Afghan Taliban not serious about peace, says government chief

Afghan Taliban not serious about peace, says government chief



Soccer Football – The Best FIFA Football Awards – Royal Festival Hall, London, Britain – September 24, 2018 Didier Drogba before the start of the awards Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley The Taliban in Afghanistan have not yet shown any sign they are serious about ending their 17-year insurgency despite US efforts to push a fresh peace process, the country’s de facto prime minister told AFP.

Abdullah Abdullah, who serves as “chief executive” of the unity government in Kabul, struck a far more sceptical tone about the prospects of a deal than his political rival, President Ashraf Ghani, and his Western counterparts.

Ghani said earlier this month it was “not a question of if, but when” an agreement would be reached with the Taliban, while the US envoy to the country even raised the possibility of a breakthrough before presidential elections in April.

“Recently there are renewed efforts in terms of the international community and especially the US,” Abdullah told AFP during a wide-ranging interview in Paris that also covered his own political ambitions.

“We are not judging it too prematurely, but I would say that our experience as of now has been that they (the Taliban) have not shown any intention to get seriously engaged in the peace negotiations,” he added.

The comment on Wednesday came after the latest atrocity targeting civilians in Kabul when a bomber killed 55 people at a banquet hall at a ceremony to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.

Abdullah, a political veteran of the fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s and Taliban rule in the 90s, called it “beyond comprehension.”

Beleaguered Afghan security forces are also suffering an unprecedented level of casualties across the country where the Taliban and the Islamic State group are stepping up attacks.

Presidential candidate?
Returning to Kabul on Thursday after a three-day trip to France, Abdullah said he expected to be briefed fully about the latest round of talks between US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban, which are believed to have taken place in Qatar last week.

Whatever the outcome, he argued that Afghanistan should hold its presidential election as scheduled next April despite a recent upsurge in violence and suggestions from some that it should be delayed.

“My idea is to stick to the timing, make it work, because it’s part of the system and legitimacy of the system depends on the elections,” he said. “At the same time, continue the efforts on peace with full vigour.”

He downplayed any suggestion of a pre-election breakthrough with the Taliban.

“It will be very surprising if that happens, but should it happen … that would be welcomed by the people of Afghanistan,” he added.

Abdullah has kept up suspense about his own political ambitions after twice running for president in 2009 and 2014 in campaigns that ended bitterly amid accusations of fraud.

After being beaten in 2014 by Ghani, Abdullah agreed to become prime minister of the unity government in a US-brokered deal — but the rivalry between the two men continues.

“I will actively be involved one way or another, but I have not made that final decision,” Abdullah said when asked if he would run in 2019.

Fraud Fears
Looking ahead to next April’s vote, Abdullah was candid about the lack of progress made in correcting the weaknesses in Afghanistan’s fraud-plagued electoral system.

He said he was “disappointed” by parliamentary elections in October, which were marred by a shambolic rollout of new biometric polling technology and missing or incomplete voter lists.

“Our expectations for the parliamentary elections and the conduct of them was much higher, and the people’s expectations were much higher,” he said.

There were thousands of complaints lodged against the Independent Electoral Commission, although four million voters did defy the security worries to turn out and cast a ballot.

The unity government had pledged to tackle problems that have repeatedly undermined faith in Afghan elections since the US-led invasion in 2001 overthrew the Taliban government in Kabul.

But Abdullah suggested that these efforts, like in other areas, have been hit by the fractious nature of decision-making in the multi-party government.

“It was the commitment of the unity government in 2014… that we will start implementing reforms. We started very late. Why did we do that?” he asked.

Abdullah’s defeats in 2009 and then again in 2014 — when he won the first round but slumped to a surprise defeat in the second — led to political crises which threatened to unravel the country’s fragile political system.

Should observers fear another tainted poll?

“There were a lot of lessons from the parliamentary elections. Should we and other relevant institutions deal with them thoroughly and seriously we can have and we should have better elections than in 2014,” he said. Source:

https://guardian.ng/news/afghan-taliban-not-serious-about-peace-says-government-chief/

What Senate President Bukola Saraki Said Over Death Of Offa Prime Suspect

What Senate President Bukola Saraki Said Over Death Of Offa Prime Suspect


Michael Adikwu

Senate President Bukola Saraki has called for the probe of the death of the leader of the gang that robbed five banks and killed 32 people in Offa on April 5.

Michael Adikwu, who is alleged to be a political thug of Saraki is reported by the police to have died and could not be arraigned along with four other suspects.

Adikwu who had confessed to the robbery was also explicitly captured by the CCTV cameras installed in one of the banks during the robbery.

Saraki in a statement signed on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, urged the Presidency to institute a judicial inquiry into how and when the principal suspect died in police custody.

“Following eventual disclosure by the Police that Michael Adikwu, the principal suspect in the deadly bank robbery attacks in Offa, Kwara State, on April 5, 2018, is dead, the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has called on the Presidency to institute a judicial inquiry into the ‘how and when’ the suspect died.”

The Senate President added that the new disclosure by the police has vindicated his earlier claim that the suspect had been murdered in police custody and that the investigation was politically motivated to implicate him, Governor Abdul-Fatai Ahmed and a few others.

“It should be recalled that when we mentioned it that the principal suspect had been murdered and that investigation into the Offa robbery attack was politically motivated and targeted at implicating me and other individuals, the Police Public Relations Officer, Moshood Jimoh said: ‘Michael Adikwu is in Police custody.

“You know that he is the one that led the killing of 22 people. The firearms that were carted away, he is helping the police in the investigation to recover them. There is a state in the South-west where they kept him. I can’t mention the state. It is in one of the South-west states’.

“The fresh facts have now thrown more light into why there had been inconsistencies in the various statements by the police. The Police initially told the Attorney-General of Kwara State that the principal suspect was alive and they only later reluctantly disclosed that he died in the course of the arrest.

“How can a suspect confirmed to be in custody now be said to have died in the course of arrest? This contradiction shows a deliberate attempt to cover up something,” he said.

Saraki added that an inquiry into the death would help to thoroughly examine and interrogate how the investigation into the robbery incident was conducted by the police and whether the investigation followed the normal process and complied with global best practices.

Saraki had been invited by the police to throw more light on the allegation from the confession made by some of the suspects.

The robbery suspects alleged that they were associates of Saraki and Governor of Kwara state.

Saraki had made a statement to the police, in respect of the investigation into the multiple robberies in Offa on 5 April.

The police said Senate President “made cautionary statement to the Police Investigation Team investigating the case of Offa bank robbery that occurred on 5th April, 2018”.

The Inspector General of Police had invited Saraki to report to the Head of investigation team, of the Intelligence Response Team ( IRT) on July 24 at 8 a.m. in Guzape, Abuja. But Saraki ignored the invitation until Thursday 26 July.

The police had on 4 June asked for Saraki’s reaction to the statement made by some of the suspects arrested in connection to the most deadly robbery in the history of Nigeria. Saraki wrote a statement dated 7 June.

Idris ruled the statement inadequate.

“After a careful perusal of your letter to the Police, it was discovered that the statement requires further clarification and coupled with the fact that you stated that the full text of the statements of the suspects were not shown to you, it is imperative you report to the Police to make further statements after giving you the full text of the statements of the suspects.

