Flowerbud News

Author: Ibrahim Abusadiq

  • Bombing anniversary: Nagasaki mayor urges Japan to join nuclear ban treaty

    The south-western city of Nagasaki on Friday urged the Japanese government to be party in a UN treaty banning nuclear weapons.

    The call came as Japan paid tribute to the victims of the U.S. atomic bomb attack on the city 74 years ago.

    Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue gave the advice in the annual peace declaration at a ceremony marking the anniversary.

    “As the only country in the world to have experienced the devastation caused by nuclear weapons, Japan must sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as soon as possible,” he said.

    The treaty was adopted by 122 countries in July 2017, but it has yet to be in force as it has not been ratified by the required 50 countries.

    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the annual event at the city’s Peace Park, which drew around 5,900 people, including survivors, bereaved families and representatives from 66 countries, broadcaster NHK reported.

    The anniversary comes just a week after the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between Russia and the U.S. ended.

    “The present world situation involving nuclear weapons is extremely dangerous.

    ”The opinion that nuclear weapons are useful is once again gaining traction,” Taue said.

    “The atomic bombs were built by human hands and exploded over human heads. It follows that nuclear weapons can be eliminated by an act of human will.”

    The bombing of Nagasaki killed 74,000 people and came three days after the first atomic bomb dropped by a US B-29 bomber was detonated over the western city of Hiroshima.

  • 2 million expected in Mecca for hajj in Saudi Arabia

    The annual hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia’s city of Mecca is one of five pillars of Islam that all Muslims who are able to are expected to complete at least once.

    More than two million believers from across the planet converge for several days of rituals beginning on Friday that retrace Prophet Mohammed’s last pilgrimage to Mecca.

    Here is a rundown of the steps of the hajj, which is one of the largest gatherings in the world and closed to non-Muslims.

    Pilgrims must first enter a state of purity, called ihram, which requires special dress and behavior.

    Men wear a seamless shroud-like white garment that emphasizes unity regardless of social status or nationality.

    Women must wear loose dresses, also often white, exposing only their faces and hands.

    Pilgrims are prohibited from wearing perfume, cutting their nails or trimming their hair or beards, or arguing.

    First rituals

    The first ritual requires walking seven times around the Kaaba, a large black cube structure at the center of Mecca’s Grand Mosque.

    Made from granite and draped in cloth, the Kaaba stands nearly 15 meters (50 feet) tall.

    Believed to have first been built by Adam and then rebuilt by Abraham 4,000 years ago, it is towards the Kaaba that Muslims turn to pray wherever they are in the world.

    Pilgrims next walk seven times between two stone spots in the mosque.

    They then move on to Mina, around five kilometers (three miles) away, ahead of the main rite of the pilgrimage at Mount Arafat.

    Mount Arafat

    The climax of the hajj is the gathering on Mount Arafat, about 10 kilometers from Mina, where it is believed that Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon.

    Pilgrims assemble on the 70 meter-high hill and its surrounding plain for hours of prayers and Koran recitals, remaining there until evening.

    After sunset they head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, where they gather several dozen pebbles to perform the symbolic “stoning of the devil”.

    ‘Stoning of the devil’

    The last major ritual of the hajj is back at Mina where pilgrims throw seven stones at each of three huge concrete walls representing Satan.

    The ritual is an emulation of Abraham’s stoning of the devil at the three spots where it is said Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God’s order to sacrifice his son, Ishmael.

    After the first stoning rite, the Eid al-Adha feast of sacrifice begins, marking the end of the hajj.

    Sheep are slaughtered, in reference to God’s provision of a lamb for sacrifice instead of Ishmael, in a ceremony also held at the same time around the world.

    Men then shave their heads or trim their hair while women cut a fingertip-length off their locks.

    The pilgrims can change back into normal clothing, returning to circumambulate the Kaaba and complete their stone-throwing rituals before heading home.

    Four other pillars

    The hajj is the last pillar of Islam and required by every Muslim at least once in their lifetime, if they are healthy enough to do so and have the means.

    The four other essential pillars are: profession of the Muslim faith; daily prayers; alms-giving; and fasting from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan.

  • Tiv/Jukun crisis: NYSC redeploys corps members serving in affected communities

    The National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) has redeployed corps  members serving in crisis affected communities in southern part of Taraba.

    Mrs Florence Yakuugh, NYSC Coordinator in Taraba, told a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo that the decision became imperative to provide safety for the corps members.

    She said:” we received directives from our national headquarters to redeploy our youth corps members serving in these crisis affected communities.

    ”We redeployed them out of those places and took them to local government headquarters in Wukari, Donga and Takum for their safety.

    ” We are appealing to the warring factions to embrace peace and allow development of their communities.

    “NYSC is a unifying institution and it is when there is peace that they can contribute their quarter to the development of their father land”.

    The NYSC coordinator enjoined those  local government areas that are located across rivers to acquire ‘life jackets’ for the safety of corps members posted to those areas.

    Yaakugh said that the directive has become necessary to safeguard the corps who were not conversant with crossing large volume of water.

