Friday, March 27, 2015

Troops recapture Boko Haram Headquarters, Gwoza

The Director of Defense Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, has said the troops of the Nigerian Army have captured Gwoza, the central station of the Islamic Caliphate, announced by the Boko Haram radicals in the North-East. Olukolade said in articulation in Abuja on Friday that the city tumbled to a joint operation completed by the ground strengths and the military pilots of the Nigerian Air Force on Friday morning.Chris-Olukolade-360x225


According to him, the troops killed several of the insurgents and captured many others. The Defence spokesman added that troops levelled the operational headquarters of the insurgents and seized several arms and ammunition from them. He said the military had liberated all communities erstwhile occupied by the insurgents as of Thursday when the battle to reclaim Gwoza was raging.


He said,


Just this morning, the gallant troops of the Nigerian military in a concerted and well-coordinated land and air operations, liberated Gwoza, the headquarters of their(Boko Haram) so-called caliphate, which they renamed Darul Hikima.

 

“This was preceded by successive sacking of terrorists from towns and villages leading to Gwoza, the main target. Several of the terrorists died and many of them captured in the process. A lot of arms and ammunition have been recovered and the administrative headquarters completely destroyed.

 

“A massive cordon and search (operation) has commenced to locate any of the fleeing terrorists or hostages in their custody.”



He explained that the military observed that some of the fleeing terrorists were heading to the borders, where they might have encounter with troops of the Multi National Joint Task Force, who are under instruction to contain them.

 

Don’t disappoint GEJ, ex-NDDC boss, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu tells Ndigbo

With just one day to the Presidential election, a former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, has urged voters, particularly of the Igbo extraction, not to disappoint President Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.


O-Ugochukwu


The PDP chieftain in an interview with The PUNCH said Jonathan remained “the best option” for Ndigbo, considering the numerous  gestures of his administration to the race.


He said he did not expect Ndigbo who had remained the main support-base of the President to fail him at the poll, arguing that ” it is better to work with the devil you know than the angel you do not know.


Ugochukwu, however, expressed faith that Jonathan would sweep the poll considering his laudable achievements in key sectors of the economy.


The 2007 Abia State PDP governorship candidate also appealed to Abia electorates to help deliver all PDP candidates in the state, saying Abia had fared better under the party and “cannot afford to be in the opposition.”


Predicting a peaceful poll, the ex-NDDC boss begged the opposition not to resort to violence in the eventuality of defeat contending that, “it is inevitable that PDP will win.”


He admitted that the use of card readers in the election would significantly check rigging, if properly managed, but expressed fears that as a new technology, experimenting it with crucial elections as the Presidential and National Assembly polls could be risky. He debunked insinuations that he was promised the Senatorial ticket of Umuahia Central zone as compensation for his reconciliation with Gov. Theodore Orji in 2011, saying that he never struck any deal with the Governor.


The former Editor of Daily Times said he never felt shortchanged at the emergence of Gov. Orji as the PDP candidate for the zone, and declared his full support for his candidature which, he noted, was according to the people’s wish.  He, however, said he had not retired from active politics but vowed never to contest for any elective position again.

OPC, ex-militants in ilegal military uniforms to attack opposition – APC


The All Progressives Congress has raised the caution that ethnic militias and ex-aggressors, now wear fake police and army uniforms to unleash disorder on the restriction and disrupt voting, particularly in the South-West without prevention.
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In an announcement in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the gathering said Oodua Peoples Congress individuals were sighted at Owu -Elepe in Ikorodu Local Government Area on Fridaymorning, changing into fake police and army regalia.

The party said the advancement affirmed the alert prior raised by the gathering that fake garbs of security organizations were being sewn in the capital city of a South-West  state. It additionally said the ex-militant had been issued with fake military uniforms and sent in a few zones of Lagos, particularly in the Lekki-Ajah axis, to instigate inconvenience. APC said the ex-aggressors in military outfits were moving around in unmarked private vehicles, and their assignments were being facilitated by security agencies.



It said,


”In his national broadcast to the nation on Friday morning, President (Goodluck) Jonathan said he was under oath to protect the lives of all Nigerians and the security of the country at all times. How can he do that when
his supporters have engaged the services of ethnic militias, whom they have clothed in police and military uniforms, to engage in violence and election manipulations?


”If indeed the President means what he said, when he warned, in his broadcast, that ‘all necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that any persons, who breach the peace or cause public disorder during or after the elections are speedily apprehended and summarily dealt with according to our laws’, then he should immediately call his supporters to order and direct the security agencies to arrest those going around in fake police and military uniforms,” APC said.


In the mean time, the party has likewise cautioned the country to what he called the ‘brazen actions to rig the elections in Rivers State’, where all unique results sheets have been uprooted and photocopied to pave the way for the PDP to compose bogus result of the elections in the state. It alleged comparative moves to control the races and take part in monstrous thumb printing, beginning on Friday evening, with acquired PVCs, which it included was likewise taking place in Rivers as well as in the South-East.




APC said the APC agent at the INEC office in the Port Harcourt, Emma Edeeyah, was arrested this morning without cause.

”These developments are worrisome and do not bode well for a free, fair, transparent and peaceful election. We are therefore calling on local and international observers to pay a close attention to these desperate measures aimed at thwarting the will of the people,” APC said.



We’ve no confidence in Akwa Ibom REC – APC

 


The Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Samuel Udobong, hosts said the get-together does not have trust in the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Austin Okijie.

Udobong, who talked in Uyo on Friday, affirmed that the REC had an “untrustworthy relationship” with the state senator, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, and the standard bearer of the rulling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in the state, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.


