After enduring losses in their first two games at the ongoing Amputee Football World Cup in Mexico, the Nigeria Amputee Football team, nicknamed ‘Special Eagles’ have finally recorded their first victory at the tournament.The Special Eagles pipped their counterparts from El Salvador by a lone goal.The victory, though slim, is quite historic and commendable knowing the odds the Nigeria Amputee Football team braved to make their debut appearance at the World Cup after missing out on the past three editions and almost also missed out in Mexico.PDP's presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has also sand their praises by given them words of encouragement.''I am super excited that Nigeria’s Special Eagles, against all odds, recorded their first victory in their maiden World Cup outing in Mexico. It is my hope that with greater support, they can only get better and soar like the Eagles they are,'' he said.But will he also remember them if luck shines on him and he becomes President in 2019?
India has unveiled the world's tallest statue, which cost 29.9bn rupees (£330m; $430m) to build.The 182m (600ft) high structure in the western state of Gujarat is a bronze-clad tribute to independence leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the "statue of unity" would serve as a major tourist attraction.But locals say this is as a waste of public money and that the funds could have been put to better use.Mr Modi, who unveiled the statue at a grand inaugural event, said it is "a symbol of India's integrity and resolve."Air Force planes showered flowers on the statue, which was designed by decorated Indian sculptor Ram V Sutar.According to local reports, thousands of policemen have been deployed across the district, which has witnessed incidents of violence and protests over the effigy. Police also detained farmers and tribal activists who were protesting on Tuesday.
A Pakistani court has overturned the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, a case that has polarised the nation.Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours.She always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement.The landmark ruling has already set off violent protests by hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws.Demonstrations against the verdict are being held in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Multan. Clashes with police have been reported.The Red Zone in the capital Islamabad, where the Supreme Court is located, has been sealed off by police, and paramilitary forces have been deployed to keep protesters away from the court.Chief Justice Saqib Nisarm, who read out the ruling, said Asia Bibi could walk free from jail in Sheikupura, near Lahore, immediately if not wanted in connection with any other case.She was not in court to hear the ruling, but reacted to the verdict from prison with apparent disbelief."I can't believe what I am hearing, will I go out now? Will they let me out, really?" AFP news agency quoted her as saying by phone.The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi, whose full name is Asia Noreen, had with a group of women in June 2009.They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it, as her faith had made it unclean.Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made three offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response.She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation.
Seventeen women, all Filipina expats, were arrested after hosting a Halloween party in Saudi Arabia.The group of women were all detained by Saudi intelligence officers who raided a Riyadh compound on Friday, according to the Philippines foreign ministry.Neighbours had reportedly complained about the noise. It is not known what charges they face however the foreign ministry reiterated that Saudi laws prohibit unattached men and women from being seen together in public.Adnan Alonto, the Philipinne ambassador in Riyadh, told the ministry it appeared organisers of the party had been charged with holding an event without permit and disturbing the neighbourhood, the BBC reported.Mr Alonto has since issued an advisory reminding the Filipino population in Saudi Arabia to "refrain from organising or attending events or gatherings that are unsanctioned or without permission."He said: "In addition, everyone is reminded to avoid mixed crowds, consuming liquor, and holding public practice of traditions that are associated with religions other than Islam, such as Halloween, Valentines and Christmas."It is thought that some of the partygoers did not know the gathering had a Halloween theme.The public worship of any religion other than Islam is banned in Saudi Arabia - despite the fact at least two million of the country's expatriates are non-Muslims.
The Federal Government has confirmed a report which ranks Nigeria first on the list of countries with high record of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in the world.Government reiterated local and international indications confirmed that Nigeria produces 30 percent of children born with HIV/AIDS globally.Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, told newsmen at the launch of a roadmap on implementation of the National Treatment and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS in Abuja, yesterday, that the situation is worrisome and requires collective action of all stakeholders, with the support of global partners to correct the statistics.Prof. Adewole said the roadmap has been designed to give proper guidance and direction on how best to offer treatment to HIV patients in Nigeria and also, protect unborn children from contacting the virus through a mother living with the virus.The minister also confirmed that Nigeria has 3.1 million people living with the virus, out of which 1.1 million people have been under proper and timely treatment from government.He said he was impressed with the commitment of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to the cause of proper and timely care for patients with the virus.“There is no reason why Nigeria should be the highest producer of babies infected with HIV because, we have put in great efforts in the past. Obviously, more is required to achieve more results,” he added.Sunnewsonline
Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has just arrived the Presidential Villa, Abuja to meet with the president. Tinubu, clutching a book, arrived at about 4pm and he arrived alone..The party chief arrived the Presidential Villa alone. The agenda of the meeting is however not known.
