Farida Waziri, product of Governors’ Forum, cannot prosecute corrupt governors – Fawehinmi

Fawehinmi
Son of the late Lagos lawyer and human rights activist (Gani Fawehinmi), Mohammed, bares his mind on issues of national security, anti-graft campaign and the withdrawal of Senior Advocate of Nigeria award from former Attorney-General of the Fedration, Michael Aondoakaa, in an interview with AKINWALE ABORISADE What is your reaction to the Nigeria Bar Association position on withdrawal of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria title from former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa?

I am in support of the Legal Practice Privileges Committee for suspending the title of SAN given to Aondoakaa. I think the NBA should look inwards and let us know what that NBA stands for.


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I’ve never killed a chicken, let alone Dokpesi – Osa-Ogiemwonyi

Osa-Ogienwonyi
Mr. Chris Osa-Ogienwonyi, Minister of State for Works, fielded questions from FRIDAY OLOKOR at a public function on issues affecting roads, Raymond Dokpesi’s allegation on plans to assassinate him and more We learnt that the crisis in Edo State chapter of the PDP, centering on Chief Tony Anenih and

Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, has been settled. How was it done?

The two leaders have agreed for peace to reign this time around; they were the two main actors and we salute their courage to put their differences behind them so as to take the PDP to the next level.
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Controversy in Niger over PPP projects

Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu

A verbal war has emerged between the Niger State government and the Action Congress of Nigeria following the latter‘s allegations that the government had turned all the public private partnership projects into a conduit to siphon money from the state‘s treasury.

Our correspondent learnt that the party raised the alarm following failures of many of the PPP projects which were said to have collapsed after government had doled out huge sums of money to contractors handling them.

The ACN had in a statement made available to our correspondent in Minna expressed concern that the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration in the state had wasted huge resources on such projects without expected results.
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Football: Ronaldo double rescues Real

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 10 times in his last four La Liga outings for Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued their hot goalscoring runs as Real Madrid and Barcelona moved ominously clear of their La Liga rivals in Spain on Saturday night. Ronaldo followed up his four strikes from last weekend with another two as Real came from behind to beat Hercules 3-1 and stay a point clear of second-placed champions Barcelona.
Third-placed Villarreal trail Real by four points ahead of Sunday's trip to Sporting Gijon.
Real, held 0-0 by third-division Murcia in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, looked like suffering another humiliation after going behind only three minutes into the game in Alicante -- the first time the Galacticos have trailed in Jose Mourinho's first season as coach.
Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/football/10/30/football.ronaldo.messi.madrid.barcelona/index.html

 

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‘Nigerians are ready to comply with tax payment, if …’

Kunle Quadri
What major lapses have you observed in Nigeria‘s tax system?

There are quite many lapses in the Nigerian tax structure but many of them are being addressed now. One of them is that we don‘t have accurate data on people that are supposed to pay taxes. Who are really the tax payers? A number of tax authorities are just compiling these data. There is also the issue of training and retraining of staff. This is a big problem because the authorities don‘t even have enough funds to train them. There is the need for the system to be independent; they should be able to get as many professionals as possible into the system. Not just tax professionals, but other professionals should be brought in according to the lines of discipline they actually belong to. For instance, legal practitioners and accountants are needed to come into the tax system. There should be political backing for the tax authorities. Some tax offices just issue assessments, and before you know it, someone is telling the chairman or whoever to reverse the assessment or else he may lose his or her job
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Diamond Bank’s Q3 profit up by 638%

Diamond Bank Plc on Friday, announced its results for the nine months ended September 30, 2010.

According to a statement released by the bank, it recorded an impressive growth of 638 per cent in profit before tax and exceptional items, from a negative of N1.2bn in the corresponding period last year, to N7.0bn in the period ended September 30, 2010. It added that its balance sheet grew by1.56 per cent, while its liquidity ratio stood at 40 per cent, which was 15 per cent above the minimum regulatory ratio of 25 per cent.

Speaking on the result, the Managing Director, Diamond Bank, Mr. Emeka Onwuka, affirmed that the bank was making steady progress.
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How women can be financially independent

How women can be financially independent
With the current economic reality, both married and single women are required to be financially independent. This means that they will not have to rely on men to survive or meet their daily obligations.

Furthermore, though it is the primary obligation of the husband in the Nigerian culture to provide for the needs of the immediate family, there is the need for married women to complement the efforts and contributions of men.

In some cases too, there are certain needs of women that may not be provided for by men, especially when they are personal.
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Clijsters in final after car-crash scare

Three-time U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters won the season-ending WTA Championships in 2002 and 2003

Kim Clijsters survived a car crash to book her place in the final of the WTA Championships in Doha, where she will face world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on Sunday.
The Belgian, seeking to win the $4.55 million season-ending tournament for the third time, revealed that she had escaped unharmed after being involved in an accident ahead of her semifinal victory over Samantha Stosur on Saturday.
"We just had a car accident on our way to the courts! So scary... Bob, my manager took the hit," the Belgian wrote on social networking site Twitter, attaching an image of the damaged vehicle.
Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/tennis/10/30/tennis.clijsters.wozniacki.zvonareva.stosur/index.html Read more...

Controversy as Manchester United keep pressure on leaders Chelsea

Angry Tottenham players surround referee Mark Clattenburg after Manchester United's second goal is awarded

Manchester United claimed a controversial 2-0 victory at home to Tottenham on Saturday night to keep up the pressure on English Premier League leaders Chelsea. United stayed within five points of the defending champions, who came from behind to beat Blackburn 2-1 earlier in the day, following a bizarre incident late in the match at Old Trafford.
Nani was allowed to put the ball into the Tottenham net while goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes was trying to take a free-kick, after the Portugal midfielder handled when he went down having vainly claimed a penalty.
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FCMB posts N6bn pre-tax profit

First City Monument Bank Plc has announced a N6.1bn group profit before tax for the nine-month period ended September 2010.

