for low income earners.

Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon John Gaul Lebo, who described the legislature as the incubator of leadership said the bills were thought of to help the government better the lot of Cross Riverians.

He said it was quite impressive that in just three months the House is able to turn in10 bills adding that the development was an indication that the vision of the governor is so clear that the assembly was able to translate it into laws.

He promised the collaboration of the legislature with the executive to ensure that the PDP- led government in the state succeeds.

Source: ThisDay

Governors And Ministers Must Declare Assets – President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that governors, ministers and top civil servants must declare their assets

Buhari said the imperative for elected public officials and top civil servants in the category of permanent secretaries was a constitutional obligation. .

The president, who had last week made public his assets, threw the challenge in Accra, Ghana, yesterday where he had gone on a one-day working visit to President John Dramani Mahama.

The Nigerian leader was responding to a question from the Ghanaian press during a joint press conference with Mahama after bilateral talks at the Peduase Lodge in Aburi on how he could impress it on other African leaders and public office holders to emulate him by making assets declaration a priority in governance.

Buhari said assets declaration had been engrained in the Nigerian Constitution, saying he had done such four times since 1975 that he had served the country in various capacities.

His words: “I recall that in 1975 when late Murtala Mohammed became the Head of State, we were lined up in the corridor – governors, ministers, members of the Supreme Military Council – and officials of Ministry of Justice were brought and every individual was made to declare his assets.

“So right now, all heads of state and government, governors, ministers, permanent secretaries will have to declare their assets because it is a constitutional requirement.

“In Nigeria, it is a constitutional issue and that is why I am blaming you gentlemen of the press. If you really want to do investigative journalism, you don’t have to worry me at this stage; I have declared my assets four times.

“When I was governor in 1975, I declared. After being Minister of Petroleum and as a member of Supreme Military Council, I declared. When I was Head of State and now as a President, I also declared.

“I have declared my assets and all that I have four times, and you (the media) have the right to go and demand for my declaration. Instead, I am being harassed.”

Buhari also challenged Nigerian journalists to go and look for details of his assets declaration instead of harassing him with further questions.

He said since he had declared his assets four times since 1975 that he had served in different capacities in the country, the journalists could be more investigative in their work if they could fish out the details.

Buhari said journalists who had been heckling him to publish the details of what he recently declared could do better by just using the law to dig up the records of his four separate declarations since 1975.

On security challenges, the president said the military was gaining ground and lot of progress was being made on the fight against Boko Haram to the extent that the terrorists were now isolated in the Sambisa forest, and would be routed very soon.

He said: “The first thing I did after I came into office was to re-organise the military and clear terms were given to them in terms of retraining, re-equipping and redeployment of troops.

“In the north-east, the military is gaining ground and Boko Haram has been severely limited to the Sambisa Forest.

“Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who moved out because of insurgency are gradually moving back to their constituencies and they are being integrated into their respective communities.”

He further assured the public that he would unveil other members of his cabinet before the end of September this year, failure of which Nigerians could then start to ask him questions.

“After I was sworn-in, I said I would have my cabinet in September and I expect that Nigerians should ask me questions after the 30th of September if I do not do that,” he stressed.

In his remarks, President Mahama commended Buhari’s efforts at galvanising West African nations to support their Lake Chad Basin counterparts to quash Boko Haram through the Multinational Joint Task Force.

He pledged to ensure Ghana plays her part well, including sharing relevant military intelligence with Nigerian authorities.

On the difficulties faced by Nigerians doing business in Ghana, Mahama explained that the law requiring them to pay capital/registration levy of $300,000 would be amended by the Ghanaian parliament as soon as the already approved biometric registration of ECOWAS traders, which begins next year, is completed.

Woman Gives Birth To Slippers In Bauchi State (See Photo)

Residents of Azare, Bauchi State and Nigerians in general are still in shock owing to the news of a woman who reportedly gave birth to slippers – yes, slippers.

According to an exclusive NTA report, 25-year-old Amina Usman who had no history of pregnancy was rushed to the Azare General Hospital because she was complaining of movements within her womb.

Some drugs were then prescribed by the Principal Nursing Officer, Ahmad Yaro for her to reduce the pain.

According to Yaro, few minutes after Amina was discharged, his attention was called that Amina had been delivered of a slippers.

Civil Servants Are Corrupt And Lazy, Says President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria’s civil service has a reputation for inefficiency, low productivity and corruption.

Buhari, who was represented by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, stated this on Monday in Abuja at the inauguration of capacity building programmes, tagged “Structured Mandatory Assessment-based Training Programme and Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme”, for public servants.