“It is in line with the above that you are requested to report to the head of the Investigation Team at the Intelligence Response Team at Guzape Junction, Asokoro Extension, Abuja on 24th of July, 2018 at 8am for further investigation on the matter.”

In a response, Saraki described the invitation as a mere afterthought which is designed to achieve political purpose.

“The Police have obviously corrupted and politicized their investigations into the Offa robbery incident. They have turned it into an instrument for the party in power to suppress perceived opponents, witch-hunt issue for blackmailing people from freely choosing which platform on which they want to pursue their ambition and a matter for harassing the people whose exit from APC would harm the chances of the party in the forthcoming elections.

” I want to make it apparent that I have no hand in either the robbery incident or any criminal acitivity. The Police in their haste to embarrass me sent the invitation to me at 8pm and requested that I report to the station by 8am tomorrow morning. This obviously demonstrated their desperation as I do not see why they are now in a hurry.”, Saraki said.

The invitation was later to be mired in controversy as a report by the Ministry of Justice was leaked to the media. The report by the Office of Federal Prosecutor said the Police had no evidence to hang any charge on Saraki, in connection with the robberies in which 31 people were killed same day.

The police clarified the position of the federal prosecutor, Samuel Ogundipe:

“It is incumbent on the Force to educate the writer of the story that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Federation in the legal advice did not restrain or restrict the Force from investigating further, the indictments against the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfattah Ahmed by the principal suspects arrested in connection with the Offa bank robbery of 5th April, 2018.

“The DPP advice did not exonerate the Senate President, it only called for further investigations into the matter

“It is in the course of further investigations into the case that a letter of invitation dated 23rd July, 2018 was sent to the Senate President to appear on 24th July, 2018 at 8.00am before the Investigation Team at Intelligence Response Team office, Guzape Junction, Abuja.

” Consequently, the Force is hereby re-affirming that the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki has case to answer by virtue of the facts that the statements submitted by the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki earlier to the Investigation Team was not explicit and detailed enough, and was discovered to require further clarifications and interrogation, and coupled with the fact the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki in his statement, claimed that the full text of the statement of the suspects who indicted him in their confessional statements to the Police was not shown to him. It is therefore, imperative for the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki to report to the Police to make further statement after sighting the full text of the statement of the suspects”.

Some elders in Kwara had also called on Saraki, to allow the police do their investigations into robbery.

The elders also want diligent prosecution of everyone mention in the case as “this is not the first time a top politician would be accused, investigated and found culpable of aiding and abetting crimes”.

They referred to the case of Bacita robbery of 1971 in which the suspects implicated S.T Oredehin. After police investigation, Oredehin was tried alongside the robbery suspects by a court of competent jurisdiction, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.”

The Kwara elders, under the auspices of Kwara Elders’ Unity Forum, also called on the Inspector General of Police to carry out thorough investigation into case so that justice will be done on the matter.

Dr. Saliu Ajia, Chief Isiaka Jimoh and Mr. Adebayo Daramola, all representing Kwara Central, North and South Senatorial districts respectively, made the call in a statement on Friday.

The elders said that revelations and political colourations being given to the confessions of the arrested suspects showed that “the lives of Kwara people are in danger and must be protected”.

-NAN Source:

https://www.tori.ng/news/111312/what-senate-president-bukola-saraki-said-over-deat.html

EPL, Champions League: Xavi predicts Manchester City’s season under Guardiola

EPL, Champions League: Xavi predicts Manchester City’s season under Guardiola




Barcelona legend, Xavi has predicted that manager, Pep Guardiola, will achieve at Manchester City what he did at Barcelona.

Xavi, who played under Guardiola during their time at the Camp Nou, believes that the former Bayern Munich manager will be successful at the Eithad this season.

According to him, Guardiola can win the Champions League trophy and also the Premier League title this term.

Guardiola’s side currently top the Premier League table with 32 points from 12 games and Xavi is expecting the 47-year-old to do well with the Premier League champions.

“Pep will only improve Manchester City,” Express UK quoted Xavi as saying ahead of Man City’s Premier League clash with West Ham this weekend.

“He’s always looking to improve, always looking to better the team.

“The next target will be the Champions League and under him I think they will do it. He built something at Barcelona that will always be remembered in football history – he can do the same in Manchester.”

Xavi added: “In football it’s not just what you achieve but how you achieve it.

“Manchester City are playing great football and I can guarantee that the players will be enjoying training sessions as well as the games.” Source:

http://dailypost.ng/2018/11/22/epl-champions-league-xavi-predicts-manchester-citys-season-guardiola/

Rivers APC crisis: What Amaechi did to me in presence of my wife – Senator Abe

Rivers APC crisis: What Amaechi did to me in presence of my wife – Senator Abe


Governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, has revealed how the leader of the party in the state, Chubuike Amaechi, humiliated him in the presence of his (Abe’s) wife.

Abe, who represents Rivers South East constituency at the Senate, said Amaechi, humiliated him by telling him not to contest for Rivers governor in the presence of his wife.

The lawmaker told the Interview magazine that Amechi’s actions may hurt the party badly in the forthcoming elections.

Abe said the Minister of Transportion and Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, was running a one-man show in the state’s politics.

“My grievances with the transportation minister has nothing to do with him supporting me or not. I have told him clearly that he is free to support who he wants.

“My disagreement with him is that he said I should not run, and I said I would run,” he stated.

“To come to my house, call me in front of my wife and tell me not to try contesting was the height of it. I said no, I would not accept, I would contest,” he added. Source:

http://dailypost.ng/2018/11/22/rivers-apc-crisis-amaechi-presence-wife-senator-abe/

Jonathan raises alarm over fake version of book

Jonathan raises alarm over fake version of book

 
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has raised the alarm over a fake online version of his book, “My Transition Hours’’ which he launched to mark his 61st birthday on Tuesday.

My Transition Hours, Goodluck Jonathan’s book 

In a tweet on Thursday, Jonathan said: “We have just been informed that a fake document contrived by mischief makers is being passed on as the e-version and hard copy of the just launched ‘#MyTransitionHours’’’.

“ Also, note that the e-copy of #MyTransitionHours ’is not being marketed, as such, the fake online version could only have been created by those out to deceive the unsuspecting public.


 Original and fake “My Transition Hours” Goodluck Jonathan’s book

“ We advise the general public to ignore such publication as the chapters and contents are not the same as the book publicly presented two days ago in Abuja. #MyTransitionHours,’’ Jonathan further tweeted.

As the cover of the book displayed to differentiate the true from the false version, he further threw more light on the difference.

Jonathan in his book accused ex-President Barack Obama of U.S of pushing for his defeat in the 2015 Presidential election.

Jonathan said Obama took unusual step by “prodding the electorate to vote for the opposition” in the election.

“On March 23, 2015, President Obama himself took the unusual step of releasing a video message directly to Nigerians all but telling them how to vote,” Mr Jonathan wrote.

“In that video, Obama urged Nigerians to open the “next chapter” by their votes. Those who understood subliminal language deciphered that he was prodding the electorate to vote for the opposition to form a new government.”

Jonathan said that the message undermined Nigerians and smacked of hypocrisy.

“The message was so condescending, it was as if Nigerians did not know what to do and needed an Obama to direct them,” he said.

The former Nigerian leader added that although Obama, in his message, said “all Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear,” his government was vehemently and publicly against the postponement of the elections to enable the military defeat Boko Haram and prevent them from intimidating voters.