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Udobong said,


”We don’t have confidence in this REC because of his recent activities with Akpabio.  “We also hear that they have printed result sheets that are now being stored in the Government House and he can only use them with the cooperation of the REC.  “We  want the governor to know that every plan he has with Akpabio has been revealed and he should be prepared to conduct a free and fair election.”



 He, however, said the party had created situation rooms in the state, where every abnormality or case of misconduct should be reported and addressed to.



“The PDP is planning to harass voters and intimate observers from other parties and we are calling on security agencies assigned to election duties to do their job to prevent electoral violence,” he said.



Meanwhile security personnel, including members of the  Department of State Service, were seen patrolling the Brooks Street, Obi-Imoh and Oron areas in the state.  Residents have expressed fears that the menacing presence of the security operatives could create tension and scare voters.   But the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Gabriel Achong, has assured residents that voters would not be molested in the state.


He said,


“They are patrolling the streets to ensure that residents are safe. If we don’t put the police on the streets, they will be complaining that we have left them without security.   “The police are supposed to be everywhere. We are working with the Navy, that will be checking the waterways and securing riverside areas. I’m assuring Akwa Ibomites  that nobody will be molested.”

Environmental Sanitation: Lagos says Movement restriction still in force

The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, in an announcement on Friday, said an advance had been held up against the court judgment, which proclaimed as unlawful the confinement of natives’ development amid the month to month ecological sanitation exercise.
enviromental_sanitation


Ipaye said the state had similarly requested a stay of execution on the said judgment, including that the investigative court had settled April 16, 2015, to manage on the movement for stay of execution.


He said until the Appeal Court decides the case on way or the other, the development limitation approach stays in power.


“In accordance with the established legal principles, it is believed that the status quo will remain and environmental sanitation with movement restriction will continue until the determination of the application,” Ipaye said on Friday.  “The court is deemed to know and is obliged to consider all relevant provisions of the Constitution and existing laws before arriving at its judgment. “The above provisions of the Constitution and the law of Lagos State provide for the performance of normal communal or civic obligation for the wellbeing of the community.


“The public health of the community therefore overrides the personal interest of the applicant,”Pedro argued.


According to him, the environmental sanitation exercise and the attendant movement restriction is equal to any normal communal or civil obligation recognised by law.

Suicide bomber attack hotel in Mogadishu

A suicide bomber has attacked a popular hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with his explosives-laden car, according to government officials.
kano_bomber


The African Union mission to Somalia, confirmed to Al Jazeera that there had been an explosion and gunfire at the Makka al-Mukarama hotel on Friday.


A Somali police official said a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of the hotel.


It is believed that several government officials were trapped inside the building.


Officers blamed al-Shabab for the attack.


“Al-Shabab fighters are on the top of the building and inside the hotel.  Some government officials are inside the hotel,” Major Ismail Olow, a police officer, said.

Photo: Timaya shows off his home

He imparted the photograph on instagram and composed “Your story can be the key that can unlock someone else’s prison. Keep moving, keep hoping, keep trying and trust me u will get there…Grateful”


The National broadcast by Pres. Jonathan on the 2015 election

gej


President Jonathan at the beginning of today tended to the country in a TV telecast where he approached everybody to turn out en-mass to vote in favor of leaders of their choice. See What he said bellow…


Dear Compatriots,


1. As we prepare to go to the polls tomorrow, I have come before you this morning to express my immense appreciation for the opportunity you gave me to lead this great nation of ours in the past four years.


  1. I also wish to place on record, once again, my sincere gratitude for the support you have given my administration without which the significant progress we have made in recent years would not have been possible.

 


  1. In spite of the many challenges we have had to contend with since 1999, our present democratic dispensation continues to endure and grow stronger in keeping with the yearnings and aspirations of our people.

 


  1. We have all worked very hard to nurture and strengthen our democratic institutions and promote the good governance practices which they were designed to deliver for the better well-being of  our people.

 


  1. I believe I can say without fear of contradiction that we all clearly cherish the democracy we now have and will never willingly give it up for any other form of governance.

 


  1. This much-cherished democracy of ours is about to be put to the test once again.

  2. I urge you all to troop out en-masse to peacefully perform your civic duty of voting for leaders of your choice tomorrow.

  3. As we do so, let us all – political party leaders, contestants, party members, party agents, supporters and ordinary voters alike, be very conscious of the fact that the eyes of the entire world are on us.

  4. We must therefore comport ourselves in a manner that will further strengthen our democracy and consolidate our place in the comity of truly democratic nations.

 


  1. I made a commitment on assumption of office to progressively deliver freer, fairer and more credible elections in our country. In keeping with that commitment, the Federal Government has given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) all necessary support to ensure that it conducts very successful elections tomorrow and on April 11.

 


  1. We have all been assured that INEC is fully ready for the elections. I believe that we can all trust that they are certainly more ready now than they may have been before security issues and other concerns necessitated a re-scheduling of the dates for the 2015 general elections.

 


  1. As an administration, we welcome the fact that millions of Nigerians who were yet to receive their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) as at February 14, and would therefore have been unfairly disenfranchised if the polls had gone ahead  on that date, have seized the opportunity of the re-scheduling to collect their cards and can now exercise their right to votetomorrow.

 


  1. We are also glad that our gallant Armed Forces have successfully stemmed the seizure of Nigerian territories in the North-East by the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

  2. They have recaptured most of the communities and territories formerly occupied by the insurgents, making it possible for thousands of internally-displaced Nigerians to begin returning to their homes and communities.

 


  1. I heartily commend the very courageous men and women of our Armed Forces for the immense sacrifices which they continue to make in defending the nation and protecting its citizens.

 


  1. I also thank all Nigerians for keeping faith with us over the past six weeks.

 


 


 


  1. I call on all political parties and politicians in the country to allow the free, unfettered will of our people to be expressed without any hindrance in the coming elections in keeping with the hallowed principles and tenets of democratic governance which we all profess.