This is against the N300bn recorded in the same period previous year.

A press statement issued by the bank on Friday, said the main contributor to this was improved assets quality, culminating in a net write- back of N1.8bn in 2010, as against N12.7bn charged in the previous year.

Quarterly profitability trend also showed improvement, growing from N1.1bn in first quarter to N2.3bn and N2.6bn in second and third quarters respectively, largely due to loan growth and related income.
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Patching PDP’s tattered umbrella in Oyo

Akala ang Ladoja
With the fast tempo of politicking nationwide and the polarisation of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State, OLALEKAN ADETAYO writes that the PDP might lose the state to the opposition if the crisis in the party is not resolved in good time.
The Peoples Democratic Party prides itself as the biggest political party in Africa. It is currently the ruling party inNigeria and in more than 26 states of the federation. Oyo is one of the states where the PDP is holding sway.

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Share this on: Mixx Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn Viadeo Government considers relocations after Indonesian tsunami

The toll climbed to 413 dead and 298 missing four days after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia's coast, triggering a tsunami, officials said Friday.
The National Disaster Coordinating Agency said 270 people were seriously injured and 142 had minor injuries. More than 22,000 people have been displaced or affected by the tsunami, which swept up villagers and their homes without warning, the agency said.
The government is considering relocating some residents in the earthquake-prone islands near Sumatra, the state-run Antara news agency said.
"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed me to draft a government regulation related to the relocation plan. We will discuss this matter soon after the emergency response period and rehabilitation of the impacted area are over," said People's Welfare Minister Agung Laksono.
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Gunmen kill 9 police officers in western Mexico

A group of gunmen ambushed a state police convoy in western Mexico and killed nine officers, state media reported.

Ten officers survived the attack, which occurred in the state of Jalisco on Thursday, state police said, according to the state-run Notimex news agency. One more officer is missing.
The officers were patrolling the southeastern part of the state when gunmen -- armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers -- attacked, the agency said.
After a gunbattle that lasted several hours, the gunmen fled to the neighboring state of Michoacan, Notimex said.
Several deadly attacks have made headlines over the past week in Mexico, where more than 28,000 people have died in drug-related violence since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon announced a crackdown on cartels
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Official: North Korea, South Korea exchange gunfire

North Korean and South Korean military units exchanged gunfire near their border Friday, South Korean authorities said.

No casualties were reported.
The exchange happened after North Korean forces fired two rounds from a 14.5 millimeter machine gun at a South Korean military guard post near the border town of Chorwon, South Korea, about 73 miles (118 km) northeast of Seoul, according to an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The South Korean unit responded with three "warning shots" from a .50-caliber machine gun and warned the North Korean guard post by loudspeaker to desist, the official said.
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Another bad year for Middle East journalists?

By all accounts, it's been a bad month for journalism in the Middle East, with claims of arbitrary arrests, publications forced to close, threats made against TV station executives and bloggers jailed. Add to these the publication of a new global index on press freedoms which paints a very sorry picture of Middle Eastern countries -- and all-in-all it appears to have been a bad year.
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Russian anti-drugs chief applauds Afghan heroin haul

U.S., Russia make heroin bust

Russia's joint operation with the United States to destroy Afghan drugs laboratories marks the first time it has deployed security forces in the region since the Soviet military withdrew in 1989, Russia's anti-narcotics chief said Friday. The operation in Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan on Thursday was jointly conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Department of Defense, NATO, the Afghan Ministry of Interior and the Russian drug control agency.
It involved raids on four laboratories associated with a significant dugs trafficker in the province. Approximately one metric ton of heroin worth $250 million was seized, along with a smaller quantity of opium and items used in drug production, U.S. authorities said.
"This is the first operation in Afghanistan in which Russian drug police officers took part," said Victor Ivanov, head of Russia's federal drug control agency.

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Suicide bomb kills 25 at crowded coffee shop

A bomb attack at a crowded coffee shop in Iraq on Friday evening killed 25 people, according to Interior Ministry officials. The suicide bomber walked into the popular shop in Balad Ruz, a predominantly Kurdish town about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Baquba, and detonated an explosive vest, officials said.

Seventy others were wounded in the attack, Iraqi officials said.

Source:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/10/29/iraq.diyala.bomb/index.html

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Cocoa farming needs to attract young graduates –Owofemi

Owofemi

Mr. Dimeji Owofemi is the founder and executive vice-chairman of Multi-Trex Integrated Foods, Warewa, Ogun State, a company to be listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange on Nov. 1, 2010. He tells ADEOLA BALOGUN about the efforts being made to revive the cocoa industry and make Nigeria produce and consume the product
Cocoa used to sustain the Western Region in the old days and it is assumed that such a time is gone. What is Multi-Trex doing to revive that?

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Mortgage rates rise to 4.23%

WASHINGTON : Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly in the United States this week to an average of 4.23 per cent, just above the lowest level in decades, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The average rate for 30-year fixed loans inched up from 4.21 per cent the previous week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Earlier in the month, rates fell to 4.19 per cent, the lowest average on records dating back to 1971.

The average rate on 15-year fixed loans rose to 3.66 per cent. That was up from 3.64 per cent a week earlier.

Rates have been falling since April. They have remained low this month because investors have been buying up Treasury bonds in anticipation of the Federal Reserve‘s likely move to buy Treasurys to stimulate the economy. That demand lowers Treasury yields, which mortgage rates tend to track.

Low rates haven‘t helped the struggling housing market, which recorded its worst summer in more than a decade. But they have led to a modest surge in refinancing.
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Exxon, Shell profits bubble higher with oil prices

HOUSTON : The world‘s biggest oil companies, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, reported sharply higher third-quarter profits on Thursday, beating analysts‘ forecasts, as rising energy demand drove up oil and gas prices and fattened refinery margins.

