06:55 02/07/2015
Tripoli - Libya's rival governments will not return to peace
talks this week after rebel forces on Wednesday rejected the latest
proposal, defying threats the UN Security Council would impose sanctions
on anyone who stands in the way of a deal.
The National General
Congress parliament in Tripoli, which was seized by rebel forces last
year, said it would consult for a week on the new draft, ruling out
returning to the talks due to begin in Morocco on Thursday.
"The
amendments introduced in the latest text submitted by the UN did not
include [our own] proposals," it said in a statement released late on
Wednesday.
Libya Dawn, the coalition of militias that controls the
capital, also rejected the latest peace plan as "treason, because it
sanctions the creation of a fascist dictatorship under the auspices of
the UN".
Dozens
of people protested against the new draft in front of the CGN's
headquarters in Tripoli on Wednesday, burning pictures of the UN envoy
leading the peace talks Bernardino Leon, according to an AFP journalist
on the scene.
Libya's leadership is split between Libya Dawn
forces, who seized the capital last year, and the internationally
recognised government that was forced to flee to Tobruk, in the
northeast of the country.
The factions are facing international
pressure to form a national unity government and end years of chaos in
the war-torn country, which has become a hotbed of jihadist groups and a
starting point for migrant smugglers sending people across the
Mediterranean to Europe.
UN sanctions
The
UN Security Council on Wednesday warned that "there can be no military
solution to the crisis in Libya" and urged all sides to "sign the
proposal presented by the UN support mission in Libya in the coming
days".
A national unity government "is in the interests of the
Libyan people and their future, in order to end Libya's political,
security and institutional crises and to confront the rising threat of
terrorism," it added.
The
15-member council said it was "prepared to sanction those who threaten
Libya's peace, stability and security or that undermine the successful
completion of its political transition".
In Tobruk, the seat of
Libya's internationally recognised government, lawmaker Osama Mohamed
Faraj al-Chaaf said parliament was ready "in principle to endorse" the
text, according to a news agency close to the authorities.
Previous bid blocked
A
previous bid by Britain, France, Spain and the United States to step up
pressure on the sides with sanctions was blocked by Russia and China.
The
United Nations has been brokering talks between Libya's various groups
with a view to establishing a government that could confront the threat
from Islamic State extremists, who have gained a foothold in several
towns.
A surge of jihadist violence across the region, including
the killing of 38 people, most of them British tourists, at a Tunisian
beach resort on Friday, has prompted mounting international pressure for
a deal.
Libyan factions agreed during Geneva talks in January to
set up a national unity government to restore stability that has been
shattered since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
News, Events, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Fashion, Beauty, Inspiration and yes... Gossip! *Wink*
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Bus falls off bridge, kills 10 in South Korea
07:55 02/07/2015
Beijing - A bus carrying a group of South Koreans fell off a highway bridge in northeastern China, killing 10 of them, officials said Thursday.
The accident took place on Wednesday after the vehicle left the north-eastern Chinese city of Ji'an and was about halfway to its destination of Dandong, which borders North Korea, the official Xinhua News agency said.
The Ji'an government said on its official microblog that 10 people died, all of them South Korean. Earlier state media reports had said two of the victims were Chinese.
South Korean officials said 26 South Koreans were on the bus as part of a 140-person delegation of mainly South Korean government employees.
They were in China to tour historical sites, including places where Korean independence fighters resisted Japan's colonial rule before the end of World War II, according to officials from the South Korean Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs.
The bus was part of a six-bus caravan, South Korean officials said.
The bus was said to be resting on its top in shallow water under the bridge.
Beijing - A bus carrying a group of South Koreans fell off a highway bridge in northeastern China, killing 10 of them, officials said Thursday.
The accident took place on Wednesday after the vehicle left the north-eastern Chinese city of Ji'an and was about halfway to its destination of Dandong, which borders North Korea, the official Xinhua News agency said.
The Ji'an government said on its official microblog that 10 people died, all of them South Korean. Earlier state media reports had said two of the victims were Chinese.
South Korean officials said 26 South Koreans were on the bus as part of a 140-person delegation of mainly South Korean government employees.
They were in China to tour historical sites, including places where Korean independence fighters resisted Japan's colonial rule before the end of World War II, according to officials from the South Korean Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs.
The bus was part of a six-bus caravan, South Korean officials said.
The bus was said to be resting on its top in shallow water under the bridge.
More than 100 dead as militants, Egyptian army clash in Sinai
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."
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."
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.
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