 


  1. The will of the people freely expressed through the ballot is the bedrock of all democracies and ours cannot be an exception.

 


  1. Let us all therefore be prepared, as true democrats, to graciously accept the outcome of the elections as the rightful choice of our people from whom all political powers in our democracy must emanate.

 


  1. My administration has done its utmost best in the past four years to deliver on our promise to positively transform our country.

 


  1. Tomorrow’s election is another very important milestone as we continue our march towards the fulfillment of our God-given potential for greatness.

 


  1. The election offers us another opportunity to empower leaders of our choice once again, and to show the world that genuine democracy is alive and well in our beloved nation.

  2. I will like to restate my belief that no political ambition can justify violence or the shedding of the blood of our people.

 


  1. I reaffirm once again, my personal preparedness to ensure fair play during the elections and to deploy the resources and institutions of state only in the manner prescribed by our laws.

  2. Let me warn, however, that as President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, I am under oath to protect the lives of all Nigerians and the security of our country at all times. I will never abdicate my responsibilities in that regard.

 


  1. Democracy allows dissent. It encourages differences and even fervent disagreements. But elections must never be mistaken for war or an opportunity to set fellow citizens against each other and tear our beloved nation apart.

 


  1. Those who may harbor any intentions of testing our will by unleashing violence during the elections in order to advance their political ambitions should think again as all necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that any persons who breach the peace or cause public disorder during or after the elections are speedily apprehended and summarily dealt with according to our laws.

  2. The nation’s security agencies are also fully prepared and ready to deal decisively with any group or persons who attempt to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the elections or cause any form of public disorder.

 


  1. Our dear country, Nigeria is the largest democracy amongst black nations of the world. We are a nation of great accomplishments, with a proud history of evolving affinities.

 


  1. Let us go out tomorrow to vote peacefully and set a fitting example of political maturity for other emerging democracies to follow.

 


  1. I wish you all and our dear nation, very peaceful and successful elections.

 


  1. May God Almighty continue to bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 


  1. I thank you all.

Photos: Nigerian Young Professionals Support Families of Nigerian Fallen Heroes



At “An Evening with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeriaon Sunday night in Lagos, President GoodluckEbele Jonathan, GCFR was presented with an Heritage Bank’s Cheque of N10 Million Naira by Mr Moses SilokoSiasia (Chairman, NYPF) on behalf of the Nigerian Young Professionals to support families of Fallen Hero’s andidentify with the Nation’s Armed Forces at this time of frequent attacks by the insurgent.

EFCC denies freezing Rev.Father Mbaka's accounts

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has denied reports that they froze the account of Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka.
Rev. Mbaka

There were media reports yesterday that Fr Mbaka had revealed amid his sermon on Wednesday March 25th that the EFCC had frozen his bank account and that he was welcome to their Port Harcourt office for addressing. He apparently said he went to the bank on Tuesday March 24th to cash some money to purchase foodstuff for the poor who had recently come back to Enugu from the North and the check he presented was rejected.

EFCC Spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren release an announcement late yesterday denying that the organization froze his account. See the statement bellow.



“The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC has been drawn to reports in a section of the media claiming that the Commission had frozen the accounts of Enugu-based Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka of the Adoration Mass fame. The commission wishes to state that there is no truth in the report and should be discountenanced.” the statement read

Photo: Angry travelers sit on tarmac in Abuja

Angry travelers who were to travel to Adamawa and Gombe states from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja got so furious and chose to assume control over the landing area and sit in dissent after their flight was wiped out yesterday night.
angryangry
angryangry


A portion of the travelers said they were at the airplane terminal for their 9am flight however the carrier continued deferring the flight until 9pm when they informed them that the flight had been cancelled.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Pentagon Finally Declassifies Documents Confirming Israel Has Nukes 

In the most recent illustration of the strained relationship between the United States and Israel, the Pentagon has discreetly discharged an ordered archive which uncovers the degree of Israel’s atomic system. A program the Israeli government has since quite a while ago denied even exists.


nukes


 Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted the controversial invitation to speak before the US Congress and warn against “a nuclearized Middle East and the horrific consequences…to all humanity.”


The speech received, perhaps, the largest round of applause heard in the Capitol since Republicans took control of both houses of Congress. President Obama was less enthused, calling the address “nothing new.”



Coincidentally or not, Netanyahu’s speech coincided with the Pentagon’s decision to declassify a top-secret document which proves that despite Bibi’s warnings about a “nuclearized Middle East,” the region is already a host to nuclear weapons. Namely: Israel’s.


The 386-page report, entitled “Critical Technological Assessment in Israel and NATO Nations,” dates back to 1987 and critical details on a nuclear program Israel has never admitted having.


“[Israel is] developing the kind of codes which will enable them to make hydrogen bombs,” the Department of Defense report reads. “That is, codes which detail fission and fusion processes on a microscopic and macroscopic level.”


Even more damning, the report calls Israel’s nuclear ability “an almost exact parallel of the capability existing at our National Laboratories,” and calls Israel’s labs “equivalent” to US installations in Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Oak Ridge.



Los Alamos, of course, was where Robert Oppenheimer conducted the bulk of the Manhattan Project experiments.


“As far as nuclear technology is concerned the Israelis are roughly where the US was in the fission weapon field in about 1955 to 1960,” the report reads.


To break that down, a Pentagon document states that 28 years ago, Israel was already as advanced in nuclear development as the United States had been shortly after testing its first hydrogen bomb.


The timing of the document’s release is certainly suspicious. Originally requested three years ago by a US journalist under a Freedom of Information Act request, the Pentagon had been slow to respond. A ruling by a District Court judge ordered the Defense Department to reply.


