Kano once again came under terrorist attack this afternoon in what is becoming almost a daily affair.
This time, the target is the Kano State Polytechnic. Many students are reported to have been killed when a bomb exploded at the school around 2pm as students were checking the national Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation list.
The mobilisation list was said to have been pasted outside the school this morning, attracting many students who had completed their HND programme.
One report quoted a management staff of the school as saying that she saw hundreds of students checking the list shortly before the explosion.
Source News Express
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Wednesday 30 July 2014
Sad as Suicide Bomber Attacks Kano Polytechnic, Several Feared Killed
Kano once again came under terrorist attack this afternoon in what is becoming almost a daily affair.
This time, the target is the Kano State Polytechnic. Many students are reported to have been killed when a bomb exploded at the school around 2pm as students were checking the national Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation list.
The mobilisation list was said to have been pasted outside the school this morning, attracting many students who had completed their HND programme.
One report quoted a management staff of the school as saying that she saw hundreds of students checking the list shortly before the explosion.
Source News Express
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This time, the target is the Kano State Polytechnic. Many students are reported to have been killed when a bomb exploded at the school around 2pm as students were checking the national Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation list.
The mobilisation list was said to have been pasted outside the school this morning, attracting many students who had completed their HND programme.
One report quoted a management staff of the school as saying that she saw hundreds of students checking the list shortly before the explosion.
Source News Express
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
African students’ bold steps to defend continent
It was at the expansive Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan,
where students and youths across African nations gathered to discuss
their fate in the future of the continent, especially in the face of the
raging violence almost enveloping the region. The event, which was the
African Students for Liberty Conference, kicked off around 11a.m, with
Ajibola Adigun, a member of the society’s executive board as the
compere.
Resource persons at the event were pro-liberty speakers, including
Co-founder of SFL, Alexander McCobin; a social media entrepreneur and
popular blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, former law-maker and writer, Dr. Wale
Okediran; Mr. Kofi Bentil, Vice President, IMANI Ghana, Mr. Farouk Adamu
Aliyu, among others.
Okediran, who spoke on the theme: “The Role of Literature in Sustainable Democracy and Good Governance,” said the interplay between literature and politics is very important saying creative writers in Africa have over the years played very important roles in the process of governance both in the continent and globally.
Thus, the writer has taken on the role of social critic or the conscience of the nation and world.” Okediran, who said Nigeria, has several writers, who over the years have continued to send strident political messages through their works.
He listed some of them to include Professors Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Femi Osofisan, and also made reference to his widely acclaimed book, ‘Tenants of the House,” where Okediran said politics and social issues are its strong themes. Alexander McCobin, who spoke on “Students for Liberty and the Global Movement for Liberty,” went through the history of SFL and the growth of the network, while explaining that: “Liberty has come a long way over the course of human history, “and if we want to see changes in the world, we have to see it ourselves.”
Alluding to his experience as a former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Adamu Aliyu, who spoke on: “The Importance of Rule of Law in Nigeria’s Development,” noted: “Unlike the rule of person, the rule of law postulates that societies must not be subjected to the whims and caprices of individuals who are likely to manipulate social order to benefit their interests, prejudices and preferences.
Rather, all members of society must be governed by a predetermined set of laws established by members of the society through democratic processes and enshrined in the judicial processes of the society.” Japheth Omojuwa, a social critic and blogger spoke on the theme: “ICT and Liberty as Catalysts for Social Change and Wealth Creation,” where he explained that humanity has not had it this well than at this age of social media.
Source: New telegraph
Resource persons at the event were pro-liberty speakers, including
Co-founder of SFL, Alexander McCobin; a social media entrepreneur and
popular blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, former law-maker and writer, Dr. Wale
Okediran; Mr. Kofi Bentil, Vice President, IMANI Ghana, Mr. Farouk Adamu
Aliyu, among others.Okediran, who spoke on the theme: “The Role of Literature in Sustainable Democracy and Good Governance,” said the interplay between literature and politics is very important saying creative writers in Africa have over the years played very important roles in the process of governance both in the continent and globally.
Thus, the writer has taken on the role of social critic or the conscience of the nation and world.” Okediran, who said Nigeria, has several writers, who over the years have continued to send strident political messages through their works.
He listed some of them to include Professors Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Femi Osofisan, and also made reference to his widely acclaimed book, ‘Tenants of the House,” where Okediran said politics and social issues are its strong themes. Alexander McCobin, who spoke on “Students for Liberty and the Global Movement for Liberty,” went through the history of SFL and the growth of the network, while explaining that: “Liberty has come a long way over the course of human history, “and if we want to see changes in the world, we have to see it ourselves.”
Alluding to his experience as a former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Adamu Aliyu, who spoke on: “The Importance of Rule of Law in Nigeria’s Development,” noted: “Unlike the rule of person, the rule of law postulates that societies must not be subjected to the whims and caprices of individuals who are likely to manipulate social order to benefit their interests, prejudices and preferences.
Rather, all members of society must be governed by a predetermined set of laws established by members of the society through democratic processes and enshrined in the judicial processes of the society.” Japheth Omojuwa, a social critic and blogger spoke on the theme: “ICT and Liberty as Catalysts for Social Change and Wealth Creation,” where he explained that humanity has not had it this well than at this age of social media.
