07:55 02/07/2015
Ismailia - Egypt's army said on Wednesday more than 100 militants
and 17 soldiers were killed after simultaneous assaults on military
checkpoints in North Sinai, in the deadliest fighting in years in the
restive province.
After a day of fighting, which involved F-16
jets and Apache helicopters, the army said it would not stop its
operations until it had cleared the area of all "terrorist
concentrations".
By late Wednesday, an army spokesperson said the
situation in North Sinai was "100% under control". Security sources and
witnesses later said aerial bombardments on militant targets had
resumed.
ISIS’s Egyptian affiliate, Sinai Province, had claimed
responsibility, saying it attacked more than 15 security sites and
carried out three suicide bombings.
The
militants' assault, a significant escalation in violence in the
peninsula that lies between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal,
was the second high-profile attack in Egypt this week. On Monday, a bomb
killed the prosecutor-general in Cairo.
It
raised questions about the government's ability to contain an
insurgency that has already killed hundreds of police and soldiers.
The
insurgents want to topple the Cairo government and have stepped up
their campaign since 2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
removed President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood after mass
protests against his rule.
Sisi, who regards the Brotherhood as a threat to national security, has since overseen a harsh crackdown on Islamists.
An
army statement said the fighting had been concentrated in the towns of
Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah and that the militants used car bombs and
various weapons.
Of the 17 soldiers killed, four were officers, and 13 more soldiers were wounded, the statement said.
Some security sources put the death toll for army and police much higher.
The
army spokesman told state television that a number of militants had
been arrested. He also posted pictures on his official Facebook page
which he said showed the bodies of scores of militants. They were
dressed in fatigues.
Security sources said the militants had
planned to lay siege to the town of Sheikh Zuweid. "But we have dealt
with them and broke the siege," one of the sources said.
Booby traps at Sheikh Zuweid
Earlier, security sources said militants had surrounded a police station in Sheikh Zuweid and planted bombs around it.
The
militants also planted bombs along a road between Sheikh Zuweid and
al-Zuhour army camp and seized two armoured vehicles, weapons and
ammunition, the sources said.
Suleiman al-Sayed, a 49-year-old
Sheikh Zuweid resident told Reuters earlier on Wednesday that he was not
allowed to leave his home while clashes were ongoing. He said he had
glimpsed "five Land Cruisers with masked gunmen waving black flags."
Witnesses
and security sources also heard two explosions in the nearby town of
Rafah, which borders Gaza. The sources said all roads leading to Rafah
and Sheikh Zuweid were shut down. The interior ministry in the Gaza
Strip, run by the Islamist Hamas group, reinforced its forces along the
border with Egypt.
"It is a sharp reminder that despite the
intensive counter-terrorism military campaign in the Sinai over the past
six months, IS ranks are not decreasing - if anything they are
increasing in numbers as well as sophistication, training and daring,"
Aimen Dean, a former al Qaeda insider who now runs a Gulf-based security
consultancy, said in a note.
State of emergency
ISIS
had urged its followers to escalate attacks during the Islamic holy
month of Ramadan which started in mid-June, though it did not specify
Egypt as a target. In April, the army extended by three months a state
of emergency imposed in parts of Sinai.
Besides bombardments in
the region, the army has destroyed tunnels into the Palestinian-ruled
Gaza Strip and created a security buffer zone in northern Sinai. It is
also digging a trench along the border with Gaza to deter smuggling.
Under
the terms of Egypt's 1979 peace accord with Israel, the Sinai is
largely demilitarised. But Israel has regularly agreed to Egypt bringing
in reinforcements to tackle the Sinai insurgency, and one Israeli
official signalled there could be further such deployments following
Wednesday's attacks.
"This incident is a game-changer," an official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Sisi's
government does not distinguish between the now-outlawed Brotherhood,
which says it is committed to peaceful activism, and other militants.
The
courts have sentenced hundreds of alleged Brotherhood supporters to
death in recent months. Morsi himself, and other senior Brotherhood
figures, also face the death penalty.
The
cabinet, which met in the Police Academy for security reasons on
Wednesday, approved a draft anti-terrorism law, which it said would
"achieve quick and just deterrence".
"Any terrorist or criminal attacks that aim to sow chaos, will be confronted," the cabinet said, citing the interior minister.
In
Cairo, the interior ministry said security forces killed nine leading
members of the Muslim Brotherhood in an apartment in a western suburb
after the men opened fire on them.
The interior ministry said the
group were holding a meeting to plot attacks. It said some of those
killed had been convicted in court cases. The Brotherhood denied the
group was armed and said in a statement the killing was a turning point
that could lead to repercussions by the "oppressed".
"The assassination will drive the situation down an extremely dangerous slope and toward a total explosion."
