COLU @ CONCEPTS

Nearly half a million Iraqis have fled Mosul fighting, UN says BAGHDAD –   The United Nations says nearly half a million civilians have fled Mosul since U.S.-backed Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale military operation last October to retake the city from Islamic State militants. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday that 493,000 people have been displaced from the city. As many as 500,000 others are in ISIS-controlled parts of western Mosul, where fighting is still underway. The U.N. says food, water and medicine stocks are running low in the western half of the city, and that the fighting there is much heavier than it was in eastern Mosul, which the Iraqi government declared "fully liberated" in January. Source: www.foxnews.com By    Associated Pres s

Russia claims it can wipe out US Navy with single 'electronic bomb' Russia claims it can wipe out US Navy with single 'electronic bomb' More Russia has claimed it can disable the entire US Navy in one fell swoop using powerful electronic signal jamming. A news report from the country – where the media is essentially controlled by the state – said the technology could render planes, ships and missiles useless. The newsreader says: “Today, our Russian Electronic Warfare (REW) troops can detect and neutralise any target from a ship’s system and a radar, to a satellite.” The news report claims a single Russian war plane flew several times around American destroyer the USS Donald Cook in the Black Sea several years ago, disabling its systems and leaving it helpless. The report also claims they are capable to creating electronic jamming   domes over their bases that make them invisible on radar screens. The propaganda piece even quotes top US General Frank G...

McDonald's order trips up Facebook slaying suspect Pennsylvania State Police investigate the scene where Steve Stephens, the suspect in the random killing of a Cleveland retiree posted on Facebook, was found shot dead Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Erie. Pa. Acting on a tip, Pennsylvania State Police spotted Stephens, 37, in Erie County, in the state's northwest corner, and went after him. After a brief chase, he took his own life, authorities said. (Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News via AP) Facebook slaying suspect Steve Stephens was undone by a 20-piece Chicken McNuggets and an order of fries. The man who police say shot a Cleveland retiree at random and posted video of the killing on Facebook pulled up to the drive-thru window of a McDonald's restaurant outside Erie, Pennsylvania, and waited for his order. It was late Tuesday morning, almost lunchtime, and authorities were in the third day of an intensive manhunt for Stephens. Now, more than 100 miles from t...

False census figures spur Biafra agitation —Eastern Consultative Assembly ENUGU—The Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, has said false and bogus census figures which give the north superior majority over the south was one of the major reasons for agitations for the revalidation of the Biafran republic. President Muhammadu Buhari (M) as he join in a group Photograh with Obi of Onisha, HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, Leader of the South East Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze Dr Ebereche Dick `HRM Eze Sam Ohiri, HRH Chulwuemeka Ike and others as President Buhari receives South East Traditional Rulers at the state house in Abuja This came as the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, was, yesterday, unanimously elected as the new leader of the  ECA. Kanu, in his acceptance letter written from Kuje Prisons  to the Assembly, lamented  what he called the continued treatment of easterners like slaves by the present Federal Government , saying  “we ...

It may take years to free all kidnapped Chibok girls — Defence Minister ABUJA—Defence Minister, Mansur Dan Ali, has said it might take years to find all the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014. His statement came barely a few days after President Muhammadu Buhari, on the third anniversary of the abduction of the girls, said government was in touch with abductors of the girls. Speaking to Voice of America’s Hausa service, monitored in Yola, yesterday, Mr. Ali, a retired brigadier general, said the military was committed to finding the girls, adding that all Boko Haram’s hideouts in Sambisa  Forest were being searched by the military for the girls. He likened the inability to find the girls, despite retaking most of the territory initially occupied by Boko Haram, to the US efforts to find Osama bin Laden after the invasion of Afghanistan. Minister of Defence, Brig Gen Mansur Dan-Ali  He said: “It took the US up to seven, eight, up to 10 years before...

CBN injects $280m for SMEs, BDCs, invisibles as Naira rises to N397/$ The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Tuesday said that it has supplied $280 million into various sectors of the market and the commencement of its weekly $20,000 sale to licensed Bureaux de Change. It also announced opening of bids for offering $100m wholesale 7-45 days forwards through the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs). liquidity Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor disclosed this, explaining that  the intervention comprise $80 million for  invisibles such as Basic Travel Allowance, Personal Travel Allowance, medical bills and tuition; $100 million for  the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window; and $100 million  for the wholesale 7-45 days forwards.  He said that the window for SMEs would no doubt boost the business of SMEs through the importation of eligible finished and semi-finished items, thereby boosting forex  supply to the retai...

Air Force to celebrate 53 yrs with induction of 2 new fighter jets, free medical service Mi-35M helicopter ABUJA-THE Nigerian Air Force said, Tuesday, that it would inducts two newly acquired aircraft into its fleet and provide free medical services to residents of Makurdi, Benue State during the occasion of celebration of its 53 years of service to the nation next week.  At the occasion which would be hosted by the Tactical Air Command, TAC, Makurdi, the Nigerian Air Force said the additional Mi-35M helicopters which were purchased from Russia, would be added to its fleet for its operations. According to the Air Force, the fighter jets would be deployed to join other platforms fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. Air Vice Marshal Dayo Amao, chairman, organizing committee who is also the Director Of Operations of the Nigerian Air Force , disclosed this in Abuja, at a pre-press conference, held at the Air Force Headquarters, yesterday. The occasion...

We’re chasing those who stole our money, Adeosun tells World Bank ABUJA— Finance Minister, Mr Kemi Adeosun, yesterday, told the World Bank and parliamentarians from across the world that the whistle-blowing policy of  the Federal Government was very successful.                                       Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi ADEOSUN Speaking at the global parliamentary conference hosted on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF spring meetings in Washington DC, the minister highlighted Nigeria’s economic reform agenda and the need for strong executive and legislative collaboration.  She said: “We are going after those who have stolen our money. We have put in place a very successful whistleblower programme that is delivering results, and allows those who report illicit activity to receive up to 5 percent any funds that we recover. “We are also significantly improving our...

Catholic Church blames El-Rufai for southern Kaduna killings Kaduna — The Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan, Rev. Father Joseph Danlami Bogobiri, has accused Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State of taking sides with herdsmen, who attacked Asso Village in Jema’a Local Government Area of the state.                              Gov. Nasir-El-Rufai  In a statement issued in Kaduna, yesterday evening, Rev. Father Bogobiri accused the governor of abdicating his responsibility of being governor to all, and “instead gave in to the luxury of waging an unrelenting media campaign against southern Kaduna people.” But an official of the state government, who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said the Bishop was being unjust in apportioning blames on the governor, who was  doing everything possible to curtail the southern Kaduna crisis. In his statement, Bagobiri, who is also the Chairman, Sout...