Oil prices climbed by 12 per cent in the quarter from a year earlier on the back of the global economic recovery and strong demand from China, which became the world‘s largest energy user this year.

That helped boost Exxon‘s quarterly profit by 55 per cent and Shell‘s profits by 88 per cent after one-time items.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the companies were the world‘s two largest oil companies not owned by governments, and their profits both topped analysts‘ average forecasts, lifting their shares.

Shares in oil companies have performed strongly in the past several weeks after a dismal first half of the year. The Chicago Board of Options Exchange‘s oil company index had rallied nearly 17 per cent since mid-August, putting it nearly flat for the year.
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Wal-Mart considering smaller Massmart stake

Wal-Mart
NEW YORK: Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation is considering taking a smaller stake in South African retailer, Massmart Holdings Limited to keep its listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Massmart said Thursday that the world‘s biggest retailer informed the company that it may now make a partial offer to buy more than 50 per cent of the company for 148 rands per share.

Associated Press reported that in September Wal-Mart offered to buy all of Massmart for about $4.25bn. The move was viewed as a way for Wal-Mart to jump-start growth beyond its sluggish United States business.
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Freedom Park rises from the ashes of prison that held Awo, Zik

Freedom Park, Broad Street

A foremost prison on Broad Street that had great inmates like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe has been transformed to Freedom Park and a tourist spot, writes ADEMOLA ONI What better name would suffice for a former prison that once housed suspected and hardened criminals, but a complex where the voice of liberation could be heard? The name Freedom Park seems apt for a complex that once held in captivity not only criminals, but freedom agitators like the late Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and even Adeyemo Alakija, who were branded rebels by Nigeria’s then colonial overlords.

While some of the activists were held in the prison before Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Awolowo was incarcerated in the 52-cell facility again while standing trial for treasonable felony. On Broad Street, Lagos, a federal prison once held in its cells, various forms of personalities, who were suspected to have perpetrated different kinds of evil against other persons or against the society.
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Reducing the crowd in banking halls

An over-crowded bank hall

Despite the introduction of faster alternative banking transaction methods, long queues of customers waiting to pay in or withdraw cash are still a common sight in banking halls. Samson Echenim reports that, though experts are of the opinion that the majority of Nigerian bank customers are not sophisticated enough for Internet banking, they suggest that banks should have more branches in the areas where excessive crowding and long queues have constituted a nuisance.



A civil engineer, Mr. Benson Adegboyega, had never witnessed a more difficult day since he got a contract to build a duplex for a client at a busy area of Igando, Lagos, until Monday morning. He resumed at the site at 8am to meet protesting artisans, who vowed never to go to work until their arrears were paid.
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Blind people perceive touch faster than those with sight

People who are blind from birth are able to detect tactile information faster than people with normal vision, according to a study in the Oct. 27 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

The brain requires a fraction of a second to register a sight, sound, or touch. In this study, a group of researchers led by Daniel Goldreich, PhD, of McMaster University explored whether people who have a special reliance on a particular sense - in the way blind people rely on touch - would process that sense faster.

”Our findings reveal that one way the brain adapts to the absence of vision is to accelerate the sense of touch,” Goldreich said. ”The ability to quickly process non-visual information probably enhances the quality of life of blind individuals who rely to an extraordinary degree on the non-visual senses.”
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ACN mourns Ekiti deputy speaker

he Action Congress of Nigeria on Friday expressed shock at the death of the deputy speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Saliu Abayomi Adeoti.

In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party described Adeoti as a loyal party man and principled person. It recalled that the deceased stood solidly by the party during its struggle to reclaim its mandate from the PDP.

The ACN said, “A ranking lawmaker, who is not imbued with such strength of character as Adeoti could have dumped his party and teamed up with the then ruling party in the state, but Adeoti remained true to his principle and beliefs all through the struggle. It is a cruel irony that he died shortly after the struggle finally ended on a positive note.”

The party prayed that God would grant repose to the soul of the departed and strengthen the family he left behind to be able to bear the loss.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101030735431 Read more...

Kidnappers free Indian teacher

An Indian teacher who works for an ExxonMobil funded school in southern Nigeria, Mrs. Lakshmi Tombush, has been released two weeks after she was seized by gunmen, the police said on Friday.

“She was released yesterday (Thursday) and she is in a good condition,” Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Walter Rugbere, confirmed to our correspondent.

Tombush, head teacher at the oil firm’s Pegasus Primary School in Eket, was kidnapped a fortnight ago by gunmen who also shot dead her driver and a policeman escorting her.

It was unclear if a ransom was paid to secure her release.

No arrests have been made.

Scores of kidnappings have occurred in the Niger Delta in recent years, often by criminal gangs seeking ransom payments, and also by militants demanding a fairer distribution of oil revenue.

Last month, gunmen hijacked a bus carrying schoolchildren. They were freed in a police and military operation five days later.
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N9.3bn wrong posting: NAWOJ, NBA may sue First Bank

The president of the National Association of Women Journalists, Alhaja Fatima Abdulkareem, has said the association, the Nigeria Bar Association and other professional bodies have resolved to sue First Bank of Nigeria Plc over the bank’s accusation against Mr. Job Durojaye.

Durojaye, a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, was said to have discovered N9.3bn wrongly credited to his savings account, domiciled in one of the branches of the bank located in Ibadan, Oyo State.

He was said to have reported the discovery to the bank management, which quickly withdrew the sum from his account.

The student’s action attracted commendations from Nigerians, while the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, which he belongs to, honoured him with a car.

But the bank’s management was quoted in a media report as saying that Durojaye should not be celebrated like a hero, calling him a rogue, who had planned to defraud the bank.