Source: New telegraph
Saturday 19 July 2014
Indian police kill Kashmiri teenager in anti-Israel protest
The youngster's death marked the first fatality in a string of demonstrations across the Himalayan territory that have been staged against the Israeli military campaign.
The boy, a ninth-class student, was killed in the village of Khudwani, 60 kilometres (40 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city of the disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
"The boy died in (police) firing on anti-Israel protesters who were also angry about injuries suffered by other protesters during earlier demonstrations," a senior police officer told AFP.
A police statement called the killing "unfortunate".
Local residents said it was believed that the boy was hit by a bullet while sitting in a shop and was not part of the protest but police could not immediately confirm this.
The Kashmiri boy's death came as Israeli air strikes and shelling killed more than 25 people across Gaza on Saturday, among them children, raising the toll in 12 days of violence to 337, according to medics in Gaza City.
The Indian police officer said the Kashmri youngster, identified as Suhail Ahmad Lone, was believed to be around 14 or 15.
The police officer asked for anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Dozens of protesters have been injured in the protests against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
The protests have been occurring on an almost daily basis in the Kashmir valley which has been at the centre of a quarter-century revolt against Indian rule.
The demonstrators, some holding placards with "Save Gaza" written on them, chanted "Down with Israel", "Down with America" and hurled stones at government forces.
Indian government forces are seeking to prevent the protests from spreading in the volatile region.
On Thursday, the Kashmir valley was mostly shut in response to a call by separatist leaders to protest against the Israeli military campaign.
About a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for independence or merger of Kashmir with Pakistan, which also claims the territory.
The fighting, and India's tense relations with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan, have made Kashmir one of the most militarised zones in the world and has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians dead.
Israel has long been a key arms supplier to the Indian government.
Israel's relations with Hindu-majority India have long been viewed with suspicion and hostility by the South Asian nation's large Muslim minority.
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Friday 18 July 2014
7 Things to Do to Spice Up Your Boring Life
1. Create a dream journal
Why not start a dream journal and write up at least one dream every day? When you dream, you imagine the desired reality and experience positive feelings and emotions. Psychologists say that dreaming is a direct line to your desires and passions. I'm sure that everyone, especially big dreamers, have a great amount of dreams and it's easy to forget about them. I suggest taking a paper and writing up your dreams. Later, you'll have a list of dreams and desires for you to know what you want and how to reach these goals and cherished ideas.
2. Do at least one extraordinary thing every day
In order to get out of a rut, you should do new things. It will help you shift your mindset and become more confident at the same time. Many people suffer from fear to do extraordinary things and deviate casual routine. If you visit a new grocery store or go to work by bus instead of taking the subway, you will feel new emotions and get new and interesting experience. Start at various hobbies and pastime activities. It will make you a more interesting and all-rounded person. Plus, you will have an opportunity to find new friends and make new and pleasant acquaintances.
3. A difficult conversation should take place
If you suffer from something and you cannot find the moment to face the problem and handle the situation, you will feel bored, burned out and bummed for ages. No matter how uncomfortable it may seem, but you should screw up your courage to have an unpleasant conversation and stand your ground. Concealed negative emotions are like a cancer that kills you from inside slowly. Make it a habit to find an opportunity to tell everything you dislike. Such approach will help you save and improve both your mental and physical well-being.
4. Write a list of gratitude
When you get chronically bored with something, your mind gets used to negative perception of the world. It is necessary to break the chain of negative thoughts by training your mind to notice the best. Just write down 5 things you like every day. This way, your mindset will change for the better in a quite short period of time. The gratitude list will open your eyes to the beauty of the world around you. Focusing on positive moments will develop the sense of gratitude.
5. Ask people you know to name your best qualities
Nowadays people are often depressed because of a boring and busy life. Accordingly, it is easy to lose confidence in your power and abilities. This mental state breeds uncertainty, fears and contradictions in your mind. You feel doubtful that you could change something for better. If you realize that you cannot overcome this state alone, then survey the people who know you well and who can name your best qualities. It's a great pleasure to hear other people praising you and mentioning your advantages. It will boost your self-esteem and help you feel more confident in no time.
6. Make new friends
Making new friends and communication with interesting people are the best ways to fight boredom. If you don't know how to meet a new person, you should get involved in activities that may bring you in contact with other like-minded personalities. Depending on your hobbies and preferences you can attend a night club, volunteer organizations or any event that can lead to making new friends. You should remember that lying on the sofa and suffering from boredom and depression can damage your health.
7. Mind your body
When I was bored with something, I usually preferred to relief stress by eating a pan of sponge-cakes. I noticed that it made me feel better, but damaged my body. Consequently, I realized that candies and junk food could play a bad trick with my both mental and physical well-being and I decided to give up this terrible habit. I started to work out in order to rid my mind of negative emotions and thoughts. Now I'm proud of myself because I've successfully reached my goal. I want you to know that this annoying habit is a real passion vampire. Try to replace eating junk food by doing your exercise every day.