It’s also worth noting that while the declassified document revealed key aspects of the Israeli nuclear program, the Pentagon took pains to block out sections only other allied countries, including France, Italy, and West Germany.


On Tuesday, a Wall Street Journal report also alleged that Israel was spying on the P5+1 nuclear negotiation. While the prime minister’s office denied these claims, the newspaper cited senior US officials who said that Israeli intelligence was eavesdropping on the international talks.


Barely a week into his new term and Netanyahu already has radioactive egg on his face.



Source

Intense Explosions Turn Yemeni Capital Upside down, Houthis Fight Back

The strongest explosions in the past 24 hours shook the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Friday, after a Saudi Arabia-led coalition intensified airstrikes on Houthi rebels’ positions, a Sputnik correspondent reported Friday citing military sources.


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© AP Photo/ Wael Qubady


SANAA (Ooduarere) — The sources said Houthi-controlled Yemeni air defense troops have been forced to return fire to “repel” the jets carrying out airstrikes on Houthi positions in Sanaa.  Local sources in Saada province told Sputnik the coalition is conducting strong airstrikes on the province, the Houthis’ stronghold.  Houthi militias attacked Saudi positions in on the border with Yemen on Friday night, a source among Houthis in Saada told RIA Novosti.



Earlier on Friday, Al Jazeera reported that armed forces loyal to the deposed Yemeni president had captured parts of Houthi-held oil-producing province of Marib in central Yemen. A fierce fighting between pro-Hadi forces and Houthis in the province is under way, the news outlet said.



“They carried out small attacks and returned, now they are under attack,” — the source said.


A Saudi-led coalition of Arab states continued a military operation Thursday night against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen; the “Ansarullah” movement currently controls the majority of the country.  The operation, codenamed “Decisive Storm,” is aimed at “the protection of the legitimate government in Yemen,” and was requested by the country’s elected president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.


The coalition launched a second round of airstrikes on Houthi positions early Friday, including on the international airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, as well as a number of military bases and airfields. It left military infrastructure, equipment and aircraft destroyed, as well as civilians in shock.


Ousted President Abd Mansour Hadi had officially asked the UN Security Council to take action to “stop the Houthis’ aggression,” in accordance with Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. He also addressed the Arab League, urging them to send “Peninsula Shield” troops — Gulf states’ military units — and to declare a no-fly zone over airspace controlled by the Houthis.

Meanwhile, any attempt to establish a national dialogue has failed, and parties to the conflict blame one another for the conflict.



 

US House Votes 348-48 To Arm Ukraine, Russia Warns Lethal Aid Will “Explode The Whole Situation”

for Zero Hedge


Yesterday, in a vote that largely slid under the radar, the House of Representatives passed a resolution urging Obama to send lethal aid to Ukraine, providing offensive, not just “defensive” weapons to the Ukraine army – the same insolvent, hyperinflating Ukraine which, with a Caa3/CC credit rating, last week started preparations to issue sovereign debt with a US guarantee, in essence making it a part of the United States (something the US previously did as a favor to Egypt before the Muslim Brotherhood puppet regime was swept from power by the local army).



The resolution passed with broad bipartisan support by a count of 348 to 48.


According to DW,  the measure urges Obama to provide Ukraine with “lethal defensive weapon systems” that would better enable Ukraine to defend its territory from “the unprovoked and continuing aggression of the Russian Federation.”


“Policy like this should not be partisan,” said House Democrat Eliot Engel, the lead sponsor of the resolution. “That is why we are rising today as Democrats and Republicans, really as Americans, to say enough is enough in Ukraine.”


Engel, a New York Democrat, has decided that he knows better than Europe what is the best option for Ukraine’s people – a Europe, and especially Germany, which has repeatedly said it rejects a push to give western arms to the Ukraine army, and warned that Russia under President Vladimir Putin has become “a clear threat to half century of American commitment to an investment in a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. A Europe where borders are not changed by force.


This war has left thousands of dead, tens of thousands wounded, a million displaced, and has begun to threaten the post-Cold War stability of Europe,” Engel said.


Odd, perhaps the US state department should have thought of that in a little over a year ago when Victoria Nuland was plotting how to most effectively put her puppet government in charge of Kiev and how to overthrow the lawfully elected president in a US-sponsored coup.


Then again, one glance at the Rep. Engel’s career donors provides some explanation for his tenacity to start another armed conflict and to escalate what he himself defines as a cold war into a warm one.



 


So what will Obama do? As a reminder, the president has been far more eager to sit this one out, and giving Europe the upper hand when it comes to the decision if and when to escalate the proxy civil war in Ukraine.  To be sure, the vote puts even more pressure on the Obama administration, which has repeatedly said it was considering providing lethal aid to Ukraine; it just never dared to actually pull the trigger. Several months ago, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said we would “absolutely consider” providing lethal aid, sentiments that were echoed by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who said that he was also “inclined” in that direction.


Obama’s options may be even more limited after NATO’s top military commander General Philip Breedlove said Sunday that the West should “consider all our tools” to assist Ukraine, including sending defensive weapons to areas held by pro-Russian rebels.


For now the president is delaying because according to the State Department, the White House is waiting to see whether the second Minsk ceasefire will hold before deciding whether to deliver lethal assistance.


Ironically, the biggest stumbling block ahead of an outright overture to World War III, may be Hillary Clinton herself. The former SecState, currently embroiled in an e-mail communication scandal, was recently revealed to have been a recipient of some very generous foreign donations into the Clinton foundation: donations where Ukraine was at the very top!