Abdulkareem explained on Friday that the bodies, acting under the aegis of Integrity Forum, had decided to sue the bank to demand a N250m compensation on behalf of Durojaye.
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PDP still supreme in South-West –Lagos governorship aspirant

A governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Mr. Owolabi Salis, has said the PDP remains the party to beat in the South-West despite the nullification of the victory of Mr. Segun Oni as the governor of Ekiti State two weeks ago.

Salis, in a statement in Lagos on Friday, contended that the Action Congress of Nigeria was only able to win the Ekiti State governorship through the pronouncement of the court.

He said the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which sat in Ilorin, was not an indication of the dwindling fortunes of the party in the South-West.

Calling on the supporters of the party not to be discouraged by the loss of the PDP in Ekiti, Salis urged the citizens to maintain their unalloyed support for the party in order to sustain its dominance in Nigerian politics.

He said, “What we have, apart from the PDP, are mushroom parties, which certainly cannot get anywhere and will soon fizzle out with time, as all of them combined are certainly no match for the PDP.

“While I agree that the PDP is not 100 per cent perfect as it is today, just like any other system of human affairs, I am still of the belief that the PDP is our best option for now. It is therefore our responsibility to make the most of it.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010304123842 Read more...

Ciroma group gang up against Jonathan’ll fail – Gov Aliyu aide

Ciroma
A northern leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Umaru Rofyan, has said that enlightened political elite from the zone were against the undemocratic posture adopted by the Northern Peoples Forum in making its case for the presidential flag-bearer of the party in the 2011 general elections.

Rofyan, a Special Adviser on Rural Development to Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, specifically criticised NPF for propagating politics of sentiment hinged on zoning, tribe and religion.

He reasoned that those sponsoring the presidential ambition of the former dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd), were simply advancing the course of regional and sentimental politics.

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My husband starves me of sex, woman, 58, tells court

A 58-year-old trader, Mrs. Ramota Ishola, on Thursday dragged her 71-year-old husband, Mufutau Ishola, before a Grade 1 Customary Court, sitting in Ake, Abeokuta, over an allegation of neglect and refusal to make love to her.

Ramota accused Mufutau of neglecting her, adding that they had been married for 20 years, but yet to have a child and that the last time her husband made love to her was about three years ago.

She said that she was tired of the union because of the neglect and lack of love and care. Besides, she said Mufutau did not allow her to move freely.

She described her husband as an irresponsible man, who would not perform his marital duties as expected of a responsible man, adding that she had married 10 different men before Mufutau, but none had given her much trouble like him.

“I have married 10 men before him because I was looking for a child; I had never been molested like this by any of them. I am tired of this relationship and feed up staying with him.
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Senate endorses April deadline for 2011 elections

Senate endorses April deadline for 2011 elections
Senate endorses April deadline for 2011 elections 

THE Senate yesterday endorsed the request by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for new time lines for the 2011 polls. By the action of the upper chamber, the deadline for the conduct of the elections is April next year.

Also, the House of Representatives has passed the second amendment to the 1999 Constitution.
INEC earlier this month, forwarded a bill to the National Assembly seeking an amendment to the constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 so as to allow for new time lines for the conduct of next general elections.
The Senate yesterday voted on the report of the committee on amendment of the 1999  constitution headed by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. One of the areas of amendment endorsed by the chamber is section 76 of the 1999 constitution which stipulates that elections to each House of the National Assembly shall not be held earlier than 150 days and not later than 120 days before the date on which the House stands dissolved or where the election is to fill a vacancy occurring more than 90 days before such date, not later than 30 days after the vacancy occurred. The amendment effected by the Senate reads; (1)''Elections to each House of the National Assembly shall be held on a date to be appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission in accordance with the Electoral Act''. 
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Dollar weakens as oil price rises

 Dollars
Oil gained 16 cents to close at $82.10 a barrel on Thursday as the dollar weakened and United States gasoline stockpiles posted a surprise drop.

Analysts said that doubts about the size of expected monetary stimulus by the US Federal Reserve might have also caused the rise.

US crude CLc1 for December stood at $82.10 a barrel, after falling by nearly one per cent on Wednesday while the ICE Brent LCOc1 added two cents to close at $83.25.

Most leading economists expect the Federal Reserve to buy between $80bn and $100bn worth of assets per month under a new programme to bolster the US economy, a Reuters’ poll found on Wednesday.

Besides, the US gasoline inventories fell by $4.4m barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration report said.

The drop dampened the bearish effect of greater-than-expected gains in crude stockpiles of more than five million barrels.

”I see the decline in gasoline stocks as quite positive for the oil market, especially because we don‘t usually see these drops this time of the year,” Ben Westmore, a commodities analyst at National Australia Bank, said.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101029105881 Read more...

Foreign investors renew interest in Nigeria’s stock market

Nigeria Stock Exchange Market

Following the perceived stability in the stock market and new listings by some local investors, some foreign investors have renewed interest in the stock market, the management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange has said.

The Interim Administrator of the NSE, Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh, who spoke with some financial journalists on Thursday, said the Nigerian stock market was relatively stable currently and there were positive signals from the market.

According to him, ”A lot of foreign investors are now interested in our market. There is stability in the market. There are positive signals. The global crisis has created a situation whereby people are not willing to buy shares, but the market locally is showing positive signals.”

The stock market had been relatively stable in the last few weeks with indices rising steadily.

The NSE had also stated its willingness to increase the limit on daily share price movement from five per cent to 10 per cent.

Ikhazoboh, who disclosed this to Reuters on Tuesday, noted that the trading hours might also be extended from two to three hours.

He said that the move was part of efforts by the NSE to boost liquidity, as well as attract more foriegn investments into the exchange.

According to him, the five per cent cap on individual stock movements had drastically reduced liquidity, while the trading day shut out United States and other foreign investors.