I hope these ideas will help you rid yourself of passion vampires, which ruin your personality due to the influence of boredom. Try to fill your life with new adventures, emotions and interesting people. What do you usually do to fight boredom? Share your ideas with us, please.
Source: Womanitely
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NLNG Scholarship 2014 Undergraduate Application Form Out. Entry closes on Thursday 31st July, 2014
Online application for 2014/2015 NLNG Scholarship Award for Undergraduates has commenced. The Management of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited wishes to invite interested First Year Undergraduates in Nigerian Universities to apply for the NLNG Scholarship 2014 Award. The purpose of the award is to promote academic excellence amongst university undergraduates in Nigeria.
Brief Description:
The Nigeria LNG Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme started in 1998 as part of Nigeria LNG Limited's Corporate Social Responsibility to Nigerian Citizens to enhance human capacity development. It involves the payment of a yearly Scholarship allowance to beneficiary Undergraduates in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. Beneficiaries are selected through a rigorous and transparent selection process organized in collaboration with the Aptitude Test Department of WAEC. From inception, about 2,500 beneficiaries have benefited from the scheme.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested students are to register and create a user account on the undergraduate scholarship application website via https://sws.nlng.com/Undgrad/account/registration.aspx . Then activate your user account from the account notification mail sent to you.
Log on and submit an application on the the undergraduate scholarship application website and then wait for notification from Nigeria LNG Limited.
All applications should include the following attachments (in any of the following formats – JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIFF):
1) Scanned passport-sized photographs.
2) Scanned copy of JAMB and University admission letters.
3) Scanned copy of WAEC/NECO/GCE/O' Levels or A' Level result.
4) Scanned copy of School Identity Card.
5) Scanned copy of Letter of identification from Local Government of Origin.
The following candidates need not apply:
a. Beneficiaries of other scholarship schemes.
b. Second (2nd) to Final year students.
c. Part-time students.
Entry closes on Thursday 31st July, 2014.
Please note that only qualified applicants will be short-listed for the selection
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Brief Description:
The Nigeria LNG Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme started in 1998 as part of Nigeria LNG Limited's Corporate Social Responsibility to Nigerian Citizens to enhance human capacity development. It involves the payment of a yearly Scholarship allowance to beneficiary Undergraduates in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. Beneficiaries are selected through a rigorous and transparent selection process organized in collaboration with the Aptitude Test Department of WAEC. From inception, about 2,500 beneficiaries have benefited from the scheme.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested students are to register and create a user account on the undergraduate scholarship application website via https://sws.nlng.com/Undgrad/account/registration.aspx . Then activate your user account from the account notification mail sent to you.
Log on and submit an application on the the undergraduate scholarship application website and then wait for notification from Nigeria LNG Limited.
All applications should include the following attachments (in any of the following formats – JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIFF):
1) Scanned passport-sized photographs.
2) Scanned copy of JAMB and University admission letters.
3) Scanned copy of WAEC/NECO/GCE/O' Levels or A' Level result.
4) Scanned copy of School Identity Card.
5) Scanned copy of Letter of identification from Local Government of Origin.
The following candidates need not apply:
a. Beneficiaries of other scholarship schemes.
b. Second (2nd) to Final year students.
c. Part-time students.
Entry closes on Thursday 31st July, 2014.
Please note that only qualified applicants will be short-listed for the selection
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Wow:- OAU Student Builds Solar-powered Car
Segun Oyeyiola explains that his car uses both wind and solar energy for the functioning, The Net reports. Moreover, the man developed an application for its installation in the car, which app will inform the driver about the battery level, weather conditions and other essential parameters.
In an interview to allAfrica.com Segun spoke about how he came up with the idea and eventually embodied it. He confessed his first motivation was to eradicate the causes of climate change resulting in fuel combustion.
"In the course of my research, I found out that our regular cars contribute immensely to climate change… If we could manufacture cars that do not use fuel or reduce the number of cars that use fuel; our world will be a better place for us to live in."
The student had to work and study hard to achieve his aim, which was even harder because of absence of electricity most of the time.
Apart from that, the final year student faced other challenges:
"Asides the lack of electricity, getting the right materials and text books to study as well as other needed tools was difficult. But the most prominent of them was the lack of funds. I started using my personal funds which I obtained by helping people to do their projects and a little fund my parents also contributed towards the project."
He also explained that the resulting model is a prototype, but not the final look of the car. Segun hopes to develop his project into a future car for Nigeria and Africa, as it is created with regard to our climate.
The young man points out another important benefit of using his auto – low maintenance cost:
"Everyone likes it and they are willing to start driving it around town because of its low cost of maintenance. I developed a simple software that can be installed on our laptops and smart phones to tell us the battery level, the weather condition, the distance we can cover during different weather conditions and GPS location of the car."
Enthusiastic about his project, Segun says he is not sure whether he would like to sell the idea to some entity, he prefers to have the project funded and continue working on upgrading the auto:
"I would rather they fund me to put together a team to help me perfect them and make them commercial."
In conclusion the 30-year-old urged youths to look for solutions to the global problems and never stop learning something new.