News, Events, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Fashion, Beauty, Inspiration and yes... Gossip! *Wink*
Thursday, 2 July 2015
188 trucks of petrol supplied to Abuja: DPR
07:55 02/07/2015
Abuja - The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Wednesday, said 6.2 million litres (188 trucks) of petrol were supplied to Abuja on Wednesday to ease off the fuel queue in the city.
Mohammed Saidu, Zonal Spokesperson DPR Abuja, stated this in an interview in Abuja.
Queues resurfaced at different filling stations in Abuja and Lagos on Tuesday.
Saidu attributed the sudden resurface of fuel queue in Abuja filling stations to a drop in the lifting of fuel by marketers from Suleja Depot.
He said that about one million litres of petrol were lifted on Monday, while 2.1 litres were lifted on Tuesday as against eight million litres daily supply to Abuja.
The spokesperson expressed the hope that with the increase in the supply of more than six million litres on Wednesday, the queues at filling stations would soon disappear.
He stressed that there was no reason why marketers would want to hoard fuel when the product was available.
Saidu however warned that any marketer caught indulging in hoarding, under-dispensing, or cheating motorists in any form would be made to face wrath of the law.
Similarly, Ohi Alegbe, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) attributed the queue to panic buying by motorists.
Alegbe, in a statement said that NNPC had stepped up efforts to maintain stability in the supply and distribution of petroleum products nationwide.
He said that NNPC had enough stock of petrol to service the country for 25 days at a national consumption rate of 40 million litres per day.
He said that it had stepped up product distribution to petroleum marketers and NNPC retail outlets across the country.
He said that the corporation had sufficient stock of petrol at its coastal depots in Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar, besides the stock at the national strategic reserves.
It has been observed that queues formed at most of the stations as a number of them stopped dispensing due to lack of product.
At the NNPC Mega Filling Station on Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Central Area, long queues of vehicles blocked the flow of traffic on the road.
The ConOil and Total filling stations opposite NNPC headquarters, had long queues that encircled the Bureau of Statistics Complex.
The situation was also the same at Total, Con Oil, Mobil, stations in Wuse, Garki, and some independent filling stations along Berger Jabi Road and on Airport Road.
All the stations were selling at the official pump price of N87 per litre .
However, the black market operators sold the product between N120 and N150 per litre depending on the bargaining power of the buyer.
Abuja - The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Wednesday, said 6.2 million litres (188 trucks) of petrol were supplied to Abuja on Wednesday to ease off the fuel queue in the city.
Mohammed Saidu, Zonal Spokesperson DPR Abuja, stated this in an interview in Abuja.
Queues resurfaced at different filling stations in Abuja and Lagos on Tuesday.
Saidu attributed the sudden resurface of fuel queue in Abuja filling stations to a drop in the lifting of fuel by marketers from Suleja Depot.
He said that about one million litres of petrol were lifted on Monday, while 2.1 litres were lifted on Tuesday as against eight million litres daily supply to Abuja.
The spokesperson expressed the hope that with the increase in the supply of more than six million litres on Wednesday, the queues at filling stations would soon disappear.
He stressed that there was no reason why marketers would want to hoard fuel when the product was available.
Saidu however warned that any marketer caught indulging in hoarding, under-dispensing, or cheating motorists in any form would be made to face wrath of the law.
Similarly, Ohi Alegbe, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) attributed the queue to panic buying by motorists.
Alegbe, in a statement said that NNPC had stepped up efforts to maintain stability in the supply and distribution of petroleum products nationwide.
He said that NNPC had enough stock of petrol to service the country for 25 days at a national consumption rate of 40 million litres per day.
He said that it had stepped up product distribution to petroleum marketers and NNPC retail outlets across the country.
He said that the corporation had sufficient stock of petrol at its coastal depots in Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar, besides the stock at the national strategic reserves.
It has been observed that queues formed at most of the stations as a number of them stopped dispensing due to lack of product.
At the NNPC Mega Filling Station on Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Central Area, long queues of vehicles blocked the flow of traffic on the road.
The ConOil and Total filling stations opposite NNPC headquarters, had long queues that encircled the Bureau of Statistics Complex.
The situation was also the same at Total, Con Oil, Mobil, stations in Wuse, Garki, and some independent filling stations along Berger Jabi Road and on Airport Road.
All the stations were selling at the official pump price of N87 per litre .
However, the black market operators sold the product between N120 and N150 per litre depending on the bargaining power of the buyer.
Governor Bello of Niger approves varsity take off
07:55 02/07/2015
Minna - Governor Abubakar Bello has approved the take off of the state University of Education.
Bello gave the approval on Wednesday during an inspection of the site of the institution situated inside the current College of Education in Minna.