He said, ”Within the next three weeks, I believe the case of the price cap and the number of hours of trading will be determined. Papers have been prepared, we just need the approval of the stock exchange council and the Securities and Exchange Commission‘s approval.”

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010290494540 Read more...

Again, Reps step down NCC’s N69.3bn budget

Hon. Speaker, House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole
For the third time on Thursday, the 2010 budget of the Nigeria Communications Commission suffered a setback as the House of Representatives rejected a conference report on it.

Incidentally, there are barely 64 days to the end of the year, but the commission‘s N69.3bn is yet to get approval in the House.

To stave off a rowdy session, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, stepped the budget down and ordered an investigation into the controversies surrounding the document.

On July 28, the House had passed some provisions of the budget and forwarded a copy to the Senate for concurrence with the latter‘s version.

The Senate had earlier passed the budget.

The report of the conference committee of the Senate and the House was scheduled to be adopted on Thursday, but lawmakers kicked against it.

Some lawmakers protested the inclusion of some provisions the House did not approve in its own version before it was sent to the conference committee.

One of the controversial provisions is the N6.1bn budgeted for SIM card registration by the NCC.

The NCC had proposed to undertake the registration of existing SIM cards as part of efforts to contain the use of mobile telephones for criminal purposes.

Telecommunications service providers are to undertake the registration of new subscribers under an arrangement with the NCC.

But when the budget was debated by the House in July, lawmakers opposed the decision of the NCC to spend N6.1bn to register existing subscribers.

They argued that the global practice was that service providers were responsible for the registration of subscribers while the regulator defined the guidelines.

The House in a majority decision, deleted the N6.1bn from the budget.

The figure, however, found its way into the report sent to the House on Thursday.

Without the benefit of examining the report, lawmakers protested against what they said was a move to stampede them to ”adopt” the document.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Mr. Ita Enang, tried unsuccessfully to convince his colleagues to adopt the report.

The Chairman of the Committee on NCC, Mr. Dave Salako, was also shouted down when he attempted to offer explanations.

Sensing trouble, Bankole quickly ordered the withdrawal of the report.

He directed that an investigation be conducted on the matter before the House would take a final decision on the budget.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010290585937 Read more...

Dangote acquires 64% stake in S’African cement firm

Dangote Industries Limited has acquired 64 per cent stake in Sephaku Cement Limited, a firm based in South Africa.

By the acquisition, totalling R779m, Dangote has become the largest foreign investor by an African company in South Africa.

A statement from Dangote Industries on Thursday, noted that the group formally increased its stake in Sephaku from 19.76 per cent to 64 per cent.

The deal, which was formally announced to the media on Thursday, came a few days after Dangote Industries successfully listed one of its subsidiaries, Dangote Cement Plc, on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The statement quoted the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as saying that the transaction was done at a crucial moment in the history of cement’s demand and supply.

Dangote, who is the new Chairman of Sephaku Cement, said, ”We are immensely excited about the future prospects of this transaction and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Sephaku Cement.

This investment is an important milestone for Sephaku, for the Dangote Group of Companies and for South Africa, as the first clinker producing project since 1934.”

According to Dangote, the pace of development at Sephaku will increase in view of the project completion timeline set for 2012.

He was also quoted as saying that the Dangote Group would bring its full experience and resources to the project, having completed other large-scale cement projects in Nigeria and with similar projects currently underway in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Senegal and Zambia.

He said, “We are strong believers in the future growth of the South African economy and of continued growth across the whole of Africa. The level of our investment here and in other markets is a testament to that.

“We have embarked on an investment programme that will create modern cement plants in strategic locations, as we seek to leverage both the local production deficit and increasing infrastructure investment.”

According to the statement, Dangote said that the group was looking outside Nigeria for growth opportunities, pointing out that the long-term ambition of the group was to develop 46 million tonnes of production and terminal capacity in Africa by 2015.

While stating that these were ambitious targets, he said they were achievable, as Africa remained the only continent in the world with a significant cement production deficit, lower cement consumption and the highest cement prices.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010290501959 Read more...

Kidnappers release Ewang’s wife

The wife of a former military administrator of old Ogun and River states, Mrs. Comfort Ewang, late Thursday night regained freedom from her abductors atfer 22 days in kidnappers’ den.

Though the details of her release is still sketchy as at press time, the Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, Mr. Walter Rugbere, confirmed the release of the admimistrator’s wife. He said, “My boys are on their way now to pick her in Eket.”

The kidnappers had reportedly demanded for N100m ransom after collecting N25m from Ewang.

Ewang had paid the N25m ransom with the hope that his wife would be freed, but he was disappointed as the gunmen set the car in which the money was conveyed to their hideout ablaze, seized the driver of the vehicle and later fled with the money.

A source at Ewang’s campaign organisation ,on Thursday, told our correspondent that the kidnappers had made a fresh demand of another N100m

The former military administrator had on Monday told our correspondent that he could no longer continue to speak with the kidnappers on the grounds that they had not shown any sign of seriousness in freeing his wife, saying they were also in the habit of increasing the ransom on a daily basis.

“Even the former administrator has stopped communicating with the kidnappers because there was no sign that they wanted to release the woman Ewang’s wife). The latest now is that they are asking for another N100m after Ewang had already paid N25m.” the source, who pleaded anonymity said on Thursday.

Several attempts made by our correspondent to get the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Walter Rugbere, to give an update on the abduction of the former administrator’s wife proved abortive as telephone calls made to his line were not answered.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101029337862 Read more...

UK may allow changes to air security checks

LONDON: The transport Secretary, Mr. Philip Hammond, has signalled his willingness to change the regulations on security checks at British airports.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday that, Hammond was responding to senior figures in the airline industry who had backed British Airways Chairman, Martin Broughton‘s attack on measures imposed by the United States.

