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Tributes as Obasanjo’s father-in-law, Abebe, buried

The father-in-law of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Christopher Abebe, was on Friday buried in his hometown, Iruekpen, in  Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

Abebe, who died on March 22 at the age of 99, was the father of a former First Lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo.

The late Abebe served as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Councils of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Calabar,  and the University of Benin.

He joined the United African Company Nigeria Limited as a young clerk and rose to become the first Nigerian Chairman and Managing Director of the company.

Abebe on his retirement became the first Nigerian chairman of the Nigerian Breweries.

The deceased was also a Papal Knight of the St. Gregory’s and Supreme Knight of St. Mulumba.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that tears flowed on Friday as his body was interred at 3:30 pm in a mausoleum where his father, Chief Abebe Ogbekhiulu, who died on Oct.  26, 1956, was buried in his compound.

Earlier, family and friends had gathered at the Stella Maris Catholic Church where a funeral Mass was held in his honour and presided over by the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and Archbishop of Benin, Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze.

Present at the ceremony were Obasanjo,  Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo and his Oyo State counterpart, Abiola Ajimobi, who was accompanied by his wife, Florence.

Others included the senator representing Edo Central,  Clifford Ordia;  the member representing Esan North-East/Esan South-East in the House of Representatives,  Sergius Ogun;  former Edo governor, Sen.  Oserheimen Osunbor; and a former chairman of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dr. Felix Ohiwerei.

In his tribute, the eldest son of the deceased and President of  St. Gregory’s College Old Boys’ Association, John, described his late father as his hero who instilled discipline in his children.

He said that he never found fault with his late father who lived a humble life.

“I am approaching 70 years now. In all my life, I have never found fault in my father,’’ he said.

He commended Obasanjo for honouring his father-in-law and the family in spite of the death of their sister, Stella.

The younger Abebe also thanked the state ’s governor for his support toward the burial rites of his father.

He said his father left a legacy of being honest, of being totally above board, of being humble and of doing things at the right time always. He did bring us all up from day one to be like him.’’

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Nigeria’s basketball suffered 10-month painful distractions –NBBF boss

 The President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Musa Kida, on Friday in Abuja described the leadership crisis bedevilling the federation as ‘painful distraction’ to basketball development in Nigeria.

Kida made the statement while welcoming participants to the NBBF 2018 Stakeholders Meeting for the Savannah Conference at the auditorium of the National Institute Sports, Abuja.

The former Rivers State Basketball Association chairman said the NBBF board led by him would have achieved more since assuming office if all stakeholders had spoken with one voice.

“Let me confess that this board has had a very painful 10 months in office. Very painful because we would have made a lot more progress if we were not subjected to the distractions that we have.

“If we were not distracted by the noise of things that oppose facts and that are really not there we would have gone far. It is regrettable that this has happened,” Kida stated.

He also express regret that a united NBBF was one policy thrust that had eluded him as the president of the federation, noting that his efforts had been frustrated by the “entrenchment of opinions”.

“One of our policy thrusts as a board is to bring all basketball stakeholders under one umbrella. To be very honest, this is one objective that has eluded me up till now.

“I feel personally responsible that we’ve not been able to speak with one voice. It is not that we haven’t made effort to achieve this, but there have been very strict entrenchment of opinions,” he added.

He, however, promised to work harmoniously with all basketball stakeholders for the development of the game insofar as sentiments were set aside.

“I and the board of the NBBF are willing to work with each and every basketball stakeholder in Nigeria devoid of any sentiment.

“There is no us or they, as we will continue to do all it takes to carry everyone along. I call on all basketball stakeholders in Nigeria to join hands with me to enable Nigeria’s basketball attain its desired height,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria  reports that the NBBF stakeholders meeting held in Abuja was organised to cover the northern structural demarcation referred to as the Savannah Conference.

NAN also reports that the Kida-led NBBF had organised a similar stakeholders meeting in Lagos on May 16 which drew participants from its Atlantic Conference.

Describing the meeting as historic, Kida told participants that it was the first time such meeting was held in both Conferences to ensure broader participation.

“Previously, we hold stakeholders meetings only in Lagos. This is to give more stakeholders the opportunity to share ideas and contribute to our vision of taking Nigeria’s basketball to the next level.”