One of African football's most powerful figures has been banned from the sport for life for breaking bribery and corruption rules.Ex-Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kwesi Nyantakyi also broke conflict of interest rules, Fifa said.Football's world governing body launched an investigation after Nyantakyi was pictured taking $65,000 (£48,000) from an undercover reporter.Fifa fined Nyantakyi 500,000 Swiss francs (£390,000). Nyantakyi was also vice-president of the Confederation of African Football and a member of the Fifa Council.He stepped down as GFA president in June after film of him allegedly accepting a "cash gift" was made public.The film was captured by journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and BBC Africa's investigations unit, Africa Eye, received exclusive access to the footage.Nyantakyi later resigned his Caf and Fifa posts but claimed the footage had been doctored to falsely incriminate him.The adjudicatory chamber of Fifa's ethics committee said the ban for life applied to "all football-related activities at both national and international level".
In the furtherance of his desire to make Cross River the leading rice producing state in the country, the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, has signed a pact with the government of Israel to train 1000 rice farming modern techniques.
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Speaking at an orientation exercise for the people at the Ayade Industrial Park, Calabar, Ayad.According to him, "Today's exercise in the first phase of the training program is in the first phase of the training program."Israeli experts to handle the state of modern farming methods and machines."I brought experts from Israel to train and make the full benefit of our rice factory that we have set up for maximum benefits to the citizenry."He said the training program is also part of his administration's deliberate programs on industrialization with a view to decoupling it from over-dependence on federal allocations."By the time we are done, the 12,000 travelers so far identified, Cross River wants to become more and better in rice production in Nigeria," he assured.
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| Governor Ben Ayade |
My thoughts are on ethics and ethics, we have attitude and morality comes first."Today, as a state, we have the highest number of factories and industries set up in Nigeria since 2015. We do not have the highest allocation, we are actually second to the past stressed.On access to finance, the governor said: "The Bank of Agriculture wants to pass through our bank for easy access to facility."Ayade said, "I charge those responsible for the distribution of the facility to allocate 60 percent to women, youths 30, while the men should be allocated 10 percent or more."
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CSS Group of Companies, the firm facilitating the training program, dr. John Kennedy Opara, extolled Ayade's foresight by venturing into agriculture."I am so proud of the governor because I like to talk to you." , "While offering advice to the trainees, Okpara said, "It's a very intensive two weeks training program, and I believe you will come back as a pacifier, you will come back.Thank God for the Bank of Agriculture, I believe if every Nigerian is comfortable, we Do not need to struggle for federal offices. "
D'banj is about to drop a new song/video -- shake it, that features Tiwa Savage. He announced this with an intro of the video on IG indicating the video was directed by Sesan.D'banj calls it 'Bread and Stew plus Ewa goyin for a Breakfast' and most of his fans are very excited.
Africa as a continent is a very nice place to be but most often people view Africa as a poor place where Kids lack Good Education and Care..But I don't believe it to be true although some countries in Africa is very poor and the Government can't help the situation of her citizens..While some countries Like Nigeria have the resources and man power to make the Country Number 1 in the whole World but the county lack Good Governance and the problem of insurgence is also one of the major thing decreasing the countries Economy..Below, rexcharles blog list top 10 Most influential countries in Africa..Go through it and Share..1. SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is the only Country in Africa that is a Part of the G20 and BRICS (the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa grouping), and the only African country of the EU’s 10 global strategic partners. This is mainly because South Africa is the EU’s largest trading partner within Africa continent but it certainly gives the country a global clout which Nigeria currently lacks. The Profile of Nelson Mandela’s and the international activism of his successor, Thabo Mbeki, saw the former apartheid pariah state significantly increase its leverage in Africa and globally after 1994, and it simultaneously benefited from several years of healthy economic growth.However, despite the towering image of Mandela and the miracle of the transition to democracy, the so-called Rainbow Nation has become tarnished in recent years. The country’s economic growth rates have declined and in 2014 the Nigerian economy was formally recognised as being larger than that of South Africa. The ruling African National Congress struggles with internal ethical challenges and leadership gaps while growth levels and investor confidence have declined because of the uncertain regulatory framework. Africa and the Middle East are likely to retain their position as the two regions with the highest conflict burden globally for the foreseeable future Set out in its National Development Plan, South Africa is caught in a middle-income trap.2. ETHIOPIA