Broughton said many of the checks were ”completely redundant.”

Hammond said he would be allowing airlines to look at ways of ”easing the passenger experience.”

He said practices such as forcing passengers to take off their shoes should be abandoned and he also questioned why laptop computers needed to be screened separately.

Responding to the BA chairman‘s comments, the former Head, policy, US Department of Homeland Security, Stewart Baker, said practices such as taking shoes off and limiting the amount of liquids taken on board were in place on domestic flights in the US.

However, air security analyst at Jane‘s Information Group, Mr. Chris Yates, said while a lot of measures were in place, they were not applied consistently in all the US airports.

Baker said Broughton was inferring that the UK was a ‘ US poodle‘, but that this was not the case.

He stated, ”It does sound as though he was kind of venting, rather than engaged in a careful analysis. I‘ve sort of learned that when Brits play the ‘poodle card‘, it‘s more emotional than rational and it sounded like he was playing the poodle card.”

Hammond responded to the row by saying the government would give airport operators permission, through changing the regulations, to look at the way they carry out security procedures.

”(They can) do them differently, if they believe that that can reduce the queuing and ease the passenger experience,” he said.

But he said he could not order the US to relax the restrictions on passengers travelling to the states.

He added, ”I have to defend the right of every country to define the security requirements that it places on flights entering its airspace.”

BAA, which operates six British airports including Heathrow and Glasgow, was supportive of Broughton‘s comments.

Its Chief Executive, Colin Matthews, said passenger safety was paramount, but admitted security checks could be better organised.

He said, ”We could do a better job if we could redesign it with the end in mind and have a single coherent process.

”It would be much better, too, if passengers weren‘t confused by having different arrangements at both ends of the journey.”

Earlier Mike Carrivick, of BAR UK, which represents more than 80 airlines, said the industry should ”step back and have a look at the whole situation.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010291221482 Read more...

Nigerians know masters of ‘settlement’ – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday denied a report that he was bribing Peoples Democratic Party’s delegates to win the party’s presidential primaries.

In a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr. Imma Niboro, the President said that Nigerians knew masters of ‘governance by bribery.’

Denying the report, the President said, “The story itself explains its source, in a desperate campaign of calumny to portray the President in bad light and pre-judge the outcome of the forthcoming PDP presidential primaries, in which he is evidently the man to beat.”

The statement added that the President in pursuit of fair play and an impartial contest had urged all his aides and supporters to avoid a campaign of calumny.

“There is hardly any need to ruffle feathers since we would need all the other contestants when, by the grace of God, the President wins the primaries in a fair and square contest,” it said.

The statement advised people behind the report to shun a campaign of calumny.

It said, “The President is confident in the power of discernment of those who will emerge as PDP delegates, and as such does not require paying any one; least of all from the public till, for his or her vote. Nigerians know the masters of governance by settlement and it is not Jonathan.”

An online publication, Saharareporters, had on Thursday reported that Global Information System alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan was corrupting the political process.

In the report, which was published on the website, World Tribune alleged that “major payments were being made to PDP delegates,” who would vote during the presidential primaries.

“Moreover,” the report stated, “the incumbent President is bribing PDP delegates out of Federal Government funds, making most of the party delegates wealthy enough to buy a new home with the bribery funds.”

The report broke down the number of delegates for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, and their cash presents.

“There are some three delegates for each local government council, and some of the 36 states (plus the Federal Territory of Abuja) have, for example, up to 40 or more local government bodies.

“The incumbent President’s own state, Bayelsa, has only a few, but with each delegate being offered multiple cash payments of up to two-million naira (appr. $13,300) for his vote, the total bill runs into billions of naira.”

Speaking to Saharareporters from Alexandria, Viriginia, author Gregory Copley who writes under a variety of corporate identities, admitted that he knew General Gusau for close to 30 years but denied any conflict of interest.

He directed us to reports that had been written in the past which were complimentary of Jonathan in the past. But a Jonathan supporter said those times that GIS wrote favorable reports about Jonathan , it done so, mostly in support of Gusau as the National security adviser.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010293363123 Read more...

Nigeria’s economic growth is vulnerable – Sanusi

CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, said on Thursday that the rate of the country’s economic growth was at risk due to reliance on other countries’ development.

Bloomberg quoted Sanusi as saying, in a speech delivered at the African Development Bank conference in Gammarth, Tunisia, that Nigeria’s rate of economic growth “is vulnerable because of dependency on expansion in other countries.”

He added, “Expansion has been achieved, not because of policy success, but in spite of policy failures. African countries, including Nigeria, should better control their own economic development.

”If Asia continues growing, if the good numbers that we saw in Britain and Germany are signs of the absence of a double-dip recession; then, we are likely to continue growing. For how long will we continue to be subject to the successes and failures of other countries?”

Sanusi noted that Nigeria would boost growth with infrastructure projects that would be profitable investments for funders, rather than donations by foreign aid groups.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, had said recently that Nigeria‘s economy would expand by 7.75 per cent in 2010, outpacing 2009‘s rate of seven per cent.

The International Monetary Fund recently rated Nigeria as the third fastest growing economy in the world after China and India, insisting that the nation‘s economy had grown from 6.9 per cent in 2009 to 7.4 per cent this year.

Aganga had described the rating by IMF as a good development, saying, “The rating is a good one, coming at a time when the economies of the developed countries are contracting. With the new policies being initiated by the Federal Government, the economy will witness a turnaround in a very short time.”

Aganga had said at a joint press conference with Sanusi at the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington DC, United States, that the economic prospect of the country was bright despite the fact that Nigeria was yet to take advantage of opportunities and resources available within the country.

Nigeria achieved 7.4 per cent growth and 48 per cent increase in revenue in the first half of the year.

The IMF‘s statement came on the heels of Fitch‘s rating on the outlook of the nation‘s economy.http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101029501478 Read more...