“Considering the unnecessary acrimony which has bedevilled the NBBF for the past 10 months, this could not have come at a better time.”

In his goodwill message, a director in the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, Yemi Oshikanlu, commended the NBBF for moving the federation forward.

“We are delighted to associate with the NBBF under Kida. The NBBF has been doing wonderfully well and it is commendable,” he said.

He also urged the federation to prepare players early for the upcoming competitions, including the 2018 Women’s World Cup coming up in September and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

NAN reports that a restructuring of the national basketball Divisions 1 and 2 leagues was presented at the meeting by the NBBF board to allow more grassroots participation.

The restructuring followed the announcement of a N60 million sponsorship deal between the federation and Total for the leagues on April 27.

(NAN)

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ICYMI: Supreme Court orders Akingbola to face his N5bn trial

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

The Supreme Court has ordered a former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, to return to the Federal High Court in Lagos to face his trial on N5bn fraud charges.

The trial was prematurely terminated in April 2012 by Justice Charles Archibong, whose decision in the case later earned him a compulsory retirement from the bench.

A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Tanko Muhammad unanimously affirmed the February 20, 2015, judgment of the Court of Appeal in Lagos which had overturned the Federal High Court’s decision striking out the charges.

Justice Sidi Bage, who read the lead judgment of the apex court, said Akingbola’s appeal challenging the Court of Appeal’s verdict lacked merit.

He ordered that the case be remitted to the Federal High Court and handled by another judge in the Lagos Division and be given “expeditions trial”.

READ ALSO: Late Aisha Abimbola aka Omoge Campus buried

Justice Archibong (now retired) had in a judgment delivered on April 2, 2012 struck out the 26 counts contained in a charge numbered FHC/L/443C/2013 filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Akingbola on the grounds that the prosecution was not diligent in the handling of the case.

The judge had described the EFCC prosecution team as a drain in the public purse and directed the Attorney-General of the Federation to disband the team.

The judge’s decision in the case later earned him a compulsory retirement by the National Judicial Council.

Commenting on the conduct of the judge in the case, a member of the apex court’s panel, Justice Kumai Akaahs, noted in his contribution that Justice Archibong acted like a military dictator.

Justice Akaahs said Archibong “descended into the arena” and displayed his bias.

READ ALSO: Ekiti last gov poll characterised by ‘hanky-panky’ — Buhari

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Army kills two Boko Haram insurgents, arrests 11 others

The Nigerian Army said it neutralised two Boko Haram insurgents and captured 11 others when it overran the terrorists’ hideout at Bukar Maryam and Abaganaram area in Borno State on Thursday.

Deputy Director Public Relations Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole,  Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement released in Maiduguri.

Nwachukwu said the operation was conducted in conjunction with Cameroonian Defence Forces and the Civilian Joint Task Force .

“The gallant troops overpowered the insurgents, killing two of them and capturing 11 men after a fierce fire fight, during an operation to clear the surrounding villages of fleeing Boko Haram terrorists,”he said.

He added that the troops recovered two Multi Purpose Rocket Grenade Launcher  Police Tear Gas Gun, one Rocket Propelled Gun Charger, two AK 47 Rifle magazines with 20 Rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and one magazine vest.

Also three motorcycles, one power generating set, a tool box, a pair of camouflage, one military-type belt and one Boko Haram flag were also captured from the routed insurgents by the troops.

In a related operation, Explosive Ordnance Disposal team  of Operation Lafiya Dole yesterday successfully uncovered three Improvised Explosive Devices planted by Boko Haram terrorists in Doro Naira village.

According to him, the vigilant troops made the discovery during a counter IED operation  sweeping the general area of IEDs.

The IEDs have been safely detonated by the team.

(NAN)

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FG to expand N-Power programme – Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the N-Power Graduate Skills Acquisition Programme will be expanded and made better to benefit more Nigerian youths.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN,

Osinbajo made the disclosure on Friday during a visit to Kiara De-Luke Multi-Skill and Entrepreneurship Centre, an N-Power training centre at Umuobiakwa in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia.

Addressing the trainees, the vice president said the N-Power programme was very important to the Federal Government because of its focus on empowering the youths through capacity building.