    NAN reports that on July 31,authorities of Federal University, Wukari, Taraba, closed down the institution, following alleged abduction and killing of some students and staff of the institution due to the Jukun/Tiv ethnic crisis.

    NAN

  • CAF Champions League: Enyimba coach confident ahead of second leg clash with Rahimo FC

    Usman Abdallah, the Head Coach of Enyimba International Football Club, says he has confidence in the ability of his team to recover from their 2019/2020 CAF Champions League opening game loss.

    The two-times African champions lost 0-1 to hosts Rahimo FC of Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou in their First Preliminary Round first leg clash on Saturday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Issou Zonon scored the only goal in the match’s second half to underline their early dominance and secure a vital win.

    The result means the Aba giants need a 2-0 win at least to advance to the second preliminary round in September.

    Abdallah told NAN however that the People’s Elephant are still very much in contention to progress to the next phase since they suffered only a slim defeat.

    “It was not a good result for us, but at the same time we are not in a very difficult situation because it could have been worse if we had lost by two or three goals.

    “This was just our first game in the campaign and  sometimes results can go this way, but I can assure that the second leg in Aba will be a different ball game,” he said.

    Abdallah noted however that the Burkinabe side have going for them their youthfulness and agility.

    “But with the first-hand knowledge we acquired from Saturday’s tie, it will now be ‘easier’ to plot their downfall in the second-leg.

    “They have a young team with very good mobility and good techniques and they are very fit.

    “The goal they scored was a deflection and could have been avoidable, but now we have to go back to Aba and cancel the goal and also get another one more goal to seal the deal.

    “This is definitely not beyond our reach, given our pedigree. So, I am confident that we will have no problem advancing,” the coach said.

    NAN reports that the second leg tie will be played at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba on Aug. 23.

    NAN

  • 26 candidates to contest Tunisia’s Sept. 15 presidential election

    Twenty-six candidates, including two women, have been cleared run in Tunisia’s early presidential elections, slated for Sept. 15, the country’s electoral commission said on Wednesday.

    The 26 were cleared out of 97 aspirants, who submitted applications to run for president, the commission said in a news conference.

    Tunisia’s first democratically-elected president, Beji Essebsi, died on July 25, five months before the end of his term.

    Presidential elections were pushed forward to Sept. 15.

    Essebsi was elected in December 2014 and subsequently steered Tunisia through its democratic transition in the wake of the 2011 revolt that toppled long-time autocrat Zine Ben-Ali.

    The North African country is widely seen as the sole democratic success story of the 2010-11 Arab Spring revolts, but has struggled with an economic slowdown and social unrest.

  • Attack on Jewish man in Berlin leads police to open hate crime probe

    German authorities in Berlin have launched a hate crime investigation after a Jewish man was pushed to the ground from behind by two men, police said on Wednesday.

    The 55-year-old victim told police he was wearing clothing that identified him as a Jew when the incident occurred on Tuesday in the western neighbourhood of Charlottenburg.

    He returned home before contacting emergency services to report head and leg pain.

    Concerns about anti-Jewish sentiments have been on the rise in Germany.

    Last month, a rabbi was walking home with his son after conducting a service at a Berlin synagogue when two Arabic-speaking men swore and spat at him.

    Germany’s anti-Semitism commissioner made headlines in May when he warned Jews not to wear kippahs – traditional Jewish skullcaps – in public spaces.

    The comments were prompted by statistics showing a rise in anti-Semitic crimes in Germany.

    According to official figures, the number of anti-Semitic crimes committed in Germany increased from 1,504 in 2017 to 1,646 in 2018, a 10-per-cent rise.

    The number of cases considered violent increased from 37 to 62 over the same period.

    Statistics on hate crimes compiled by Germany’s Interior Ministry demonstrate that an average of four anti-semitic incidents have been reported every day for nearly 20 years, a prominent news outlet has revealed.

    “Since 2001, the Federal Ministry of the Interior publishes annually police statistics for crimes motivated by anti-Semitism.

    “According to the ministry, there were a total of 1799 anti-Semitic offenses in 2018. In 2014, there were just under 1,600 cases, in 2006, more than 1,800.

    “On average, there have been about four offenses every day since 2001,” the Dusseldorf-based Rheinische Post reported.

     

  • 16 suspects remanded over alleged cultism, attempted robbery

    A Badagry Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State on Wednesday remanded 15 men and one woman over alleged membership of an unlawful society, attempted robbery and unlawful gathering.

    The defendants are are: Raimi Olanrewaju, 60; Taofeeq Olanrewaju, 26; Abiodun Olanrewaju, 28; Ope Lawal, 19; Eyolade Yusuf, 18; Joseph Uzoma, 20; Idowu Kazeem, 20; Ismaila Atanda, 20, and Sheriff Adekunle, 19.

    Others are Morufu Sanni, 46; Fuwadi Agbalaya, 19; Afeez Alabi, 20; Jamiu Ajibade,19; Adeolu Thomas, 39; Sodiq Yusuf, 19; and the only woman, Aisat Aponmode, 20.

    The defendants, whose addresses are not known, are facing a five-count charge of belonging to an unlawful society, attempted robbery, breach of peace, unlawful display of dangerous arms and unlawful gathering.