"And it's better to start anything we wanted to do now. Let's do what will make us happy and that which will not affect our fellow being negatively.
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FIFA ban: Nigeria beats deadline
Nigeria has therefore met FIFA's conditions to avoid being banned after the Maigari board was reinstated following the ruling. The board was sacked on July 6 by the NFF Congress.
FIFA had suspended Nigeria for government interference in the activities of the NFF.
The world football body had demanded the withdrawal of the (court) case as well as the reinstatement of the sacked board to enable the country to avoid being banned.
A July 17 deadline was given to reverse the decision.
Justice Philomena Lot of the High Court had last Friday issued the injunction, pending the hearing of the suit filed by the proprietor Nembe Football Club, Mrs. Ebiakpo Baribote.
The vacation of the order followed a withdrawal of the suit, which had led to the suspension of Nigeria from all football-related activists by FIFA.
The withdrawal of the suit was said to have been sequel to appeals made to the plaintiff in the interest of the country.
At a sitting of the court on Thursday, Justice Lot vacated the order following a motion filed to that effect by the counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Habila Ardzard.
Ardzard, who spoke to our correspondent at the end of the sitting, said his client had to listen to pleas by some Nigerians so that the country would not be banned.
He said, "My client as a patriotic Nigerian read the mood of FIFA and more so there is a female World Cup coming up soon as she would not like the country's interests to be jeopardised by her action."
Source: Punch
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FIFA ban: Nigeria beats deadline
A Jos High court on Thursday vacated an order which restrained the Nigeria Football Federation from functioning pending the hearing of a suit challenging the validity of the Aminu Maigari-led Nigeria Football Federation.
Nigeria has therefore met FIFA's conditions to avoid being banned after the Maigari board was reinstated following the ruling. The board was sacked on July 6 by the NFF Congress.
FIFA had suspended Nigeria for government interference in the activities of the NFF.
The world football body had demanded the withdrawal of the (court) case as well as the reinstatement of the sacked board to enable the country to avoid being banned.
A July 17 deadline was given to reverse the decision.
Justice Philomena Lot of the High Court had last Friday issued the injunction, pending the hearing of the suit filed by the proprietor Nembe Football Club, Mrs. Ebiakpo Baribote.
The vacation of the order followed a withdrawal of the suit, which had led to the suspension of Nigeria from all football-related activists by FIFA.
The withdrawal of the suit was said to have been sequel to appeals made to the plaintiff in the interest of the country.
At a sitting of the court on Thursday, Justice Lot vacated the order following a motion filed to that effect by the counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Habila Ardzard.
Ardzard, who spoke to our correspondent at the end of the sitting, said his client had to listen to pleas by some Nigerians so that the country would not be banned.
He said, "My client as a patriotic Nigerian read the mood of FIFA and more so there is a female World Cup coming up soon as she would not like the country's interests to be jeopardised by her action."
Source: Punch
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
Nigeria has therefore met FIFA's conditions to avoid being banned after the Maigari board was reinstated following the ruling. The board was sacked on July 6 by the NFF Congress.
FIFA had suspended Nigeria for government interference in the activities of the NFF.
The world football body had demanded the withdrawal of the (court) case as well as the reinstatement of the sacked board to enable the country to avoid being banned.
A July 17 deadline was given to reverse the decision.
Justice Philomena Lot of the High Court had last Friday issued the injunction, pending the hearing of the suit filed by the proprietor Nembe Football Club, Mrs. Ebiakpo Baribote.
The vacation of the order followed a withdrawal of the suit, which had led to the suspension of Nigeria from all football-related activists by FIFA.
The withdrawal of the suit was said to have been sequel to appeals made to the plaintiff in the interest of the country.
At a sitting of the court on Thursday, Justice Lot vacated the order following a motion filed to that effect by the counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Habila Ardzard.
Ardzard, who spoke to our correspondent at the end of the sitting, said his client had to listen to pleas by some Nigerians so that the country would not be banned.
He said, "My client as a patriotic Nigerian read the mood of FIFA and more so there is a female World Cup coming up soon as she would not like the country's interests to be jeopardised by her action."
Source: Punch
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
‘The Institute of Sexology’ exhibition held in London
Sex toys, ancient carvings and medical artefacts will be among objects on display at a new exhibition opening in central London in November.
The Institute Of Sexology will be the first UK exhibition to bring together the pioneers of the study of sex, according to its curators.
Paintings and carvings will be on display
Paintings, films and photographs of copulation will also be on display.
Featuring more than 200 objects, the show will be held at the £17.5m expansion of the Wellcome Collection.
It will look at key sexologists through history including Sigmund Freud, Marie Stopes and Alfred Kinsey and trace the experiments and studies carried out over decades.
From "Alfred Kinsey's complex coded questionnaires to Samoan jewellery to sex machines", the show will "investigate how... sexologists have shaped our ever-evolving attitudes towards sexual behaviour and identity", exhibition organisers said.
Curators said that The Institute Of Sexology will include commissions, live events, discussions and performance art and "form part of a sexology season of activity across the country".