 


Considering last week’s news of a just as dangerous cold war being waged between Obama’s right hand (wo)man, Valerie Jarrett, and the Clintons, it is perhaps just as likely that Obama, whose foreign policy team is absolutely abysmal and whose offshore “achievements” can best be described as a disaster, is not eager to get involved in Ukraine not so much to avert the cold war with Russia to turn hot, but to make Hillary’s life difficult as she launches her challenge to Obama’s favorite populist Elizabeth Warren.


Then again, when it comes to calling the foreign shots, the US president is merely a figurehead, and the real decision-maker has always been the US military-industrial complex. So while Obama may stall sending weapons, he will ultimately get a tap on the shoulder from the gentle folks shown on the table below, who will soon demand something in exchange for their millions in lobby funding.



The prepackaged spin is already ready: “sending weapons to the Kiev government would not mean involvement in a new war for America”, claimed the abovementioned Eliot Engel who sponsored the document. “The people of Ukraine are not looking for American troops,” Engel said. “They are just looking for the weapons.


Beautiful. And if weapons the Ukraine wants, the US MIC will be delighted to provide them.


So the only question is how Russia will responds to this escalation: according to RT, “Washington’s decision to supply Ukraine with ammunition and weapons would “explode the whole situation” in eastern Ukraine and Russia would be forced to respond “appropriately,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at the end of February.


“It would be a major blow to the Minsk agreements and would explode the whole situation,” TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying.


In other words, bullish for stocks – just think of the central-bank monetary paradrops that World War III would unleash.





26.03.2015 Ukrainian Civil War news: War in Ukraine, Poroshenko, OSCE, Donbass, Yemen

ukraine_war

President Vladimir Putin addresses the Federal Security Service Board Meeting




Vladimir Putin took part in a Federal Security Service board meeting. Meeting participants summed up the results of the Federal Security Service operations in 2014 and set priority targets for 2015.


© Sputnik/ Aleksey Nikolskyi

© Sputnik/ Aleksey Nikolskyi


 



PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN:


Good afternoon, colleagues.


We always attach great importance to the work of the key power agencies pertaining to national security. Today, within the framework of this expanded board meeting we will summarise the results of Federal Security Service operations in 2014 and set priority goals for the future.


I would like to begin by saying that, as you all know, the past year was not an easy one. The world situation has exacerbated. We witnessed growing tensions in the Middle East and a number of other areas of the world, while a state coup provoked civil war in Ukraine.


Russia is making significant efforts to reconcile the parties and normalise the situation. We have already received and continue receiving thousands, even hundreds of thousands of refugees and are doing all we can to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.


However, our position, our independent policy and even attempts to help those in need, including in Ukraine and some other areas, are causing outright irritation on the part of those we traditionally call our colleagues and partners.


They are using their entire arsenal of means for the so-called deterrence of Russia: from attempts at political isolation and economic pressure to large-scale information war and special services operations. As it was recently stated quite openly: those who disagree will have their arms twisted periodically. However, this does not work with Russia; it never has and never will.


Meanwhile, NATO is developing its rapid deployment forces and building up its infrastructure near our borders. Attempts are being made to violate the existing nuclear parity, European and Asia-Pacific segments of the ABM system are being created at an increased pace.


I would like to remind you that the unilateral withdrawal by the United States from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty has toppled the very foundation of the modern international security system. Completely new systems are being developed capable of dealing a ‘lightning global blow’ and conducting operations in outer space.


However, it is obvious that nobody has ever managed to intimidate this country or put pressure on it, and nobody ever will. We have always had and always will have a proper response to all internal and external threats to national security.


Another point I would like to make is that the situation cannot remain like this forever. It will change, for the better I hope, including the situation around this country. However, it will not change for the better if we succumb and yield at every step. It will only change for the better if we become stronger.


Today I would like to thank you and your colleagues for your precise and coordinated work last year, for your immaculate implementation of the tasks and the courage you have demonstrated, for the reliable protection of Russia’s security and national interests.


Colleagues,


Your overall workload and responsibility will obviously grow this year. You are facing the challenge of enhancing efficiency in all areas of your activity. Combatting terrorism remains your most important task. A few positive trends have emerged in this area in the past few years.


There were 2.6 times fewer terrorist-related crimes in 2014 than in 2013. While if we look at the previous 5 years, their overall number went down 9-fold.


Such results have clearly been made possible through the concerted actions of the FSB, security and law enforcement agencies, coordinated by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee. We must reinforce the positive dynamics and consistently squeeze out the underground criminal groups.


This is not easy; the militants are fighting back and making attacks similar to the one that took place in Grozny last year. Statistical analysis shows that they still posses a significant amount of arms.


You are also aware of the fact that citizens of Russia and other CIS states are being trained at the so-called hot-spots, including within groups of the Islamic State on the territory of Syria and other countries. Later they may be used against us, against Russia and its neighbours.


It is therefore vitally important to take additional measures to destroy the terrorists’ international ties and resource bases and block their entry to and exit from Russia. They should not be able to move between regions or penetrate the new regions of the Russian Federation – Crimea and Sevastopol.


Your direct mission is to provide the highest possible level of anti-terrorist protection for the international events to be held in Russia this year. This is, first and foremost, celebrations of the 70thanniversary of the Great Victory and the BRICS and SCO summits in Ufa.


In addition, we must step up measures aimed at preventing terrorism, radicalism and extremism, primarily among young people, migrants and underprivileged groups and more actively involve influential public and religious organisations in these efforts.


At the Interior Ministry board meeting in early March, I noted that last year the number of extremist crimes unfortunately went up by almost 15 percent. Obviously, we need to increase coordination between special services and law enforcement agencies in this area and use all the latest methods and equipment, including cutting edge information technology.


Counter-intelligence agencies worked efficiently and steadily last year. Their special operations resulted in the suspension of activity of 52 officers and 290 agents of foreign special services.


