Olat10 Blog

John Kerry, US delegation, others arrive Abuja THE Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday, witnessed an unusual high passenger traffic, as a result of arrival of foreign dignitaries coming to grace the inauguration ceremony of the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari. There was a lot of flurry of activities at the international wing of the Airport until Thursday night. Nigerian Tribune observed that the airport was packed full, as the various embassy staff temporarily relocated their offices to the airport to welcome their countries' representatives to the inauguration. Nigerian Tribune could confirm the arrival of the United States delegates of quite sizeable number, led by the Secretary of State, John Kerry, Linda Thomas-Greenfield and several others, in the team. Also, the Venezuelan delegation arrived at about 3.30 p.m., led by Mr Jorge Arreaza and accompanied by the country's Vice Minister of Africa, Mr Renaldo and the West African Coo...

John Kerry U.S. to deepen security, economic ties with Nigeria Posted by: Our Reporter in Featured, News 5 hours ago The United States sees the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari as a potential springboard to improving security and economic ties long hindered by military abuses and endemic corruption. Reflecting increased ambitions for relations with Africa’s biggest economy, President Barack Obama sent Secretary of State John Kerry to Friday’s ceremony for Buhari, marking the first lawful transition of power since British colonial rule ended in 1960. The peaceful election defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in March has been greeted by the U.S. and other nations as a success for democracy despite Buhari’s earlier stint as the country’s military dictator. Preliminary talks with Buhari’s team suggest he wants to open a new chapter in relations with the U.S., according to a State Department official who briefed reporters under rules requiring ...

Power: Our last few days disastrous, says Nebo Prof. Chinedu Nebo | credits: theabujatimes.com The immediate past Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has described as disastrous the power situation across the country, particularly toward the end of his tenure. Nebo, who profusely lamented the spate of vandalism of gas pipelines and its impact on the power sector, stated that the recent industrial action by oil and gas workers worsened the situation. Speaking at a send-off organised for him and the immediate Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, by the ministry in Abuja on Wednesday night, Nebo stressed that the situation was so bad that it almost crumbled the nation’s economy. ADVERTISEMENT He stated that while the Federal Government was striving to address the issue of incessant vandalism of gas pipelines, little did it know that the sector would be thrown off-balance as a result of the strike by workers under the aegis of the Petroleum and Nat...

French Open 2015: former champions Serena Williams, Francesca Schiavone survive epic battles Serena Williams surviving a second round scare against Anna-Lena Friedsam. Source: Getty Images SERENA Williams has survived a second-round French Open scare from German Anna-Lena Friedsam as Francesca Schiavone added further to a towering Roland Garros reputation. Williams recovered to win 5-7 6-3 6-3 — but the world No 1 was far from convincing. The American’s escape came as Caroline Wozniacki’s quest for grand slam glory again faltered after the Dane fell 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to German Julia Goerges, taking her run of unsuccessful attempts at the majors to 33. KOKKINAKIS TORPEDOS TOMIC IN FRENCH CLASSIC STOSUR READY TO PASS ULTIMATE CLAY TEST Francesca Schiavone jumps for joy after winning her epic encounter against Svetla...

Rafael Benitez moves closer to taking over at Real Madrid after quitting as Napoli coach RAFAEL Benitez moved a step closer to taking over Spanish giants Real Madrid when the Spaniard resigned as Napoli coach on Thursday. The out-of-contract 55-year-old, who arrived in Italy in 2013, will take charge of his final game when Napoli host Lazio on Sunday in effectively a playoff for the third Champions League spot in Serie A. “This is the end of my two years experience here and I would like it to finish with a victory,” said Benitez as he thanked the club, its president and its supporters. Benitez, won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, the then UEFA Cup with Valencia in 2004 and the Europa League for Chelsea in 2013, is seen as one of the wiliest tacticians in world football. Rafael Benitez with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis at a press co...

Jailed for 40 years for miscarrying after being raped The teenager (not pictured) didn’t know she was pregnant after being raped. Picture: Amnesty International Source: Supplied ANDREA* was 14 when she collapsed in her bathroom in agony. She was having a miscarriage. She woke up in hospital, still in pain, to find herself handcuffed to the bed and surrounded by police officers. The teenager was under arrest for “killing her unborn child”, a result of her rape by more than one man. She had not even known she was pregnant. The men will not be prosecuted, but Andrea could face up to 40 years in jail for homicide. This is the reality of life in El Salvador , in Central America, where a conservative and hierarchical Catholic culture denies women sexual or reproductive choice. Abortion is a criminal offence, even if a woman has been raped or, as is the case with many young girls, the pregnancy...

