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pinstweet – Just another WordPress site

Nigerians, Other Africans Rescued by Italian Navy

Nigerian immigrants, whose identities were not immediately known, were among 233 African immigrants who were rescued from a boat in Mediterranean waters, South of Sicily, by the Italian Navy.

Several Africans believed to be fleeing harsh economic conditions in their home countries have often resorted to crossing into parts of Europe using unofficial channels. Many of them have died in what is described as  “the immigration crisis” mainly by African countries.

Many have either died crossing the deserts or drowned crossing the sea in Morocco into Spain. Some others simply get attacked by either wild animals or highway marauders.
In a statement, the Italian navy said that it picked the immigrants up in choppy seas late on Wednesday and was ferrying them yesterday to a port near Syracuse on Sicily's eastern coast.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), It said that migrants on board were men and women from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Zambia and Mali as well as from Pakistan.

The statement further noted that sea arrivals to Italy from Northern Africa were more than tripled in 2013, fuelled by refugees from Syria's civil war and political strife in the Horn of Africa.

In October, 366 Eritreans drowned in a shipwreck near the shore of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Several Nigerians desperate to land Europe, believing falsely that their social fortunes will improve on getting to any of the European countries, have often taken desperate and illegal steps to emigrate out of the  country.

Toolz Has A Message For Ladies Who Depends On Their Guys

Sixty percent of ladies depend on their lovers for financial needs, some even say it is there right, while some base it on a give and take affair; not many Guys like women bugging them with financial needs, but many women do not know this fact.

Popular artiste Toolz took to her twitter handle to advice ladies on this issues and I hope ladies would read and digest this

Doctors’ Strike: Jonathan Agrees To Appoint Nigeria’s First Ever Surgeon-General

NMA PRESIDENT, DR. OSAHON ENABULELE & PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JOANTHAN

President Goodluck Jonathan may have saved Nigerians from having to experience another agonizing round of strike action by doctors in public hospitals as he has acceded to demands by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to appoint a surgeon-general of the federation. He has also reportedly agreed to the association’s demand that the call duty allowance of doctors running into billions of naira be sorted out and paid to them.

These major decisions are sequel to the fourth meeting convened by the president on Thursday to avert an indefinite strike earlier slated for January 6 were some of the major decisions taken at the fourth meeting convened by the president yesterday to avert a strike billed to begin on January 6.

The NMA embarked on a five-day nationwide warning strike before Christmas and threatened to embark on a mother of all strikes on the said date should the federal government refuse to meet their demands.

A source privy to details of the meeting held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, hinted State House correspondents that the federal government bowed completely to the demand of the NMA for the appointment of a surgeon-general of the federation from among medical doctors in the country to take charge of public health.

“The government has taken a decision to appoint a surgeon-general of the federation who will be a medical doctor and will be responsible for public health. That appointment will be announced soon”, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

Consequently, the source said President Jonathan has directed the Ministry of Health to work closely with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Investment in consulting with medical practitioners with a view to supporting private investors to build state-of-the-art hospitals in the country.

He further noted that the move is aimed at promoting local potential to strengthen the sector and improve fiscal policy on medical equipment and to check the growth of medical tourism.

The president, he added, has also directed that, from now on, before any government official would be allowed to seek medical treatment overseas, government must first be satisfied that no such medical services exist in Nigeria.

Jonathan, the source further revealed, has also agreed to focus more attention on the National Health Insurance Scheme with a view to making it more productive, even as he has also directed the NMA to make their representation to the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, as requested by the association.

On the doctors’ request for the inclusion of their representatives in the proposed national dialogue, the government was said to have observed that there was no way a conference of such magnitude would hold without the representatives of trade unions.

The government has since met another demand by the NMA by re-constituting the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

Yesterday’s meeting was attended by the Vice President Namadi Sambo, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, minister of labour Chief Emeka Wogu, minister of health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu,  director-general of the Budget Office Dr Bright Okogu, and chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission Chief Richard Egbule.

Shortly after the meeting, Governor Uduaghan confirmed that President Jonathan had already consented to the demands of the medical workers at a stakeholders’ meeting he convened to ensure that the planned strike was averted.

The governor disclosed that he was proceeding to another meeting with leaders of the NMA billed for 5pm yesterday even as he expressed optimism that at the end of the meeting, all the grey areas would have been resolved.

He said: “There are issues that have been raised by the Nigerian Medical Association for which they have threatened to strike. They had a warning strike for about five days, so the president called a stakeholders’ meeting to look at the issues. We are going for a meeting now at 5pm with the NMA; at least, there are some things the president has consented to and I believe, by the time we finish the meeting this evening, there will be some resolutions.

“Our determination is to ensure that that strike of January 6 is averted. Of course, we cannot afford another strike in the medical sector. One minute of strike in the health sector by whatever body can be very disastrous.”

The governor also stated that the incidence of oil theft in the country has reduced abysmally from between 100,000 and 80,000 barrels stolen a day to 40,000 barrels per day.

