Massive Graduate Trainee Recruitment at Leadway Assurance Company Limited

Leadway Assurance Company Limited is one of Nigeria's foremost insurance companies, with a reputation for service efficiency and customers reliability. We provide efficient financial solutions leveraging on our unique capabilities and skills to bring Insurance as a risk management tool to our clients.

Applications are invited for the position below:

Job Title: Graduate Trainee

Location: Nationwide

Job Description

• As part of our growth plan, we seek vibrant, dynamic and goals driven young graduates, who wish to make a rewarding career in Nigeria’s most diversified and profitable insurance company, Leadway Assurance.

Requirements
We are recruiting Graduate Trainees for different positions within our enterprise and hereby invite applications from suitably qualified candidates who meet the understated selection criteria, amongst others:

• Graduates from a recognised university, with a minimum of second-class, lower division
• Must not be more than 26 years by 31st December 2018
• Must have completed the National Youth Service (NYSC).

Application Closing Date
27th November, 2018.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note: Successful candidates will go through a period of training and orientation program before final selection and deployment to the business.

Resurgent Kuchar still on 'a big high' after mad dash Down Under

Resurgent Kuchar still on 'a big high' after mad dash Down Under

source: AFP

GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP / Rob Carr Matt Kuchar celebrates winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico

Matt Kuchar said he was still on a high after his first PGA Tour win in four years and expected to be in the hunt again after making a mad dash to play in this week's Australian Open.

The 40-year-old American jetted into Sydney from Mexico on Wednesday morning after winning the Mayakoba Classic in Playa del Carmen, which pushed him up to 29 in the world, two behind Phil Mickelson.

Kuchar is the highest-ranked player at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney after the event failed to attract any top-10 golfers because of a clash with the European Tour's US$8 million season-ending event in Dubai.

Fellow Americans Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker are among Kuchar's key threats, and they are all keen to add their name to the Stonehaven Cup alongside the likes of former champions Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Greg Norman, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus.

"I'm certainly on a big high. Winning definitely provides an amazing high," said Kuchar, who went straight from the airport to the course after missing a connection in Los Angeles.

"I feel like I've developed a swing that I can count on. I hope to play well, expect to play well, but don't feel any extra pressure to play well."

Along with the American contingent, Australian young gun Cameron Davis, who shot a brilliant final-round 64 to win last year, is back to defend his title.

But there are no top-name Australians with Jason Day opting out after his wife recently gave birth and Adam Scott and Marc Leishman also missing.

Snedeker, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, returns after more than a decade and has unfinished business.

"Craig Parry won in 2007. I remember I lost by a shot. Had to call a penalty on myself on Sunday and it cost me the tournament," he recalled of his near miss 11 years ago.

Snedeker made a playoff at the Safeway Open in Napa recently and has found some decent form after a few difficult years.

"I feel like I've really done a lot of hard work and made a lot of tough decisions to get myself back to being a top-10 player in the world, being where I feel I belong and win golf tournaments," he said.

Bradley, who won the 2011 PGA Championship, is playing his first Australian Open. He grew up watching the event on television and said it has always been on his bucket list.

"It's easy for us to just stick to the PGA Tour. And I've always wanted to come down here and sometimes the schedule doesn't permit that," he said.

"But this year I had a little opening at the end of the year and I really wanted to make it happen."

And Bradley, who won the BMW Championships this year, believes he is playing well enough to win at the par-72 course.

"As long as I go out there and putt the way I've been putting, I'm playing well enough to contend," he said.

Thais outraged by child boxer's death in ring

source: AFP
Thais outraged by child boxer's death in ring



AFP/File / NICOLAS ASFOURI The involvement of kids in Muay Thai boxing, who sometimes start under 10 years of age, in bouts that use kicks and elbows to the head has stirred frequent criticism

Thais have reacted with shock and anger after a 13-year-old boxer died during a charity bout, reviving calls for a ban on fights between children in the brutal Muay Thai martial art.

Thai boxing is hugely popular in the country and many fighters enter the sport at a young age in search of fame and fortune.

But the involvement of kids who sometimes start under 10 years of age in bouts that use kicks and elbows to the head -- often without headguards -- has stirred frequent criticism.

More so as the young fighters are often family breadwinners from poor families and bouts are subject to frenzied ringside gambling.