"The Institute Of Sexology offers a complex, often contradictory story of the study of sex, and highlights the profound effect that the gathering and analysis of information can have in changing attitudes about the human condition," curator Kate Forde said.
"The exhibition presents typed diagnoses alongside handmade campaign material, scientific charts next to handwritten testimonies.
Featuring more than 200 objects, the show will be held at the £17.5m expansion of the Wellcome Collection
"But all are caught up in attempts to free us from the tyranny of preconceived ideas about sex, and suggest that our understanding about our sexual identities is a story of constant evolution."
Wellcome Collection - which has recently shown exhibitions on the brain and death - is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charity dedicated to achieving improvements in human and animal health.
The Institute Of Sexology will run for one year from 20 November 2014 at the Wellcome Collection in London.
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Beyonce leads MTV Video Music award nominations
Her song Drunk in Love, performed alongside husband Jay-Z, is up against rivals including Pharrell Williams' Happy for best video.
Rappers Eminem and Izzy Azalea scooped seven nods apiece in key categories including best male and female.
The awards ceremony takes place in Inglewood, California, on 24 August.
It is due to be screened in the UK on MTV the following day at 2100 BST.
Musicians set to perform at the ceremony include Usher and Ariana Grande, with further acts due to be added to the bill in the coming weeks.
Other shortlisters for video of the year include Miley Cyrus for Wrecking Ball, Sia's hit Chandelier and Fancy by Iggy Azalea.
British singing star Sam Smith, currently riding high in the US charts, is nominated for artist to watch with his track Stay With Me, while Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys have landed a nomination for best rock video for the visuals to their song Do I Wanna Know?
British singer Sam Smith, pictured with Mary J Blige, is among the nominees
Michael Jackson's posthumous hit Love Never Felt So Good, performed with Justin Timberlake, is in the running for best choreography.
In 2013, Timberlake won video of the year for Mirrors.
The full list of nominations also includes categories such as best video with a social message and the best videos in rock and pop.
Last year's ceremony hit the headlines for Miley Cyrus's raunchy performance with Blurred Lines singer Robin Thicke in which she wore latex underwear and "twerked".
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Many dead' in Damboa, Nigeria
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that half of Damboa had been burnt down, including the town's main market.
At least 18 bodies so far have been recovered from the attack, which lasted for several hours. The death toll is expected to rise, residents say.
Boko Haram's violent campaign to establish an Islamic state has killed thousands of people in recent years.
In April, it sparked international outrage by abducting more than 200 girls from their boarding school in Chibok, in Borno state, like Damboa.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden", has often targeted schools since it launched its insurgency in 2009.
Borno state governor Kashim Shettima on Thursday said that 176 teachers had been killed and 900 schools destroyed since 2011.
Boko Haram is opposed to Western education
Damboa, 85km (53 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, is now said to be deserted as many people have fled to neighbouring towns.
"Those who could not flee surrendered and were killed by the insurgents," a local official, who did not want to be named, told the AFP news agency.
Boko Haram attacked the barracks in the town two weeks ago, killing several soldiers.
Nigeria's defence ministry said the military had repelled that attack and killed at least 50 insurgents.
But residents say that since then the town has only been defended by vigilante groups.
"We were defenceless because all the security personnel, including soldiers and policemen, have withdrawn," resident Ahmed Buba told AFP.
On Tuesday, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan asked the National Assembly for an extra $1bn to help the military fight Boko Haram.
But the parliamentarians have now gone on a two-month recess without debating the request.
Nigeria's soldiers have frequently complained that the insurgents have superior firepower.
Nigeria has a military budget of about $6bn a year but large sums are lost to corruption, critics say.
The US, UK, China, France and Israel have all sent military assistance to help rescue the schoolgirls.
Who are Boko Haram?
Founded in 2002
Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
Some three million people affected
Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
Many people are feared dead after suspected Boko Haram Islamist gunmen attacked a town in north-east Nigeria.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that half of Damboa had been burnt down, including the town's main market.
At least 18 bodies so far have been recovered from the attack, which lasted for several hours. The death toll is expected to rise, residents say.
Boko Haram's violent campaign to establish an Islamic state has killed thousands of people in recent years.
In April, it sparked international outrage by abducting more than 200 girls from their boarding school in Chibok, in Borno state, like Damboa.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden", has often targeted schools since it launched its insurgency in 2009.
Borno state governor Kashim Shettima on Thursday said that 176 teachers had been killed and 900 schools destroyed since 2011.
Boko Haram is opposed to Western education
Damboa, 85km (53 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, is now said to be deserted as many people have fled to neighbouring towns.
"Those who could not flee surrendered and were killed by the insurgents," a local official, who did not want to be named, told the AFP news agency.
Boko Haram attacked the barracks in the town two weeks ago, killing several soldiers.
Nigeria's defence ministry said the military had repelled that attack and killed at least 50 insurgents.
But residents say that since then the town has only been defended by vigilante groups.
"We were defenceless because all the security personnel, including soldiers and policemen, have withdrawn," resident Ahmed Buba told AFP.
On Tuesday, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan asked the National Assembly for an extra $1bn to help the military fight Boko Haram.
But the parliamentarians have now gone on a two-month recess without debating the request.
