Al-Qaeda may free extremist inmates

A suspected al-Qaeda militant at the state security court of appeals in Sana’a, Yemen

Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:6AM GMT

0

The United States closed 19 of its embassies and consulates across the Middle East and sent home some staff in Yemen after communication was intercepted between al-Qaeda leaders, Nasser al-Wuhayshi and Ayman al-Zawahri.

The leader of al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based offshoot says the group will soon release jailed extremist militants, days after the United States closed missions in several countries across the Middle East.

Nasser al-Wuhayshi made the announcement in a statement issued on Monday on a website used by militants, Reuters reported.

Al-Wuhayshi did not mention how the prisoners would be released.

The authenticity of the statement could not immediately be verified.

Al-Qaeda militants staged at least two prison breaks in late July in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

On July 23, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for deadly attacks on two major prisons in Baghdad and the nearby town of Taji that freed hundreds of militants.

On July 27, more than 1,000 inmates escaped from a prison on the outskirts of Benghazi in Libya following an attack on the facility. However, it was not clear who was behind the attack.

The United States closed 19 of its embassies and consulates across the Middle East and sent home some staff in Yemen after communication was intercepted between al-Qaeda leaders, al-Wuhayshi and Ayman al-Zawahri.

In addition, the United States has stepped up its drone operations in Yemen over the past few years.

The United States says the CIA-run drone strikes primarily kill al-Qaeda militants, but casualty figures show that Yemeni civilians are often the victims of the attacks.

Many Women Still Don’t Breastfeed —Report

By: WINIFRED OGBEBO on August 12, 2013 - 4:09am

inShare

Many women still don’t breastfeed despite the much confirmed benefits, reports have found. Winifred Ogbebo writes.
Breast milk gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy development.
Experts say that it is safe and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide.
  In addition, breast milk is readily available and affordable, which helps to ensure that infants get adequate nutrition.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy executive director, Geeta Rao Gupta, said that there is no other single health intervention that has such a high impact for babies and mothers as breastfeeding and which costs so little for governments.
 She said, “Breastfeeding is a baby’s first immunization and the most effective and inexpensive life-saver ever.”
“Children who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times more likely to survive the first six months of life than non-breastfed children. Starting breastfeeding in the first day after birth can reduce the risk of new-born death by up to 45 per cent.”
Breastfeeding also supports a child’s ability to learn and helps prevent obesity and chronic diseases later in life.
 Recent studies in the United States and United Kingdom point to large health care savings resulting from breastfeeding, given that breastfed children fall ill much less often than non-breastfed children.
Apart from the benefits to the baby, mothers who breastfeed exclusively are, according to medical experts, less likely to become pregnant in the first six months following delivery, recover faster from giving birth, and return to their pre-pregnancy weight sooner.
Evidence shows that they experience less post-partum depression and also have a lower risk of ovarian and breast cancers later in life.
However, UNICEF notes that despite these well documented benefits of breastfeeding worldwide, only 39 per cent of children aged less than six months were exclusively breastfed in 2012.
According to the global agency, this global figure has improved very little for the past several decades, due in part to large countries where the breastfeeding rate is low and to the general lack of a supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers.
UNICEF observed that Nigeria has made no improvement over many years, while some of the lowest rates in the world are in Somalia, Chad and South Africa.
However, says a statement by the UNICEF communications specialist, Mr Geoffrey Njoku, countries with supportive policies and comprehensive programmes that reach all communities have been able to increase their breastfeeding rates significantly.
 He said China, which recently attracted media attention because its strong consumer demand for baby formula caused shortages in other countries, has an exclusive breastfeeding rate of only 28 per cent.
 Njoku said that in a bid to boost such low rates in the world’s most populous country, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health in May launched a “10m2of Love” campaign to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms in order to raise awareness and support for breastfeeding.
 “The campaign has established a web portal (unicef.cn/10m2) where any organization can register breastfeeding rooms for staff, patrons or customers that adhere to simple international standards. A mobile phone application to map the locations of all 10m2of Love facilities is under development.”
Cambodia has had notable success in raising exclusive breastfeeding rates from 11.7 per cent of infants less than six months in 2000 to a very high 74 per cent in 2010. Togo and
Zambia also increased the rates from 10 and 20 per cent respectively in the late 1990s to over 60 per cent by 2000.
At the other end of the scale, Tunisia’s exclusive breastfeeding rate fell dramatically from 46.5 per cent in 2000 to only 6.2 per cent by the end of the decade, while the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Indonesia is declining.
 The communications specialist noted that such examples reflect insufficient global leadership on breastfeeding, as it continues to be undervalued relative to its importance in the life of child.
“There needs to be higher prioritization and commitment, targeted policies and greater consensus to engage the world in promoting this life-saving and vital practice.”
Similarly, the World Health Organisation also stated that only 37 countries, or 19 per cent of those reporting, have passed laws reflecting all the recommendations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
“Full implementation of the Code is vital for reducing or eliminating all forms of promotion of breast-milk substitutes, including direct and indirect promotion to pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children,” said Dr Carmen Casanovas, breastfeeding expert with WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development Casanovas.
“WHO supports countries with implementation and monitoring of the Code and the comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition” which aims to increase the global rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months to at least 50% by 2025.”
This year, the WHO has called for more support for breastfeeding mothers, creating graphics detailing what mothers, fathers, family/friends and the workplace can do to increase support.
“Nearly all mothers are physically able to breastfeed and will do so if they have accurate information and support,” said Casanovas, “But in many cases, women are discouraged from doing so, and are misled to believe that they are giving their children a better start in life by buying commercial substitutes.”
 According to the WHO, mothers are often inundated with incorrect and biased information both directly, through advertising, health claims, information packs and sales representatives, and indirectly through the public health system.
“For example, distribution of educational materials on breastfeeding produced by manufacturers of infant formula have a negative impact on exclusive breastfeeding especially on mothers of first-born children and those with less formal education. The distribution of samples of infant formula also has an adverse impact on breastfeeding.
 Njoku stated that although breastfeeding is natural and may seem instinctive, it is essential to create an enabling environment for it to become the norm.
“Mothers benefit from the help of skilled health providers and community workers to support them to breastfeed, as well as culturally-sensitive communication, and protective laws and policies, particularly around the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and maternity leave,” said he.
Implementation of the Code
Only 37 of the 199 countries (19%) reporting to WHO on implementation of the Code have passed laws reflecting all of its recommendations. For example:
69 countries (35 per cent) fully prohibit advertising of breast-milk substitutes;
62 (31 per cent) completely prohibit free samples or low-cost supplies for health services;
64 (32 per cent) completely prohibit gifts of any kind from relevant manufacturers to health workers;
83 (42 per cent) require a message about the superiority of breastfeeding on breast-milk substitute labels;
Only 45 countries (23 per cent) report having a functioning implementation and monitoring system.

- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/120813/many-women-still-don-t-breastfeed-report#sthash.q8TeCaSv.dpuf

Many Women Still Don’t Breastfeed —Report

By: WINIFRED OGBEBO on August 12, 2013 - 4:09am

inShare

Many women still don’t breastfeed despite the much confirmed benefits, reports have found. Winifred Ogbebo writes.
Breast milk gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy development.
Experts say that it is safe and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide.
  In addition, breast milk is readily available and affordable, which helps to ensure that infants get adequate nutrition.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy executive director, Geeta Rao Gupta, said that there is no other single health intervention that has such a high impact for babies and mothers as breastfeeding and which costs so little for governments.
 She said, “Breastfeeding is a baby’s first immunization and the most effective and inexpensive life-saver ever.”
“Children who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times more likely to survive the first six months of life than non-breastfed children. Starting breastfeeding in the first day after birth can reduce the risk of new-born death by up to 45 per cent.”
Breastfeeding also supports a child’s ability to learn and helps prevent obesity and chronic diseases later in life.
 Recent studies in the United States and United Kingdom point to large health care savings resulting from breastfeeding, given that breastfed children fall ill much less often than non-breastfed children.
Apart from the benefits to the baby, mothers who breastfeed exclusively are, according to medical experts, less likely to become pregnant in the first six months following delivery, recover faster from giving birth, and return to their pre-pregnancy weight sooner.
Evidence shows that they experience less post-partum depression and also have a lower risk of ovarian and breast cancers later in life.
However, UNICEF notes that despite these well documented benefits of breastfeeding worldwide, only 39 per cent of children aged less than six months were exclusively breastfed in 2012.
According to the global agency, this global figure has improved very little for the past several decades, due in part to large countries where the breastfeeding rate is low and to the general lack of a supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers.
UNICEF observed that Nigeria has made no improvement over many years, while some of the lowest rates in the world are in Somalia, Chad and South Africa.
However, says a statement by the UNICEF communications specialist, Mr Geoffrey Njoku, countries with supportive policies and comprehensive programmes that reach all communities have been able to increase their breastfeeding rates significantly.
 He said China, which recently attracted media attention because its strong consumer demand for baby formula caused shortages in other countries, has an exclusive breastfeeding rate of only 28 per cent.
 Njoku said that in a bid to boost such low rates in the world’s most populous country, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health in May launched a “10m2of Love” campaign to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms in order to raise awareness and support for breastfeeding.
 “The campaign has established a web portal (unicef.cn/10m2) where any organization can register breastfeeding rooms for staff, patrons or customers that adhere to simple international standards. A mobile phone application to map the locations of all 10m2of Love facilities is under development.”
Cambodia has had notable success in raising exclusive breastfeeding rates from 11.7 per cent of infants less than six months in 2000 to a very high 74 per cent in 2010. Togo and
Zambia also increased the rates from 10 and 20 per cent respectively in the late 1990s to over 60 per cent by 2000.
At the other end of the scale, Tunisia’s exclusive breastfeeding rate fell dramatically from 46.5 per cent in 2000 to only 6.2 per cent by the end of the decade, while the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Indonesia is declining.
 The communications specialist noted that such examples reflect insufficient global leadership on breastfeeding, as it continues to be undervalued relative to its importance in the life of child.
“There needs to be higher prioritization and commitment, targeted policies and greater consensus to engage the world in promoting this life-saving and vital practice.”
Similarly, the World Health Organisation also stated that only 37 countries, or 19 per cent of those reporting, have passed laws reflecting all the recommendations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
“Full implementation of the Code is vital for reducing or eliminating all forms of promotion of breast-milk substitutes, including direct and indirect promotion to pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children,” said Dr Carmen Casanovas, breastfeeding expert with WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development Casanovas.
“WHO supports countries with implementation and monitoring of the Code and the comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition” which aims to increase the global rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months to at least 50% by 2025.”
This year, the WHO has called for more support for breastfeeding mothers, creating graphics detailing what mothers, fathers, family/friends and the workplace can do to increase support.
“Nearly all mothers are physically able to breastfeed and will do so if they have accurate information and support,” said Casanovas, “But in many cases, women are discouraged from doing so, and are misled to believe that they are giving their children a better start in life by buying commercial substitutes.”
 According to the WHO, mothers are often inundated with incorrect and biased information both directly, through advertising, health claims, information packs and sales representatives, and indirectly through the public health system.
“For example, distribution of educational materials on breastfeeding produced by manufacturers of infant formula have a negative impact on exclusive breastfeeding especially on mothers of first-born children and those with less formal education. The distribution of samples of infant formula also has an adverse impact on breastfeeding.
 Njoku stated that although breastfeeding is natural and may seem instinctive, it is essential to create an enabling environment for it to become the norm.
“Mothers benefit from the help of skilled health providers and community workers to support them to breastfeed, as well as culturally-sensitive communication, and protective laws and policies, particularly around the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and maternity leave,” said he.
Implementation of the Code
Only 37 of the 199 countries (19%) reporting to WHO on implementation of the Code have passed laws reflecting all of its recommendations. For example:
69 countries (35 per cent) fully prohibit advertising of breast-milk substitutes;
62 (31 per cent) completely prohibit free samples or low-cost supplies for health services;
64 (32 per cent) completely prohibit gifts of any kind from relevant manufacturers to health workers;
83 (42 per cent) require a message about the superiority of breastfeeding on breast-milk substitute labels;
Only 45 countries (23 per cent) report having a functioning implementation and monitoring system.

- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/120813/many-women-still-don-t-breastfeed-report#sthash.q8TeCaSv.dpuf

Many Women Still Don’t Breastfeed —Report

By: WINIFRED OGBEBO on August 12, 2013 - 4:09am

inShare

Many women still don’t breastfeed despite the much confirmed benefits, reports have found. Winifred Ogbebo writes.
Breast milk gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy development.
Experts say that it is safe and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide.
  In addition, breast milk is readily available and affordable, which helps to ensure that infants get adequate nutrition.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy executive director, Geeta Rao Gupta, said that there is no other single health intervention that has such a high impact for babies and mothers as breastfeeding and which costs so little for governments.
 She said, “Breastfeeding is a baby’s first immunization and the most effective and inexpensive life-saver ever.”
“Children who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times more likely to survive the first six months of life than non-breastfed children. Starting breastfeeding in the first day after birth can reduce the risk of new-born death by up to 45 per cent.”
Breastfeeding also supports a child’s ability to learn and helps prevent obesity and chronic diseases later in life.
 Recent studies in the United States and United Kingdom point to large health care savings resulting from breastfeeding, given that breastfed children fall ill much less often than non-breastfed children.
Apart from the benefits to the baby, mothers who breastfeed exclusively are, according to medical experts, less likely to become pregnant in the first six months following delivery, recover faster from giving birth, and return to their pre-pregnancy weight sooner.
Evidence shows that they experience less post-partum depression and also have a lower risk of ovarian and breast cancers later in life.
However, UNICEF notes that despite these well documented benefits of breastfeeding worldwide, only 39 per cent of children aged less than six months were exclusively breastfed in 2012.
According to the global agency, this global figure has improved very little for the past several decades, due in part to large countries where the breastfeeding rate is low and to the general lack of a supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers.
UNICEF observed that Nigeria has made no improvement over many years, while some of the lowest rates in the world are in Somalia, Chad and South Africa.
However, says a statement by the UNICEF communications specialist, Mr Geoffrey Njoku, countries with supportive policies and comprehensive programmes that reach all communities have been able to increase their breastfeeding rates significantly.
 He said China, which recently attracted media attention because its strong consumer demand for baby formula caused shortages in other countries, has an exclusive breastfeeding rate of only 28 per cent.
 Njoku said that in a bid to boost such low rates in the world’s most populous country, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health in May launched a “10m2of Love” campaign to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms in order to raise awareness and support for breastfeeding.
 “The campaign has established a web portal (unicef.cn/10m2) where any organization can register breastfeeding rooms for staff, patrons or customers that adhere to simple international standards. A mobile phone application to map the locations of all 10m2of Love facilities is under development.”
Cambodia has had notable success in raising exclusive breastfeeding rates from 11.7 per cent of infants less than six months in 2000 to a very high 74 per cent in 2010. Togo and
Zambia also increased the rates from 10 and 20 per cent respectively in the late 1990s to over 60 per cent by 2000.
At the other end of the scale, Tunisia’s exclusive breastfeeding rate fell dramatically from 46.5 per cent in 2000 to only 6.2 per cent by the end of the decade, while the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Indonesia is declining.
 The communications specialist noted that such examples reflect insufficient global leadership on breastfeeding, as it continues to be undervalued relative to its importance in the life of child.
“There needs to be higher prioritization and commitment, targeted policies and greater consensus to engage the world in promoting this life-saving and vital practice.”
Similarly, the World Health Organisation also stated that only 37 countries, or 19 per cent of those reporting, have passed laws reflecting all the recommendations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
“Full implementation of the Code is vital for reducing or eliminating all forms of promotion of breast-milk substitutes, including direct and indirect promotion to pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children,” said Dr Carmen Casanovas, breastfeeding expert with WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development Casanovas.
“WHO supports countries with implementation and monitoring of the Code and the comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition” which aims to increase the global rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months to at least 50% by 2025.”
This year, the WHO has called for more support for breastfeeding mothers, creating graphics detailing what mothers, fathers, family/friends and the workplace can do to increase support.
“Nearly all mothers are physically able to breastfeed and will do so if they have accurate information and support,” said Casanovas, “But in many cases, women are discouraged from doing so, and are misled to believe that they are giving their children a better start in life by buying commercial substitutes.”
 According to the WHO, mothers are often inundated with incorrect and biased information both directly, through advertising, health claims, information packs and sales representatives, and indirectly through the public health system.
“For example, distribution of educational materials on breastfeeding produced by manufacturers of infant formula have a negative impact on exclusive breastfeeding especially on mothers of first-born children and those with less formal education. The distribution of samples of infant formula also has an adverse impact on breastfeeding.
 Njoku stated that although breastfeeding is natural and may seem instinctive, it is essential to create an enabling environment for it to become the norm.
“Mothers benefit from the help of skilled health providers and community workers to support them to breastfeed, as well as culturally-sensitive communication, and protective laws and policies, particularly around the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and maternity leave,” said he.
Implementation of the Code
Only 37 of the 199 countries (19%) reporting to WHO on implementation of the Code have passed laws reflecting all of its recommendations. For example:
69 countries (35 per cent) fully prohibit advertising of breast-milk substitutes;
62 (31 per cent) completely prohibit free samples or low-cost supplies for health services;
64 (32 per cent) completely prohibit gifts of any kind from relevant manufacturers to health workers;
83 (42 per cent) require a message about the superiority of breastfeeding on breast-milk substitute labels;
Only 45 countries (23 per cent) report having a functioning implementation and monitoring system.

- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/120813/many-women-still-don-t-breastfeed-report#sthash.q8TeCaSv.dpuf

Many Women Still Don’t Breastfeed —Report

By: WINIFRED OGBEBO on August 12, 2013 - 4:09am

inShare

Many women still don’t breastfeed despite the much confirmed benefits, reports have found. Winifred Ogbebo writes.
Breast milk gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy development.
Experts say that it is safe and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide.
  In addition, breast milk is readily available and affordable, which helps to ensure that infants get adequate nutrition.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy executive director, Geeta Rao Gupta, said that there is no other single health intervention that has such a high impact for babies and mothers as breastfeeding and which costs so little for governments.
 She said, “Breastfeeding is a baby’s first immunization and the most effective and inexpensive life-saver ever.”
“Children who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times more likely to survive the first six months of life than non-breastfed children. Starting breastfeeding in the first day after birth can reduce the risk of new-born death by up to 45 per cent.”
Breastfeeding also supports a child’s ability to learn and helps prevent obesity and chronic diseases later in life.
 Recent studies in the United States and United Kingdom point to large health care savings resulting from breastfeeding, given that breastfed children fall ill much less often than non-breastfed children.
Apart from the benefits to the baby, mothers who breastfeed exclusively are, according to medical experts, less likely to become pregnant in the first six months following delivery, recover faster from giving birth, and return to their pre-pregnancy weight sooner.
Evidence shows that they experience less post-partum depression and also have a lower risk of ovarian and breast cancers later in life.
However, UNICEF notes that despite these well documented benefits of breastfeeding worldwide, only 39 per cent of children aged less than six months were exclusively breastfed in 2012.
According to the global agency, this global figure has improved very little for the past several decades, due in part to large countries where the breastfeeding rate is low and to the general lack of a supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers.
UNICEF observed that Nigeria has made no improvement over many years, while some of the lowest rates in the world are in Somalia, Chad and South Africa.
However, says a statement by the UNICEF communications specialist, Mr Geoffrey Njoku, countries with supportive policies and comprehensive programmes that reach all communities have been able to increase their breastfeeding rates significantly.
 He said China, which recently attracted media attention because its strong consumer demand for baby formula caused shortages in other countries, has an exclusive breastfeeding rate of only 28 per cent.
 Njoku said that in a bid to boost such low rates in the world’s most populous country, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health in May launched a “10m2of Love” campaign to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms in order to raise awareness and support for breastfeeding.
 “The campaign has established a web portal (unicef.cn/10m2) where any organization can register breastfeeding rooms for staff, patrons or customers that adhere to simple international standards. A mobile phone application to map the locations of all 10m2of Love facilities is under development.”
Cambodia has had notable success in raising exclusive breastfeeding rates from 11.7 per cent of infants less than six months in 2000 to a very high 74 per cent in 2010. Togo and
Zambia also increased the rates from 10 and 20 per cent respectively in the late 1990s to over 60 per cent by 2000.
At the other end of the scale, Tunisia’s exclusive breastfeeding rate fell dramatically from 46.5 per cent in 2000 to only 6.2 per cent by the end of the decade, while the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Indonesia is declining.
 The communications specialist noted that such examples reflect insufficient global leadership on breastfeeding, as it continues to be undervalued relative to its importance in the life of child.
“There needs to be higher prioritization and commitment, targeted policies and greater consensus to engage the world in promoting this life-saving and vital practice.”
Similarly, the World Health Organisation also stated that only 37 countries, or 19 per cent of those reporting, have passed laws reflecting all the recommendations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
“Full implementation of the Code is vital for reducing or eliminating all forms of promotion of breast-milk substitutes, including direct and indirect promotion to pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children,” said Dr Carmen Casanovas, breastfeeding expert with WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development Casanovas.
“WHO supports countries with implementation and monitoring of the Code and the comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition” which aims to increase the global rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months to at least 50% by 2025.”
This year, the WHO has called for more support for breastfeeding mothers, creating graphics detailing what mothers, fathers, family/friends and the workplace can do to increase support.
“Nearly all mothers are physically able to breastfeed and will do so if they have accurate information and support,” said Casanovas, “But in many cases, women are discouraged from doing so, and are misled to believe that they are giving their children a better start in life by buying commercial substitutes.”
 According to the WHO, mothers are often inundated with incorrect and biased information both directly, through advertising, health claims, information packs and sales representatives, and indirectly through the public health system.
“For example, distribution of educational materials on breastfeeding produced by manufacturers of infant formula have a negative impact on exclusive breastfeeding especially on mothers of first-born children and those with less formal education. The distribution of samples of infant formula also has an adverse impact on breastfeeding.
 Njoku stated that although breastfeeding is natural and may seem instinctive, it is essential to create an enabling environment for it to become the norm.
“Mothers benefit from the help of skilled health providers and community workers to support them to breastfeed, as well as culturally-sensitive communication, and protective laws and policies, particularly around the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and maternity leave,” said he.
Implementation of the Code
Only 37 of the 199 countries (19%) reporting to WHO on implementation of the Code have passed laws reflecting all of its recommendations. For example:
69 countries (35 per cent) fully prohibit advertising of breast-milk substitutes;
62 (31 per cent) completely prohibit free samples or low-cost supplies for health services;
64 (32 per cent) completely prohibit gifts of any kind from relevant manufacturers to health workers;
83 (42 per cent) require a message about the superiority of breastfeeding on breast-milk substitute labels;
Only 45 countries (23 per cent) report having a functioning implementation and monitoring system.

- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/120813/many-women-still-don-t-breastfeed-report#sthash.q8TeCaSv.dpuf

Many Women Still Don’t Breastfeed —Report

By: WINIFRED OGBEBO on August 12, 2013 - 4:09am

inShare

Many women still don’t breastfeed despite the much confirmed benefits, reports have found. Winifred Ogbebo writes.
Breast milk gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy development.
Experts say that it is safe and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide.
  In addition, breast milk is readily available and affordable, which helps to ensure that infants get adequate nutrition.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) deputy executive director, Geeta Rao Gupta, said that there is no other single health intervention that has such a high impact for babies and mothers as breastfeeding and which costs so little for governments.
 She said, “Breastfeeding is a baby’s first immunization and the most effective and inexpensive life-saver ever.”
“Children who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times more likely to survive the first six months of life than non-breastfed children. Starting breastfeeding in the first day after birth can reduce the risk of new-born death by up to 45 per cent.”
Breastfeeding also supports a child’s ability to learn and helps prevent obesity and chronic diseases later in life.
 Recent studies in the United States and United Kingdom point to large health care savings resulting from breastfeeding, given that breastfed children fall ill much less often than non-breastfed children.
Apart from the benefits to the baby, mothers who breastfeed exclusively are, according to medical experts, less likely to become pregnant in the first six months following delivery, recover faster from giving birth, and return to their pre-pregnancy weight sooner.
Evidence shows that they experience less post-partum depression and also have a lower risk of ovarian and breast cancers later in life.
However, UNICEF notes that despite these well documented benefits of breastfeeding worldwide, only 39 per cent of children aged less than six months were exclusively breastfed in 2012.
According to the global agency, this global figure has improved very little for the past several decades, due in part to large countries where the breastfeeding rate is low and to the general lack of a supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers.
UNICEF observed that Nigeria has made no improvement over many years, while some of the lowest rates in the world are in Somalia, Chad and South Africa.
However, says a statement by the UNICEF communications specialist, Mr Geoffrey Njoku, countries with supportive policies and comprehensive programmes that reach all communities have been able to increase their breastfeeding rates significantly.
 He said China, which recently attracted media attention because its strong consumer demand for baby formula caused shortages in other countries, has an exclusive breastfeeding rate of only 28 per cent.
 Njoku said that in a bid to boost such low rates in the world’s most populous country, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health in May launched a “10m2of Love” campaign to locate, register, certify and publicize breastfeeding rooms in order to raise awareness and support for breastfeeding.
 “The campaign has established a web portal (unicef.cn/10m2) where any organization can register breastfeeding rooms for staff, patrons or customers that adhere to simple international standards. A mobile phone application to map the locations of all 10m2of Love facilities is under development.”
Cambodia has had notable success in raising exclusive breastfeeding rates from 11.7 per cent of infants less than six months in 2000 to a very high 74 per cent in 2010. Togo and
Zambia also increased the rates from 10 and 20 per cent respectively in the late 1990s to over 60 per cent by 2000.
At the other end of the scale, Tunisia’s exclusive breastfeeding rate fell dramatically from 46.5 per cent in 2000 to only 6.2 per cent by the end of the decade, while the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Indonesia is declining.
 The communications specialist noted that such examples reflect insufficient global leadership on breastfeeding, as it continues to be undervalued relative to its importance in the life of child.
“There needs to be higher prioritization and commitment, targeted policies and greater consensus to engage the world in promoting this life-saving and vital practice.”
Similarly, the World Health Organisation also stated that only 37 countries, or 19 per cent of those reporting, have passed laws reflecting all the recommendations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
“Full implementation of the Code is vital for reducing or eliminating all forms of promotion of breast-milk substitutes, including direct and indirect promotion to pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children,” said Dr Carmen Casanovas, breastfeeding expert with WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development Casanovas.
“WHO supports countries with implementation and monitoring of the Code and the comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition” which aims to increase the global rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months to at least 50% by 2025.”
This year, the WHO has called for more support for breastfeeding mothers, creating graphics detailing what mothers, fathers, family/friends and the workplace can do to increase support.
“Nearly all mothers are physically able to breastfeed and will do so if they have accurate information and support,” said Casanovas, “But in many cases, women are discouraged from doing so, and are misled to believe that they are giving their children a better start in life by buying commercial substitutes.”
 According to the WHO, mothers are often inundated with incorrect and biased information both directly, through advertising, health claims, information packs and sales representatives, and indirectly through the public health system.
“For example, distribution of educational materials on breastfeeding produced by manufacturers of infant formula have a negative impact on exclusive breastfeeding especially on mothers of first-born children and those with less formal education. The distribution of samples of infant formula also has an adverse impact on breastfeeding.
 Njoku stated that although breastfeeding is natural and may seem instinctive, it is essential to create an enabling environment for it to become the norm.
“Mothers benefit from the help of skilled health providers and community workers to support them to breastfeed, as well as culturally-sensitive communication, and protective laws and policies, particularly around the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and maternity leave,” said he.
Implementation of the Code
Only 37 of the 199 countries (19%) reporting to WHO on implementation of the Code have passed laws reflecting all of its recommendations. For example:
69 countries (35 per cent) fully prohibit advertising of breast-milk substitutes;
62 (31 per cent) completely prohibit free samples or low-cost supplies for health services;
64 (32 per cent) completely prohibit gifts of any kind from relevant manufacturers to health workers;
83 (42 per cent) require a message about the superiority of breastfeeding on breast-milk substitute labels;
Only 45 countries (23 per cent) report having a functioning implementation and monitoring system.

- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/120813/many-women-still-don-t-breastfeed-report#sthash.q8TeCaSv.dpuf

OPEC’s influence on oil market weakens

• As US, Sudan, others pump more crude

The influence of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, on global energy supply will dwindle in coming years as the United States and other producers pump more crude to the volatile oil market.
Non-OPEC supply is expected to rise by one million barrels per day this year, following a minor upward revision as well as higher-than-expected United States output.
A new report by OPEC, which disclosed this at the weekend, also stated that: “In 2014, non-OPEC oil supply is forecast to grow by 1.1mbpd, supported by projected increases in the US, Canada, Brazil, the Sudan and Kazakhstan.
“OPEC NGLs (natural gas liquids) and non-conventional oils are projected to increase by 0.2mbpd in 2013 and 0.1mbpd in 2014. In July, total OPEC crude oil output averaged 30.31mbpd, according to secondary sources, representing a drop of 0.10mbpd from the previous month.”
According to the report, the demand for OPEC crude in 2013 is forecast to average 29.9mbpd, almost unchanged from the previous report and 0.4mbpd lower than the year before.
The report added that in 2014, demand for OPEC crude would experience a slight change since the previous report to stand at 29.7mbpd, representing a decline of 0.3mbpd compared to the year before.
It added that improved pipeline networks and the use of rail links had facilitated the efficient movement of crude from inland to refiners on the coasts, thus assisting to unlock a glut at America’s oil-storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma.
The report quoted the US Energy Information Administration as estimating that new projects would provide 1.15mbpd of additional pipeline capacity to deliver crude from Cushing to the US Gulf Coast, with another 830,000bpd to move crude directly from the Permian Basin in Texas to the US Gulf.
It maintained that starting in 2011, the rail volume increased and the total amount of crude oil and refined products being transported by rail was close to 1.34mbpd during the first half of 2013, up from 927,000bpd during the first six months of last year.
The report said: “WTI (West Texas Intermediate) also got a further boost as refiners in the US consumed more crude than at any time in almost eight years.
“During the week ending 12 July, refiners processed more than 16.2mbpd, which corresponds to a refinery utilisation rate of almost 93 per cent.”
It added that inventories in Cushing rose to almost 52mb at the beginning of the year as a result of oversupply before falling to around 42mb at the end of July.
The report stated that the decline in stocks had encouraged some money managers to bet on the recovery in WTI prices, contributing to narrowing the spread between WTI and Brent.
It stated that the completion of improvements to BP’s refinery in Whiting, Indiana, which is now absorbing close to 400,000bpd of the surplus crude, helped to relieve the glut.
The report added that this surge in Midwest refinery demand, coupled with shortened supply from Alberta, Canada, on up-grader maintenance and pipeline shutdowns, had helped the gap to tighten.
It stated that while the spread had converged significantly and had a positive impact on US domestic oil producers, the profits from shipping oil by rail were shrinking, making pipeline deliveries more attractive and slowing the demand for train cargoes.
According to the report, refineries in the US East Coast and eastern Canada that traditionally import foreign crudes from the Atlantic Basin have benefited from growing output from North Dakota, where prices have been cheaper than North Sea Brent and West African grades, enough to cover the cost of rail shipments.
Analysts have expressed fears that the continued production and export of American and other crudes would likely affect the economic fortunes of OPEC member states, especially Nigeria which previously had America as its major importer.
The National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association, Mr. Colman Obasi, said in a telephone interview that: “The increasing dominance of the United States and others will certainly affect OPEC members, particularly Nigeria since America had been the nation’s major oil importer for several years.”
He added that there was increasing need for the country and other producers to diversify their foreign exchange generating base in order to cope with the present and future realities in the market.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has already observed that: “The world is now becoming more competitive, the U.S shale oil is already affecting our oil export to the US, bearing in mind that the US is one of our major trade partners in this sector.”