Today it is especially important to improve the protection of data that pertains to national secrets and to prevent information leaks regarding the development of our military organisation, mobilisation plans and defence and industrial technologies.


Western special services continue their attempts at using public, non-governmental and politicised organisations to pursue their own objectives, primarily to discredit the authorities and destabilise the internal situation in Russia. They are already planning their actions for the upcoming election campaigns of 2016-2018.


As I have said on numerous occasions, and will repeat again: we are ready for dialogue with the opposition, we will continue our partnership with the civic society in the broadest sense of the word. We always listen to constructive criticism of the authorities’ actions or the lack of such actions at any level.


Such dialogue and partnership are always useful, they are vital for any country, including ours. However, it is pointless entering into a discussion with those who are operating on orders from the outside in the interests of some other country rather than their own.


Therefore, we will continue paying attention to non-governmental organisations that have foreign funding sources; we will compare their stated goals with their actual activities and terminate any violations.


Colleagues,


Ensuring economic stability and combatting corruption remain among your priority areas. I would like to ask you to pay special attention to cases of misuse and embezzlement of budget funds, including those allocated for the state defence order.


You should cooperate closely with the Accounts Chamber, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service and other oversight agencies. You should be more active in revealing and thwarting shady deals on the Russian stock and currency markets that may lead to sharp exchange rate fluctuations and destabilise the financial system of the entire nation.


We must continue our efforts to support Russian companies abroad and to protect their interests. Economic competition is tough, as you know. Not all the competitors of Russian companies are willing to work honestly.


Common principles of trade, cooperation and investment are being violated. We see attempts to compromise the business reputation of Russian companies in any way possible. You have to respond to this without delay and competently, within your authority.


Serious tasks are facing the FSB Border Service. The border infrastructure needs to be improved along the entire perimeter of our borders, while traditionally complicated segments in the North Caucasus, Central Asia and the Russian Arctic shelf need to be strengthened.


The Russian-Ukrainian border requires our special attention, of course. The situation there is complicated: thousand of people are trying to escape from the extended armed conflict in southeast Ukraine and are crossing over to Russian territory, sometimes even without their basic documents.


It is important to continue ensuring the unhindered passage of refugees and movement of vehicles with humanitarian cargo. At the same time, we need to reveal those who voluntarily took part in punitive actions against peaceful residents, who are trying to cover their tracks or are planning crimes on the territory of the Russian Federation.


Next. The protection of national information resources should remain under special control. The number of cyberattacks on official websites and information systems of Russian authorities is not diminishing; about 74 million such attacks were curtailed last year alone.


Moreover, over 25,000 internet resources have been identified that carry illegal publications. More than 1,500 extremist websites have been shut down. We must continue efforts to rid the Russian cyberspace of illegal, criminal materials, more actively use modern technologies for this purpose and take part in creating an international information security system.


We are not speaking of limiting online freedom, far from it. We are speaking of ensuring safety, law and order, while strictly complying with appropriate Russian and international norms and standards, without preventing people from communicating online and posting legitimate, valid and correct information.


Colleagues,


In the past years, we have done much to improve material and technical support of the Federal Security Service. Salaries, pensions and social benefits for acting and retired personnel have grown significantly.


We have practically resolved the issue of permanent housing. In 2014 alone, 65 designated apartment buildings were commissioned (5,200 apartments). We are simultaneously working to increase the stock of service housing.


The state will continue providing the best service conditions for you, taking care of the families of those who were killed in the line of duty. We will certainly do everything necessary to ensure that all FSB units are equipped with the latest in armaments, technology and special gear.


At the same time, just like all the other agencies, you are facing the task of more rationally using state funding and other resources. You have to show maximum responsibility and concentration in resolving all the tasks facing you.


In conclusion, I would like to wish you success and new, visible results in your service that the country needs so much.


Thank you for your attention.

[oduarere] Nigeria 2015 Presidential Election - Live Update

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The 2015 general elections will remain a standout amongst the most wildly challenged in Nigeria for quite a while to come. Follow Omo oodua 2015 Election live update as we bring you the latest Pre-election and post election news.


 


 

Scary minutes in the hands of thugs


Arriving in Port Harcourt, one of Nigeria’s most active cities, earlier on Tuesday, dozens of queries ran through my mind. Almost two years since I visited the Rivers State capital, much hasn’t changed about the city except that the traffic situation has improved a bit.

Finding our way from the airport to a decent hotel in the centre of the town, different sights greeted me and my colleague – Stanley Ogidi – an award-winning photojournalist, as the taxi driver edged us deeper into the bowels of the oil-rich enclave. With traders dangling wares at motorists’ faces, mentally-derailed men and women in different attires pausing to dance or scare passersby intermittently and young men standing above several gallons of petrol by road corners, waiting for potential customers, it was a mixture of the good, the bad and ugly in the very heart of Port Harcourt.

Breaking News! Buhari wins 2015 Presidential Election (Ọmọ Oódua - polls)

Ater over 3 months of Open online Poll – ‘JONATHAN Vs BUHARI: Who Would You Want As Your President In 2015.’ Probably one of the fairest and longest online poll Suggests Buhari wins 2015 Election by a great margin.


Total number of Voters: 8,103
Pro BUHARI (75%, 6,097 Votes)
Pro JONATHAN (25%, 2,006 Votes)


buhari_wins_2015_omo_oodua_polls


We wish either of them best of luck!

On Buhari I smell some real good luck

Tomorrow morning, (Saturday, March 28) the sun will rise from its 94 million-mile abode on Nigerians as they choose a path; and it will later set in the evening as they chart a course. Tomorrow, we will find out if sitting President Goodluck Jonathan will be the ambassador of choice leading us beyond these trying times, or he will be regarded as just another flaky, flicker and flutter in history, and one who deserves nothing but a cold bye-bye from Aso Rock. Tomorrow will not be another ordinary day in this country; it will be an extraordinary dawn.