“This was the height of hypocrisy!” Jonathan declared.

Jonathan’s grouse with Obama went beyond the video. He narrated in the book that the actions of the then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, especially his visit to Nigeria after the elections were rescheduled from February 2015 to March belied a plot to humiliate him.

This, he explained, was because even though the decision to postpone the elections was taken by INEC after a meeting of the Council of State, Kerry refused to accept that it was in the interest of the country and the electorate.

“In fact, John Kerry did not accept our reasons for the rescheduling.

“How can the U.S. Secretary of State know what is more important for Nigeria than Nigeria’s own government?

“How could they have expected us to conduct elections when Boko Haram controlled part of the North East and was killing and maiming Nigerians? Not even the assurance of the sanctity of May 29, 2015 handover date could calm them down. In Nigeria, the Constitution is very clear. No President can extend his tenure by one day.”

Despite the criticism that followed the decision to reschedule the election, Jonathan insisted that the decision was the right one and it paid off.

“Anyhow, the six weeks served us well. We received the military equipment we were expecting within that period and our Armed Forces commendably dealt a deserving blow on the terrorists and repossessed all territorial areas of Nigeria previously occupied by the terrorists. Boko Haram was deflated up to the point I handed over to my successor on May 29, 2015.

“We conducted the elections peacefully, even if there were issues raised about its fairness. At least, the nation was relieved that the election held peacefully and that there was no post-election violence.”

“The decision and announcement to postpone the elections were eventually made by the only body which could do so under the Constitution. I should talk briefly about the INEC here because of the insinuations that my administration muscled INEC to make the pronouncement. Of course, nothing could be farther from the truth as people came to realise.

“Yes, the posture of INEC could appear edgy, but it knew it was not ready and that the election was too important to mess up.

“The PVC shortage was everywhere. The lopsided collection of PVC caused an uproar that grew into a national din. The suspected housing of PVCs in the custody of non-INEC personnel was an issue.

There were also issues with card readers. All of these happening despite years of preparation and substantial funds made available. It was all building up to a perfect storm, but those were INEC’s problems which we were willing to help resolve.

“Even then, the security of our country was our job and the military advised as they deemed fit. Before the election was eventually rescheduled by INEC, I summoned all the Service Chiefs, the NSA, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Director General of State Security (DG DSS), among others to get further information.

“Then I called a meeting of the Council of State and requested the heads of security services and the INEC chairman to attend. These were not apolitical, but at least they could rise above politics and represent the interest of the entire country.

“At the end of deliberations, it was agreed that the elections should be postponed for six weeks in order to create a safer environment for voters and officials on Election Day.

“Let me add that the Council of State comprises all former Presidents and Heads of State, all former chief justices of the federation, and all 36 serving State Governors who are from different political parties.

“The INEC was then directed to hold meetings with political parties while the NSA was to brief them on the security angle to the rescheduling.

“The vote in favour of the rescheduling was overwhelming. INEC thereafter announced the rescheduling of the election to the nation.

“I must add that beyond security concerns, one finds it difficult to understand how INEC or the political parties would want elections held at a time when more than 30% of the Nigerian electorate where yet to get their PVCs. This would have disenfranchised a significant portion of the electorate.

“The foreign pressure on the issue of election rescheduling was intense. They maintained the curious posture of one who had been deceived before and therefore had every reason to cede no credence to our position. But there was no reason to have such a posture.

“The United States and the United Kingdom were especially agitated. David Cameron, then the U.K. Prime Minister, called to express his concern about the election rescheduling, just as John Kerry came from the United States to express further worry. It was at best unusual and sobering. In fact, John Kerry did not accept our reasons for the rescheduling.

“It was unbelievable because at the back of our minds we knew why the agitation was beyond what meets the eye. There were deeper political interests.

“In attendance at the meeting of the Council of State where the decision to reschedule the election was taken were almost all the living former Heads of State of this country.

“That should have convinced John Kerry of the good intentions of the government. He cannot claim to love and defend Nigeria more than all our former heads of state present at the meeting. I have stated earlier how Kerry’s visit was designed to humiliate a sitting Nigerian President and clearly take sides in the country’s election.

“Anyhow, the six weeks served us well. We received the military equipment we were expecting within that period and our Armed Forces commendably dealt a deserving blow on the terrorists and repossessed all territorial areas of Nigeria previously occupied by the terrorists. Boko Haram was deflated up to the point I handed over to my successor on May 29, 2015.

“We conducted the elections peacefully, even if there were issues raised about its fairness. At least, the nation was relieved that the election held peacefully and that there was no post-election violence,” Jonathan stated in his book. Source:

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/11/jonathan-raises-alarm-over-fake-version-of-book/

Experts cast doubt on upcoming Bahrain elections

Experts cast doubt on upcoming Bahrain elections




(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 21, 2017 Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa takes part in a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump at a hotel in Riyadh. – As Bahrainis head to the polls on November 24, 2018, the validity of this year’s parliamentary elections has been brought into question after members of the dissolved opposition were banned from running. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) Bahrainis head to the polls Saturday, but experts have questioned the value of a parliamentary election in which dissolved opposition groups have been banned from taking part.

The country’s two main opposition groups, the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular Waad, were barred from fielding candidates, prompting renewed calls for a boycott.

The tiny Gulf kingdom has been hit by ongoing unrest since 2011, when security forces crushed Shiite-led protests demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.

The Sunni-ruled country of around 1.4 million people has a majority Shiite population, according to unofficial estimates contested by the government.

Neil Partrick, a specialist in Gulf Arab politics, said Bahrain’s elections “have lost all practical and political meaning” since the 2010 boycott by Al-Wefaq — the main movement representing the country’s Shiite population.

“The subsequent outlawing of Al-Wefaq, and of the relatively liberal, cross-sect, Waad trend, has merely underlined the meaninglessness of Bahraini elections,” he told AFP.

“Elections can still serve as a prestige vehicle for individuals seeking to present themselves as representative of the wider national community, however they have no political or practical substance regardless of whether boycotts are called for or adhered to.”

Opposition leader imprisoned
Opposition parties shunned the last elections in 2014, the first since the 2011 crackdown, denouncing the vote as a “farce”.

A court banned Al-Wefaq in 2016 for “harbouring terrorism”, inciting violence and encouraging demonstrations which threatened to spark sectarian strife.

Bahrain, a key ally of the United States and home to the US Fifth Fleet, regularly accuses Shiite Iran of provoking unrest in the kingdom, which Tehran denies.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said in a statement Wednesday that authorities had “taken all required steps” to make sure the vote passes off safely.

King Hamad in September urged voters to take part in the vote, in which officials say 293 people are running for parliament.

A municipal poll coincides with the parliamentary vote.

Since 2011, authorities have imprisoned hundreds of dissidents — including top Shiite opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, who headed Al-Wefaq — and stripped many of their nationality.

Salman was sentenced to life in prison on November 4 for spying for rival Gulf state Qatar, in a ruling rights groups have called a travesty.

Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, severed ties with Qatar in 2017, banning their citizens from visiting or communicating with the emirate over its alleged ties to both Iran and radical Islamist groups.

Boycott calls
At least six people were detained and charged this month for “obstructing the electoral process”, according to statements released by Bahrain’s public prosecutor.