“The programme will be expanded, enriched, made bigger and better and we will improve the welfare of those in the programme.

“The Federal Government wants to demonstrate through you that Nigerian young people are not only competent, but can with the best training become the best available anywhere in the world.

“You can be sure that we are going to see this programme through. We are going to continue the programme. We are not going to stop it.

“It is the largest of its kind anywhere in Africa. We want to prove that it is possible not only to keep young people employed and engaged but to train at the same time on a continuous basis and to train them using technology.

“We want to prove also that you do not need to know anybody to be able get a job. You do not have to go and speak to anybody. You get the job in a free and fair manner.

“So I want to ask you to be committed because sometimes there may be difficulties.” he said.

Osinbajo said that the project would be supported by the Federal Government to ensure the youths realised their aspirations.

He said that the training centre was an ample demonstration of the Abia Government’s willingness to empower young people and give them real opportunities in life.

Also speaking, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu said that the vice president was at the centre to see youths who had decided to learn skills and liberate themselves from poverty.

“I call on the Federal Government to add a bite to executive order number three which says that you must look inwards before you start importing.

“It is unfortunate to remark that some of our leaders are still living under the veil of sophistry that has no bearing with what we do and produce in Nigeria.

“The only way we can encourage entrepreneurship is to look inwards and patronise made-in- Nigeria goods,’’ he said.

He, however, said there was a power supply challenge at the Kiara /Logistics De-Luke Training Centre and solicited the Federal Government’s assistance.

Ikpeazu also thanked the Chinese government for giving Abia the grant to train about 100 youths in various skills (NAN)

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Naira depreciates against dollar at parallel market

The Naira on Friday depreciated against the dollar at the parallel market in Lagos.

The Nigerian currency lost one point to exchange at N363, weaker than N362 posted on Thursday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N496 and N429, respectively.

Naira

At the Bureau De Change segment, the naira closed at N361.50 to the dollar, while it exchanged at N502 and N428 to the Pound Sterling and Euro, respectively.

Trading at the investors’ window showed that the naira closed at N360.85 and had a turnover of 202.47 in transaction.

At the official CBN window, the currency closed at N305.85 to the dollar, and at N412.6 and N360.4 to the Pound Sterling and the Euro.

Currency traders said that though the naira depreciated marginally, it had remained stable at the foreign exchange market.

NAN

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FG debunks reports of closure of Ikoyi Marriage Registry

By Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA – The Federal Government has denied claims by the Lagos State Government that a Federal High Court has shut down the Ikoyi Marriage Registry, saying the case was instead struck out.

Petition for marriage divorce

The Director, Legal, Ministry of Interior, Bola Odugbesan, made the clarification in a statement Friday in Abuja while reacting to reports credited to the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Bisi Olufuwa.

Odugbesan said; “In the case, the court was invited to interpret the provisions of the Constitution conferring on local governments, the powers to register marriages.

“The Minister of Interior, through his Counsel, Bola Odugbesan, argued that under item 61 of the Exclusive List, matters connected with marriage under the Marriage Act, issuing of marriage certificate and its registration are outside the purview of State and/or Local Governments.”

“The Federal High Court in its judgment dated April 30, 2018, struck out the case of the Plaintiffs, ie, Egor LGA & Ors. The court held that the case is an abuse of the court process in view of the earlier judgment of the court in 2002 which upheld the sanctity of the rights of the Minister to issue licences to places of worship to conduct marriages, and the Registrar under the Marriage Act to register marriages. It is instructive to note that Lagos State was not a party in the case,” the director explained.

Odugbesan insisted that the Federal High Court never ordered the closure of Ikoyi Marriage Registry as claimed by Olufuwa.

The Ministry of Interior said that the court presided over by Justice Chuka Obiozor simply upheld the judgment of a Federal High Court delivered in 2002 which was not appealed.

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FIBA Women’s World Cup: D’Tigress to begin camping in Atlanta soon, says NBBF

The Nigerian national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, would soon begin camping in Atlanta, U.S as part of preparations for the FIBA Women’s World Cup, according to the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

D’Tigress

  President of the federation, Musa Kida, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the 2018 NBBF Stakeholders Meeting held on Friday in Abuja.

According to Kida, preparations for the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup is very advanced.