When Party stooges get paid, OPC members unleash mayhem on Lagos

Merchants and suburbanites in the Oshodi Market, Orile Oshodi range of Lagos State, took to their heels on Thursday after associated individuals with the Oodua People’s Congress unleashed fear on the region.
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Observers revealed to PUNCH Metro  that the posse, which numbered near to 50, conveyed refined weapons and shot sporadically into the air.


Inhabitants said some of them wore covers. Drivers heading towards Oshodi from the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, were compelled to take a temporary route from the Ladipo transport stop after the criminals blockaded the interstate.


In the following fight, a few individuals escaping from risk were said to have been harmed, as some road urchins utilized the chance to seize passersby of their assets.


A few shops in the zone were additionally purportedly plundered by the urchins. At the point when our journalist went to the range, he watched that stalls and shops were closed as dealers mourned their destiny. There was substantial vicinity of security agents, who requested individuals to raise their hands as they cruised by. Our journalist watched that a few fighters, who assumed control over the scaffold and the primary street, asked a few young people to do frog hops on the extension.


 


A vendor, Samuel Ojukwu, said the gunmen were loyalists of President Goodluck Jonathan, adding that their presence created panic. The chaos was said to have lasted between 8am and 9.30am.


He said, “This morning, as I was arranging newspapers on the newsstand, I saw some people running.


“I didn’t know what was pursuing them, so I sat at the stand. A colleague, who was also running, asked me to run, but I said I won’t run since I didn’t see anything pursuing the people.
“Then, these heavily armed men showed up. I started shaking with fright where I sat as they approached my newsstand. The man who led them had two pistols in his side pockets, and held another one in his hand. “One of them came to me and said, ‘Baba, don’t be afraid. When you vote on Saturday, vote for Jonathan.’ I was so afraid.”


He said afterwards, the group went towards the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and began shooting indiscriminately into the air. He said as they approached a military base on the road, they retreated to avoid a collision with military men. It was learnt that as the shooting continued, the group dared some people to come out and face them. Another witness, Ojuolape Obafemi, a trader, said some members of the group hid their identity.


“Some of the hoodlums wore masks and I believe they are known faces. That was why they covered their faces.


“They entered into streets and nobody could come out to challenge them. I believe they were OPC members because they wore all kinds of ammunition and amulet,” she said.


She added that soon after the group left, another set of hoodlums, wielding sticks, bottles and cutlasses took over the road.


Our correspondent learnt that the hoodlums began to harass the people.


“These boys were the ones who entered into shops and looted them. They entered a bag shop and looted it. They also dispossessed people of their valuables,” she said.

The real Political 'hallelujah boys' (Thugs) open fire on Gov Amaechi’s convoy

An SMS sent to Punch‘s correspondent by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. David Iyofor, indicated that the attackers   made bonfire along a major road in the area to prevent the governor from leaving.


ameachi_campaigning


The SMS read,


“This evening, gunshots were fired at the convoy of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi at Rumuolumeni, Obio/Akpor LGA by PDP thugs.  “Obio/Akpor is the home of the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Nyesom Wike. The thugs attacked the governor’s convoy and his entourage with bottles, stones and other dangerous objects. Then gunshots were fired at the convoy.


“When the governor was leaving the community, bonfire was set up on the road to prevent him from leaving. More gunshots were fired at his convoy. Amaechi was on door-to-door ward campaign in the state.”


The Greater Together Campaign Organisation, a team in charge of the APC candidate, Dakuku Peterside’s governorship campaign, described the attack on the convoy as part of the plan to assassinate chieftains and members of the APC. The Director of the campaign organisation, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said in a statement   in Port Harcourt   that the thugs were repelled by the governor’s security personnel.  Semenitari lamented that the situation in the state had become worrisome considering that a group of security operatives had gone to the governor’s home town to carry out a secret investigation.


The statement read in part,


“In keeping with their plans to attack and assassinate chieftains and members of the APC, thugs of the PDPambushed the convoy of Governor Amaechi, who was on a door-to-door campaign in Rumuolumeni, Obio/Akpor, Rivers State.


“The thugs were repelled by the governor’s security personnel. However, the PDP in Rivers State has concluded plans to launch house-to-house attack on APC chieftains in the state with the aid of security personnel.”


When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Mohammad, told our correspondent that he was still trying to reach out to the Divisional Police Officer in Obio/Akpor to ascertain the veracity of the claim that the governor’s convoy was attacked.


Mohammad promised to react to the matter as soon as he got any response from the DPO in Obio/Akpor   but he had yet to keep the promise as of 9pm on Thursday. Also in Edo State, the government on Thursday alleged deployment of armed soldiers in the country home of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Iyamoh     Etsakor West LGA. A statement by the state Commissioner   for Information and Orientation,   Louis Odion, said the presence of the soldiers was to “intimidate the governor on   election day.”


The statement read in part, “Family members of the   governor were shocked to find his country home taken over by soldiers this(Thursday) afternoon. When asked, the invading force said they were acting on orders from above.


We also have it on good authority that the Army high command in Abuja had sent some soldiers to Edo State on what they described as ‘special operations’.


“In order not to arouse suspicion, these soldiers were told to dress in suits and pose as SSS operatives and station them at polling units on election day, particularly in areas seen as APC strongholds.”

Please vote for me, President Jonathan begs North

President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the North, particularly the North-East geo-political zone, to bolster and vote in favor of him on Saturday.


gej


Jonathan in a letter titled, ‘My dear Arewa brothers and sisters’, which he by and by marked, said it would be unjustifiable for anybody at fault him for the Boko Haram danger which brought about the demise of more than 15,000 Nigerians.


