Blog

Immigration hardliner says Trump team preparing plans for wall

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Border

New York, Nov. 16, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) An architect of anti-immigration efforts says U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration could push ahead rapidly on construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall without seeking immediate congressional approval.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach said in an interview that Trump’s policy advisers had also discussed drafting a proposal for his consideration to reinstate a registry for immigrants from Muslim countries.

Kobach, who helped write tough immigration laws in Arizona and elsewhere, was described by the media as a key member of Trump’s transition team.

He said that he had participated in regular conference calls with about a dozen Trump immigration advisers for the past two to three months.

Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for confirmation of Kobach’s role.

The president-elect has not committed to following any specific recommendations from advisory groups.

Trump, who scored an upset victory last week over Democrat Hillary Clinton, made building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border a central issue of his campaign.

He has pledged to step up immigration enforcement against the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.

He has also said he supports “extreme vetting” of Muslims entering the U.S. as a national security measure.

Kobach said that the immigration group had discussed drafting executive orders for the president-elect’s review “so that Trump and the Department of Homeland Security hit the ground running”.

To implement Trump’s call for “extreme vetting” of some Muslim immigrants, Kobach said the immigration policy group could recommend the reinstatement of a national registry of immigrants and visitors who enter the United States on visas from countries where extremist organisations are active.

Kobach helped design the programme called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System.

He did that while serving in Republican President George W. Bush’s Department of Justice after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. by al-Qaeda militants. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Damilola Oyewole

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Sentence

Jakarta, Nov. 16, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) An Indonesian court has sentenced an American to life imprisonment on Wednesday for smuggling a large quantity of crystal meth into the country from China, a report said.

The district court in Semarang, the provincial capital of Central Java, found Kamran Malik guilty of smuggling 97 kg of the drug inside generator sets being imported from China.

Malik, who is also known as Phillip Russel, was arrested in January with seven others involved in a smuggling ring that Judge Ali described as “a Pakistani network”.

The judge said Malik dealt with the finances.

According to the report, the same court sentenced to death the Pakistani ringleader, Muhammad Riaz, on Monday.

It said that another Pakistani in the group, Faiq Akhtar, was sentenced to life on Tuesday, while five others, all Indonesians, received lighter sentences. (Reuter/NAN)
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Edited by Damilola Oyewole

Kerry arrives at climate negotiations overshadowed by Trump

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Climate

Washington, Nov. 16, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, hoped his presence at a Marrakesh conference to decide the finer points of an historic climate agreement would be a victory lap.

He said he was ready to cap off a year of negotiations that will result in global agreements to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

Instead, he found himself having to reassure delegates from almost 200 nations they could count on the U.S. to abide by the 2015 Paris agreement.

He said this in spite of the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to withdraw the U.S. from the climate treaty.

“The president-elect is going to have to make his decision.

“What I will do is speak to the assembly about our efforts and what we are engaged in and why we’re engaged in it, and our deep commitment as the American people to this effort.

“I can’t speak to the (next) administration, but I know the American people support this overwhelmingly,” Kerry said on Tuesday to reporters.

Trump has called climate change a hoax, and said he would rip up the Paris deal, halt any U.S. taxpayer funds for U.N. global warming programmes, and revive the U.S. coal sector.

If he follows through on his promises, he would undo the legacy of President Barack Obama.

Obama has made climate change one of his top domestic and foreign policy priorities and called the trends of rising temperatures and other fallout from climate change “terrifying”.

A source on Trump’s transition team said this week that he was seeking quick ways to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement, which seeks to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

The accord won enough backing to enter into force on Nov. 4, four days before the U.S. election, and the conference in Morocco started in part as a celebration of that landmark. (Reuter/NAN)
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Edited by Damilola Oyewole and Abdullahi Yusuf

Merkel to present Steinmeier as presidential candidate

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Candidate

Berlin, Nov. 16, 2016 (dpa/NAN) Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government on Wednesday said that it is set to present Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a Social Democrat (SPD) ranked among Germany’s most popular politician, as its candidate for the presidency.

Merkel, Head, Centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), Horst Seehofer, Head, Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), and SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel will jointly advocate for Steinmeier during a press conference at noon.

The three parties are from Merkel’s grand coalition.

Although the role of German president is largely ceremonial, the candidate is meant to represent Germany internationally.

The presidency is therefore hotly contested between rival parties.

Merkel has come under fire from within the ranks of her conservative political bloc for agreeing to endorse a candidate from the SPD – its traditional rival ahead of a general election in 2017. (dpa/NAN)

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Edited by Damilola Oyewole/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

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Electrification
By Kingsley Okoye
Abuja, Nov. 16, 2016 (NAN) The Federal Government on Wednesday expressed its readiness to spend 150 million dollars on the rural electrification.

Mr Babtunde Fashola, the Minster of Power, Works and Housing, disclosed this in Abuja at a business forum on ‘’Financing Opportunities in the Nigerian Power Sector’’

He said government would use 44 tertiary institutions and small hydro dams in the rural areas as anchors for the electrification programme.

 Fashola said the money would be deployed towards providing Independent Power Plants (IPPs) to supply electricity to tertiary institutions and rural communities.