One of the six was Ali Rashed al-Asheeri, a former member of parliament with Al-Wefaq, according to the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy.

Asheeri had tweeted that he and his family would boycott the polls.

Al-Wefaq called for a boycott of this year’s parliamentary poll after a law issued in June barred “leaders and members of political associations dissolved for violating the kingdom’s constitution or its laws” from standing.

The 40-seat lower house has the authority to examine and pass legislation proposed by the king or cabinet.

However, the upper chamber, or Consultative Council, appointed by the king, has the power to block legislation passed by the lower house.

Jane Kinninmont, an analyst specialising in Gulf politics, said many citizens will either boycott or “simply not bother to vote” in this year’s elections.

“The elections will not change much as almost all the opposition parties are now banned and their leaders in jail,” she told AFP. Source:

https://guardian.ng/news/experts-cast-doubt-on-upcoming-bahrain-elections/

Jonathan denies being pressed by Okonjo-Iweala to reject 2015 results

Jonathan denies being pressed by Okonjo-Iweala to reject 2015 results




Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe (left); former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon; Ghana ex-President, John Mahama; his counterparts, Goodluck Jonathan (Nigeria); Boni Yayi (Benin Republic) and Ernest Bai Koroma (Sierra Leone) at the presentation and formal launch of a book, My Transition Hours’by Jonathan in Abuja… PHOTO: PHILIP OJISUA

Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan has denied claims in a media report that he was pressed by then finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and other former appointees to reject the 2015 presidential election results.

According to the story published in The Nation, “Jonathan said he rebuffed the advice by the then Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister Mohammed Bello Adoke; Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka, who was a compere at the book launch; and his Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Warpamowei Dudafa.”

In the book, Jonathan wrote, “They were recommending sundry alternatives, but I was quiet in the midst of their discussions. I hugged my thought, figuring out how to do that which was best for the country. My personal interest was receding rapidly and the interest of Nigeria looming large. I excused myself and left the conference.”

He added, “I walked into my study. Even there, my mantra was a strong circle around me, supporting and comforting me. Let the country survive. Let democracy survive. My political ambition is not worth people being…”

However, the former president said his statement in the book was misinterpreted in the media report.

“Our attention has been drawn to a story in the Nation newspaper titled ‘Jonathan: I was pressed to reject 2015 election result’ which erroneously claimed that some identified former aides and ministers of ex-President Jonathan advised him “not to accept defeat,” president Jonathan’s media aide Ikechukwu Eze said in a statement.

“This is obviously a gross misrepresentation of what was stated in the book which one wouldn’t ordinarily expect to read in a credible paper like The Nation.”

Eze explained that “President Jonathan had maintained that he never consulted anybody over the decision to call and congratulate his opponent while the results of the 2015 Presidential election was still being tallied.”

He stated that “the decision to concede defeat was one he took without any compelling, the former President is however grateful to those who were with him at that moment and many other Nigerians that shared in his conviction to put across the historic phone call (to then president-elect Muhammadu Buhari).

The former president’s spokesman, however, urged journalists to “keep their interpretative reporting within the limits of credible and constructive imagination.” Source:

https://guardian.ng/news/jonathan-denies-being-pressed-by-okonjo-iweala-to-reject-2015-results/

Buhari, Atiku, others scheduled for presidential debate on December 14

Buhari, Atiku, others scheduled for presidential debate on December 14

…Osinbajo, Obi, others scheduled for January 19

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

The Nigerian Election Debate Group has fixed December 14, 2018 for a debate for presidential candidates of different political parties taking part in the 2019 elections.


The vice presidential candidates are billed to have their debate on January 19, 2019.

The group’s chairman, Mr. John Momoh, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

Momoh who is also the chairman of the Broadcasting Organisation added that the debates will hold at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja and will be broadcast live by all BON members.


President Muhammadu Buhari is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as his running mate.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar with Mr. Peter Obi as his running mate.

Details later…


source: punchng.com

Nissan board meets to oust fallen tycoon Ghosn as chairman

Nissan board meets to oust fallen tycoon Ghosn as chairman



AFP/File / Yoshikazu TSUNO Carlos Ghosn once dominated Nissan

Top executives from crisis-hit Japanese car giant Nissan gathered to sack Carlos Ghosn as chairman Thursday, after his spectacular arrest for financial misconduct stunned the car industry and the business world.

Ghosn stands accused of under-reporting his income by millions of dollars, along with a host of other financial irregularities, in a stunning fall from grace for the once-revered titan of the auto sector.

The 64-year-old Brazil-born tycoon is credited with turning around the Japanese brand and forged an alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors that last year sold 10.6 million cars between them -- more than any other firm in the world.

Ghosn's fate appears all but sealed after his hand-picked replacement as CEO, Hiroto Saikawa, launched an astonishing broadside at his mentor following his arrest Monday at a Tokyo airport as he landed in his private jet.

Saikawa said "too much authority" had been placed in the chairman's hands and lamented the "dark side of the Ghosn era", as he called the board meeting to fire him.


AFP / Jonathan WALTER The crisis appeared to be going from bad to worse for Nissan, as the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that prosecutors believe the firm also had a case to answer. Both Nissan and the authorities declined to comment


The meeting started around 0700 GMT with seven board members voting on the motion to dismiss Ghosn, which needs a simple majority to pass.

Insiders say Saikawa would likely not have suggested the ouster unless he were sure of support from his fellow board members.

"This would not have been proposed if there had been any doubt and the results of the investigations have already been presented to the board members," a source close to the company told AFP.

Appointing a new chairman will take some time as it has to be approved by shareholders, but Saikawa is seen as front-runner.

Even if removed as chairman, Ghosn will technically remain on the board as a shareholders' meeting is required to oust him.

- 'Huge sums' -

Ghosn is being held in a Tokyo detention centre and has not been seen in public nor made any comments since his arrest.


 AFP / Toshifumi KITAMURA Ghosn is being held in spartan conditions at a Tokyo detention centre

He received a visit from Brazilian consul Joao de Mendonca on Thursday, who told AFP that Ghosn "sounded very well, in good health".

On Wednesday, prosecutors successfully applied to extend his custody for an additional 10 days as they step up their questioning.

Authorities believe Ghosn and an American executive Greg Kelly "conspired to understate Ghosn's income five times between June 2011 to June 2015", reporting a total of five billion yen ($44 million) instead of the actual 10 billion yen.

Deputy chief prosecutor Shin Kukimoto said that the type of crime Ghosn is accused of is "one of the most serious types of crime" under Japan's Financial Instruments Act.

Under the law, companies themselves can also be held accountable for the falsified documents, Kukimoto said, following reports that prosecutors believe Nissan also has a case to answer.

Kukimoto said Ghosn faces a fine of 10 million yen and/or 10 years behind bars if convicted.

Public broadcaster NHK said Nissan had paid "huge sums" to provide Ghosn with luxury homes in Rio de Janeiro, Beirut, Paris and Amsterdam "without any legitimate business reason".

Ghosn had a reputation as a hard-nosed workaholic with no qualms about closing factories and slashing jobs -- earning the nickname "Le Cost Killer" in France, where 47,000 people work for Renault.