World Bank to lead economic push on nature protection

World Bank

TOKYO: The World Bank has launched a global partnership aimed at helping countries include the costs of destroying nature into their national accounts, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday.

The bank‘s president Robert Zoellick, said environmental destruction happened partly because governments do not account for the value of nature.

The partnership was launched at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya , Japan.

”We know that human well-being depends on ecosystems and biodiversity,” said Zoellick.

”We also know they‘re degrading at an alarming rate.

”One of the causes is our failure to properly value ecosystems and all they do for us _ and the solution therefore lies in taking full account of our ecosystem services when countries make policies.”

Norway’s Environment Minister, Erik Solheim said re-valuing nature in this way would force business practices to change.

”We need to move from a situation where the benefits of ecosystem services are privatised whereas the coasts are socialised.”

”The full costs of negative impacts on ecosystems must be covered by those who receive a benefit from destroying it.”

The new project aims to pick up conclusions of a recent UN-backed project on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, and help governments turn them into policy.

Teeb‘s headline conclusion was that degradation of the natural world is costing the global economy $2-5trn (£1.3-3.2bn) per year.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010291232839 Read more...

UK Internet economy ‘worth billions’

LONDON: The Internet is worth £100bn a year to the United Kingdom economy, a study has concluded.

The research, which was commissioned by Google, found that the Internet accounted for 7.2 per cent of the UK ‘s gross domestic product, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday.

If the Internet was an economic sector it would be the UK ‘s fifth largest, said the report from the Boston Consulting Group.

This would make the sector larger than the construction, transport and utilities industries.

Some 60 per cent of the £100bn a year figure is made up from Internet consumption – the amount that users spend on online shopping and on the cost of their connections and devices to access the web.

The rest comes from investment in the UK ‘s internet infrastructure, government IT spending and net exports.

The report, “The Connected Kingdom: How the Internet is transforming the UK,” says that the internet‘s contribution to GDP is set to grow by about 10 per cent annually, reaching 10 per cent of GDP by 2015.

The UK , according to the report, is the world‘s leading nation for e-commerce. For every £1 spent online to import goods, £2.80 is exported.

“This is the opposite of the trend seen in the offline economy, which exports 90p for every £1 imported,” the report says.

According to the BCG report, the top 10 net nations are Denmark, Republic of Korea, Japan, Sweden , Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norway , Finland, Germany and Iceland.

Small businesses that actively use the internet report sales growth more than four times greater than that of less active companies.

The report also attempts to compare the UK to other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Under its scoring system, the UK ranks sixth, above Germany, the United States and France . The highest ranked country is Denmark.

“The internet is pervasive in the UK economy today, more so than in most advanced countries,” said Paul Zwillenberg, partner with BCG.

”Several industries - including media, travel, insurance and fashion - are being transformed by it.”

Matt Brittin, managing director of Google UK , said: ”The internet is a central pillar of the UK ‘s economy.

”The sector has come of age, and with great prospects for further growth the UK internet economy will be vital to the UK ‘s future prosperity,” he added.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010291253129 Read more...

Death toll hits 343 in fresh Indonesia Tsunami

ndonesian rescue workers struggled against rough weather and difficult terrain to reach tsunami victims on Thursday, as the death toll continued to rise from the natural disasters that hit the archipelago nation this week on two separate fronts and 24 hours apart, the New York Times reports.

In the remote Mentawai Islands west of Sumatra, aid workers said that the isolation of many villages as well as choppy seas meant that some victims had yet to receive any assistance three days after a 7.7-magnitude 7.7 underwater quake sent a 10-foot-tall tsunami crashing onto land, smashing apart homes and killing hundreds. As a steady trickle of supplies reached the islands with the help of military ships and aircraft, officials raised the toll to 343 confirmed dead and 338 missing. Agence France-Presse, quoting a high Indonesian official, said the death toll is likely to pass 500. An estimated 16,000 people have been displaced, officials said.

At the same time, a new eruption Thursday evening at Mount Merapi on the island of Java about 750 miles, to the east, stirred fears of further destruction after powerful eruptions late Tuesday killed 34 people and destroyed villages in clouds of superheated gas and debris, said Nelis Zuliasri, a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

Nearly 40,000 villagers who had fled plumes of hot ash were being asked to stay in temporary shelters while seismologists sought to work out whether the fresh eruptions meant that further destruction was on the way. There had been no reports of anyone hurt in the latest eruption, Ms. Zuliasri said.

In the Mentawais, aid workers said that the spread of the disaster across a number of hard-to-reach islands meant that assistance was still only trickling in to many areas. “We’re still just trying to fulfill the basic needs — food, tents, blankets, things like that,” Ms. Zuliasri said. “We’ve sent medicine out there, and we’re now using Hercules aircraft and ships.”
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Somali militants execute two women

Two young women have been publicly executed by Somali Islamist group, al-Shabab, reports say.

They were shot dead by firing squad in a square in the central city of Beledweyne.

The pair, who were aged 15 and 18, were sentenced to death on Wednesday after being accused of spying, Associated Press reports.

Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991. The al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab and its allies control much of the country‘s south.

The two young women were named by AP as 18-year-old Ayan Mohamed Jama, and Huriyo Ibrahim, 15.

Al-Shabab militiamen walked through the town‘s streets, telling residents about the executions by loudspeaker and ordering everyone to attend, reports the agency.

The militia group‘s regional commander, Sheikh Yusuf Ali Ugas, said the two had been found guilty of spying and being what he described as ”enemies of Islam.”

But a woman who saw the execution, Sadia Osman, said one of the young women had said she was innocent of the charges, AP reports.

One eyewitness described how people in the crowd were shocked by the sight of the killings.