He said that 37 out of the 44 tertiary institutions audited for the project were universities, while seven were teaching hospitals.

The minister said government would deploy 37 IPPs made up of nine gas plants and 28 solar plants with a combined generation capacity of 120 megawatts to power all the universities.

According to him, the 37 IPPs will replace 1,105 generators that were hitherto serving the institutions and generating 210 MW of inefficient and unclean energy.

He said the amount would cover capital expenditure, operations and maintenance.

On financing opportunities in the Nation’s power sector, Fashola, emphasised the need for financing and liquidity stability in the sector.

He said the Distribution Companies (DisCos) required financing for the supply of meters, upgrading distribution equipment like transformers, ring mains units, feeders for DisCos and funding, especially in foreign exchange.

For the GenCos, the minister said adequate liquidity was acquired to procure turbines, parts and accessories which were largely imported.

“They (DisCos) need a lot of operating capital to buy meters, to change transformers that are old, to extend access to their customers, to replace transformers and so on and so forth.

“They need operational capital and they need it in mix of foreign exchange because some of the things they want to buy are not made in Nigeria and there are some made in Nigeria”.

Fashola said investment in the GenCos was also profitable, saying that when the market settled and stabilised, the return would be marvelous.

He said the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) would benefit from financing of its grid expansion programme if it could present a detailed prospect plan that would demonstrate investment needs and return potential.

The minister said that solar, coal, and other energy suppliers required investment to finance acquisition of photovoltaic panels, heavy duty equipment and related machines not made in Nigeria.

Fashola said Nigeria Buck Electricity Trader (NBET), a government owned company, was planning to raise a bond for investors to buy into it.

On the financing opportunities in rural electrification, he said: “there exists a list of endless possibilities and opportunities for investment in the nation’s power sector.’’ (NAN)
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(Edited by Abdullahi Mohammed/Tajudeen Atitebi)

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Jewellery
By Tomisin Erogbogbo
Lagos, Nov. 16, 2016 (NAN) A 26-year-old nanny, Joy Amachi, who allegedly stole her employer’s gold jewellery worth N10 million, on Wednesday appeared before a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

The accused, who is facing a two-count charge, however, pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor, Insp Philip Osijiale, told the court that the accused connived with some others still at large to steal the property on Sept. 21, on Carlton Gate Estate, Lekki, Lagos.

He said that the accused absconded with the jewellery three months after she was employed.

“Amachi left her employer’s house without any explanation on Sept. 21 and she came back on Oct. 1, claiming that she was kidnapped.

“The complainant later discovered that all the gold jewellery in her box had disappeared,” he said.

Osijiale said that the offence contravened Sections 285 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The Magistrate, Mrs Memunat Folami, granted Amachi bail in the sum of one million naira with two sureties in like sum.

Folami said that the sureties must be blood relations of the accused and must be above 40 years.

She adjourned the case till Dec. 6 for mention. (NAN)
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(Edited by Halima Sheji/ Ijeoma Popoola)

Erdogan says Turkish-backed rebels close to taking Syria’s al Bab

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Rebels

Ankara, Nov. 16, 2016 (Reuter/NAN) Turkey-backed rebels are just 2 km from the city of al Bab and are expected to take it from Islamic State quickly, in spite of some resistance, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, said on Wednesday.

The rebels had said that they had taken Qabasin, several kilometers Northeast of al Bab, setting the stage for an assault on the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in the northern Aleppo countryside.

Al Bab is of particular strategic importance to Turkey because Kurdish-dominated militias have also been pursuing a drive to seize it.

Ankara is determined to prevent Kurdish forces from joining up cantons they control along the Turkish border, for fear it will stoke Kurdish separatism at home.

“The Free Syrian Army (rebels), with the support of our special forces, is about 2 km away and the siege is continuing as planned.

“There is resistance now, but I don’t think it will last much longer,” Erdogan said in a news conference.

He said that he was confident that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia would withdraw east of the Euphrates River from the city of Manbij on Wednesday or Thursday, fulfilling a long-standing Turkish demand.

Turkey sent warplanes, tanks and artillery into Syria in August in support of mostly Arab and Turkmen rebels, an operation dubbed “Euphrates Shield.

It was meant to drive both Islamic State and Kurdish militia forces away from its border.

However, Manbij was recently liberated from Islamic State by Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States.

Ankara regards the YPG as a hostile force with deep ties to Kurdish militants who have fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

The YPG said it was pulling out of Manbij and withdrawing east of the Euphrates.

It said that it was doing so in order to participate in the campaign to liberate the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, which is likely to further antagonise Ankara.

Turkey has repeatedly said that YPG fighters should not be involved in the planned Raqqa operation, arguing that the city was predominantly Arab.

U.S. special envoy, Brett McGurk, described the YPG withdrawal from Manbij as a “milestone”.

He said that all YPG units would depart after training local units to maintain the city’s security against Islamic State. (Reuter/NAN)
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Edited by Damilola Oyewole and Abdullahi Yusuf

Plateau gov’s wife celebrates birthday with IDPs, donates cash, assorted Items

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IDPs
By Martha Agas
Jos, Nov. 16, 2016(NAN) Mrs. Regina Lalong, wife of Plateau Governor, on Wednesday visited some camps hosting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) in the state, as part of activities to mark her birthday which fell on Tuesday.