Anucha Tasako collapsed after his opponent delivered several blows to his head at a bout in Samut Prakan province, near Bangkok, on November 10.


 AFP/File / MADAREE TOHLALA Thai boxing is hugely popular in the country and bouts are subject to frenzied ringside gambling


Smartphone footage shown by local media captured the grim moment he hit the canvas as assistants quickly rushed into the ring to help the motionless Anucha, who fought under the alias Phetmongkol Sor Wilaithong.

He later died from a brain haemorrhage, according to police.

Domestic media said he had been fighting since he was eight and had competed in more than 150 bouts.

His opponent, Nitikron Sonde, is around the same age, police said. He took to Facebook to express his sorrow at the death.

"I regret it," he posted on Tuesday, "but I have to do my duty to win so I can make enough money to sponsor myself through education."

Neither fighter was wearing protective headgear.

A bill to prevent minors aged under 12 from taking part is under consideration.


AFP/File / NICOLAS ASFOURI A bill to prevent minors aged under 12 from taking part in brutal Muay Thai boxing bouts is under consideration in Thailand

The draft bill is likely to gain support after Anucha's death.

Outrage and anger poured in as news of his death spread, with some blaming the referee for not stepping in sooner to end the fight.

"He could barely stand. Why didn't the referee stop the fight but let him continue to be hit until he was knocked down," one Thai Facebook user said.

Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports was quoted in local media saying he would submit the draft bill "as soon as possible".

But some defended the practice of starting fighters young.

"I don't agree with the draft law to totally ban boxers who are under 12 years old because 99 percent of the famous Thai boxers and Olympic winners began fighting when they were young," Tawee Umpornmaha, 59, a Thai Olympic medalist, told AFP, describing the boy's death as an accident.

"I began at 12 with more than 200 fights. The question is do we have proper safety measures? We must give importance to safety measures including field doctors," he said.

CNN sues over barring of reporter, White House vows vigorous defense

CNN sues over barring of reporter, White House vows vigorous defense
source: AFP


AFP/File / MANDEL NGAN US President Donald Trump (R) gets into a heated exchange with CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta (C) at a news conference on November 7, 2018

A federal judge will hold a hearing Wednesday on CNN's lawsuit against Donald Trump's administration alleging the White House violated correspondent Jim Acosta's constitutional rights by revoking his press credentials following a heated exchange with the US president.

The White House dismissed CNN's complaint as "grandstanding" and vowed to "vigorously defend" against the lawsuit.

The row on live national television and Acosta's resulting banishment triggered a wave of accusations that Trump is stifling the free press, and marked a sharp escalation in tensions between the president and CNN, a frequent target of his ire.

"The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta's First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process," the news network said in a statement announcing the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington.

CNN asked for a temporary restraining order, warning that Acosta's credential suspension could set a precedent for future attacks on other outlets.

"If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials," it said.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the Trump administration to respond by 11:00 am (1600 GMT) on Wednesday and set a hearing for 3:30 pm.

Kelly, a former chief counsel for the US Senate Judiciary Committee, was appointed to the bench by Trump last year.

The White House had suspended Acosta's hard pass after he sparred at a news conference with the president, who demanded that the reporter yield the microphone and called him a "rude, terrible person" when he did not immediately comply.

Acosta pushed back with more questions and a White House intern tried to take the microphone from the CNN journalist -- an incident the Trump administration characterized as misconduct against the woman.

- 'Grandstanding' -



AFP/File / Jim WATSON The White House had suspended Acosta's hard pass after he sparred at a news conference with the president


Hours later, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced Acosta's hard pass had been suspended, a rare if not unprecedented move that she justified by claiming the reporter was inappropriately "placing his hands" on the intern.

Sanders then tweeted a video that she said backed up her narrative of the incident -- but analysts said the footage was sped up to make it appear that Acosta struck the intern.

The press secretary on Tuesday dismissed the CNN legal complaint as "grandstanding," vowing that the White House would "vigorously defend against this lawsuit."

She alleged that Acosta "physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern," softening the earlier misconduct accusation and then casting blame on the journalist for his persistent questioning.

"The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor," the press secretary said in a statement.

"If there is no check on this type of behavior, it impedes the ability of the President, the White House staff and members of the media to conduct business."

CNN lawyer Ted Boutrous said the White Houses's suspension of the press pass made "clear it was based on the content of the reporting."