Nigeria Iost $11 billion to vandalism, theft

How Nigeria Iost $11 billion to vandalism, theft

Stealing, cooking of figures, diversion and non-remittance of funds accruing from crude oil sales and other malpractices by officials in the extractive industry have led to loss of huge revenues that should have been channelled into the country’s development programmes, writes ADEKUNLE YUSUF
Despite its grim picture, a recent disclosure that Nigeria lost $11 billion to oil vandals within two years did not surprise the public. Rather than jolt the public, the damning audit report is hailed as yet another confirmation of the public’s fears about the goings on in the extractive industry. Therefore, standing on the armour of figures contained in the audit report of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), an independent audit conducted on the extractive industry, not a few enthuse that it is no longer a matter of conjecture that the country’s oil and gas sector is, indeed, a cesspool of corruption.
A perusal of the comprehensive report, covering 2009 to 2011, shows how the mindboggling pilfering that is badly bruising the economy was carried out by various oil marauders in the period under review. Although it is an acknowledged fact that the oil and gas sector is enmeshed in corruption, the recent information has further exposed the extent of damage oil theft and pipeline vandalism is doing to the fragile economy.
Among other things, the report said over 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil were produced between 2009, 2010 and 2011. If the figure is further broken down, it means Nigeria produced 780.9 million barrels of oil in 2009, 894.5 million barrels in 2010 and 866.2 million barrels in 2011. And for this, Nigeria was richer by $143.5 billion, earned from crude sales, royalty, signature bonuses and taxes during the period. In itself, that is good news.
But that is not the whole news. According to the report, the real news is the unstated trouble with the economy, which the corruption virus swirling in the sector poses to the country’s development bid.
From the beginning to the end, the report is replete with ways and styles private businesses as well as agencies of government work hand in hand to shortchange the country. One of the avenues through which the economy is bled is non-remittance or under-remitting of oil sale proceeds to the coffers of government; the report said it is a crime being committed by all the relevant government agencies saddled with championing and protecting the collective interest of the country. However, these agencies often choose to look the other way after tacitly colluding with private pockets to fleece the country. Consequently, from oil theft to pipeline vandalism, the country’s economy is being dealt debilitating blows, as huge sums of money that could have been deployed into servicing the economy ended up in the deep pockets of unscrupulous elements. That is why, by allowing oil thieves a free reign in the creeks, the country lost over 136 million barrels of crude oil estimated at staggering $10.9 billion to crude oil theft and sabotage alone within the period, the report said.
Similarly, the report fingered illegal pipeline vandalism, a twin evil of oil stealing, as another ailment that constitutes a pain in the neck of the economy. As it turned out, the country lost $894 million as a result of this seemingly intractable virus , which lowered the country’s oil production capacity by 10 million barrels. With this, the report concluded that the monetary value of crude oil losses that arose from pilfering accounted for about 7.7 percent of revenue that accrued to the Federal Government between 2009 and 2011.
By the same token, the report said Shell lost an estimated 70 million barrels to oil theft during the period under investigation. Chevron’s fortune was reduced by 28 million barrels of crude oil.
The figures of who lost what could hardly be faulted given recent disclosures. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also jolted the country recently when she disclosed that the Federal Government may soon start defaulting in the payment of salaries to workers if the economic outlook, especially the revenue generating prospect, remains the same. Her revelation sparked a media hoopla, which necessitated her to revise her statements more than twice, fact remains that a staggering 400,000 barrels of crude oil are being lost daily to oil vandals, a sad development, experts say, is threatening to rip the purse empty, if not even ground the economy any moment from now.
“We are losing revenue; 400,000 barrels of crude oil are lost on a daily basis due to illegal bunkering, vandalism and production shut-ins. I have to clarify that it is not as if the entire 400,000 barrels is stolen, no. What happens is that whenever the pipelines are attacked and oil is taken, there is a total shut down. All the quantity of oil produced for that day will be lost because it means government cannot sell it and it means a drop in revenue,” Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said.
However, the trouble with the economy is not entirely caused by oil pilfering. Besides the menace of oil stealing and pipeline vandalism, the controversial oil subsidy claims and payments also received copious mention in the NEITI report. During the period, a staggering N3 trillion went into shady oil subsidy payments, as a few highly-placed importers of refined petroleum products happily smiled to the bank for jobs not honestly executed.
Specifically, the report said fuel subsidy claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) gulped N1.4 trillion. N1.60 trillion was reported to have vanished into the cavernous pockets of independent marketers as subsidy payments. However, there is an observed disparity of N175.9 billion between claims paid from the Federation Account and that made by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).
Overall subsidy payments increased by 71 per cent from N406 billion in 2009 to N695 billion in 2010and jumped by 174 per cent to N1.90 trillion in 2011. Going by the report, payments made by NNPC increased by 110 per cent from N198 billion in 2009 to N416 billion in 2010, and nearly doubled to N786 billion (89 per cent) in 2011.