“Let me emphasise that the volume of crude oil theft is reducing. Again, I must explain that, at a time, oil theft was at its peak; there was a shutdown of about 300,000 barrels of oil as a result of damage to two major pipelines and, at that time, between 80,000 and 100,000 barrels were being stolen. That was the time we took some measures to ensure that the quantity that was being stolen was reduced.

“Today, I can tell you that the crude that is being stolen has reduced to about 40,000 barrels per day. Those two pipelines are now functioning. So the 300,000 that was shut down as a result of the damage to the pipelines have now been opened. Stealing 40,000 barrels per day is still on the high side, but, as we go further in putting a lot of measures in place, especially in areas of prosecution, I believe that the quantity that is being stolen will gradually reduce, if possible bring it to zero level. Apart from prosecution, we are also talking of technology and monitoring to deal with the oil theft”, he said.

Ahead of Kerry's visit for peace talks, Israeli official says Israel must keep Jordan Valley

A senior Israeli Cabinet minister and more than a dozen hawkish legislators poured cement at a construction site in a settlement in the West Bank's Jordan Valley on Thursday, in what they said was a message to visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Israel will never relinquish the strategic area.
Virtually all of the politicians were either members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud or other parties in his coalition. Their visit to the isolated community of Gitit highlighted the political backlash Netanyahu would face if he agrees to leave the valley in a peace deal.
The valley runs along the eastern edge of the West Bank, abutting Jordan, and its fate is expected to be one of the key issues raised during Kerry's meetings in coming days with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Kerry is to present his ideas for the outlines of a peace deal during these meetings, but is not expecting a final response during this trip.
Israel has traditionally viewed the valley as a buffer against possible Arab attack from the east, though Israeli security experts are now split on whether Israel needs to maintain control there in an era when long-range rockets perhaps pose a greater threat than tanks. Israel also has a peace treaty with Jordan.
The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967, and say such a state cannot be viable without the sparsely populated valley's agricultural potential and open spaces. The valley makes up about one-fourth of the West Bank.
Kerry has kept his bridging ideas largely under wraps, though Palestinian officials have said the U.S. raised the possibility of a continued Israeli military presence along the West Bank-Jordan border for at least 10 years, before withdrawing from the area.
Jordan Valley settlers number several thousand in 21 communities, a fraction of the nearly 600,000 Israelis who have moved to the West Bank and east Jerusalem since 1967.
Thursday's event at Gitit, a community of 70 families, was organized by the Land of Israel lobby, a pro-settler caucus of 39 of the Israeli parliament's 120 legislators, said spokesman Itai Chamo.
Thirteen members of the lobby attended, including six from Netanyahu's Likud Party, along with Interior Minister Gideon Saar, a senior Likud representative in Netanyahu's Cabinet. They dedicated a new neighbourhood of 20 homes, two of them already under construction.
Saar said the Jordan Valley must remain Israel's eastern border and its settlements must remain in place.
"The Jordan Valley is Israeli and it will remain Israeli," he said after the visitors, posing for cameras, poured concrete from a plastic bucket onto the foundation of a house under construction.
"I want to make clear that this would be not for a few years, not temporarily, but permanently for coming generations, for eternity," said Saar.
Dani Dayan, a settler leader, said Thursday's dedication signals that Israel will remain in the valley and that this "should be understood loud and clear in the State Department, the White House and in the Mukataa," a reference to Abbas' headquarters in Ramallah.
Netanyahu hasn't revealed his intentions, but faces a possible breakup of his centre-right coalition if he opts for compromise in a deal with the Palestinians. Opposition politicians have said they would support Netanyahu and counter any right-wing defections in such a scenario.

CARDIFF HIRES SOLSKJAER AS NEW MANAGER

CARDIFF -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the ultimate super-sub in his 11 years at Manchester United, his lethal finishing snatching priceless league points and famously winning his team the Champions League in 1999.

Now, he is back in the Premier League and on a very different kind of rescue mission -- saving Cardiff from relegation.

The 40-year-old Solskjaer was hired as Cardiff's new manager on Thursday, swapping job security at Molde and a settled family life in his native Norway for the high-pressure world of football's richest league.

"I felt I needed to be back here," Solskjaer said of his return to the Premier League.

"I wish I was 25 again and playing in the Premier League," he added. "Time ticks for everyone so I can't -- now I'm a lucky man to be a manager in the Premier League."

Nicknamed the "Baby-faced Assassin" during his time at United from 1996-2007, it was a grey-haired Solskjaer who was presented at Cardiff City Stadium as the replacement for Malky Mackay, who was fired last week after losing a power struggle with the Welsh club's Malaysian owner, Vincent Tan.

Solskjaer has signed a rolling, season-by-season contract, with his first task to ensure Cardiff retains its Premier League status following its return to England's top flight for the first time in 51 years. Cardiff is 17th in the 20-team Premier League -- a point and a place above the relegation zone after 20 games.