He said that the take off of the university would benefit not only people of the state but other Nigerians from within and outside the country.
He said that the administration would pursue the continuous training and retraining of teachers in order to ensure qualitative education to all students of the institution.
"Since assumption into office, I have received pieces of advice from different people on weather the university should commence or not.
"Already we have an existing state owned IBB university. The reason is whether we can manage to finance another university as the already existing university still needs more resources to survive.
"We have to look at our resources first. If we cannot afford to finance the university as times go by, then we will come back to our drawing board," he said.
He commended the management of the school for their exemplary commitment, adding that government would continue to deliver quality education to the people.
Professor Muhammed Daniyan, Chairman Governing Board of the University, disclosed that many of the university staff are being trained to take up the new challenges.
He said that 57 academic staff of the university are currently undergoing their various doctorate degrees while 97 are doing their masters degrees.
"The establishment of the University of Education is to drive away quacks in the profession and to bring sanity to our education sector," he said.
Minna - Governor Abubakar Bello has approved the take off of the state University of Education.
Bello gave the approval on Wednesday during an inspection of the site of the institution situated inside the current College of Education in Minna.
He said that the take off of the university would benefit not only people of the state but other Nigerians from within and outside the country.
He said that the administration would pursue the continuous training and retraining of teachers in order to ensure qualitative education to all students of the institution.
"Since assumption into office, I have received pieces of advice from different people on weather the university should commence or not.
"Already we have an existing state owned IBB university. The reason is whether we can manage to finance another university as the already existing university still needs more resources to survive.
"We have to look at our resources first. If we cannot afford to finance the university as times go by, then we will come back to our drawing board," he said.
He commended the management of the school for their exemplary commitment, adding that government would continue to deliver quality education to the people.
Professor Muhammed Daniyan, Chairman Governing Board of the University, disclosed that many of the university staff are being trained to take up the new challenges.
He said that 57 academic staff of the university are currently undergoing their various doctorate degrees while 97 are doing their masters degrees.
"The establishment of the University of Education is to drive away quacks in the profession and to bring sanity to our education sector," he said.
Corrupt government officials ordered off local highways
Augustine Osayande
07:55 02/07/2015
Abuja - The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has mandated all State Command Commissioners of Police to dislodge local government officials illegally operating in highways.
These were said to be operating in the guise of collecting tolls for their local government authorities.
Emmanuel Ojukwu, Force Public Relations Officer Force Headquarters, Abuja has confirmed their dislodgement.
Ojukwu said the order became necessary following complaints and reports of disruption of smooth flow of traffic, extortion and harassment of motorists on the highways by local government officials.
He added that henceforth any local government staff found wanting in this regard would be made to face the full weight of the law.
07:55 02/07/2015
Abuja - The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has mandated all State Command Commissioners of Police to dislodge local government officials illegally operating in highways.
These were said to be operating in the guise of collecting tolls for their local government authorities.
Emmanuel Ojukwu, Force Public Relations Officer Force Headquarters, Abuja has confirmed their dislodgement.
Ojukwu said the order became necessary following complaints and reports of disruption of smooth flow of traffic, extortion and harassment of motorists on the highways by local government officials.
He added that henceforth any local government staff found wanting in this regard would be made to face the full weight of the law.
Two suicide bombers blow selves up in Borno
16:18 01/07/2015
Maiduguri - Two suicide bombers on Wednesday failed in the mission to detonate explosive devices at Molai Leprosy/General Hospital in Borno State, reports Vanguard.
The suicide bombers accidentally blew up themselves before reaching the hospital.
The first suicide bomber detonated the explosives he was carrying at the entrance of the hospital, killing himself and injuring two passersby.
The second one who was riding on bicycle accidentally detonated his explosives at the back of the hospital before reaching the fence at the backyard, killing himself only.
The suicide bombers were suspected to be terrorists who sneaked into the city from Sambisa forest, a fortified camps of the Boko Haram sect.
Wednesday’s incident coincided with the one-day visit of Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to Borno state.
Two suicide bombers had previously attacked on the hospital on June 27, killing five people including the suicide bombers.
Read more at Vanguard.
Maiduguri - Two suicide bombers on Wednesday failed in the mission to detonate explosive devices at Molai Leprosy/General Hospital in Borno State, reports Vanguard.
The suicide bombers accidentally blew up themselves before reaching the hospital.
The first suicide bomber detonated the explosives he was carrying at the entrance of the hospital, killing himself and injuring two passersby.
The second one who was riding on bicycle accidentally detonated his explosives at the back of the hospital before reaching the fence at the backyard, killing himself only.
The suicide bombers were suspected to be terrorists who sneaked into the city from Sambisa forest, a fortified camps of the Boko Haram sect.