"CNN's argument is very straightforward," the lawyer told the US network. "We can't have the White House tossing people out because they don't like what they are saying or what they are reporting."

"That is what happened. That is the First Amendment."

- 'Unconstitutional' -


 AFP/File / MANDEL NGAN CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta, who lost his White House press credentials following a heated exchange with Donald Trump

Both Acosta and CNN are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which targets six defendants: Trump, Sanders, White House chief of staff John Kelly, deputy chief of staff William Shine, the Secret Service and its director along with the agent who took the banned journalist's credentials.

In addition to requesting the return of the journalist's pass, the network is seeking "a declaration that the revocation of Acosta's press was unconstitutional," according to the filing.

The White House Correspondents' Association welcomed CNN's lawsuit, saying "revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events."

"The president of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him," WHCA president Olivier Knox said in a statement.

Trump is no stranger to fights with the press: the president regularly labels unfavorable coverage as "fake news" and has threatened to ban certain media organizations from his events.

The New York-based Knight First Amendment Institute, which sued Trump and his communications team after the president blocked several people on Twitter who were critical of his policies, called CNN's lawsuit "entirely justified."

"It would be terrible for the public, and for our democracy, if reporters questioning the president had to operate under an ever-present threat of this kind of retaliation," said the institute's executive director Jameel Jaffer

APEC summit: the Xi show by the sea shore

APEC summit: the Xi show by the sea shore



AFP / Saeed KHAN Beijing has been working hard to expand its influence in Pacific nations like Papua New Guinea

Hundreds of fluttering red flags, buses emblazoned with "China Aid" logos and even a purpose-built pagoda: driving around Port Moresby, you could be forgiven for thinking that Xi Jinping is hosting this week's APEC summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.

US President Donald Trump's decision to skip the summit in Papua New Guinea has allowed the Chinese leader to take centre stage, an opportunity that Beijing is seizing with relish.

Xi will embark on a state visit a day before the rest of the delegates descend on this dusty sun-baked city -- and host a meeting with Pacific leaders -- a schedule designed to emphasise growing Chinese influence in the region.


POOL/AFP/File / THOMAS PETER President Xi Jinping's schedule in Papua New Guinea is designed to emphasise growing Chinese influence in the region


On Friday, he is expected to open a new road and be treated to a traditional "sing sing" -- a tribal welcome complete with Birds of Paradise-feathered headdresses and grass skirts, underscoring his status as the man of the moment.

In front of the plush Stanley Hotel where Xi and the Chinese delegation will stay, dozens of red flags surround a pagoda, every bit as ostentatious as Xi's diplomatic gambit.

Beijing has been working hard to expand its influence across the Pacific, securing new markets for Chinese firms, snapping up rights to mine, cut and harvest raw materials and developing a deep network of political influence.

Poor countries like Papua New Guinea -– craving investment and much-needed capital -– have welcomed the Chinese government with open arms.


AFP / Saeed KHAN Donald Trump's absence at the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea has allowed China to take centre stage

Total trade between China and the Pacific islands reached $7.25 billion in 2017, plus another $3 billion in investment, according to official data from Beijing.

"Relations between the two sides have entered a new stage of rapid development," said Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheng Zeguang of China's ties with the Pacific.

Port Moresby is replete with evidence of that investment, from Chinese-built dual carriageways, Chinese-built convention centres and even a Chinese-built supreme court.

- Turning up -

Increasingly, Beijing appears to be rivalling Washington as the region's pre-eminent economic power, even if it is still eclipsed militarily.


AFP / Saeed KHAN Poor Pacific countries like Papua New Guinea, craving investment, have welcomed the Chinese government with open arms


Trump's decision not to attend the summit, and to send Vice President Mike Pence in his stead, has left Washington scrambling to convince allies that it has not conceded the battle for influence in the Pacific.

The president pulling out of a US-led Asia-Pacific trade pact days after entering office and his willingness to question decades-old treaty obligations to defend Asian allies had already soured the mood.

Instead of deepening ties, Pence's first task at the APEC summit will be to "try to reassure people about the continued US commitment to the region" said William Alan Reinsch, a former US trade official.

On Saturday, Pence and Xi will give back-to-back speeches at the Asia-Pacific CEO summit aboard the Pacific Explorer, a cruise ship docked in Port Moresby's harbour.