    They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The Magistrate, Mr Patrick Adekomaiya, remanded them in prison and adjourned the case until Aug. 27 for mention.

    Earlier, the Prosecutor, ASP. Patrick Nkem, had told the court that the defendants committed the offences on Aug. 5, at about 10 p.m., at Eteghin community, Badagry, Lagos.

    Nkem said the defendants belonged to an unlawful society and had in their possession, cutlasses, a dagger, a knife and an iron bar.

    “The defendants conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause breach of peace by disturbing the peace of one Sabitu Anafiu and other community members.

    “They were unlawfully displaying dangerous arms in public. They attempted to rob Anofiu and other members of the community.

    “The defendants also took part in an unlawful gathering and rioting,” he said.

    According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened Sections 168, 42, 51, 45 and 406 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    NAN

  • N-Power insulated from corruption—FG

    The Federal Government said that the political will demonstrated in the execution of the N-Power programme,  insulated it from corruption and other forms of sharp practices that marred similar youth empowerment endeavours in the past.

    Communications Manager, National Social Investment Office (NSIO) Justice Bibiye, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said the  transparency in running the programme was also responsible for its huge impact on its beneficiaries and the economy.

    He said that media reports highlighting minority views expressed by a few critics who made bogus allegations bordering on corrupt practices in the implementation of N-Power did not reflect the true picture on ground.

    Bibiye said that N-power, one of the social intervention programmes of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, remained the most successful government-driven youth empowerment schemes in history.

    “It is either those critics have lost touch with existential realities as it concerns this government’s strict approach in implementing its policies and programmes, or that the resounding successes recorded, as evidenced in the outpouring of sincere and honest testimonies by the beneficiaries, is lost on them.

    “We are aware that some persons have assumed the role of perpetual pessimists of the SIPs, following the institution of processes and procedures that frown at selfish tendencies and corrupt practices at the NSIO.

    “We, however, owe it a duty to Nigerians to continue to set the records straight whenever naysayers come up with falsehoods to mislead the public.

    “We wish to state categorically that there are no N-power ghost beneficiaries neither is the programme embroiled in corruption as alleged by those who have decided to see nothing good in the scheme.

    “From application, selection, deployment and payment of volunteers, the process is transparent, being technology driven,’’ he said.

    According to him, at inception, the BVN of successful candidates are sent to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) for verification.

    Bibiye, said that NIBSS, being the custodian of the BVN data, authenticated the identity of each and every name, number and account number submitted by the NSIO, and anyone not verified was dropped from the list of successful beneficiaries.

    “For the first set of 200,000 beneficiaries submitted for verification, NIBSS verified 93 per cent of the total number, after which only those verified were submitted to the various States, which entities are saddled with the responsibility of physically verifying the beneficiaries and deploying them to their Primary Places of Assignment (PPA).

    “Upon confirmation of the deployments to the PPAs, the NSIO then signs off to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, which makes payment directly to the accounts of beneficiaries through the NIBBS.

    “This process also applies to other components of the social intervention programmes except for the National Conditional Cash Transfer programme, where due to logistics challenges, mobile money agents (MMA) are engaged to reach out to beneficiaries in the rural areas.

    “The successful MMA’s are selected through an open process in compliance with the BPP Act, and even though they pay beneficiaries in remote locations where there is a dearth of banking infrastructure, they each have a backend technology that enables visibility and timely reconciliation of payments, as a pre-condition to engagement,’’ he said.

    He said the Federal Government remained favourably disposed to constructive criticisms and the feedback that would aid ongoing efforts to strengthen the execution strategies of the SIPs for greater service delivery to Nigerians.

    Bibiye however said that critics were also encouraged to follow up closely and interrogate the processes of the programme to avoid making remarks that were not evidence-based.

    He said that Nigerians, particularly beneficiaries of the programme and their dependents, should be rest assured that the SIPs were not crumbling or coming to an end any time soon as predicted by naysayers.

    The communications manager said that the Federal Government, through the NSIO, would continue to redouble efforts to ensure that the intended objectives of the Social Intervention Programmes were achieved in line with public expectations.

    NAN

  • Trump to visit US troops during Poland visit, defence minister says

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday is expected to address the U.S. troops stationed in Poland during his visit to the country, according to Polish Defence Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak.

    Blaszczak said the address, coming after a deal in June to increase the U.S. troop presence in Poland, would take place in one of six locations where U.S. troops were to be stationed.

    He said the increased U.S. military presence was a success for Poland and the U.S.

    However, Trump was expected to visit Poland from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. He was also expected to participate in commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, Sept. 1.

    Trump and Polish President, Andrzej Duda, in June, signed an agreement to increase the U.S. military presence in Poland from 4,500 to at least 5,500 and place the leadership of a U.S. army division in Poland.

    He said the military personnel in Poland would be taken from Germany or another location, as the U.S. did not want to send any additional troops to Europe.

    Trump said Poland should be rewarded for hitting a NATO defence spending target of 2 per cent of GDP and criticised Germany for not reaching the goal.