Wednesday’s incident coincided with the one-day visit of Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to Borno state.
Two suicide bombers had previously attacked on the hospital on June 27, killing five people including the suicide bombers.
Read more at Vanguard.
Leadership crisis of APC to be treated with caution warns - Lawyer
16:18 01/07/2015
Abuja - The All Progressives Congress leadership has been warned by Abia State human rights lawyer, Dr Anthony Agbazuere, to treat their leadership crisis with caution, Punch reported.
Agbazuere, referring to the crisis that rocked the National Assembly, stating that it can consume the APC and President, Muhammadu Buhari if not handled carefully.
The APC has been advised to swallow their pride and accept that Sentaor Olusola Saraki and Hon. Yakuba Dogora as Senate President, who have been chosen to move Nigeria forward.
Further if the APC plans to impeach Saraki and Dogara, they should know it will destroy the party.
For more on this story visit Punch
Abuja - The All Progressives Congress leadership has been warned by Abia State human rights lawyer, Dr Anthony Agbazuere, to treat their leadership crisis with caution, Punch reported.
Agbazuere, referring to the crisis that rocked the National Assembly, stating that it can consume the APC and President, Muhammadu Buhari if not handled carefully.
The APC has been advised to swallow their pride and accept that Sentaor Olusola Saraki and Hon. Yakuba Dogora as Senate President, who have been chosen to move Nigeria forward.
Further if the APC plans to impeach Saraki and Dogara, they should know it will destroy the party.
For more on this story visit Punch
Rights body slams "autocratic" implementation of BVN
Okoro Chinedu
16:18 01/07/2015
Lagos - The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria(HURIWA) has appealed to the government to intervene amid the chaos that followed the implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) scheme.
Tuesday marked the deadline to register for the exercise.
This culminated uncontrolled crowds at the different branches of local banks, which made business transactions almost impossible.
HURIWA slated the Central Bank of Nigeria’s project.
“The President (Muhammadu Buhari) must stop these broad day attempts by bank owners to rob poor depositors of their hard earned financial resources under the guise of BVN registration with a militarised deadline,” the organisation.
The pro-democracy organisation said in many countries “these arbitrary measures to steal and divert depositors’ money such as BVN registration with compulsory but unilateral deadlines are treated as a crime against humanity.”
HURIWA raised concern members of the public had not been properly consulted.
“If Nigeria insists on practicing democracy then all these autocratic measures carried out without people's inputs and consents must be consigned to the dustbin of history. This attempt to steal our money must be overturned.”
It pointed out that some locals were outside the country when the deadline passed.
“What happens to many Nigerians who have money in Nigerian banks but who are outside Nigeria for different reasons throughout this imposed period for BVN registration? This is pure robbery and must be defeated in a similar way that law enforcement authorities seek to crush criminals.”
The BVN deadline has since been extended to the end of October to give Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora time to register.
According to experts, with the increasing incidents of compromise on conventional security systems (password and PIN), there is a high demand for greater security on access to sensitive or personal information in the banking system, hence the implementation of BVN.
The BVN gives each bank customer a unique identity across the Nigerian banking industry that can be used for easy identification and verification at point-of-banking operations.
16:18 01/07/2015
Lagos - The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria(HURIWA) has appealed to the government to intervene amid the chaos that followed the implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) scheme.
Tuesday marked the deadline to register for the exercise.
This culminated uncontrolled crowds at the different branches of local banks, which made business transactions almost impossible.
HURIWA slated the Central Bank of Nigeria’s project.
“The President (Muhammadu Buhari) must stop these broad day attempts by bank owners to rob poor depositors of their hard earned financial resources under the guise of BVN registration with a militarised deadline,” the organisation.
The pro-democracy organisation said in many countries “these arbitrary measures to steal and divert depositors’ money such as BVN registration with compulsory but unilateral deadlines are treated as a crime against humanity.”
HURIWA raised concern members of the public had not been properly consulted.
“If Nigeria insists on practicing democracy then all these autocratic measures carried out without people's inputs and consents must be consigned to the dustbin of history. This attempt to steal our money must be overturned.”
It pointed out that some locals were outside the country when the deadline passed.
“What happens to many Nigerians who have money in Nigerian banks but who are outside Nigeria for different reasons throughout this imposed period for BVN registration? This is pure robbery and must be defeated in a similar way that law enforcement authorities seek to crush criminals.”
The BVN deadline has since been extended to the end of October to give Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora time to register.
According to experts, with the increasing incidents of compromise on conventional security systems (password and PIN), there is a high demand for greater security on access to sensitive or personal information in the banking system, hence the implementation of BVN.
The BVN gives each bank customer a unique identity across the Nigerian banking industry that can be used for easy identification and verification at point-of-banking operations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)