“It is very advanced to the extent of the fact that we’ve been able to organise and secure where they are going to camp, which is going to be in Atlanta in the U.S.

“We already have an arena where they are going to be practising for the duration of the camping.

“We have also invited all available and eligible players all over the world, including in Nigeria.

“Very soon they will report to Atlanta where their coach, Sam Vincent, will be present to receive then and make his choice in terms of selection,” Kida said.

Before the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket tournament, the NBBF was criticised for failing to secure the participation of some top foreign-based players.

When asked if such could occur again as the D’Tigress prepare for the FIBA Women’s World Cup coming up in September, Kida said the 2017 incidence was a learning curve.

“It is our wish as a federation and the wish of Nigerians that their best players identify with them and wear the national jersey to represent the country.

“What happened to the men’s team when we couldn’t secure the participation of some top players was a question of availability.

“Many of the top players were engaged in their club activities and could not be released.

“However, we have learnt some hard lessons and we are now proactively engaging with players’ clubs and the outfits they work with professionally,” he disclosed.

Kida also enumerated the achievements of his NBBF board since he came to office to include the victory of D’Tigress at the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket tournament which the women’s national team won in Mali.

He said it was the victory that earned the team a place at the 2018 FIBA World Cup taking place in Spain.

According to him, despite the distractions and unpleasant noise around, we have been able to record some modest achievements.

“The male team also reached the final of the men’s tournament.

“Very recently, we secured a two-year sponsorship for our Divisions 1 and Division 2 men’s league.

“This is the first time in the history of Nigerian basketball that the NBBF is having a sponsor for any lower-tier basketball league.

“We hope to consolidate on these modest achievements as we go about contributing to national development through the development of basketball.

“To do this, we must come together in truth and discard the rift of the past,” Kida said.(NAN)

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US embassy opening in Jerusalem, killings and outrage

The opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, after Washington recognised the disputed city as Israel’s capital, sparked deadly demonstrations in Gaza in which Israeli forces killed dozens of Palestinians.

A worker installs decorations of Israeli and US flags in front of the US Consulate in Jerusalem

Here is an overview.

– Bloodbath – Hours before the embassy’s controversial opening Monday, tens of thousands of protesters gather at the Gaza-Israel border, defying Israeli warnings to keep away.

The border had been a flashpoint for deadly demonstrations that began on March 30, with some protesters attempting to breach the fence as part of demands that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their homes now inside Israel.

Clashes quickly flare and Israeli soldiers positioned on the other side of the barrier open fire.

By the end of Monday, 59 Palestinians have been killed, most of them by Israeli snipers.

At least 2,400 are wounded.

A top official from Gaza’s ruling Islamist movement Hamas says most of those killed are its members.

– ‘Massacre’ – An eight-month-old baby dies overnight after inhaling teargas, marking the deadliest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority condemns the “terrible massacre” and calls for “immediate international intervention”.

European nations call for calm and Amnesty International condemns the “abhorrent violation” of human rights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends the use of force.

“Every country has the obligation to defend its borders,” he says on Twitter, accusing Hamas of inciting the protesters.

“Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response,” US President Donald Trump’s administration adds.

– The embassy opens – The embassy is officially opened when Trump’s daughter Ivanka unveils a plaque and a seal.

Trump hails it as a “great day for Israel” and says in a video message: “Our greatest hope is for peace.”

For Israel, the relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv formally recognises all of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a crushing blow to Palestinians who see the city’s east as their capital.

– Investigations demanded – Protests continue on the Gaza border with less intensity on Tuesday, with another two Palestinians killed.

Calls mount for an enquiry into the violence, with the Arab League urging the International Criminal Court to investigate “the crimes of the Israeli occupation”.

Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused Israel of “state terror” and “genocide”, tells the Israeli ambassador to leave temporarily.

Israel responds by expelling the Turkish consul, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Hamas of deliberately putting children in the line of fire.

– US support- US ambassador Nikki Haley defends Israel at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, saying its forces had acted with restraint in the face of provocation by Hamas.

The US State Department says Hamas is using the unveiling of the American embassy as an “excuse” to encourage violence.

On Wednesday, Guatemala also inaugurates its Israel embassy in Jerusalem.