Nigeria's soldiers have frequently complained that the insurgents have superior firepower.
Nigeria has a military budget of about $6bn a year but large sums are lost to corruption, critics say.
The US, UK, China, France and Israel have all sent military assistance to help rescue the schoolgirls.
Who are Boko Haram?
Founded in 2002
Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
Some three million people affected
Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
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Thursday 17 July 2014
Malaysia Airlines passenger plane with 295 aboard was shot down by a surface SA-11 ground-to-air missile in Ukraine near the Russian border a day after a Ukrainian military jet was downed.
A Malaysian airliner was brought down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard and sharply raising the stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back opposing sides.
Ukraine accused "terrorists" - militants fighting to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia - of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with a heavy, Soviet-era SA-11 ground-to-air missile as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Leaders of the rebel Donetsk People's Republic denied any involvement, although around the same time their military commander said his forces had downed a much smaller Ukrainian transport plane. It would be their third such kill this week.
The scale of the disaster affecting scores of foreigners could prove a turning point for international pressure to resolve a crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives in Ukraine since pro-Western protests toppled the Moscow-backed president in Kiev in February and Russia annexed Crimea a month later.
Reuters journalists saw burning and charred wreckage bearing the red and blue Malaysia insignia and dozens of bodies strewn in fields near the village of Hrabove, 40 km (25 miles) from the Russian border near the rebel-held regional capital of Donetsk.
Despite the shooting down of several Ukrainian military aircraft in the area in recent months, including two this week, and renewed accusations from Kiev that Russian forces were taking a direct part, international air lanes had remained open.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he was trying to establish whether Americans were aboard. A Ukrainian official said there were 23. France said at least four of its citizens were aboard.
As word came in of what Ukraine's Western-backed president called a "terrorist attack", Obama was on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing a new round of economic sanctions that Washington and its EU partners imposed on Moscow on Wednesday to try to force Putin to do more to curb the revolt against the Western-backed government in Kiev.
They noted the early reports during their telephone call, the White House said, adding that Obama warned of further sanctions if Moscow did not change course in Ukraine.
WRECKAGE, BODIES
Malaysia Airlines said air traffic controllers lost contact with flight MH-17 at 1415 GMT as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard. Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet when it disappeared.
That would be beyond the range of smaller rockets used by the rebels to bring down helicopters and other low-flying Ukrainian military aircraft - but not of the SA-11 system which a Ukrainian official accused Russia of supplying to the rebels.
"I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang," one local man at told Reuters at Hrabove, known in Russian as Grabovo. "Then I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke."
An emergency worker said at least 100 bodies had been found so far and that debris was spread over 15 km (9 miles). People were scouring the area for the black box flight recorders and separatists were later quoted as saying they had found one.
"MH-17 is not an incident or catastrophe, it is a terrorist attack," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted. He has stepped up his military campaign against the rebels since a ceasefire late last month failed to produce any negotiations.
Russia, which Western powers accuse of trying to destabilise Ukraine to maintain influence over its old Soviet empire, has accused Kiev's leaders of mounting a fascist coup. It says it is holding troops in readiness to protect Russian-speakers in the east - the same rationale it used for taking over Crimea.
Ukrainian Interior Ministry official Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook: "Just now, over Torez, terrorists using a Buk anti-aircraft system kindly given to them by Putin have shot down a civilian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur."
The Buk - which means beech tree in Russia - is a 1970s vintage, truck-mounted, radar-guided missile system, codenamed SA-11 Gadfly by Cold War NATO adversaries. It fires a 5.7-metre (19-foot), 55-kg (110-lb) missile for up to 28 km (18 miles).
"There is no limit to the cynicism of Putin and his terrorists!" Gerashchenko wrote on the social media site. "Europe, USA, Canada, the civilised world, open your eyes! Help us in any way you can! This is a war of good against evil!"
He also published a photograph he said showed a Buk launcher in the centre of the town of Torez on Thursday. It was not possible to verify the image.
REBEL ACCUSATION
A rebel leader said Ukrainian forces shot the airliner down and that rebel forces did not have weaponry capable of hitting a plane flying 10 km (six miles) up. Ukrainian officials said their military was not involved in the incident.
The military commander of the rebels, a Russian named Igor Strelkov, had written on his social media page at 1337 GMT, half an hour before the last reported contact with MH-17, that his forces had brought down an Antonov An-26 in the same area. It is a turboprop transport plane of a type used by Ukraine's forces.
There was no comment on that from the Ukrainian military.
Several Ukrainian planes and helicopters have been shot down in four months of fighting in the area. Ukraine had said an An-26 was shot down on Monday and one of its Sukhoi Su-25 fighters was downed on Wednesday by an air-to-air missile - Kiev's strongest accusation yet of direct Russian involvement, since the rebels do not appear to have access to aircraft.
Moscow has denied its forces are involved in any way.
The loss of MH-17 is the second disaster for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious loss of flight MH-370. It disappeared in March with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
In 2001, Ukraine admitted its military was probably responsible for shooting down a Russian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 78 people on board. A senior Ukrainian official said it had most likely been downed by an accidental hit from an S-200 rocket fired during exercises.