AFP / Toshifumi KITAMURA Japanese authorities have extended Ghosn's detention by 10 days, media reported Wednesday


But his exorbitant salary and flashy lifestyle -- at odds with Japanese corporate culture -- drew fire and his current accommodation will be a far cry from his usual expensive surroundings.

He is thought to be alone in his detention cell in northern Tokyo, with 30 minutes of daily exercise and two baths a week.

- 'Couple divorcing' -

The arrest has sparked questions over whether the alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors can survive without Ghosn, seen as the glue holding together his fractious creation, which globally employs around 450,000 people.

According to the Financial Times, the fall from grace came as Ghosn was working on a full-blown merger of Nissan and Renault.

This was opposed by executives in the Japanese firm that has ended up being the most profitable player in the partnership and the FT said Ghosn's departure could be used as a pretext to rebalance the alliance in Nissan's favour.

Renault has held off jettisoning Ghosn, pointedly saying Nissan had failed to share the evidence it had gathered with its sister company.

Governments in Paris and Tokyo have been scrambling to contain the fallout from the arrest, with President Emmanuel Macron saying France would be "extremely vigilant" about the stability of Renault and the alliance.

Analysts said that despite clear tensions between the two firms headquartered 10,000 kilometres apart, neither company has the financial might alone to make the heavy investments in electric vehicles considered to be the industry's future.

"It would be like a couple divorcing after 20 years -- it would be complicated, very expensive and not easy to do," said Gaetan Toulemonde, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.

"Honestly, I don't know if it's even possible."

burs-ric/hg

source: AFP

Greenhouse gas levels in atmosphere hit new high: UN

Greenhouse gas levels in atmosphere hit new high: UN
source: AFP



GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File / MARK WILSON 'The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3-5 million years ago,' World Meteorological Organization chief Petteri Taalas said

The levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the main driver of climate change, have hit a new record high, the UN said Thursday, warning that the time to act was running out.

Ahead of the COP 24 climate summit in Poland next month, top United Nations officials are again trying to raise the pressure on governments to meet the pledge of limiting warming to the less than two degrees Celsius, enshrined in the 2015 Paris accord.

"Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth," the head of the World Meteorological Organization Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

"The window of opportunity for action is almost closed."

The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, the UN weather agency's annual flagship report, tracks the content of dangerous gases in the atmosphere since 1750.

This year's report, which covers data for 2017, puts the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere at 405.5 parts per million (ppm).

That is up from 403.3 ppm in 2016 and 400.1 ppm in 2015.


AFP / Simon MALFATTO, Paz PIZARRO Record levels of greenhouse gases in 2017


"The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3-5 million years ago, when the temperature was 2-3°C warmer," Taalas said.

Researchers have reliable estimates of C02 concentrations rates going back 800,000 years using air bubbles preserved in ice in Greenland and Antarctica.

But by studying fossilised material the WMO also has rough CO2 estimates going back up to five million years.

In addition to CO2, the UN agency also highlighted rising levels of methane, nitrous oxide and another powerful ozone depleting gas known as CFC-11.

- 'No magic wand' -

Emissions are the main factor that determines the amount of greenhouse gas levels, but concentration rates are a measure of what remains after a series of complex interactions between atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere and the oceans.

Roughly 25 percent of all emissions are currently absorbed by the oceans and biosphere -- a term that accounts for all ecosystems on Earth.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that in order to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, net CO2 emissions must be at net zero, meaning the amount being pumped into the atmosphere must equal the amount being removed, either though natural absorbtion or technological innovation.

WMO's deputy chief, Elena Manaenkova, noted that CO2 remains in the atmosphere and oceans for hundreds of years.

"There is currently no magic wand to remove all the excess CO2 from the atmosphere," she said.

"Every fraction of a degree of global warming matters, and so does every part per million of greenhouse gases," she said.

According to the UN, 17 of the 18 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001, while the cost of climate-related disasters in 2017 topped $500 billion (439 billion euros).

US troops limited to batons on Mexico border

US troops limited to batons on Mexico border
source: AFP
https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/us-troops-limited-batons-mexico-border-doc-1b08382

AFP / Thomas WATKINS Soldiers from the Kentucky-based 19th Engineer Battalion have installed barbed and concertina wire in Laredo, Texas

US troops stationed on the border with Mexico ahead of the expected arrival of a Central American migrant caravans can intervene to quell violence but will be armed only with batons, Defense Minister Jim Mattis said on Wednesday.

The White House has given almost 5,800 troops posted along the frontier guidance that they can come to the aid of any Customs and Border Protection agents who come under attack, Mattis told reporters.

But even if migrants try to force their way through border posts, they will likely be met by military police with shields and batons, with "no armed element going in," he added.

In all, some 8,000 migrants are currently crossing Mexico in several caravans, according to the Mexican interior ministry.

They are mostly fleeing poverty and unrest in Central America's "Northern Triangle" -- El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, where brutal gang violence has fueled some of the highest murder rates in the world.

President Donald Trump ordered troops to the border in a move critics decried as a costly political stunt to galvanize supporters ahead of hard-fought midterm elections earlier this month.

Trump declared the exodus a "national emergency" and an "invasion" -- suggesting US troops could shoot migrants if they threw stones at the US border -- but he has since been less vocal on the issue.

The US military is not allowed in almost any case to get involved in domestic law enforcement and the border mission has put the supposedly non-political military in an uncomfortable spotlight.

Mattis said he had taken no decision on the duration of the deployment, initially expected until December 15, because that would depend on HOW the mission developed, he said.

The estimated cost is currently $72 million but "I am confident that number will go up," the Pentagon chief said.

African great Drogba retires from football

News

African great Drogba retires from football



GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File / Christian Petersen Drogba spent the last four years of his career playing in North America

Ivory Coast and Chelsea great Didier Drogba announced his retirement on Wednesday after a 20-year career.

The 40-year-old scored 164 goals in 381 appearances for Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2012 Champions League, while he is also Ivory Coast's all-time record goalscorer with 65.

Drogba most recently played for Phoenix Rising in the United Soccer League.

"I wanna thank all the players, managers, teams and fans that I have met and made this journey one of a kind," he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

"If anyone tells you your dreams are too big, just say thank you and work harder and smarter to turn them into a reality."

Drogba played club football in six different countries in total, with the majority of his success coming in France and England.

He won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2006-07 and 2009-10, netting 104 times in the English top flight in total, and also scored a dramatic late equaliser when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties in the Champions League final six years ago.

Drogba's last game was Phoenix's 1-0 loss to Louisville City in the USL Cup final on November 8.

source: AFP

Silent plane with no moving parts makes 'historic' flight

Silent plane with no moving parts makes 'historic' flight



 AFP / Simon MALFATTO A plane powered by supercharged air particles

The blue glowing jets of science fiction spacecraft came a step closer to reality on Wednesday as US physicists unveiled the world's first solid-state aeroplane powered in flight by supercharged air molecules.

More than a century on from the Wright brothers' first artificial flight, scientists hailed the "historic" test of the new technology, which could eventually slash greenhouse-gas emissions from aviation.

Ever since Orville and Wilbur Wright's momentous glide in the winter of 1903, aircraft have been driven by propellers or jets that must burn fuel to create the thrust and lift needed for sustained flight.

A team of experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology managed to unlock a process known as electroaerodynamics, previously never seen as a plausible way to power an aircraft.

They were able to fly the new plane, with a wingspan of five metres (16 feet), a distance of 55 metres at a speed of 4.8 metres-per-second.