The President conceded that his organization at first disparaged the danger and that was the reason the terrorists had the capacity to execute numerous Nigerians.


He included that the danger was aggravated by the absence of military hardware.


 


He said,


“I do understand that my first duty to you at this time is to rid the entire North of the menace of Boko Haram and secure your lives and property. You and I know that nothing in Nigeria’s past prepared us for the unprecedented reign of unmitigated terror, mayhem and destruction which these murderous terrorists have visited on parts of our country.


“The initial slowness in effectively responding to the threat was as a result of the asymmetrical nature of the war on terror and the need for us to properly equip our security agencies for the successful prosecution of the war. “Given the recent successes recorded by our Armed Forces with your cooperation and patriotic support, the cooperation of our neighbours as well as the laudable gallantry of security agents, I am confident that in the shortest possible time, the menace of Boko Haram would have been eliminated for good.”


Jonathan’s inability to curb terrorism had made him very unpopular in some northern states to the extent that he was stoned in some of the states while he was campaigning. Jonathan said he and the people of the South-South geo-political zone supported his late predecessor, Umaru Yar’Adua who was from the North.


He, therefore, urged them to do the same for him.


He said,


Because Nigeria today is in desperate need of stability, I plead with you to join me in building on the foundation of the traditional alliance between us which has always served to keep Nigeria one strong, united and prosperous nation,” he said.

#BeforeYouCastYourVote: Remember this, remember that ! Concerned Nigerian

Everything here is an eyesaw::: U know, I know, We know and They know::::COME MARCH 28TH. ‪#‎BeforeYouCastYourVote‬ Remember that Jonathan waited for 15,000+ Nigerians to be murdered before taking Boko Haram seriously. #BeforeYouCastYourVote. Remember what Andrew Azazi said that PDP created Boko Haram. #BeforeYouCastYourVote as yourself if moving forward is 225naira to dollar , if locomotive trains are futuristic transport system.


yes-vote


 


#BeforeYouCastYourVote Ask yourself “If my daughter was kidnapped, would I vote for GEJ?” #BeforeYouCastYourVote Remember the Oct bomb blast in Abuja in which Jonathan lied & accused others as he shielded the real bombers. #BeforeYouCastYourVote. Remeber that, Obanikoro is now a Minister. EkitiGate has been swept under the carpet. We all know whose voice we heard on that audio. #BeforeYouCastYourVote Remember the cost of fuel that your generator consumed for all these years.


#BeforeYouCastYourVote Remember that they went dancing on stage just a day after many lives were wasted. #BeforeYouCastYourVote Remember your GEJ raised 21bn for election but IDPs feed on charity & many others is foreign countries. #BeforeYouCastYourVote remember your country produces crude oil but imports PMS & DPK. #BeforeYouCastYourVote remember GEJ met $1 =119 but now. Its $1=225 #BeforeYouCastYourVote Remember the number of jobless people around you. #BeforeYouCastYourVote remember the fuel subsidy scam & Hw GEJ removed d subsidy instead of fixing our refineries.‪#‎BeforYouCastYourVote‬ remember the fuel Subsidy as New year Gift 6months after we all voted GEJ in,Soldiers were used to chase us into our houses after NLC leaders were called to Abuja and still GEJ did not reverse the fuel price.


Vote wisely. God bless Nigeria


Impossible for Neymar to replace me – Pelé

Pele thinks his status as Brazil’s most prominent player is secure, with not even Neymar ready to test him, Mirror reports.


A three-time World Cup champ and the scorer of more than 1,000 goals in a sparkling career, the previous Santos and New York Cosmos striker has as of now seen off a lot of challengers to his mantle since resigning, including Ronaldo and Romario, who not long ago upheld Neymar to surpass Pele’s count of 77 international goals..


Whether the 23-year-old Barcelona forward has the capacity to do as such stays to be seen, yet Pele is not stressed over the test of his kindred Santos graduate.


Asked on Wednesday in Melbourne if Neymar can supplant him as Brazilian football’s most loved child, he said: “I think not.”


“I think to be the new king, the new Pele, is impossible. Because my mother and my father closed the machine. I think he’s a good player, an excellent young player and he’s going to be a big star, no doubt.”


While Neymar is Brazil’s great hope, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – playing at a higher tempo than ever before – have proven worthy challengers to the all-time greats in recent years.


But Pele insisted he would still have been a force of nature in the modern game.


“If you ask, would Beethoven be important now? Of course,” he said.


“If I was in this moment and prepared to play in this moment. The thing people forget is I was given a gift to play football, this is something no-one can judge.”


Appearing in Australia for a series of speaking engagements, Pele – in his capacity as the unofficial ambassador of Brazilian football – could not avoid inevitable questions about his country’s shock 7-1 loss to Germany in the World Cup semi-final on home soil last year.


Watching on while the hopes of a nation were shattered, what was he thinking as goal after goal flew in during that nightmare game in Belo Horizonte?


“I didn’t think – I cried,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that the two World Cups played in Brazil, in 1950 when I was nine years old, we lost. And now we lost again. This is something no-one can explain.”


The Brazilian Football Confederation’s response to the debacle was to hand Dunga – who coached the South American nation at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa – a return to the national team hot seat following Luiz Felipe Scolari’s departure.


Captain of the team that won the tournament for a fourth time in the United States in 1994, the 51-year-old was not a universally popular choice, but he at least has the support of an illustrious predecessor.


“I think with Dunga … (he) has a different style to Felipe (Scolari), more defensive but I believe in Dunga,” Pele said.


“He could make a good national team.”


Quizzed on whether or not Brazil can win a sixth World Cup in Russia in 2018, Pele said: “I hope so.”