Name of Ethiopia is written 44 times in the bible. It is not only a matter wealth. It is also a matter of history, independence, military, politics, diplomacy etc… In all perspective you could not find any country which is more influential like ETHIOPIA in Africa.Ethiopia defeated Italian colonials at Adwa, then Africans realized a black man is capable of saying No! to Europeans. Ethiopia (along with Russia) is the only sovereign nation that hasn’t been ruled by a foreign power, (A privilege even US, UK never enjoyed) Africans knew that it’s possible to be still be Black and yet mighty over history. Ethiopia drew its calendar from the beginning (commemorated new millennium just 5 yrs ago -) writes with its own alphabet system (ሀለሐመሠረሰቀበተቸ .. if your Unicode sys captures it), it’s own version of Christianity not dictated by European guns, Then Africans learned it’s possible to draw Black-man’s version of lifestyle.Ethiopian Airways: Ethiopia has its airline in 1940s when others were suffering from evils, the first black African to captain those crafts – Ato Alemayehu is Ethiopian. The first black African who won Olympic gold Abebe Bikila in 1950s bare-footed on the streets of Rome, that Ethiopia defeated twice within 40 years of colonial agression – he said he run bare foot because he “… wanted to show that my country, Ethiopia has always defeated with courage and commitment.”3. EGYPT
More Arab than African and with a recorded civilisation going back centuries, Egypt is one of the first nation states in the world. It regained its independence (from Britain) in 1953 – earlier than Algeria, Nigeria or South Africa. Since independence, Egyptian politics (and also much of its economy) have been dominated by the influence of its armed forces. Although it has one of the largest and most diversified economies in the Middle East and Africa, recent years have seen it embroiled in turmoil. 1953 african futures paper 14 • March 2015 7 In 2011 President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down as the widespread popular protests of the Arab Spring spread across North Africa.Egyptian architecture and the low-perspective, hieratic styles of Egyptian art have undergone several revivals in the Western world. Various obelisks have been carried off as trophies by colonial powers, or bestowed as gifts by Egyptian leaders, and these stand in a number of locations far from Egypt. The “Cleopatra’s Needles” that stand in London, Paris, and New York City are examples of these transported obelisks. Egyptian architectural motifs appear in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili,[1] andAthanasius Kircher’s Oedipus Aegyptiacus contains a fanciful attempt to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics4. KENYA
Kenya is a powerhouse in human resource capital. With the most educated population on the continent its also the fastest growing ICT hub in the continent. Its infrustructural development is fast catching up with south Africa and other Arab African countries. Its main strength is o its human capital where its professional traverse the globe.uhuru-kenyatta-story-topIt was recently voted as the one of the best places to live in the world…in terms of its humanitarian efforts. This follows the vast number of refugees hosted in camps around Kenya, this shows we are the best neighbors ever. Everyday you hear illegal immigrants comes from Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia and even Ethiopia..they all come here seeking for greener pasture, and save for the recent insecurities encountered, Kenya used to accomodate them.Kenya is already have a working space agency with working satellite in Malindi. The government is planing to start a space programme that will send working satellites in space to help man Kenyan boarders. As from 2008 the government introduced courses in its universities on space exploration, like astrophysics and astronomy. Also with growing uptake of technology and the grand ICT plan of building an ICT park in Kenya like the one in California Kenya is showing great potential.5. MOROCCO
Morocco is undeniably becoming a strategic platform to address the African continent. An increasing number of global companies choose to step in, first in Morocco, to then gain a faster access to other African markets. Its geographic proximity to Europe, its political stability and its competitive workforce constitute a powerful advantage.This is especially true for the aeronautics sub-contracting market. However, the country has still a long way to go to be among the top performers in this sector.While many North African countries have seen violent uprisings over the last two years as part of the Arab Spring and suffered economically as a result, Morocco has avoided the carnage and instead furthered its appeal as one of Africa’s top business destinations. The centerpiece of that appeal is its burgeoning aeronautical industry, which has drawn hundreds of millions of investment dollars since 2010 from American and European aeronautical companies.6. NIGERIA