The President said that Nigeria’s civil service was declining due to its inability to articulate a vision and develop the required capacity to implement such vision.

Buhari said, “Many, who mourn the decline of the civil service today from its days as ‘primus inter pares’ in the Commonwealth to one which has earned a reputation for inefficiency, low productivity, corruption and insensitivity to the needs of the public, fall into the error of thinking that the problem is a poverty of ideas and capacity on the part of the civil service; whereas, it is the inability to clearly articulate a vision, ensure that the service develops the required capacity to articulate and implement the various components of the vision.

“The citizen, regardless of station in life, must be respected by the governing authorities and treated with dignity.

“Flowing from these is the imperative that our society must be governed by the rule of law, administered by a trustworthy, fearless, impartial and efficient judiciary”.

He described the federal civil servants as the foot soldiers in Nigeria’s march to a great destiny, saying he believed the federal civil service would not fail Nigerians.

“An army cannot afford indiscipline, inefficiency or lack of focus, especially because the hopes and aspirations of a whole society rest on your shoulders,” the President said to the civil servants.

Buhari said the civil servants must see themselves as servants and facilitators of commerce and entrepreneurship and that they must design policies and remove obstacles to doing business in Nigeria.

Buhari said the civil service should provide answers to questions such as “What are the strategic and financial planning initiatives important in a strong private sector led, free market economy but with a robust social protection system for the poor majority?

“What are the crucial communications to make to the people in a season requiring sacrifice and perseverance on account of falling revenues or for that matter communicate the position that our anti-corruption, zero tolerance stand, is not merely a moral or ethical stand but a developmental construct that recognises that corruption if not apprehended will destroy all institutions, the economy and eventually our society?”

Earlier, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, said the objective of the programmes was to address capacity and leadership challenges in the service.

He noted that the programmes were funded from the training budgets of the ministries, departments and agencies.

He said Buhari, in the absence of ministers, had helped to restore the confidence of the civil service by depending on it for support in governing the country.

He said the service would support the incumbent administration in its bid to bring about positive change in the country.

Kifasi identified effective leadership as one of the challenges facing the civil service.

He stated, “The Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme is one of the elements of the new Leadership Development Framework for the Federal Civil Service.

“ LEAD-P will help to identify potential leaders at the various levels in the service, nurture developing leaders and enhance the capacity and capability of existing leaders.”

“Our decision to restrict foreign training and promote home-grown capacity development is what has made SMAT-P and LEAD-P possible.”

“The programmes are funded primarily from the training budgets of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies and delivered mainly by Nigerian Management Development Institutes.

“This means that resources that could have been lost to foreign training institutions have been used to develop and strengthen Nigerian training institutions.’’

Source: PunchNg

You Are An Anti-Christ, Emeka Ike To Pastor Chris Okotie

Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike, says Chris Okotie, head pastor of Household of God Church, is not a man of God but an anti-Christ.

Ike was speaking to TheCable after learning of Okotie’s reaction to his claims that the pastor was abetting the crisis in his marriage to Suzanne Rero.

The feud between the actor and his wife had deteriorated to the point that his wife filed a divorce suit before a customary court in Lagos. Specifically, she is seeking dissolution of her 12-year-old marriage over alleged assault by her husband.

After Ike made the claim, Okotie spoke through his media aide, saying he would not “dignify Emeka Ike with a response”; and the actor has now questioned the pastor’s popularity and spiritual calling.

“I think his (Okotie’s) comment is a clear indication that he lacked the evidence to fault my allegation,” Ike said.

“Is Pastor Okotie well-known and popular as I am? How can he say he will not dignify me with a response? His comment actually confirmed my suspicion that my wife is being manipulated either through blackmail or spiritual enchantment to say she was opting out of her marriage after 12 years.

“For instance, at the last proceeding on the divorce suit, my wife said it in the open court that she was willing to abandon her four children and go out of the marriage. Which woman will say she was abandoning her four children if not under a spell? It is clear to me that Okotie is not a pastor but an anti-christ.”

He accused Okotie of hiring a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for his wife, just for the purpose of destroying his home.

Ike alleged that Okotie gave his wife about N500, 000 for her mother’s burial and also bought her a blackberry porch phone. He accused Okotie of calling his wife and other single women out in church every Sunday and directing that gifts should be given to them.

He further alleged that Okotie and another man in the church helped his wife to secure a job without his consent. This other man, he said, recently experienced problems in his own marriage as well, over a love message from Suzanne.