In 1983, a Soviet jet fighter shot down a South Korean airliner after it veered off course into Russian air space and failed to respond to attempts to make contact. All 269 passengers and crew were killed.
In 1988, the U.S. warship Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner over the Gulf, killing all 290 passengers and crew, in what the United States said was an accident after crew mistook the plane for a fighter. Tehran called it a deliberate attack.
(Additional reporting by Richard Balmforth and Natalya Zinets in Kiev and Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Peter Millership)
Source: Reuters
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Wednesday 16 July 2014
ASUU UniAbuja suspends strike
Ugheoke told NAN in a telephone interview that the decision was taken on Monday during a congress held at the institution's mini-campus.
"We resolved at the congress to suspend the strike after signing an agreement with the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Micheal Adikwu.
"The announcement on this will be done this (Tuesday) morning," he said.
In the file: UniAbuja Students Protest
ASUU branch of the university embarked on the strike on 2 June, following what it called "Federal Government's refusal to release the White Paper containing issues affecting the institution".
The Federal Government had on 16 July 2012 constituted a Visitation Panel to resolve issues affecting the institution but the White Paper of the report was yet to be released.
Ugheoke said the signed agreement involved the release of the White Paper, and that the Vice-Chancellor has assured the union that he would work towards ensuring its release.
He, however, said the recall of students to the campus was a decison to be made by the University Senate.
Source: pmnews
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OAU STUDENTS’ UNION PRESS STATEMENT: CLOSURE OF SCHOOL: A BULLET AT OUR STRUGGLE
Having expended a good deal of intellectual resources to carry out a critical appraisal of the increment policy in its totality we also agree with the agitation of the University management that the federal government underfund education. Yet, our poor parents should not be unduely exploited and be made to pay for the failure of a government that has always been for the rich few.
The OAU situation itself is that which does not support any form of increment as the University has not justified the former fees paid by students. In 2011, the varsity management increased Acceptance fee paid by Fresh Students from #2000 to a whooping #20,000, the struggle against which led to the closure of school, proscription of our students union and suspension of student leaders. Since this time there has not been any commensurate academic and or welfare infrastructure development in the University. The University has been generating funds that run into multi millions yearly through various channels that if properly managed can be used to run the varsity effectively. Some of these is the yearly Post-UTME exams where each of the always more than 30,000 applicants pay not less than #6000 into the University purse; the Pre-degree program fees increase yearly with the over 4000 admitted students paying not less than #160,000 as of now. This is not unconnected with the fees of the Diploma students and other Distance Learning programs from which the University generates millions constantly. It is even reported that some officers of the University see these non-degree awarding programmes as money refineries. We definitely cannot afford to see these injustices thriving against the future of children of the general down trodden in Nigeria. Our management has said that the amount being paid by students does not appeal to average human rationality and this therefore necessitate the increment without even considering that it has some funds inevitably coming to the University. OAU is entitled to about N7bn of the yearly N220bn earmarked for schools during the FG/ASUU face-off of 2013. Millions of dollars have been given to the University by World Bank for being one of Nigeria's best institution, over N140 million has been granted to the varsity by the Federal government for said ongoing projects like First year laboratory,etc which are not visibly ongoing as of now. Rather the university reportedly went ahead to squander millions of university fund on controversial projects for the NUGA Games, when the water supply system of the university has become a typhoid and skin-diseases haven for students and a total deviation from the generally accepted description of water as well as electricity availability being romanced by degradation per minute. Until recently when the University management refused to open up for discussion we have advocated at various discussions the alternative sources of income the university can maximize in order to avoid being catalysts of oppression and tenders of societal inequality. The University has an Investment company which it can maximize the production of goods being made from these businesses.
The investment coy produces bread, sachet and table water, has shuttle buses and large hectares of land called OAU Farms among other ventures. There is a ready over 50000 population on campus to consume the bread and water and to board the shuttle buses. There is a free man-power used on the farm i.e the Part IV Agricultural science students. The farm alone if properly managed can produce enough to feed the nation. The coy can even be avenue for a profitable work-study program for indigent students. Why can our management not look inward into these things other than taking the last hope of the poor Nigerian Child away from him- education Despite faulting the logic of this increment, elected officers of the union reached out to the university management for critical appraisal of the fee regime. While at a point, our congress conceded for a 5% increase, the university management stubbornly maintained its "no review" stance and threatened frantically to close down the university if students resist the fee regime. Our congress considering the federal character of the policy decided to stage peaceful mass actions on Ife-Ibadan-Abuja express roads and Ife environs and also embarked on mass political sensitization between 20th May and 22nd May, 2014. The Students' Union afterwards sought progressive response from the University management but all to no avail. The harsh and unyielding stance of the University management instructed our Congress, on 15th June, 2014, in deciding that the Vice-Chancellor and his cabinet should be invited to address the Congress of students over the continual rejection of our demands as well as to find an historical solution to this imbroglio.
