Global arms sales, firms and trends – report

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Arms
Stockholm, Jan. 5, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Sales of military equipment and services by the world’s top 100 arms groups totalled 370 billion dollars in 2015, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says.

Almost two-thirds of defence firms on the top 100 list in 2015, the most recent year covered by SIPRI for that category were based in the United States and Western Europe, accounting for about 80 per cent of global arms sales.

US firms accounted for just more than half the sales, SIPRI estimated.

Lockheed Martin kept the top spot it has held since 2009 with arms sales of 36.4 billion dollars. That placed it ahead of U.S. rival Boeing, at almost 28 billion dollars, and British-based BAE Systems, with 25.5 billion dollars.

Other European firms on the top 10 list were the Airbus Group, which placed seventh with sales of close to 13 billion dollars, while Italy’s Leonardo’s (formerly known as Finmeccanica) sales of 9.3 billion dollars put it in ninth place.

Global sales of arms and military services in 2015 dipped 0.6 per cent in real terms on 2014, SIPRI said, citing lower sales for companies based in North America.

In 2015, Western European companies’ arms sales rose 6.6 per cent, reversing a drop in 2014 of 7.4 per cent.

Eleven Russian firms accounted for almost a tenth of the sales on the 100 list, on the back of increased defence spending.

Chinese companies were not included due to lack of data. However, SIPRI estimated nine Chinese firms could likely have been on the 100 list.

On global military spending, SIPRI data from 2015 estimated the sum at 1.67 trillion dollars, up 1 per cent from 2014.

The U.S. was the top spender. U.S. expenditures of 596 billion dollars equalled 36 per cent of global spending and were almost three times as much as China’s.

Third-placed Saudi Arabia spent 87.2 billion dollars in 2015, with Russia in fourth place.

SIPRI’s data on global arms transfers, comparing five-year periods to even out fluctuations caused by a big order during any specific year, showed the volume increased by 14 per cent in the 2011-15 period, compared to 2006-10.

The largest importer was India, where imports between 2011 and 2015 stood at 14 per cent of the world’s total, twice as much as second-placed Saudi Arabia. China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia rounded off the period’s largest arms importers.

Imports by states in Europe decreased by 41 per cent between 2006–10 and 2011–15, SIPRI said. (dpa/NAN)

(Edited by Julius Enehikhuere)

NAN-H-43
Commendation
Lokoja, Jan. 5, 2017 ( NAN) Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has commended the Federal Government for including the state in the first phase of the conditional cash transfer programme.

In a statement on Thursday in Lokoja, Bello said that the commencement of the monthly N5,000 payment to beneficiaries would go a long way to ameliorate poverty.

Bello said in the statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Petra Akinti Onyegbule, that he was delighted that Kogi was among the selected states to pilot the programme.

He hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for initiating the programme, saying that it was in line with the campaign promises of the All Progressives Congress.

“The delivery of this promise by the Federal Government at a time many have dismissed it as the usual campaign rhetoric is heartwarming and a sign that the harsh economic climate and general downturn is not getting the better of us,” he said.

The governor appealed to the beneficiaries to make good use of the stipend to ensure success.

Bello gave the assurance that his administration would continue to improve living conditions of the citizens.(NAN)

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(Edited by Ijeoma Popoola)

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Cricket
By Kemi Ajayi
Lagos, Jan. 5, 2017 (NAN) Some cricket enthusiasts on Thursday urged stakeholders to elect credible individuals into the board of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that election into the various sports federations in the country holds every four years after the Olympics.

NAN also reports that interested candidates in various sports are already strategising even though the Ministry of Sports is yet to release a timetable for the election.

Barnaby Ephraim, the Vice Chairman of the Lagos State Cricket Association, told NAN that only individuals who have genuine interest for the sport should be elected.

Ephraim said that such individuals would help to spread the sport at the grassroots.

“Whoever emerges as the President of the federation alongside other board members should be people who have passion and zeal to move cricket forward.

“People who will focus on growth of the national teams, engage people who are technically sound and also be transparent,” he said.

Also, Tonye Timinade, Head Coach of Rivers Cricket Association, urged stakeholders to shun sentiments when electing individuals to the NCF board.

Timinade said by doing so, the right president and board members would be elected to run the federation for the next four years.

“We need a vibrant national league, we have to spread cricket in Nigeria and stop recycling old players into the national team.