Lalong, who visited camps located at Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Bassa Local Governments, doled out a total of N2 million cash and distributed food items worth N8 million to the children.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Lalong’s Foundation – Support Women Initiatives to Transform Children (SWITCH), also offered free medical care to the IDPs, as part of her kind gestures to mark the day.

She said that the items shared to the IDPS were procured in collaboration with a sister NGO, Tina Bawa International Medical Mission.

Explaining her action, the governor’s wife said that she chose to celebrate her birthday with children at the IDPs camps because they needed special love and attention.

“They (children) are living outside their abode and there is always the need to make them feel at home.

“I have always celebrated my birthdays with children at the IDPs’ camp; it gives me great fulfillment,’’ she said.

Lalong said that government was making collective efforts to reintegrate IDPs into the society, and declared that the younger ones were a major condsideration in such efforts to enable them grow into normal lives.

The Governor’s wife promised to give more attention to the needs of IDPs, and appealed to individuals and organisations to assist them with food items, medical care and educational facilities.

Mrs. Tina Bawa, the founder of Tina Bawa International Medical Mission, in her remarks, commended the governor’s wfe for remembering to celebrate her day with the less privileged.

“Many privileged Nigerians would have opted for parties to enjoy their day, but you preferred to be with the poor. This is good,” she said.

Dr. David Belin, a member of the free medical care team, who said that the services would be rendered for many days, explained that the gesture was premised on the need to assist the most vulnerable members of the society.

He said that special attenion was being paid to testing and atending to people with diseases like hepatitis B and malaria.

Other diseases included skin infection and depression, he said.

He said that the team would offer treatments appropriately and make referrals, where necessary.

Among food items distributed to the IDPs were bags of rice, cartons of noodles, blankets and provisions. (NAN)
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Edited by Ephraims Sheyin

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Yam
By Oluwatope Lawanson
Lagos, Nov. 16, 2016 (NAN) For breaking into a shop and stealing 10 tubers of yam, a 22-year-old unemployed man, Olatunde Saheed, is to carry out community service for two weeks in Lagos.

An Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, presided over by Magistrate M.O. Osinbajo, slammed the punishment and a N5,000 fine on the convict after he pleaded guilty to the offence on Tuesday.

“Based on the facts of this case, confirmed in the report and the plea of leniency, I hereby sentence you to two weeks community service and payment of a N5,000 compensation to the complainant,’’ Osinbajo ruled.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Yomi Egunjobi, had told the court that Saheed, was resident at No. 56, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Imo, Abeokuta in Ogun.

Egunjobi said Saheed stole 10 tubers of Yam valued N8,000 on Nov. 8, at No. 25, Ishola Close, Ijaiye Ojokoro a Lagos suburb.

He said that the convict broke into the shop of one Mrs Ganiyat Akinbola and carted away the yams.

Egunjobi said that the convict was apprehended by security guards while trying to abscond with the tubers of yam and handed him over to the police.

The prosecutor said the convict contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. (NAN)
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(Edited by Halima Sheji/Peter Ejiofor)

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Advice

By Adekunle Williams and Solomon Asowata

Lagos, Nov. 16, 2016 (NAN) Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, the immediate past General Secretary, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON),on Wednesday advised Airline operators in the country to acquire light and fuel efficiency aircraft to reduce cost of operations.

Tukur told Aviation Correspondents on Wednesday in Lagos that the advice became necessary as the economic recession bit harder in the aviation sector.

Tukur said that many airlines in the country collapsed within 10 years of operations because they had the wrong type of aircraft in their fleets.

According to him, some airlines deploy “jumbo” aircraft meant for six hours flight for an hour flight on domestic route which makes it unprofitable.

He said: “The only way domestic airlines will survive in this country is for the operators to acquire less fuel consuming aircrafts such as jets.

“There is need for airlines to change their aircraft types; they should get jet aircraft and not the B737. If they have these less fuel consumption aircraft, it will reduce their burden,” he said.

Tukur, who is a former Director of Operations, Chanchangi Airline, noted that the B737 aircraft were costly to maintain, adding that those using them may find it difficult to operate profitably under the present economic situation.

He also advised the management of some airlines to stop living expensive lifestyle with monies meant for operations, adding that some management staff of these airlines received too much as salaries.

“Some airline operators take money out of the system and put it in another business. In aviation, the moment you move money out of operation, then you are killing the operation completely.

‘’However, because the airlines are individually owned, they can just take the money without accountability,” he said.

He also advised the Federal Government against setting up a national carrier, noting that what the country needed was the introduction of a flag carrier that would be privately owned.

“What they need to have is a flag carrier and not national carrier. Where is the money to float a national carrier by the government; can they afford $200 billion?

On airport concession, he urged the government to resolve all existing concession agreements in the industry in order to avoid another round of litigation. (NAN)

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Edited by Dada Ahmed/Ismail Abdulaziz

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