That's hardly supersonic, but the implications of this unprecedented mode of flight could be stratospheric.

"The future of flight shouldn't be things like propellers and turbines," said Steven Barrett, who designed the prototype.

"It should be more like what you see in Star Trek with a kind of blue glow and something that silently glides through the air."

At first glance, the plane itself doesn't look lightyears away from other renewable aircraft, such as the Solar Impact II craft that in 2015-16 used energy from the Sun to fly around the world.

Unlike Solar Impact, Barrett's plane doesn't have any propellers or solar panels -- or any moveable parts whatsoever.

Instead of engines, it is powered by a system comprising two main sections.

At the front of the plane sit a series of parallel electrodes made up of lightweight wires that produce an enormous voltage -- +20,000v -- supercharging the air around it and splitting away negatively charged nitrogen molecules known as ions.

At the plane's rear are rows of aerofoils set to -20,000v. The ions automatically move from a positive to negative charge, dragging with them air particles that create the so-called "ionic wind" to provide the aircraft with lift.

- 'Something we never knew possible' -


Solar Impulse 2/AFP/File / Bertrand Piccard The news plane itself doesn't look lightyears away from other renewable aircraft, such as the Solar Impact II craft that in 2015-16 used energy from the Sun to fly around the world


The technology to create ionic wind has been around since the 1960s, but it was previously thought nowhere near efficient enough to prove useful to aeronautics.

The team not only showed that it was possible for ion-driven craft to fly but also -- due to the relative lack of drag created by the electrodes -- predicted that efficiency would increase in lockstep with speed, potentially opening the way for bigger, faster planes in future.

"It's clearly very early days: but the team at MIT have done something we never previously knew was possible, in using accelerated ionised gas to propel an aircraft," said Guy Gratton, aerospace engineer and visiting professor at Cranfield University, who was not involved in the study.

Barrett said he believed the current prototype could be scaled up "a significant amount" but cautioned that their may be a limit to how much propulsion the technique can produce.

"We don't yet know if there is such a limit and we will certainly try to scale up as much as possible," he said.

"I don't yet know if you'll see our vehicle carrying people any time soon but obviously I'd be very excited if that was the case."

- Commercial applications -


AFP/File / JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER Ever since Orville and Wilbur Wright's momentous glide in the winter of 1903, aircraft have been driven by propellers or jets that must burn fuel to create the thrust and lift needed for sustained flight

He told AFP that the technology could be used on the skin of commercial aircraft, reducing drag and therefore the energy needed to power modern passenger jets.

"This would be much more efficient than the current situation where you have concentrated engines that generate thrust, which have to fight against a large passive airframe that generates drag," he said.

In an editorial, the journal Nature, which published the study, said its success would encourage other sectors to re-visit technology that was long thought to be confined to sci-fi films.

It listed possible military applications including the development of silent drones and aircraft, and engines with no infrared signal and thus impossible to detect.

The prototype flight "will stimulate both awe and anxiety," it said.

A hundred and fifteen years ago, Nature published a short news item on the Wright brothers' "first successful achievement of artificial flight."

Barrett and the team noted a pleasing parallel with their revolutionary test and the one that sparked the aerial age: both flights lasted all of 12 seconds.

source: AFP

US judge drops doctor genital mutilation charges

US judge drops doctor genital mutilation charges



GETTY/AFP/File / JOE RAEDLE Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that Congress had "overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit FGM"

A US judge has dropped federal female genital mutilation charges filed against a Michigan doctor, ruling that Congress overstepped its authority in prohibiting a practice best left to state courts.

In what was hailed a landmark case, Jumana Nagarwala was charged in April 2017 with performing the widely condemned practice on nine girls at a clinic in Livonia, Michigan over a span of 12 years.

But in a decision filed Tuesday, Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that Congress had "overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit FGM."

Instead the practice should be considered a "'local criminal activity' which, in keeping with longstanding tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress," he wrote.

Congress passed a law in 1996 making it illegal to perform genital mutilation or cutting on any girl younger than 18.

Twenty-seven US states also have anti-FGM legislation, including Michigan, while 23 states have yet to criminalize the practice.

"As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault," wrote Friedman.

The judge's ruling saw charges of conspiring to commit and committing FGM dropped, as well as counts of aiding and abetting others to do so.

Nagarwala still faces other conspiracy charges.

Her lawyer, Shannon Smith, was quoted by CNN as saying that her client was "ecstatic" over the decision, but "nervous because she still faces other charges in federal court."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 513,000 women and girls in the United States in 2012 were at risk of or had been subjected to female genital mutilation.

The statistic was three times higher than one based on 1990 data, due to increased immigration from countries where genital mutilation is practiced.

Globally, at least 200 million girls and women alive today have suffered some form of FGM across 30 countries, according to the United Nations.

While concentrated in Africa, it is common in some communities in Asia, Arab states and Latin America. Half of those cut live in Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia, according to the UN.
source: AFP
https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/us-judge-drops-doctor-genital-mutilation-charges-doc-1b086i2

Brexit goes down to wire as May calls last-day talks

Brexit goes down to wire as May calls last-day talks



AFP / ADRIAN DENNIS Theresa May heads to Brussels looking for a political declaration on Brexit that she can sell to the British parliament

Negotiations to secure an orderly Brexit deal will go down to the wire after Theresa May said she would return to Brussels for more talks on the eve of a planned signing summit.

After an inconclusive trip to Brussels to meet EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker, the British prime minister said she would return on Saturday to finalise preparations for a full EU meeting the next day.

It is believed that the texts of the deal will not be final before a meeting of top EU diplomats -- the summit's so-called "sherpas" -- on Friday, frustrating some European leaders.

"There are some further issues that need resolution. We have given direction to our negotiators this evening. The work on those issues will now start immediately," May said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I believe we have been able to give sufficient direction for them to be able to resolve those remaining issues," she said, adding that she would meet Juncker again on Saturday.

With less than four days until Sunday's meeting, a European Commission spokesperson said: "Very good progress was made in meeting between President Juncker and Prime Minister Theresa May."

But she added: "Work is continuing."

News of Saturday's last-ditch meeting will not go down well in Berlin, where Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel had earlier urged negotiators not to reopen talks on the main withdrawal agreement.

"I hope it will be solved by Sunday," she told German lawmakers. "We know how difficult the discussions are in Britain, but I can say for the German government that we agree with this exit agreement."

Negotiators are hammering out details of a political statement on future UK-EU ties that will accompany the divorce deal, under pressure to put it together before the sherpa meeting on Friday.

After enduring another parliamentary grilling at prime minister's questions in London, May slipped out of the Westminster bear pit and crossed the Channel to meet the head of the EU executive.

Having seen off -- at least for now -- a potential leadership challenge by hardline Brexiteers in her own party, she hoped to wring out of Brussels a Brexit arrangement that she can sell to her parliament.

The withdrawal treaty itself is all but final, and preparations are under way for Sunday's summit to sign it, but there remains the matter of the parallel 20-page political declaration on future relations.


 AFP/File / FREDERICK FLORIN Theresa May will take afternoon tea with the president of the EU commission, Jean-Claude Juncker


European diplomats and EU officials have been in intense talks on the declaration this week.

May must show that she has left nothing on the table if she is to convince British members of parliament to ratify the deal in the coming weeks.