The next day the Israeli army carries out strikes against Hamas, saying it is responding to gunfire against soldiers stationed along the border and the town of Sderot, near Gaza.

– UN probe – The Arab League on Thursday calls for an international probe into alleged crimes by Israeli forces.

On Friday Kuwait submits a draft UN resolution| calling for an “international protection mission”.

In Geneva the UN Human Rights Council votes to send an a team of international war crimes investigators to Gaza. Israel condemns its “hypocrisy”.

Erdogan hosts Muslim leaders for a summit in Istanbul, where thousands mass in support of the Palestinians.

AFP

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Danjuma’s allegations baseless – Army

The Nigerian Army on Friday said allegations against it by retired Gen. T.Y Danjuma that it colluded with militia in Taraba and refused to protect the people were untrue.

Danjuma

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made this known at a news conference in Abuja where he gave details of the findings of the 10-member panel the Army constituted to probe the allegations.

The panel, which comprised serving and retired army personnel, representatives of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), was set up on April 10. It submitted its report of April 25.

Danjuma, on March 24 at the convocation of Taraba State University in Jalingo, alleged that some troops on internal operation in Taraba colluded with killers and herdsmen who attacked communities in the state.

He said that the troops failed to protect the residents against the attacks.

“You must rise to protect yourselves from these people; if you depend on the armed forces to protect you, you will all die.

“I ask all of you to be on the alert and defend your country, defend your state,” he admonished.

Danjuma said that the unnecessary killings, which were akin to “an act of ethnic cleansing” being perpetuated against the people of Taraba, specifically and Nigeria at large, must stop.

He accused the military of being part of the killings.

Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai

But Buratai, who was represented by Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, Chief of Military/Civil Affairs, said: “With respect to the statement by Lt.-Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, it is clear that the allegations were not true.

“There is a need to urge for caution on the part of the elder statesman in view of the security implication of such comments.’’

Buratai exonerated the army, saying that there was no collusion between it and bandits in Taraba as alleged by the former chief of army staff.

Rather, he said, there was “sustained media campaign to belittle Nigerian army and other security agencies’ operation in the state’’ without saying who was behind the campaign.

He stated that the panel found that Taraba governor made several attempts to remove the Commanding Officer of 9 Battalion, Lt.-Col. I.B. Gambari, for “his refusal to be dragged into the state politics’’.

Buratai also alleged that the chairman of Takum Local Government Area attempted to undermine the authority of the commanding officer but did not give detail.

He commended the officer and troops on operation in the state for their professional conduct.

According to the army chief, most of the crises over the years in Taraba were particularly in Takum, Wukari, Ussa, Donga and Sardauna Local Government Areas.

“There was absence of Nigerian army deployments in some crisis-prone areas in the hinterland in Taraba state,’’ he said, and blamed it partly on the porous Nigeria-Cameroon borders and arms proliferation in the state.

“There was a massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Taraba, some of which have been recovered from warring parties, criminals and unauthorised persons,’’ he added.

Buratai also said blamed the unending clashes in the state on its “highly heterogeneous and division along ethno-religious lines.’’

“It is apparent that the clashes in Taraba are as a result of clan and communal crisis that predates this present government.

“Most of the crises in the state are politically-motivated and some persons are deliberately escalating the situation for selfish gains.

“The army is also of the view that the situation in Taraba has steadily deteriorated largely due to distrust, intolerance, lack of inclusion and accommodation of different ethnic groups in the state,’’ he said.

According to him, this has made it difficult for the army to carry out its constitutional role in the state without being tainted.

He commended the panel for doing a thorough job.

NAN

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Kosovo jails Muslim extremists over Israeli football terror plot

Eight Muslim extremists who plotted terror attacks against Israeli footballers and fans during a 2016 World Cup qualifier in Albania were jailed for up to 10 years on Friday.

The eight ethnic Albanians were found guilty in a Kosovo court of “planning to carry out an attack against Israeli footballers and fans” in the northwest Albanian town of Shkoder in November 2016, judge Hamdi Ibrahimi said.

The group “decided to place explosives under a bridge at the entrance of Shkoder from the direction of the Rinas Airport,” Ibrahimi said.