Nigeria, the country with the largest economic and power potential on the continent, faces different challenges from the other countries of the Big Five – although it shares a common history with Ethiopia, Egypt and Algeria, having experienced 33 years of military rule since independence in 1960. The Nigerian economy is dominated by its hydrocarbon sector.Despite the recent diversification of the economy, with new sectors contributing to the country’s GDP, 90% of Nigeria’s export revenue still comes from oil.22 To a large extent, the increase in Africa’s role globally will be driven by the future weight of Nigeria Politics in Nigeria are particularly complex and violent, with many ethnic, religious and social fault lines across society. Deeply entrenched corruption and low levels of government efficiency characterise a country facing huge governance challenges. In 2014 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Nigeria lowest of the Big Five, at 136 out of 175 countries in the survey, which is significantly below the ranking of the other four.However, in terms of economic potential, no African country can compete with Nigeria. According to the IFs model used in this paper, Nigeria’s GDP is forecast to grow from slightly over $525 billion in 2014 to slightly over $4.2 trillion by 2040. By 2040 the IFs Base Case forecast is that Nigeria will constitute slightly less than 2% of the global economy, up from 0.7% in 2014. To a large extent, the increase in Africa’s role globally will therefore be driven by the future weight of Nigeria – a country that by 2040 will have the fourth largest population in the world after India, China and the US.7. UGANDA
Ugandan army may not be the most advanced in Africa but it has show that it is the most courageous and it has proved its self better than most force from the rest of Africa from 1993 when participated in stopping the Rwanda genocide,protected the Kenyans in 2008, fought the Rwandan rebel in Congo up to date, when its keeping peace in southern Sudan and largely in Somalia which was abandoned by most Africans great powers like the south Africa and the African Arab countries.Uganda was among the first sub-Saharan African countries to embrace market reforms in the late 1980s and graduated as a mature reformer in 2006 with sound economic fundamentals and much improved governance. Real GDP growth accelerated from an average of 6.5 per cent year-on-year in the 1990s to over 7 per cent during the 10 years leading up to 2009-10. Not surprisingly, Uganda qualifies as one of the few durable African success stories.8. RWANDA
The unmistakable sense of national pride that Rwandans display is truly impressive and the powerful leadership and commitment to peace and development shown by President Kagame and his government is the engine that moves this country forward. Every citizen of Rwanda can be immensely proud of their country as one of the greatest development success stories in the world today, indisputably against all conceivable odds.kagameAnd how is this even possible? Because Rwandans chose love over fear, hope over despair, forgiveness and reconciliation over revenge and violence, and progress and development over corruption and futility. That is precisely why the world loves Rwanda so much, and why we speak with such passion and conviction when we encourage everyone to visit this fascinating place and witness it firsthand, even if there is only ever one place they will see in their lives outside of their home country, it should be Rwanda – because make no mistake, Rwanda will change your life.Military Prowess: Rwanda’s armed forces is quite efficient. It is known for its impressive light infantry operations and anti-guerrilla warfare.
The UN itself recognises their skills, especially in the area of civil-military operations, after their deployment in different UN missions.9. ZIMBABWE
God fearing nation…..with lots of potential..Take away sanctions, zimbabwe is a lion with a stone heart. They told y0u on BBC that their people starve because they don’t know how to farm but tell me who is feeding them today. Take away the American and European sanctions and the nation will rise from the ashes like the phoenix.The only country that has not followed conventional development strategies as directed by the western countries. though structural changes implemented by the Mugabe regime have resulted in economic backsliding, the fortunes of the country will become better as new structures start a new and forward thrust. The advantage is localisation of the vast economic wealth/ dividends moving forward as opposed to recording good GDP when in actual fact the country is nothing but a western resource extraction ground.These economic adavntages coupled with the hardworking nature of general zimbabweans, high literacy and a highly capable and desciplined military favour zimbabwe to emerge as the nuclues of african economic and military power. this natuarally will see accumulated wealth by the local people being used to invest and influence sorrounding countries and probably creating the mightiest global country spanning from DRC to Cape town and from Mozambique to Angola. it is the ability to think outside the box and emulate what western countries do without following what they say that differentiate zimbabwe from the rest.10. ALGERIA
Much like Egypt, Algeria is trapped in stasis. And similar to Egypt and Nigeria, the Algerian military has played a major role in domestic politics since independence in 1962 – gained after a brutal war with France that lasted eight years and traumatised both countries. Its ailing and elderly president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has won four consecutive elections since 1999.Unlike Egypt, Algeria was narrowly able to avoid much of the impact from the Arab Spring, which started in neighbouring Tunisia at the end of 2010. But the fallout from the NATO intervention in Libya, which finally clinched the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, ignited turmoil in the region, particularly along Algeria’s eastern and southern borders with Libya, Mali and Niger. Tensions between Algeria and Morocco, to the west, complete the picture of a country located in a hostile neighbourhood. Although it contributes little to peacekeeping, Algeria has the highest military expenditure among the Big Five and in Africa as a whole.