May and Juncker were expected to cover fishing rights and the movement of goods after Brexit, as well as the duration of the transition period and the British territory of Gibraltar, which lies on an outcrop off Spain.

- Spain, N. Ireland pressure -

May faces pressure from her Northern Irish allies, who oppose a deal they say weakens British sovereignty in their province, and from Spain, which has warned it might oppose the accord over Gibraltar.

Madrid wants a veto over applying any agreement on post-transition relations to Gibraltar but May told MPs that Britain "will not exclude Gibraltar from our negotiations on the future relationship".

There is frustration among some EU countries at Spain trying to play hardball so late in the game.

"We are following the latest developments with growing concern and incomprehension -- among the EU27 our Spanish friends are all alone on this," an EU diplomat told AFP.

Madrid reiterated its threat on Wednesday to vote against the draft deal.

Two of May's top ministers quit last week, including her Brexit secretary, while MPs from all parties came out against the withdrawal deal -- increasing the chances that Britain will crash out of the Union on March 29 without an agreement.


AFP / Gillian HANDYSIDE Timeline of the Brexit talks


The withdrawal deal covers Britain's financial settlement, expatriate citizens' rights, contingency plans to keep open the Irish border and the terms of a post-Brexit transition.

- 'Show our displeasure' -

Opposition to the agreement is also building in the pro-Brexit camp. Anti-Europe Conservatives have savaged the divorce deal, which they say keeps Britain too close to the EU.

Rebels led by MP Jacob Rees-Mogg failed in their attempt to force an immediate confidence vote in May's leadership, but warned they would keep trying.

The withdrawal agreement sets out plans for a 21-month transition after Brexit, in which Britain and the EU want to turn their outline agreement on the future relationship into a full trade deal.

burs-dc/pdw/har/aph/jah

source: AFP

Cilic looking for Davis Cup redemption in Lille

Cilic looking for Davis Cup redemption in Lille


AFP / FRANCOIS LO PRESTI Cilic is looking to put the 2016 final heartache behind him

Marin Cilic heads into this weekend's Davis Cup final against reigning champions France in Lille bidding to put his woes against Argentina two years ago to bed by leading Croatia to victory.

The former US Open champion led Juan Martin del Potro by two sets in the 2016 final in Zagreb with the hosts only needing one more win for the title, but slipped to an agonising defeat as Argentina roared back to lift the trophy.

But now he has the chance to claim a first Davis Cup in the final year before the controversial new format is implemented by the ITF.

Croatia will be slight favourites despite having to face France on clay at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, with world number 12 Borna Coric supporting the seventh-ranked Cilic.

"Two years ago, we were in the lead on the last day and very close to winning it," remembered Cilic. "We have a new opportunity. It's a big challenge and a great motivation."

France's leading man is Lucas Pouille, who has slipped out of the top 10 to 32nd in the rankings this year, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is struggling to regain full fitness after several spells off the court through injury.

But Cilic, who also reached the 2017 Wimbledon final and the Australian Open final earlier this year, is wary of a France team that ended a 16-year wait for their 10th Davis Cup crown by beating Belgium 12 months ago.

"It's hard to say that Croatia are favourites," he insisted.

"France are playing at home, in front of their home fans. They have a strong doubles team -- it's an open match."

One of the keys to the tie will be whether the big-hitting Cilic and Coric can adapt to playing on clay after a long hardcourt season.

- Clay 'not a problem' -

The 30-year-old Cilic has won only two of his 18 ATP titles on the red dirt, although has improved and reached the French Open quarter-finals in each of the last two years.

But he is confident that he will be ready and will not be fatigued after last week's exit from the ATP Finals in London at the round-robin stage.

"I don't think that it's a big problem," Cilic added.

"We have four, five days to prepare. It's not ideal, we would love to have two or three weeks, but I think it will be enough."


 AFP / FRANCOIS LO PRESTI Lucas Pouille is the highest-ranked member of the French team in the ATP rankings


France captain Yannick Noah has a serious selection headache ahead of Thursday's draw.

The doubles pairing is not an issue, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut set to reprise the partnership which took them to the final of the season-ending Finals at the O2 Arena.

But although Pouille is likely to get a singles slot alongside Tsonga or Benoit Paire, the top three Frenchmen in the ATP rankings -- Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon -- are not part of the squad.

"It's true that it's not an easy selection," admitted assistant captain and two-time Grand Slam finalist Cedric Pioline. "Just because a player misses out on Friday, it doesn't mean he won't be playing on Sunday."
source: afp

https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/cilic-looking-davis-cup-redemption-lille-doc-1b08lo1

WTO to rule in spat over US tariffs

WTO to rule in spat over US tariffs



AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body will hear complaints concerning US President Donald Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs from a string of countries

The World Trade Organization agreed Wednesday to hear complaints from a range of countries over new US steel and aluminium tariffs, as well as complaints from Washington over retaliatory duties.

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed to establish panels to review US President Donald Trump's decision to hit a long line of countries with tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium.

The DSB will create separate panels for the complaints by the European Union, China, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Russia and Turkey, after the US said it would not agree to a single panel to hear all of them.

The DSB agreed Wednesday to Washington's request for three panels to rule on the legality of retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada, China, Mexico and the European Union.

It also agreed to a US call for a panel to be created to review "certain Chinese measures pertaining to the protection of intellectual property rights."

Marking a departure from a decades-long US-led drive for free trade, Trump has justified the steep tariffs with claims that massive flows of imports to the United States threaten national security.

Washington invoked a rarely used WTO exception that allows a country to take "any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests."

Speaking at Wednesday's meeting, US Ambassador Dennis Shea warned of the "risks posed to the WTO dispute settlement system when a member challenges measures taken for the protection of essential security interests."

The US delegation also cautioned that any review of measures taken for national security reasons would undermine the "legitimacy" and "even the viability of the WTO as a whole".

The tariff spat has escalated into an all-out trade war between the US and China and growing trade tensions between Washington and many of its traditional allies.

The decision to establish the panels follows rounds of failed consultations between the parties and mark an escalation in an ongoing showdown at the WTO around Trump's controversial trade policies.

The first requests to establish the panels were rejected last month, prompting the sides to file second requests.

Under WTO regulations, parties in a dispute can block a first request for the creation of an arbitration panel, but if the parties make a second request, it is all but guaranteed to go through.

The creation of a DSB panel usually triggers a long and often costly legal battle that sometimes takes years to resolve.
source: AFP

https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/wto-rule-spat-over-us-tariffs-doc-1b04jr6

S. Korean cult leader jailed for raping followers

S. Korean cult leader jailed for raping followers


AFP/File / MENAHEM KAHANA South Korean cult leader Lee Jaerock was convicted of the multiple rape of eight female followers -- some of whom believed he was God

A South Korean cult leader was convicted Thursday of the multiple rape of eight female followers -- some of whom believed he was God -- and jailed for 15 years.

Pastor Lee Jaerock's victims were "unable to resist as they were subject to the accused's absolute religious authority", judge Chung Moon-sung told the Seoul Central District Court.

Religious devotion is widespread in technologically advanced South Korea, with 44 percent of people identifying themselves as believers.

Most belong to mainstream churches, which can accumulate wealth and influence with tens of thousands of followers donating as much as 10 percent of their income.