If he achieves that, his next aim will be to establish the team from the Welsh capital as a force in the division. And he is pledging to do so by playing an attacking brand of football modeled on the sides of Alex Ferguson, who was his manager at United in that trophy-laden decade when Solskjaer won six league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League.

Naturally, Solskjaer spoke to Ferguson before accepting the job at Cardiff, which is increasingly perceived in Britain as a tough role because of Tan's reported meddling in team affairs.

"When there's a big decision to make, you rely on certain people you trust," Solskjaer said. "I trusted him with my football career, to manage my career, and I trust him now as well."

Solskjaer's career, which reached its peak when he diverted home United's injury-time winner in a 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in that most dramatic of Champions League finals, ended in 2007 after he failed to recover from a serious knee injury. He remained at United in a coaching and ambassadorial role, however, and went on to become the club's reserve-team manager.

He coached Molde -- his former club -- from 2011, winning back-to-back titles in his first two seasons and then the Norwegian Cup in his third.

Solskjaer was always tipped to make a return to the Premier League sooner rather than later, and was linked with vacant roles at Aston Villa and Blackburn only to stay in Norway for family reasons.

He was immediately installed as favourite to succeed Mackay after the Scot was fired on Friday and held talks with Tan and chairman Mehmet Dalman at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on Wednesday before the team's match against the Premier League leaders.

Dalman said Solskjaer's name was the "only one name in my head from the very beginning."

"He is coming here to prove something to himself and to Cardiff," Dalman said. "I had no doubts from day one, so I do feel like the cat that got the cream."

Working under Tan may prove to be challenging, with Mackay barely communicating with his owner by the end of his time in charge. Since buying Cardiff in 2010, Tan has alienated some supporters by changing the club's colours from blue to red, adopting a new crest and then removing Mackay, who had guided the team to a League Cup final in 2012 and the Premier League a year later.

"When I went to Manchester United, it was a new experience for me; when I went back to Molde with the English influence I had, that was a cultural difference for people back in Norway," Solskjaer said. "Now when I come here, I want to create a culture here too. The communication between me and Mehmet and me and the owner will be crucial. Communication and dialogue is the key in any organization."

Solskjaer's first game in charge is against Newcastle in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. He will return to Old Trafford on Jan. 28 for a league match against United.

Toronto's scandal-plagued mayor pitches 'Ford More Years' in bid for re-election

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford registers as a candidate Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014 for the city's 2014 municipal election in October. Councillor Doug Ford is at left. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Victor Biro
TORONTO - Toronto's troubled yet defiant mayor isn't allowing months of scandal to stop him from entering what's likely to be the most watched municipal race in the city's history.
Rob Ford was first in line at city hall to sign up for the Oct. 27 mayoral election when the nomination period opened Thursday.
He expressed confidence that he'll win "Ford More Years" in the top job, despite admitting to using crack cocaine in a "drunken stupor" and making a crude sexual comment on live TV, among other cringe-worthy incidents that have garnered international attention and made him the butt of jokes on late-night shows.
Departing Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback joined in Thursday, tweeting "Only a couple of hours left. Must...suppress...inner...Rob...Ford".
Asked why voters should trust him after denying for months that he smoked crack, Ford replied: "That's all personal."
"Let the people speak for themselves," he said, adding that he'd rather have people vote against him than not vote at all.
"I've got the strongest track record," Ford added. "I've been the best mayor that this city has ever had."
Ford has steadfastly refused to take a leave or resign since reports surfaced in May of a video that appeared to show him smoking crack. Police said in October that they had recovered the video but refused to release it. Five days later, Ford confessed to using the drug while in office.
In November, city council voted to strip him of most of his powers, leaving him with little more than ribbon-cutting duties.
The besieged mayor called it a coup d'etat, comparing it to the 1991 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and a declaration of war.
But Ford has said he's turning his life around, staying off alcohol and trying to lose weight.
"We're going to let my track record speak for itself," the mayor said Thursday.
"I'm not running away from anyone. Let's have a full debate. Any time, any place, I'll debate anyone, even in their backyard."
He boasted that he's saved the city "hundreds of millions of dollars," created jobs and a "booming" economy in Toronto with a "business-friendly atmosphere of low taxes."
"That's Rob Ford, that's not ... the Canadian government," he told Toronto radio station 680News.
Other possible high-profile contenders for the job include NDP MP Olivia Chow, former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory and councillors Karen Stintz and Denzil Minnan-Wong.
None of them have filed their nomination papers, although Stintz has said she'll run. They have until Sept. 12 to enter the race.
Once nomination papers are filed, candidates are allowed to raise money and incur expenses for their campaigns.
Ford said he expect his rivals to "get personal" during the campaign.
"I know that's going to happen," he said. "I'm ready for it."
Note to readers: This is a corrected story; a previous version put election date at Oct. 2.