“Cricket equipment is also a critical and challenging aspect of the sport in Nigeria and the only way we can over it is having the right people at the helm of affairs,’’ he said. (NAN)

KOA/ENN/EEE
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Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Ese E. Ekama

Knife-wielding man attacks 12 children in Chinese kindergarten

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Attack
Beijing, Jan. 4, 2017 (dpa/NAN) A man climbed over the wall of a kindergarten school in south-western China and attacked 12 students with a knife,  Chinese state media said on Wednesday.

One child is in serious condition, but none sustained life-threatening injuries, The reported added.

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon in Pingxiang city in the province of Guangxi, according to the report.

Police apprehended a 41-year-old suspect named Qin Peng An, a resident of Pingxiang city, but his motivations remain unclear, according to the paper.

Knife assaults against medical workers by patients and family members who blame doctors and nurses for the deaths of relatives are common in China, but attacks on schoolchildren are rare. (dpa/NAN)

(Edited by Julius Enehikhuere)

Natural disaster insurance payouts hit four-year high in 2016

NAN-F-13

Disaster
Munich, Jan. 4, 2017 (dpa/NAN)  Severe earthquakes and storms in 2016 drove natural catastrophe insurance payouts to their highest level in four years, the world’s largest reinsurer Munich Re said on Wednesday.

Losses due to natural disasters rose by two-thirds to 175 billion dollars over the past year, reaching the highest level since 2012, according to financial data released by the company.

The most expensive natural catastrophe in the past year was the two earthquakes on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu between April 14 and April 16, 2016, costing the company 31 billion dollars.

However from a long-term perspective, the number of catastrophes in 2016 were not drastically higher than other years, meaning that losses in 2016 did not exceed expected levels, according to chief executive Torsten Jeworrek.

Despite the rise in catastrophe insurance losses, the world’s third-largest reinsurer Hannover Rueck said it made surprisingly few losses in the second quarter of 2016, according to chief executive, Ulrich Wallin. (dpa/NAN)

(Edited by Julius Enehikhuere)

NAN-S-5

FIFA
By Kemi Ajayi
Lagos, Jan. 3, 2017 (NAN) Argentina-based Torneosy Competencias, one of the companies implicated in the ongoing investigation into widespread corruption at FIFA, have agreed to pay a total of $112.76 million to settle charges.

An online portal, Insidethegames, said the company would forfeit $89 million and would pay a $23.76 million penalty as a result of their one count of wire fraud conspiracy.

According to the statement, the former head of the company, Alejandro Burzaco, pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in 2015.

The portal said Torneosy Competencias, founded in 1982 with  headquarters  in Buenos Aires, reached the agreement with prosecutors at a hearing at the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn.

It added that the company’s General Manager, Ignacio Galarza said the deals meant that the company could “start to leave this investigation’’.

The portal said the company was among those accused of soliciting kickbacks and bribes relating to marketing and media rights for major international football tournaments, such as the World Cups from 2018 to 2030.

It stated that the ongoing criminal investigation in the U.S., which has seen more than 40 officials indicted, largely centres on a total of $200 million in bribes and kickbacks.

According to the portal, 20 people have pleaded guilty, including former Honduran President Rafael Callejas and ex-FIFA vice-president Alfredo Hawit.

It noted that both officials were recently banned for life by FIFA’s Ethics Committee and are each facing jail sentences of up to 20 years.

The corruption scandal led to the departure of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter.(NAN)
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu and Olawale Alabi)

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Sailing
By Kemi Ajayi
Lagos, Jan. 3, 2017 (NAN) Femi Daramola, Commodore of the Navy Sailing Club, on Tuesday said the organisation would beam it search on the creeks to identify talents in water sports.

Daramola told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the country was blessed with various water bodies and should develop athletes in the sport.

He said that some of the youth along the shores possessed the quality needed to excel in water sports if adequately nurtured.

“Immediately I assume office last year, one of my objectives was to ensure that water sports gained the deserved prominence in Nigeria.

“We will be having programmes in the coastal areas this year, so that youths there can channel their energy and time into water sports.

“Some of our national athletes are products of this club and I want to build on the success of my predecessor to identify more talents,’’ he said.

The commodore added that the club would continue to partner with the Nigeria Rowing, Sailing and Canoe Federation to move water sports forward.

He thanked the Nigeria Navy for its continuous support to the club.