“I want people to look into this issue critically. I’ve never beaten this woman in my life. When she ran out of home, I called my pastor and they took us for counselling. For one week, I was begging her every day; I would go home alone and she would go home alone as well,” Ike added.

“At a point, pastor asked us to write five things we like and dislike about each other. The pastor said that maybe we could work it out. I wrote mine, she wrote hers and she never said there that I used to beat her. I still have that document with me. She gave me what she wrote and I gave her what I wrote.

“If I used to beat her, she could not have left it out from that then. Any man that beats a woman is a coward. I know that someone somewhere must have done something to her. How can I beat a woman I adore so much? I love my family and this is very unfortunate. Her children have been begging her to come home, and she has refused.”

Buhari Withdraws Diplomatic, Official Passports From Ex- Governors

The Nigerian Immigration Service has directed former Nigerian public office holders to immediately surrender official and diplomatic passports issued to them while they were in office.

The action, officials say, is based on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The categories of officials affected by the directive are former governors, former ministers, former senators, former members of the House of Representatives, and former members of state Houses of Assembly.

Others are former commissioners, former special advisers/special assistants, former chairmen/deputy chairmen of local government areas, all retired heads of parastatals and retired public servants.

“These categories of persons are hereby informed that these passports which were previously held by them have been revoked and should return them to the Nigeria Immigration Service Headquarters Sauka Abuja with immediate effect,” the Comptroller-General of the Immigration Service, Martin Abeshi, said in a statement Monday.

“Failure to comply with this directive will amount to an offence under the Immigration Act 2015. Such unauthorized possession will be impounded at our control posts on arrival or departure.”

The Federal Government had on August 24 directed the Immigration Service to retrieve all valid diplomatic and official passports from all persons not entitled to hold such documents.

“The attention of the Federal Government has been drawn to the fact that some Nigerians who are not entitled to hold diplomatic and official passports are in possession of these documents,” a statement by Yusuf Isiaka,the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Interior, said at the time.

According to the statement, the measure was intended to protect and promote Nigeria’s integrity in the comity of nations in addition to ensuring law and order.

How Governor masari dumped President Buhari of 11 Billion Niara

President Muhammadu Buhari has been reportedly mislead by Aminu Masari, the governor of Katsina state, where the president hails from.

Governor Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, Katsina state

The charade by the governor was done with the aim of obtaining N11 billion bailout, stipulated to pay salary arrears for workers in the state.

According to an investigation by Premium Times, Katsina state feigned insolvency and applied as one of the 27 states in need of bailout from the federal government to pay workers owed salaries for months.

Masari, in a letter to the speaker of the state’s House of Assembly titled:“Bailout on Outstanding Salary for Workers of the State and Local Governments” with number S/SGKT/154/3, dated August 26, 2015, said that as of the time he resumed office in May 29, his government inherited two months outstanding salary of workers of the state and local government from the previous administration led by Ibrahim Shema.

READ ALSO: SEE The Governor Who Has Not Received Any Salary After 100 Days In Office

The governor stated in the letter that the state and local governments in Katsina, owed workers two months’ salary to the tune of N11,086,632,741.32.

According to Premium Times, a breakdown of the debt showed that Katsina state owed a sum of N3,646,943,099.80; while the 34 local government councils were indebted to the tone of N7,439,689,641.32; giving a sum total of N11,086,632,741.32.

Masari said: “It is in the view of the need for the State Government and Local Governments to meet their obligation in the payment of outstanding workers’ salary, considering the lean resources inherited from the former administration, that it has become necessary for the State Government to apply for the bail out on behalf of the State and Local Governments.”

However, the recent investigation revealed that the state had no business being among the group of insolvent states in need of federal bailout to pay workers salary arrears.

The report shows that Katsina state civil servants, as well as workers in the state’s 34 local governments, as of May 2015 when Masari became governor, had received their full salaries and allowances.

Abdul Labaran, a press spokesman to the state, said the Katsina state workers were not owed and their salaries were completely paid up to August.

READ ALSO: ‘We Should Be Thankful To God That We Have Buhari In Power’

Expressing surprise at the development, Oluwabusola Olawale, a former media aide of the immediate past governor, Ibrahim Shema, was quoted as saying:“Throughout the tenure of Ibrahim Shema, workers’ salaries were paid latest on the 25th of every month. As at May both the state and local government salaries were paid on the 25th. So he left office without owing any worker any salary. So this news is strange to us. We don’t know what could have necessitated this letter.”