The rivalry between Beijing and Washington has only deepened as the two countries exchange tit-for-tat trade sanctions and barbs, with Pacific islands caught in the crossfire.


AFP / Saeed KHAN Pacific nations like Papua New Guinea have been caught in the crossfire as the Beijing-Washington rivalry intensifies

"Tensions between the US and China are making it increasingly difficult for Asia-Pacific countries to maintain what has always been a delicate diplomatic balancing act" of maintaining good ties with both capitals, said Merriden Varrall of Australia's Lowy Institute.

Senior White House officials speak darkly about Chinese financing coming with strings attached and of "protecting the sovereignty and independence of countries" so they can have "the freedom to be themselves without political and other forms of interference from abroad, from other powers".

In Beijing, the tone is equally combative: "No country should try to obstruct the friendship and cooperation and exchanges between China and the island countries," said Zheng.

But as Matthew Goodman, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, put it: "in Asia, 80 percent of life is showing up."

If that is true, it may be advantage Beijing at this week's summit.

Sri Lanka parliament sacks Rajapakse, leaving power vacuum

Sri Lanka parliament sacks Rajapakse, leaving power vacuum
source: AFP

AFP / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI A majority of Sri Lanka's parliament supported a no-confidence motion against former president and currently appointed prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse (C)

Sri Lanka's parliament on Wednesday voted out the bitterly disputed government of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, removing one controversial figure but leaving the country in a power vacuum.

The island nation has been in crisis since the president sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with Rajapakse, who served as president until being voted out three years ago.

On Tuesday the Supreme Court overruled the president's dissolution of parliament and halted preparations for a snap election, in a major boost for the ousted prime minister.

In stormy scenes Wednesday, legislators gave their verdict on the two rivals -- with a majority in the 225-member assembly supporting a no-confidence motion against Rajapakse.

Parliament also passed motions declaring illegal the November 9 proclamations made by President Maithripala Sirisena to enshrine the power shift.


 AFP / Laurence CHU


The result however does not automatically mean that Wickremesinghe, who has refused to leave the prime minister's residence, has won the constitutional showdown.

Day-to-day administration remains paralysed as the crisis drags on and there are growing fears for the economy and Sri Lanka's ability to repay its huge foreign debts.

Though Wickremesinghe's United National Party is the biggest in parliament, Sirisena retains the power to choose the next prime minister.

The UNP leader, who left his bunker at the Temple Trees official residence for the first time in nearly three weeks to go to parliament, still hailed the vote.

"This is a victory for the people," Wickremesinghe told reporters, condemning the president's actions as "illegal".

He said officials should no longer take orders from the Rajapakse-led "purported government".

- Loyalists flee -

The UNP said that Sirisena must now call on Wickremesinghe to form a new government. UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa said: "For me, he is still the prime minister. Today, democracy prevailed."

In a chaotic session, 72-year-old Rajapakse and his legislator son Namal walked out of the red-carpeted chamber just before the speaker Karu Jayasuriya called for a vote.

Lawmakers loyal to Rajapakse attempted to grab the mace, the assembly's symbol of authority, to disrupt the vote, but the speaker pressed ahead.


AFP / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI Sri Lanka has been in crisis since the president sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (L)

"The ayes have it," the speaker announced. "I rule that this House does not have confidence in the government (of Rajapakse)."

Several Rajapakse ministers came out of parliament accusing the speaker of violating parliamentary norms by holding the crucial vote.

"He has no bloody business calling a vote," Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters.

However, shortly after the collapse of Rajapakse's administration, one of his ministers, Wasantha Senanayake switched to Wickremesinghe's side. Three other MPs from Rajapakse's side defected to the UNP just before the vote.

Sirisena sacked the legislature on Friday shortly after an admission that Rajapakse did not have a majority in the assembly.

Sirisena ordered a snap election on January 5, a move even the independent Elections Commission announced was unconstitutional and illegal.


AFP / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI Several Rajapakse ministers accused Sri Lanka's parliament speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, of violating parliamentary norms by holding the crucial no-confidence vote


A dozen petitions were filed in the Supreme Court which on Tuesday restored parliament and suspended the January 5 vote.

Parliament held its first session following the court ruling under tight security.

Thousands of armed police deployed along the key approach roads to parliament, which is located on a man-made lake island, with several anti-riot units on stand by.

Parliament officials had feared that supporters of Rajapakse's party might try to stop legislators getting to parliament, but those concerns proved unfounded.