SEE ALSO: AIG orders arrest of three policemen who allegedly killed suspect

“So at the time when the buses with the Israelis reached the bridge, the group equipped with the explosives planned to activate it from distance or blow themselves up along with the Israelis and police.”

Kosovo police, in coordination with the Albanian authorities, wiretapped the group to prevent the attack, later arresting all its members.

For security reasons, the fixture was eventually moved to Elbasan, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the Albanian capital of Tirana, and took place under a heavy police presence.

The extremists ��� one Macedonian and the rest Kosovan — also planned attacks on Kosovan soil against political leaders and diplomats.

Group leader Visar Ibishi, 38, was sentenced to 10 years in prison while five other members were handed three to six-year jail terms each.

Ibishi and three close associates refused to appear in the courtroom, saying the court was “not interesting” for them.

Two members of the group who pleaded guilty at the beginning of the trial in the mid-2017 were sentenced to 18-month prison term each.

The ninth member, who also pleaded guilty, was fined 2,500 euros ($2950).

Around 90 percent of Kosovo’s 1.8 million people are Muslims who practise a moderate Islam.

HOwever Kosovo has lately faced a rise in Muslim extremism. Hundreds, in particularly youngsters, took the front line in Syria fighting for the Islamic State Group and Al-Nusra forces.

More of 50 of them were killed in the fighting.

  (AFP)

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Ebola in DRC not currently an emergency of international concern –WHO

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo does not yet merit being labelled an emergency of “international concern,” the World Health Organisation said on Friday.

“It was the view of the committee that the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern have not currently been met,” WHO said in a statement after a meeting of its International Health Regulations Emergency Committee.

The statement added that “the response by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, WHO and partners has been rapid and comprehensive.”

SEE ALSO: Rare bottles of whisky fetch record $1m each at auction

The Kinshasa government announced the outbreak of the deadly virus in northwestern Equateur province on May 8.

To date, there are 45 suspected, probable or confirmed cases and 25 people have died.

In the WHO’s parlance, “a public health emergency of international concern” is an “extraordinary event” in which a disease may spread across borders and requires a vigorous international response.

“This definition implies a situation that: is serious, unusual or unexpected; carries implications for public health beyond the affected State’s national border; and may require immediate international action,” the WHO says on its website.

The agency first invoked the emergency mechanism in 2009 when a new strain of influenza, so-called H1N1 swine flu, emerged.

It was declared twice in 2014, when polio re-emerged after the disease was nearly eradicated and after an Ebola epidemic struck three West African countries; and in 2016, in response to an outbreak of the Zika virus.

Once the emergency is declared, the WHO plays a coordinating role.

It advises countries that are affected on how to contain the disease, including measures on health surveillance and trade and travel guidelines, and helps to pool scientific data.

Invoking the measure also helps to mobilise funding and support on the ground.

While holding off the official emergency declaration, the committee underscored that the decision can be revisited “if the outbreak expands significantly, or if there is international spread.”

It is also noted that “the risk of international spread is particularly high” given the confirmation of a case in Equateur’s capital Mbandaka, a key transit point on the Congo River.

Separately, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that health workers planned to start Ebola vaccinations on Sunday in Mbandaka and in the remote, rural Bikoro area where the outbreak began.

The UN agency expects to have 7,500 doses of the new experimental vaccine dubbed rVSV-ZEBOV on the ground by the weekend.

The initial target group of people to be vaccinated is between 8,000 to 10,000 people.

That includes health workers, other frontline responders like those tasked with burying Ebola victims, along with 100 to 150 contacts of each Ebola patient.

Vaccine maker Merck has said it has 300,000 doses ready for the UN’s use free of charge.

  (AFP)

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Pogba issues World Cup warning to France team-mates

French midfielder Paul Pogba says he and his France team-mates must approach the World Cup finals in June with the right mindset as that counts more than technical ability.

Pogba

The 25-year-old Manchester United star — capped 51 times and a pivotal member of the side that reached the Euro 2016 final only to lose to Portugal in extra-time — told the BBC that France had the technical ability to do well in Russia.

“I’m confident with the French squad, with the players that we have,” said Pogba.

“I’m sure we can do something in this World Cup but I don’t want to be over-confident.

“We have a nice team but the World Cup is in your head too, it’s not just technique.