Volcano erupts on southern Japanese island Residents near Mount Shindake say black smoke darkened the sky after Friday's eruption. Source: AAP A VOLCANO has erupted on a small island in southern Japan, spewing black clouds of ash and rock into the sky and prompting authorities to tell residents to evacuate the island. NO injuries have been reported after Mount Shindake erupted at 10am on Friday. The Japan Meteorological Agency raised the volcano alert level for Kuchinoerabu island, where Shindake is located, to five, the highest on its scale. Shindake also erupted in August last year - the first time it had done so since 1980. Nobuaki Hayashi, a local village chief, said about 120 of the island's 137 residents were gathered at a local evacuation facility. "There was a really loud, 'dong' sound of an explosion, and then black s...

Foreign reserves rise to N29.6bn – CBN on May 29, 2015   /   in News 2:29 am   /   Comments Lagos — The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the nation’s foreign exchange reserves stood at to 29.61 billion dollars as at May 27. This is contained in a posting on the bank’s website on Thursday. The CBN said the figure was an increase of 0.3 per cent from 29.52 billion dollars recorded on April 27. It said the 29.61 billion represented the ‘gross’ amount while 28.74 billion was ‘liquid’ while 875 million as ‘blocked’. NAN reports that the CBN had in 2014 relied heavily on external reserves to support the Naira which came under pressure following a fall in the price of crude oil. According to the CBN, the continuous pressure on the foreign exchange market is due to the rise in the internal demand for the dollar. The price of crude at the international market now hovers between 62.39 and 65 dollar per barrel. - See more at: http://w...

Fifa corruption investigation nauseating - Gary Lineker Gary Lineker says it is "nauseating" to be involved in football after  seven Fifa officials were arrested  on charges of receiving more than £100m in bribes. Swiss police made dawn raids in Zurich where officials were staying before Friday's presidential election. A separate criminal investigation into how the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were allocated has also begun. "It looks awful on the world governance of football, it is a wonderful sport," said the former England captain. Play media Fifa corruption crisis explained Match of the Day  presenter Lineker, 54, has also called for a suspension to Friday's vote and for the bidding process for the World Cup in 2018, due to be held in Russia, and Qatar 2022 to be run again. Fifa has already ruled out a revote, insisting the hosts would not change and "welcomed" the investigations,  which it said it had instigated. Fifa pres...

Amir Khan focused on Chris Algieri and denies Mayweather distraction Amir Khan says he is not being distracted from Friday's bout with American Chris Algieri in New York by a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather. The former two-time world champion has been tipped to be the next opponent for the undefeated welterweight, who  beat Manny Pacquiao earlier this month. Khan, 28, said: "I've made that mistake before, when you look past fights, but I ain't looking past this fight. "There's no point looking at Mayweather because that might never happen." Algieri, a former WBO light welterweight champion, comes into the bout on the back of his first defeat in 21 fights when he  lost a wide unanimous points decision  to Pacquiao after being knocked down six times. On a roll Amir Khan has won all four of his fights since he was stopped by Danny Garcia in July 2012 Khan said: "The guy I'm fighting, the guy I've been workin...

Rafael Benitez confirms Napoli departure Rafael Benitez says he will be leaving Napoli following the final game of the Italian club's season on Sunday. The Spaniard, 55, is favourite to take over at Real Madrid, who sacked coach Carlo Ancelotti on Monday. "I want to thank the chairman, club and fans because after two years my experience here in Napoli is coming to an end," said Benitez. "On Sunday, we have a very important match and I want to finish my two years with a victory." Napoli, in fourth, host third-placed Lazio in their last game of the Serie A season with a Champions League place at stake. Benitez's side are three points behind their rivals and a win would see them qualify for Europe's premier club competition on the basis of a better head-to-head record. Benitez refused to discuss his future and the prospect of taking charge at Real Madrid, where he had stints as a youth coach, Under-19 coach and assistant first-team co...

Brazilian government in car wash to clean off sleaze Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has seen her approval rating plummet.   Source:  AFP BRAZIL is mired in the biggest corruption scandal it has ever faced, a story of bribery and money-laundering that threatens to destroy the government and drag the country to its knees. Senior state officials have been accused of involvement in a kickbacks scheme over contracts with national oil company, Petrobras. Prosecutors say a cartel of the country’s biggest construction firms has allegedly been fixing a significant proportion of the world’s seventh-largest economy for years. Operation Carwash, so-called because laundered funds were allegedly passed through a service station, is trying to scrub the country clean, arresting more than a dozen executives, politicians and bankers since its launch in July 2013. Former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is facing investigation for alleged “influence pe...