But fringe groups are also widespread -- experts say around 60 people in the country claim to be divine -- and some have been implicated in fraud, brainwashing, coercion, and other behaviour associated with cults worldwide.

Lee set up the Manmin Central Church in Guro, once a poor area of Seoul, with just 12 followers in 1982. It has now grown to 130,000 members, with a spotlight-filled auditorium, sprawling headquarters, and a website replete with claims of miracle cures.


AFP / Jung Yeon-je Lee, who denied the charges, stood with his eyes closed as the judgement was read, showing no emotion, while around 100 followers filled the courtroom to overflowing


But three of Lee's followers went public earlier this year, as South Korea was swept with a wave of #MeToo accusations, describing how he had summoned each of them to an apartment and raped them.

"I was unable to turn him down," one of them told South Korean television.

"He was more than a king. He was God," added the woman, who had been a church member since childhood.

Lee told another that she was now in Heaven, and to strip as Adam and Eve went naked in the Garden of Eden. "I cried as I hated to do it," she told JTBC television.

Eight women laid criminal complaints, and the court found Lee raped and molested them "tens of times" over a long period.

"Through his sermons the accused has indirectly or directly suggested he is the holy spirit, deifying himself," the judge said.

The victims believed him to be "a divine being who wields divine power", he added.

Lee, who denied the charges, stood with his eyes closed as the judgement was read, showing no emotion, while around 100 followers filled the courtroom to overflowing, some of them sighing quietly.

The 75-year-old's lawyers had accused the women of lying to seek vengeance after being excommunicated for breaching church rules.

- Second Coming -

South Korea has proven fertile ground for religious groups with strong, unambiguous ideologies that offered comfort and salvation that appealed strongly during times of deep uncertainty.

More recent versions have claimed a unique knowledge of the path to material and spiritual prosperity -- a message that resonates in a highly competitive and status-focused society.

According to a 2015 government survey, 28 percent of South Koreans say they belong to Christian churches, with another 16 percent describing themselves as Buddhist.

But according to Park Hyung-tak, head of the Korea Christian Heresy Research Institute, around two million people are followers of cults.


AFP/File / MENAHEM KAHANA Christian evangelists pray during a prayer service led by South Korean cult leader Lee Jaerock

"There are some 60 Christian-based cult leaders in this country who claim to be the second coming of Jesus Christ, or God Himself," he told AFP.

"Many cults point to megachurches mired in corruption and other scandals in order to highlight their own presumed purity and attract believers," he added.

On his own website, Lee says that God has "anointed me with His power" but the Manmin Central Church has been condemned as heretical by mainstream Christian organisations, partly because of its claims to miracle healing.

In one example on the church website, Barbara Vollath, a 49-year-old German, said he was born deaf but her bone cancer was cured and she gained hearing in both ears after Lee's daughter and heiress apparent Lee Soojin prayed for her with a handkerchief he had blessed.

South Korean cults can have deadly consequences: in 1987, 32 members of an apocalyptic group called Odaeyang, were found dead at their headquarters in an apparent murder-suicide pact, including its leader, who was under police investigation for embezzlement.

And they can influence the highest reaches of power.

Choi Soon-Sil, the woman at the centre of the corruption scandal that brought down her close friend president Park Geun-Hye, is the daughter of late religious leader Choi Tae-min.

The elder Choi became Park's spiritual mentor after establishing his own church, Yeongsegyo ("Spiritual Life"), combining tenets of Buddhism, Christianity and shamanism.

source: AFP
https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/s-korean-cult-leader-jailed-raping-followers-doc-1at0103

US, South Korea scale back military exercise

US, South Korea scale back military exercise


AFP/File / JUNG YEON-JE US and South Korean marines take part in a joint landing operation, part of the annual Foal Eagle exercises, near the southeastern port of Pohang

The United States and South Korea have scaled down an annual joint military exercise scheduled for the spring of 2019 to facilitate nuclear talks with North Korea, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday.

"Foal Eagle is being reorganized a bit to keep it at a level that will not be harmful to diplomacy," Mattis said, adding that it would be "reduced in scope."

Foal Eagle is the biggest of the regular joint exercises held by the allies, and has always infuriated Pyongyang, which condemned it as preparations for invasion.


AFP/File / NICHOLAS KAMM US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, pictured at the Pentagon in August 2018, said Foal Eagle was being scaled back to a level that would "not be harmful to diplomacy"


But the drill -- one of the world's largest field exercises involving 200,000 South Korean and some 30,000 US soldiers -- was delayed and scaled down last year as diplomatic detente took hold on the peninsula.

And following a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would stop holding joint exercises with the South, calling them expensive and "very provocative".

Since then the two allies have suspended most of their major joint exercises including the Ulchi Freedom Guardian in August and Vigilant Ace, slated for next month.


AFP/File / JUNG Yeon-Je US and South Korean forces have been training together for years, and routinely rehearse everything from beach landings to an invasion from the North and even "decapitation" strikes

But more recently progress in talks with the North has stalled, with the US pushing to maintain sanctions against it until its "final, fully verified denuclearization" and Pyongyang condemning US demands as "gangster-like."

Washington stations 28,500 troops in the South to defend it from its nuclear-armed neighbor, which invaded in 1950.

- 'Fait accompli' -

But differences are beginning to emerge between Seoul and Washington.

The South's dovish president Moon Jae-in has long favored engagement with the North, which is subject to multiple UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.


 AFP/File / Ed JONES South Korean and US soldiers wrestle during a joint winter exercise in Pyeongchang in 2017


He has dangled large investment and joint cross-border projects as incentives for steps towards denuclearization, while the US has been adamant pressure should be maintained on Pyongyang until it fully dismantles its weapons programs.

Seoul's defence ministry said Mattis' comments were in line with their shared view on the need to back diplomacy -- but a spokeswoman added that the question of whether the exercises will take place at all was "still under discussion."

Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the South's state-run Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said reducing the exercise was largely expected.

"The Trump administration claims Pyongyang's suspension of nuclear and missile tests as the key achievement of its North Korea policy and the joint drills have been postponed as a kind of corresponding measure," Kim told AFP.


 Korea Summit Press Pool/AFP/File / Korea Summit Press Pool, MANDEL NGAN North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump met at a historic summit in Singapore in June

"As long as talks continue, postponing or reducing major US-South Korea joint exercises has become a fait accompli," he said.

- 'No rush' -

Earlier this month Pyongyang threatened to "seriously" consider returning to its weapons drive if Washington did not end its tough economic sanctions.

And last month, the North's state media carried a near 1,700-word commentary accusing the US of playing a "double game", implicitly criticizing Trump for comments aimed at barring Seoul from lifting sanctions against Pyongyang.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday defended Washington's strategy on the peninsula, noting that North Korea had halted missile launches and had not conducted a nuclear test in over a year.

"And I do hope there'll be a summit between the two leaders early in 2019," he said in an interview with KCMO radio.

Pyongyang has declared its nuclear and missile development complete, saying it has no further need for testing.

Trump has also said he hopes to have a second meeting with Kim early next year, but talks between Pompeo and a top North Korean official, partly to prepare for the meeting, were cancelled.

The US said the North axed the talks because they weren't ready, and Trump insisted he was in "no rush."

source: AFP

https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/us-south-korea-scale-back-military-exercise-doc-1b06ng11