“It’s team spirit, it’s more mental than technique. We have to be careful with this.”

The French — World Cup winners in 1998 and finalists in 2006 — are in Group C with Denmark, Australia and Peru and kick off their campaign in Kazan against the Australians on June 16.

AFP

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Five-time world champion Ogier in dramatic Portugal exit

Five-time world champion Sebastien Ogier suffered a nightmare crash on the Rally of Portugal on Friday when his car veered off the road and into trees.

Ogier’s Ford Focus came to grief on the fifth stage when the 34-year-old misjudged a left turn, ran wide and became embedded in the trees a few metres below the track.

Despite being shaken, Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia “are doing well but will not take any further part today”, announced their M-Sport team.

Ogier, who won the Portugal race in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017, has not yet pulled out of the race but his crash on Friday has decimated his chances of a sixth triumph in the country.

He was in fourth place overall when the accident happened.

Earlier Friday, the Toyotas of Ott Tanak and Jari-Matti Latvala were also forced to retire.

Britain’s Chris Meeke, in a Citroen, was leading the race midway through the first full day Friday.

(AFP)

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Rare bottles of whisky fetch record $1m each at auction

Two bottles of rare 60-year-old Macallan whisky fetched a total of more than $2 million under the hammer on Friday in Hong Kong, Bonhams said, with both sales shattering the previous world auction record for the spirit.

One bottle, bearing a label designed by British pop artist Peter Blake — who helped create the sleeve of The Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” — was sold for HK$7.96 million (US$1.01 million).

The other bottle, whose label was designed by Italian artist Valerio Adami, went for HK$8.63 million, a new world record for whisky sold at auction.

Both 750-milliliter vintage bottles were distilled in 1926 and matured in a sherry hogshead cask until being bottled in 1986. Only twelve of each Macallan were ever produced.

“These two bottles are not meant for sale. They were given to some of the Macallan’s most loyal business partners or clients,” said Daniel Lam, head of wine and whisky at Bonhams in Hong Kong.

Whisky prices have soared in recent years, with buyers shifting their attention from bigger names to rare bottles from Scotland and Japan among others, according to Bonhams.

In 2014, a bottle of malt whisky — Macallan ‘M’ Decanter 6-litre Imperiale — set the last record of HK$4.9 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.

The value of Macallans 18 years and older has doubled in value over the past year, Lam told Bloomberg News in an interview.

While new whisky tends to be more industrialised, in the ’80s and before that it was handcrafted, Lam said, adding that well-kept whisky can last forever.

In April, two other 60-year-old Macallans from 1926 were sold at a Dubai airport retailer for $600,000 each, breaking the record for the most expensive whisky sold in retail.

There is growing interest in whisky in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as in China, Bonhams said, especially among a younger generation of collectors.

“Whisky is more like a young generation drink now, compared to cognac or even red or white wines,” Christopher Pong, wine and whisky specialist at Bonhams, told AFP.

Wealthy Asian buyers have shown frenzied interest and deep pockets at art auctions in recent years, with sales of paintings, diamonds and ancient ceramics shattering world records.

(AFP)

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Darren Moore appointed West Brom head coach

Darren Moore has been appointed as new head coach of West Bromwich Albion Football Club, the club said in a statement on its website on Friday.

The 44-year-old was placed in charge of the team after the exit of Alan Pardew in April.

Moore’s stewardship over the final six games in the English Premier League could not save the team as it got relegated to the championship division.

Announcing the appointment, Chief Executive of the club, Mr Mark Jenkins, said the impression Moore made across all areas of the club delivered a powerful case for his promotion to head coach.

SEE ALSO: Premier League sees record managerial changes

“We are delighted to confirm Darren as our new head coach and we look forward to his continuing the excellent work we saw when he stepped into the role in an interim capacity in the first week of April.

“He embodies the spirit of the club and the spirit of what we are striving to achieve in this new chapter ahead.

“We conducted a thorough process of recruitment but Darren’s powerful impact on the pitch and across all areas of the club established him as the outstanding candidate.

“We suffered a torrid season but if there was a redeeming feature it was to see Darren at work over those final weeks, galvanising the club and getting everyone positive again.