As a Union, we had decided to embark on constitutionally warranted actions on campus to press home our demands. And all of these actions, such as mass protests and road occupation, have been carried out peacefully. In fact, staff unions on campus had not only declared support for our actions, they have also joined our protests in spirit of solidarity to help confront this monstrous policy. For instance, the NASU Chairman of OAU, Com. Oluwole, joined us in ushering his members and other workers in the University Secretariat down, when we occupied the premises of this building. Aside the fact that this occupation was peaceful and supported massively by staff and students, our students also showed a high level of maturity as they resisted provocation by security operatives of the university community.
Our demonstration on Wednesday 18th June was as peaceful and smooth as usual. However, it was just six hours into the protest that the University Senate decided that the school has been shut down indefinitely upon allegations of violent and disruptive protests by coordinated Great IFE students that were rather playing, singing and dancing at various points in the university campus. The management declared our maiden resumption congress as illegal when the idea of legality of our right to gathering cannot be determined by it. It claimed that the university senate was burnt by the vice-president with a gas filled cylinder when she actually prepared puffpuff for obviously hungry students with a gas powered stove at motion ground. The management further claimed that the University Senate gate was welded by students and they attempted a stampede of the V.C's office when the Security men at the building readily chained the gates and locked it with their own padlocks. They falsely declared that the ICT Centre and Computer building were burnt with a view to shutting down e-portal when students actually met the place locked without their workers around. Our parent unions such as ASUU, NASU, NAAT even disclaimed the propaganda of our actions being violent by giving statements to that effect immediately the closure declaration was made. Rendering matters on the temple of exigency we like to state our displeasure with the parade of misinformation our management has embarked on this issue. A criminal offense for that matter! In its recent information to the public the Registrar distorted the original fees being paid by students by telling the public that since the past ten years all students pay an amount which already has #1600 TISHIP fund deducted from it and the amount is not even applicable to fresh students. The Registrar further misled the University Senate and public that the student leaders were called to a meeting on Tuesday, 17th June and refused to attend. It is important to note that the Union Parliament on 9th June, the day elected officers of the union were sworn in, directed a re-opening of discussion with the University which was done immediately by the Executive Council only for the varsity management to decline replying our letter until we protested on Monday 16th. The notice of the meeting came late after our congress that day, the letter itself had no agenda and venue as we knew that this could be an avenue to arrest our union leaders. We demand a total reversal of these fees as rate of stealing has sky-rocketed on campus, finalists are being made to pay under duress for fear of being dismissed and rusticated. Our security report files are increasing daily and the management said that 97% of poor Nigerian parents have paid the money when only 22% privileged few and those that can strive tooth and nail, blood and water, in pains and agony have paid in reality.
A congress of Students held in the wee hours of Wednesday after the occupation and declaration of closure of the varsity decided that students continue to peacefully occupy the campus having agreed not to leave. As at Thursday morning; Soldiers and policemen had been deployed to the University Gate to assault students SSS officers had been recruited and planted amidst students to effect quiet and orchestrated arrest of Union leaders and other student activists. Plans had been put up to proscribe the Students' Union by further levying of allegations against Union leaders.
Also, the University has followed this wickedness up by instructing workers in sensitive departments of the university such as power house, water dam, health centre, butteries and market to shut down so as to frustrate students who reside on campus. It has also fraudulently opened the e-portal for students to continue to pay when the school had been shut down. Our Union condemns this onslaught and we remain undaunted in our struggle against oppression of the poor.
Following various congresses held by Great IFE Students, an harmonization of our resolutions goes thus: That the University be re-opened immediately That on total reversal of these hiked fees we stand. That there should be an upward funding of education by the federal government. That Great IFE students remain open to discussion based on mutual respect on this matter That all charges against indicted student activists be withdrawn. That a non-victimization policy be entrenched by the management. That the struggle continues with externalized national actions despite the closure ALUTA CONTINUA… VICTORIA ASCERTA
Ibikunle Isaac M. -President
Shittu I. Olatayo -Secretary-General
Oludare Bamidele -P.R.O
#teamOAU #OAUsaysNO
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ASUU-LASU CALLS OFF STRIKE
In a three paragraphs letter addressed to the Pro-Chancellor, and Chairman Governing Council, the body said, "effective 1500 hours Monday, July 14, 2014 resumed the teaching aspect of their duties."
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Counting down to the 1st Annual African Students For Liberty Conference. Date: July 25-26 2014, Venue: University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Join students from Africa and the rest of the world, from Friday, the 25th of July through Saturday, the 26th of July
for a weekend of inspiring lectures, insightful knowledge, and endless
networking with pro-liberty students and young professionals from around
the world.
By attending the first African Students For Liberty conference, you will hear from top speakers in the
freedom movement, network with their pro-liberty students, discover
countless opportunities for jobs, internships, conferences and seminars, and have a lot of fun with other students. This event will
feature tremendous speakers and panels on the ideas that lead to a free
society and the actions necessary to implement them.
Please feel free to refer your friends to for the conference as space is limited and application closes soon.
This event is free and registration covers, 5 meals, coffee breaks and evening socials.
This event is free and registration covers, 5 meals, coffee breaks and evening socials.
Venue: Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
For free registration, visit
HERE.
For full details about the program, visit
HERE
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