As US retreats, China touts its trade deal wares to Asia

As US retreats, China touts its trade deal wares to Asia

source: AFP

AFP / Roslan RAHMAN During a meeting with Southeast Asia leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he was hopeful talks would "break through the ceiling" and take regional trade "to new heights"

China is touting itself as the new defender of global commerce as it works with Asia-Pacific leaders to hammer out the world's largest trade deal -- with the United States relegated to the sidelines.

World leaders gathered in Singapore this week for a summit where a massive Beijing-backed agreement covering half the world's population has dominated discussions.

Diplomats have been trying to nail down details as Beijing entices its neighbours to join a pact seen as an antidote to President Donald Trump's "America First" protectionist trade policy.

The US has imposed tariffs on roughly half of what it imports from China, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies.

China, Japan, India and other Asia-Pacific countries are expected to announce progress on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) later Wednesday.

Beijing had hoped to have the meat of the deal done by the end of this year, but the timetable has now slipped to 2019. However, this has not stopped Chinese leaders from basking in the progress already made.

During a meeting with Southeast Asia leaders, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he was hopeful talks would "break through the ceiling" and take regional trade "to new heights".

Trump is not at the summit, nor a subsequent gathering of world leaders in Papua New Guinea at the end of the week, having sent Vice President Mike Pence instead.

National Security Advisor John Bolton, however, told reporters in Singapore that the president's no-show should not be seen as a lack of commitment towards the region.

He blamed a "schedule crunch" after a particularly frenetic few weeks that included the midterm elections, attending the World War I armistice commemorations in France and preparing for the G20 in Argentina later this month.

- Rival trade pacts -

This week's meetings are the biggest in a series of annual gatherings organised by regional bloc the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), and are attended by 20 leaders.

RCEP was given extra impetus after Trump pulled the US out of the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

That deal was spearheaded by predecessor Barack Obama and aimed to bind fast-growing Asian powers into an American-backed order to counter China.

The TPP is still alive even without Washington -- and will come into effect in December -- but RCEP, if realised, will be the world's biggest trade deal.

However, the Beijing-backed pact is much less ambitious than the TPP in areas such as employment and environmental protection.

There are still major sticking points in RCEP talks -- with regional rival India particularly nervous about giving Chinese companies greater access to its markets, and wealthier nations wanting to see more progress on labour reforms.

Disagreements on intellectual property rights, goods tariffs and financial services are also on a long list of issues that still need to be concluded, according to a draft statement seen by AFP.

Firefighters battle blazes on two fronts in California, 50 dead

Firefighters battle blazes on two fronts in California, 50 dead
source: AFP


AFP / Josh Edelson A helicopter makes a water drop in the Feather River Canyon east of Paradise, California

Thousands of firefighters battled blazes in northern and southern California on Tuesday as body recovery teams searched the remains of houses and charred cars for victims of the deadliest wildfire in the history of the US state.

At least 50 deaths have been reported statewide so far from the late-season wildfires, and with hundreds of people unaccounted for, the toll is likely to rise.

Most of the fatalities have been caused by the so-called "Camp Fire" in and around the town of Paradise, population 26,000, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of the capital Sacramento.

"Today an additional six human remains were recovered, which brings the total to 48. All six of those remains were located in Paradise, and they were located within homes," Sheriff Kory Honea told a news conference.

Another two deaths have been reported from the "Woolsey Fire," north of Los Angeles.

Paradise, which is home to many retirees and has experienced an unusually dry fall, was virtually razed to the ground by the fast-moving "Camp Fire" blaze.

Residents have recounted harrowing tales of fleeing the fires on foot with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Others escaped by driving through tunnels of smoke and fire as flames licked at their vehicles on gridlocked roads dotted with abandoned cars.


 AFP / Robyn Beck Paramount Ranch, where the TV show "Westworld" was filmed, has been left in ruins by the "Woolsey Fire"


Melissa Schuster, a member of the Paradise town council, told ABC News that the entire town "is a toxic wasteland right now."

"We have teams -- you know, coroner teams -- that have to go house to house and vehicle to vehicle," Schuster told ABC.

- Hundreds of thousands flee -

The "Camp Fire," which erupted on Thursday, has ravaged 130,000 acres (50,600 hectares) of land and is 35 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.