“We all know we have a challenging summer ahead of us but from talking at length to Darren about his plans, they are challenges he is ready to meet head on,” said Mark.

Moore’s effort in his most recent capacity saw him named as the Premier League’s Manager of the Month after that memorable sequence of results which brought victories over Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham.

He will set about assembling his backroom team as a priority before finalising plans for pre-season and working closely with Technical Consultant, Giuliano Terraneo, over player recruitment.

Reacting, Moore said this was an opportunity to move the club to the right direction.

“I am obviously proud to accept this role and also extremely excited.

“We have a big summer ahead of us, a lot of hard work we need to get in now. I’m going all out to try to get those plans and personnel in place to make sure we’ve got everything ready.

“We need to be because this is a tough league packed with great clubs. But, what an opportunity for us to move the club in the right direction,” he said.

    (NAN)

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34 bishops resign en masse over child abuse scandal

  Thirty-four Chilean bishops announced their resignation Friday over a child sex abuse scandal within the Church in Chile that has come to haunt the reign of Pope Francis.

“We, all the bishops present in Rome, have tendered our resignation to the Holy Father so that he may decide freely for each of us,” the bishops said in a statement after three days of intense meetings with Francis at the Vatican.

“We want to ask forgiveness for the pain caused to the victims, to the Pope, to God’s people and to our country for the serious errors and omissions we have committed,” the statement continued.

The striking announcement came after the pontiff summoned the bishops over the scandal.

Several members of the Chilean church hierarchy are accused by victims of ignoring and covering up child abuse by Chilean paedophile priest Fernando Karadima during the 1980s and 1990s.

On Thursday evening, Francis promised “changes” to the Chilean church to “restore justice” in a short declaration to the bishops, made public.

But in a confidential 10-page document leaked Friday by Chilean TV channel T13, the Argentine pope goes much further in his indictment of the Chilean Church.

The letter — handed to the bishops at the start of their meetings with Francis — evokes “crimes” and “painful and shameful sexual abuse of minors, abuses of power and conscience by ministers of the Church”.

It qualifies the removal of certain prelates from their roles as necessary but “insufficient,” calling for “the roots” that allowed for such abuse within an “elitist and authoritarian” Chilean Church to be examined.

The damning letter also outlines findings of an investigation, ordered by Pope Francis, into the abuse allegations.

It says the probe found senior Church officials had destroyed proof in cases of sex abuse and that certain members of the clergy who had displayed immoral behaviour had been transferred to other dioceses after attempts to “minimise” the gravity of their actions.

Grave accusations “were superficially qualified as improbable”, the letter says, denouncing bishops for their “terrible negligence in protecting children”.

Pope Francis bids to repair some of the damage done during his visit to Chile in January, when his defence of controversial Chilean bishop Juan Barros — accused of covering up Karadima’s abuses — caused a public outcry.

The pontiff at the time said he was convinced that Barros was innocent and demanded “proof” before he would speak out against him.

Francis later apologised to the victims, three of whom he recently received at the Vatican, and admitted he had made “grave mistakes” after reading the 2,300-page report on the abuse in Chile.

The mass resignation of an entire delegation of bishops is almost unheard of, having last happened two centuries ago.

Bishops have, however, previously been summoned to the Vatican over abuse scandals.

In April 2002, Pope John Paul II summoned 13 American cardinals and bishops to Rome after a huge paedophilia scandal within the clergy. Following another abuse scandal in Ireland in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI also organised a meeting of Irish prelates at the Vatican in February 2010.

Speaking at the Vatican Friday morning, the Chilean bishops said: “We thank the victims for their perseverance and courage, despite the enormous personal, spiritual, social and family difficulties they had to face, to which were often added the incomprehension and attacks of the Church community.”

Two of Karadima’s victims tweeted their relief on Twitter in response to the resignations.

“Those who caused so much pain, sometimes worse than the abuse, are now all quitting. The Pope heard what we asked of him in our conversations with survivors from all over the world. For those who did so much damage, their day has come today,” wrote Juan Carlos Cruz.

Similarly Jose Andres Murillo tweeted: “For dignity, justice and truth: all the bishops leave. Criminals. They failed to protect the weakest, exposed them to abuse and then prevented justice. So, they just deserve to leave.”

  (AFP)

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