He said: “There is definitely no justification to ask for a bailout of two months salary.”

Meanwhile, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state has been accused by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of diverting for private use, the bailout fund which was received from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The PDP alleged that Aregbesola lodged the sum of N34.988 billion bailout fund which the state received from the CBN in an unspecified commercial bank.

It is the fear of the party that the suffering of the state workers and pensioners who have to go through hardships due to non-payment of what is due to them will continue.

This allegation is coming amid calls by various groups that Aregbesola must be probed.

It is recalled that President Buhari authorised the N338 billion federal bailout, paid by the CBN, to help insolvent states that had failed to pay workers for months, a loan which is to be repaid with an interest of nine per cent over a 20-year period.

By August 31, Kwara, Zamfara and Osun states received the bailout to clear their backlogs of salaries, an aid which not less than 27 states are expected to receive.

Senate Begins Probe Of Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Others Over Funds Mismanagement

THE Senate will today begin an inquest into alleged mismanagement of funds appropriated to the power sector from the Olusegun Obasanjo civilian administration to date In a statement, yesterday, by the Clerk of Senate ad hoc Committee on Power, Cletus Ojabo, the power sector probe will be in the form of investigative hearing/interactive session, just as there was an indication that former ministers of power will also be in attendance.

According to Ojabo, the investigation would centre on funds appropriated for the power sector since 1999 and the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, adding: “ It is expected that all those who played key roles in the power sector since 1999, including ministers and heads of government departments and parastatals, will appear before the panel.”

It will be recalled that Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had last month announced a 13-man ad hoc committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the management of funds appropriated to the power sector from the Olusegun Obasanjo civilian administration to date.

Senator Saraki had urged members of the committee to consider their reputation and integrity and come up with a report that would be acceptable to Nigerians. He lamented that a lot of money had been spent on the sector with no results, while Nigeria is still faced with the challenge of power supply.

The committee, which has Senator Abubakar Kyari, (APC Borno North) as chairman, was also saddled with the responsibility of looking into irregularities in the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN and to also probe how the Obasanjo, Umaru Yar‘Adua and Jonathan administrations managed funds allocated to the sector.

The committee was charged with the task of looking into the entire power value chain including generation, transmission and distribution with a view to identifying what the problems in the sector are.

Saraki, who noted at the inauguration of the committee three weeks ago, that the task before the panel is huge, had however, frowned at the continued absence of regular supply of electricity despite the country’s huge investments in the sector.

Kyari, in his remarks during the inauguration, detailed the nature of the investigation his committee is saddled with,saying, “ To have a close look at the entire power value chain (generation, transmission and distribution) calls for a review of our policies in order to obtain optimum performances across the board.

According to him, “the abysmal performance of the generation segment is no longer news in view of the current deteriorating power supply which hovers around 4,600MW for a population of over 170 million people, despite the huge resources committed into it.”

Source: Vanguard

Flabba trial: South African woman denies murder

FromWorld

ImageGetty ImagesImageFlabba (front row, left) was a member of popular 1990s hip-hip group Skwatta Kamp

The former girlfriend of South African hip-hop star Nkululeko Habedi, known as Flabba, has pleaded not guilty to his murder.

Sindisiwe Manqele, 26, claims she killed Mr Habedi in self-defence at his home in Alexandra, Johannesburg.

The first witness, Luyanda Sulupha, told the court how he had tried to revive the 38-year-old star after he was stabbed in the heart.

Mr Habedi was a member of the award-winning group Skwatta Kamp.

Africa Live: News updates

The prosecution opened its case in the Randburg High Court by calling Mr Sulupha, a cousin of the deceased who was at home on the night Mr Habedi died in March.

He testified that he had heard the two arguing for some time, beforeshe emerged from their room crying and asking for help.

Mr Sulupha told the court that Ms Manqele told him she had stabbed her boyfriend by mistake but did not elaborate.

During her bail application earlier this year, the suspect showed what she claimed were defence wounds on her stomach and wrists.

However, prosecutors say they can prove that Ms Manqele's wounds were self-inflicted and that she killed the 38-year old unlawfully - allegations she has denied.

An emotional Mr Sulupha broke down when he was asked to look at a photograph taken by the police of Mr Habedi's bloodied body - the court sitting adjourned briefly to allow him to compose himself.

In court, Ms Manqele, a former economics student at a college in Dublin, Ireland sat next to friends and family.

She covered her face with a scarf throughout the proceedings.

Ms Manqele is out on bail of $720 (£470)