 NASA Worldview/AFP / HO This NASA Earth Observatory handout image shows the "Camp Fire" in Paradise, California

Butte County, where the blaze is located, has seen less than an inch of rainfall in more than 30 weeks.

The "Camp Fire" has destroyed some 7,600 homes and 260 commercial properties. Battling the blaze are more than 5,600 fire personnel, some from as far away as Washington state and Texas.

The "Woolsey Fire," which also began on Thursday, has razed 97,114 acres (39,300 hectares) and has been 40 percent contained.

Cal Fire said more than 3,500 fire personnel were battling the "Woolsey Fire."


AFP / Josh Edelson Officers search for human remains at a burned residence in Paradise, California


"We're starting to get a handle on this fire," said Captain Brian McGrath of the Ventura County Fire Department in an online briefing. "I'm not feeling nearly the amount of wind and it's a little bit cooler this morning."

The "Woolsey Fire" has destroyed 435 structures including the 100-year-old Paramount Ranch where HBO's "Westworld" and other popular television shows and movies were filmed. Cal Fire says it is threatening another 57,000 structures.

The fires have forced a quarter of a million people to flee their homes and seven evacuation shelters have been set up in Butte County, three of which are already full, according to the authorities.

- Major disaster -

On Monday, President Donald Trump -- at the request of state authorities -- declared that a "major disaster" exists in California.


AFP / Josh Edelson A California license plate in a pile of ash at a burned residence in Paradise, California

The declaration provides for federal assistance to aid state firefighting and recovery efforts in the counties of Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles.

Trump had earlier earned the ire of state officials with a claim that "gross mismanagement" of forestry in the state was responsible for the damage.

The declaration provides for federal assistance to aid state firefighting and recovery efforts in the counties of Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles.


AFP / Sabrina BLANCHARD Forest fires in California since 1940


Trump had earlier earned the ire of state officials with a claim that "gross mismanagement" of forestry in the state was responsible for the damage.

California Governor Jerry Brown said he expects the fires could be worse in the years to come.

"Unfortunately, the best science is telling us that the dryness, warmth, drought, all those things, they're going to intensify," Brown said.

The "Woolsey Fire" on the southern end of the state has devoured mansions and mobile homes alike in the coastal town of Malibu.

Over the weekend, the "Woolsey Fire" engulfed parts of Thousand Oaks, where a Marine Corps veteran shot dead 12 people in a country music bar on Wednesday.

Among those who lost their homes was the pop star Miley Cyrus, who tweeted that her "house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends stand strong."

Ceasefire sets in after worst flare-up in years between Hamas, Israel

  source: AFP
Ceasefire sets in after worst flare-up in years between Hamas, Israel


AFP / MAHMUD HAMS Palestinians gather in Gaza City early on November 13, 2018, outside buildings damaged by overnight air strikes

Children in Israel's south were heading to school early Wednesday as an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took effect, putting an end to a brief yet intense flare-up with Gaza.

The truce, announced Tuesday by Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, came after nearly two days of heavy shelling from both sides that had threatened to descend into full-blown war.

Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas said they would abide by the ceasefire as long as Israel did the same.


AFP / MAHMUD HAMS A fireball rises over the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television building in Gaza City after an Israeli air strike on November 12, 2018 as a deadly flare-up of violence threatens a new war


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military did not comment, but the Home Front Command removed late Tuesday all limitations on southern residents, sending children back to school after two days in shelters.

Hardline Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said on Tuesday he did not support stopping the strikes, announced he will be making a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

The latest violence, which saw seven Gazans killed in 24 hours as the Israeli aerial bombardment flattened buildings and sent fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky, was the worst between Israel and Palestinian militants since a 2014 war.


AFP / Mahmud Hams Seven Gazans were killed in 24 hours as Israeli strikes flattened buildings and sent fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky

Sirens began sounding in southern Israel late Sunday, sending tens of thousands running for cover in shelters as around 460 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from Gaza, wounding 27 people, including three severely.

A Palestinian labourer from the occupied West Bank was killed when a rocket hit a building in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, Egypt called on Israel to cease its "military action" in Gaza.

"Egypt's efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy," the Gaza groups said.

- 'Restraint must be shown' -

The flare-up began on Sunday with a botched Israeli special forces operation inside the Gaza Strip that turned deadly and prompted Hamas to vow revenge.