NAN reports that the club was established in 1987. (NAN)
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Dele Bodunde)

NAN-H-22
Fire
By Kemi Ajayi
Lagos, Dec. 30, 2016 (NAN) The victims of the Dec. 27 fire-incident in Ikotun area of Lagos State died from severe injuries sustained from burnt and carbon-monoxide.

Dr Kehinde Akingbehin, the Medical Director of the Do-alars Maternity Hospital in Ikotun, Lagos State, where they were rushed to for treatment disclosed this on Friday.

Akingbehin said that one of the children was brought dead to the hospital while the remaining two were in critical conditions as at the time of arrival.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three victims, who were children of the same parents, died in the hospital where they were taken to for treatment following injuries sustained from the fire outbreak.

NAN also reports that the ill-fated accident occurred in their single-room apartment at No. 15, Ikuuna Str., Liasu Road, in Ikotun.

Mrs Ngozi Ifediba, a widow was said to be the mother of now deceased: Chiamaka, Emmanuel and Chiagozie Ifediba.

She was alleged to have locked the children who were under 10 years of age, in the house while going out to buy some items very close to their house.

Akingbehin said, “We tried all we could do to revive the two children immediately they were brought into the hospital but they died five hours later.

“We took one of them to another hospital but the hospital rejected the child and we had to return the child to our hospital.

“Even if they had survived, the children would not have remained normal because of the gravity of what happened to them.’’

When NAN visited the scene of the fire, many of the residents were still terrified over the situation, wondering why the fire outbreak affected only the victim’s single room.

A resident who spoke under the condition of anonymity also described the fire incident as a ‘misery’. (NAN)
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu, Peter Dada)

NAN-H-13
Crime
Kabba (Kogi), Dec. 30, 2016 (NAN) A security expert in Kabba, Kogi, Mr Olutola Obamero, has called on the state government to check the activities of criminals at the Kabba end of the Obajana-Kabba Road‎.

Obamero, who made the call in Kabba on Friday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that the spate of crime on the road was high.

He appealed to security agencies to collaborate to reduce crime in the state.

Obamero also appealed to the Dangote Group to expedite rehabilitation of the road to improve transportation and security.

He hailed the state government’s efforts in providing vehicles for security agencies, and hoped that the gesture would go a long way to combat crime. (NAN)

WAL/MOL/IGO
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(Edited Mustapha Lamidi/Ijeoma editing)
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NAN-DS-3
Fire
By Kemi Ajayi
Lagos, Dec. 28, 2016 (NAN) Three children of the same parent on Wednesday died 24 hours after they suffered severe burns from the fire incident that engulfed their apartment in Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who visited the scene gathered that the children died in a hospital where they were taken for treatment on Tuesday.

A very reliable source of the family told NAN that one of the victims died shortly after they were brought to the hospital.

The source, who identified them as Chiamaka, Emmanuel and Chiagozie Ifediba, said they are below 10 years of age.

It said that the fire which started around 2 p.m. on Tuesday was caused by power outage inside their single room apartment at No.15 Ikuna Str. Liasu Road, Ikotun Egbe.

“ One died at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and the second one died 12. 30 a.m. on Wednesday, ‘’ the source told NAN, adding that their father was late.

According to the source, their mother, Mrs Ngozi Ifediba, was not at home when the fire started.

Mutiu Wasiu, a tenant in an adjacent building to the affected house also told NAN that the door to the room was locked when the fire was noticed.

He added that the room’s window was forced open before the victims were brought out.

Wasiu said that the children, who were found unconscious and covered in smoke, were rushed to a nearby hospital in the area.

“It was a terrible experience for me; I see no reason why someone will lock her children inside the house to buy something.

“It is only God that can save the children because the state we found them was not palatable,’’ he said.

Francis Simon, a resident of the area, said that the children would have been rescued on time, but that their neigbours who were more concerned about saving their property before the fire escalated.

Simon said that the fire was eventually put out before the arrival of fire service personnel.

“We managed to put the fire out with the help of outsiders and passerby,” he said.

Also a NAN correspondent who visited Do-alllars hospital where the children were taken for treatment, reports that relatives and sympathises were seen discussing the accident.

Confirming the incident, Mr Razak Fadipe, Director, Lagos State Fire Service, said that the information they received on arrival at the scene was that the victims’ mother locked them in.

“ She was said to be cooking and left them inside to purchase some items in a nearby shop when the incident occurred,’’ Fadipe told NAN.

He also said that the children were in critical condition when he visited the hospital on Tuesday.(NAN)
KOA/ENN/AMY
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Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Abdullahi Yusuf