“One of the women who saw the execution today collapsed and lost consciousness after she saw the cruel way the girls were shot,” Da‘ud Ahmed said.

Somalia‘s UN-backed government authority only controls parts of Mogadishu and a few other areas, although it has been gaining ground from al-Shabab in recent weeks.
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The case of accused Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan has contributed to effort to flag suspicious behavior ahead of time

The Pentagon wants computers to see into the future -- and stop crimes before they happen.
As the U.S Army considers whether Col. Nidal Hasan, the suspect in last year's Fort Hood massacre, should face a court-martial, it also is looking at whether the military missed signals that might have indicated what was about to happen.
Now a Pentagon research arm is asking scientists to create a way to scan billions of e-mails to identify suspects in advance so that crimes can be stopped before they are committed.
That's the goal of the latest $35 million project announced by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is credited with breakthroughs like the internet, GPS and stealth technology.
But this latest idea is already is drawing fire from privacy and security experts.
In a request for proposals, the think tank highlights the Fort Hood shootings.
"Each time we see an incident like a soldier in good mental health becoming homicidal or suicidal or an innocent insider becoming malicious, we wonder why we didn't see it coming," DARPA says. "When we look through the evidence after the fact, we often find a trail -- sometimes even an "obvious" one. The question is: Can we pick up the trail before the fact, giving us time to intervene and prevent an incident."
The agency calls the project ADAMS, for "Anomaly Detection at Multiple Scales."
Simply tracking messages to and from people around a single location like Fort Hood would be a vast task. There are 65,000 people at Fort Hood and in a single year they may create 4.68 billion electronic messages between almost 15 million people.
The challenge is to cope with and get accurate results from all this data.
The agency said it would primarily use ADAMS to look at "trusted person(s) in a secure environment with access to sensitive information and information systems and sources."
"There are currently no established techniques for detecting anomalies in data sets of this size at acceptable false positive rates," the agency notes in the request for proposals.
"The focus is on malevolent insiders that started out as 'good guys.' The specific goal of ADAMS is to detect anomalous behaviors before or shortly after they turn," the agency says. "Operators in the counterintelligence community are the target end-users for ADAMS insider threat detection technology."

Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/10/27/pentagon.e.mail.profiling/index.html Read more...

Parents shocked city kept son's brain

Jesse Shipley

Andre and Korisha Shipley were still mourning the death of their 17-year-old son, Jesse, when two months after his funeral, they received shocking news from students of the same Staten Island, New York, high school Jesse had attended. Members of a forensic science club on a field trip to the morgue couldn't believe what they noticed on a cabinet in the medical examiner's lab.
"They saw this jar with a brain in it labeled Jesse Shipley," recalls Korisha Shipley, whose daughter Shannon came home in tears that day delivering the news. "They knew Jesse and he knew them. They were looking at his brain, and his brain was looking right back at them," the father adds.
Jesse Shipley died in a car accident in January 2005, and the family members say that even though they agreed to an autopsy, they thought they were burying their son with all of his organs. To them, the cause of death was obvious - blunt trauma resulting from a car accident - so there was no reason for authorities to have kept the brain for further review.
The couple are now suing the city for the emotional distress caused by the handling of their son's remains.
"As far as we understand, during an autopsy you cut open the body, you look for the cause of death, you check out the organs and you put them back in. In this case, it was a little more than that," Andre Shipley says.
In a statement to CNN, the attorney representing the city wrote that although officials sympathize with the family, "it was within the Medical Examiner's discretion to perform an autopsy, and in appropriate cases, to remove and retain bodily organs for further testing."

Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/27/shipley.stolen.brain/index.html Read more...

French parliament approves pension reform

France’s parliament has given final approval to a bill to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, a reform that has sparked weeks of strikes and street protests, Associated Press reports.

The National Assembly approved the final text of the bill in a 336-233 vote Wednesday, marking its final hurdle in parliament. Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy is not expected to sign it for several weeks.

The vote comes as two straight weeks of pension strikes are losing momentum. Still, unions hope to revive the movement Thursday with nationwide street demonstrations and strikes expected to cause new hassles for air travelers.

France‘s parliament is expected to grant final approval Wednesday to a bill raising the retirement age to 62, a reform that has infuriated the country‘s powerful unions and touched off weeks of protests and strikes.

The vote in the National Assembly comes as protests over President Nicolas Sarkozy‘s pension reforms are losing momentum. Unions are hoping to revive the movement with nationwide strikes and demonstrations Thursday.

Although some striking refinery workers have gone back to work, French drivers are still facing substantial fuel shortages: As of Tuesday evening, about one gas station in five was still closed down, with the worst problems around Paris and in western France.

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Sneijder tipped to claim FIFA Ballon d‘Or

Despite the heartbreak of losing the World Cup final with the Netherlands, Wesley Sneijder is the bookmakers‘ favourite to walk away with the inaugural FIFA Ballon d‘Or award.

The attacking midfielder was on the losing side in Johannesburg on July 11, when Spain defeated Holland 1-0 to claim their first ever World Cup title.

Spanish midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta are also strong contenders for the prestigious prize, but the presence of the Barcelona pair on the shortlist could split the pro-Spanish votes to Sneijder‘s advantage.

More significantly, the 26-year-old Dutchman enjoyed a glittering debut season at Inter Milan that culminated in an unprecedented treble of the Italian league title, the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) and the European Champions League.

Sneijder leads the running for the award at 6-4 with British bookmakers William Hill, while Xavi is at 7/2 and Iniesta, who scored the extra-time winner in the World Cup final, is at 11/2.

The FIFA Ballon d‘Or gala takes place in Zurich on January 10 and the ceremony will mark the marriage of FIFA‘s World Player of the Year prize and the Ballon d‘Or, which has been awarded by France Football magazine since 1956.

In recent years the two awards have often gone to the same player and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is the current holder of both trophies.

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