AFP / Said KHATIB Missile defences intercepted more than 100 rockets from Gaza and most others fell in open areas, though some hit houses and other civilian structures


The clash that resulted from the blown covert operation killed seven Palestinian militants, including a local Hamas military commander, as well as an Israeli army officer.

Palestinian militants responded with rocket and mortar fire, as well as an anti-tank missile that hit a bus Hamas says was being used by Israeli soldiers. A soldier was severely wounded in the attack.

Schools were closed in Gaza and in southern Israel on Tuesday as the two sides warned each other they would respond forcefully to any further violence.


AFP / Sophie RAMIS The Gaza Strip

Egypt has negotiated ceasefires following previous flare-ups, while UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov has also been seeking a long-term truce in recent weeks.

After an Israeli security cabinet meeting that reportedly lasted some six hours on Tuesday, a statement was issued saying the ministers "instructed the (military) to continue its operations as necessary".

- 'Like an earthquake' -

Missile defences intercepted more than 100 rockets from Gaza and most others fell in open areas, though some hit houses and other civilian structures.

"Within two seconds (after air sirens) we heard a huge boom, we saw our curtains flying in the air, windows (broken), and only after a few minutes when we went out, we realised that the missile had hit the building next to us," one man who lives near a block of flats hit by a rocket in Ashkelon said on Tuesday.


AFP / Menahem KAHANA An Israeli soldier was severely wounded when a Palestinian anti-tank missile fired from Gaza hit the bus he was travelling in near the border on November 12, 2018


Israel hit back with major air strikes, with targets including Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV station and internal security headquarters in Gaza City.

The military said it struck some 160 targets in the enclave.

"What happened was like an earthquake," said Abu Ayman Lemzeni, who lives near the targeted TV building.

At least five of the dead in Gaza were claimed as members of various militant groups. Some 26 other people were wounded in the Palestinian territory, according to Gaza's health ministry.

- Three wars -

The escalation came despite Netanyahu's decision to allow Qatar to transfer millions of dollars in aid to Gaza for salaries as well as fuel to ease an electricity shortage.

The agreements had led to calmer protests along the Gaza border after months of deadly unrest.


 AFP / GIL COHEN-MAGEN A wounded Israeli woman is taken to hospital for treatment after a rocket fired from Gaza hit her flat in the southern town of Ashkelon on November 12, 2018


Sunday's special forces operation and resulting clash upset those efforts, leading to questions over the timing of the covert Israeli move.

Israel said it was an intelligence-gathering operation and that those efforts must continue to defend the country.

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, and protests and clashes along the Gaza border since March 30 have repeatedly raised fears of a fourth.

At least 234 Palestinians in Gaza have since been killed by Israeli fire, the majority during protests and clashes.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period.

Massive Job Recruitment for Engineers Graduate Trainee At Techno Oil Limited

Techno Oil Limited Recruitment for Engineers Graduate Trainee

Techno Oil Limited is an integrated, wholly indigenous company which today holds a diverse portfolio of prime investment in oil and gas, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Position: Engineer (Graduate Trainee)
Location: Lagos

Job Requirements

• Engineering Graduates from a recognised University with a minimum of Second Class Lower Division.
• Only graduates from Engineering Field.
• Must have completed the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
• Must not be more than 29 years by 31st December, 2018.

Method of Application
All qualified candidates should send their CV to: kelvin.kalu@technooil.com
Or
Drop your Applications at:
Techno Oil Place Head Office,
7b Prince Alaba Abiodun Oniru Road,
Victoria Island Annexe,
Lagos, Nigeria.

Trump: NY Times Story on Secret NK Missile Sites Is 'Fake News'

Trump: NY Times Story on Secret NK Missile Sites Is 'Fake News'

A New York Times report on secret missle bases in North Korea is inaccurate, President Donald Trump said.


By Jeffrey Rodack

President Donald Trump lashed out at The New York Times calling its report about North Korean secret missile bases “inaccurate.”


“The story in the New York Times concerning North Korea developing missile bases is inaccurate,” he posted on Twitter. “We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new - and nothing happening out of the normal. Just more Fake News. I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!”


The president’s remarks came more than 24 hours after the newspaper had published its story detailing how North Korea has been engaging in deception by offering to dismantle a launching site while it secretly makes improvements to 16 bases that would bolster launches of conventional and nuclear warheads.


 source: https://www.newsmax.com