Like the ones paid by NNPC, subsidy payments made through the PPPRA were also on the upward curve between 2009 and 2011. In 2009, subsidy payments through the PPRA jumped by 75 percent from N208 billion to N278 billion in 2010, and shot up exponentially by 301 percent to N1.12 trillion in 2011. It was also observed that there is an unrestrained admission of fuel marketers during the period under review, as the PPRA relaxed its guidelines, resulting from a mere 20 fuel importers in 2009 skyrocketing to 128 in 2011. Therefore, the PPPRA is advised to adhere strictly to policy guidelines on admittance of new applicants by making sure that successful applicants are experienced players in the industry who have verifiable financial and logistics wherewithal alongside other required documentations.
Yet, despite paying these huge sums, there are discrepancies in the payment figures being bandied about by the various agencies saddled with the responsibility of infusing sanity into the sector. For example, while the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) office documented N2.825 trillion as subsidy payment for the period under investigation, the PPPRA’s documents curiously revealed that N3 trillion was disbursed to marketers. There is even more to the conflicting figures, as some marketers picked holes in the payment figures, particularly the payments ascribed to them by the PPPRA. At least, a marketer claimed N2.56 billion as fuel subsidy while the PPRA’s records showed a payment of N1.5 billion, spewing a difference of N1.06 billion.
Still on oil subsidy, the report said N4.423 billion reported as over-recovery from some marketers is yet to be remitted into the Federation Account as at June this year.
In the same vein, NNPC and two other companies are yet to refund N3.715 billion being over-recovery for the 2009-2011.
However, PPPRA has disagreed with the recommendation that it (PPRA) should remit any money arising from “over-recovery” collected to the Federation Account for the period under review, saying the report verged heavily on secondary data. In his reaction, the Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Reginald Stanley, said the report was “steeped in inaccuracies, gross misrepresentation of facts and misleading.”
He added: “We note with dismay, NEITI’s admission to the fact that it had no absolute control of its sources of data as they were derived from information and data provided through its own independent auditors as well as companies doing business in the sector. Such over-reliance on secondary data must have accounted for the glaringly flawed computations presented in the report.”
But, a statement by NEITI’s Director of Communication, Orji Ogbonaya Orji, said all the companies and government agencies covered by the independent audit, including the PPPRA, were fully involved and participated actively in the audit process from conception and design of audit templates to reconciliation and validation exercise.
“Besides all the companies and agencies, including the PPPRA ‘signed off’ on the report before it was published. The response by PPPRA is, therefore, strange, misplaced and unfortunate. We do not understand what PPPRA means by ‘secondary data.’ We doubt if the Executive Secretary of PPPRA received adequate briefing from his team who worked directly with NEITI on the project. I, therefore, think that the time has come for an important agency like the PPPRA to develop time and interest to ensure that its management understands how NEITI/EITI process works. The audit report is based on information and data primarily, voluntarily but mandatorily provided to NEITI by PPPRA during the audit exercise. NEITI does not manufacture either information or data,” Orji replied.
Despite its prime of place as a major player in the industry, with all the benefits accruing to it because of its status, the NNPC is said to have no agreed pricing methodology between it and other companies for the determination of fiscal values for royalty and PPT computations. Also of concern is the cloud over existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Federal Government and some Joint Venture Companies (JVCs). Although the MOU had been cancelled since December 2007 by the Minister of Petroleum because it is not enacted on a fair business template, it is still the one being used to transact business with JVCs. And for using an MOU that has been declared dead since January 2008 to transact business, it resulted in revenue loss of $1.7billion, being the difference between NNPC and other entities. To arrest the unfairness in such business deals and stop their inherent leakages, the auditors recommended that a department be created in the NNPC to be saddled with the task of monitoring MOUs and keeping them alive so that all business deals will be fair to all parties, including the government which is often at the receiving end of all loose ends in any transaction that is not well spelt out.
“The situation whereby MOU with oil companies expires and little is done to put another one in place to close government revenue losses should not be tolerated in an economy that heavily depends on oil,” the report warned.
Even at the downstream operations, the metering devices at Mosimi, PPMC and Atlas Cove are ultrasonic meters, which the audit findings said are not reliable. To clear all doubts about their efficiency, the report recommended that the metering devices be replaced with turbine meters, automatic radar tank gauges and positive displacement meters. As the oil and gas industry has become a haven of corruption, so is the solid minerals subsector, which the report said, is steeped in malfeasance, paving the way for economic buccaneers to continue to scramble for a piece of the juicy pie of the country’s solid mineral resources. The report, which also audited the mining sector for a period of three years (covering 2009 and 2011), evidence abounds that the country is being helplessly shortchanged on many fronts. While the sector enjoyed a relative boom in activities over the period under review, there is little to show for it, as proceeds that should have enriched the coffers of government were diverted into private pockets.
As a matter of fact, between 2007 and 2010, the report said a total remittance of N55 billion on taxes, royalties and other levies was made, but quickly added that nothing less than N4 billion ended up being diverted. And if anyone feels that the diversion rate is huge, the report explained further that the N4 billion may amount to a small fraction of the amount that eventually got diverted, thus suggesting that the figure may be far higher than N4 billion cited in the audit findings. This is hinged on the discovery that most companies operating in the sector failed to submit their annual tax returns to the Federal Inland Service (FIRS) during the period under investigation, as mandated by the laws.
The report said miners with ut proper licence populate the subsector. And for those with licence to operate, auditors said most benchmarks for royalty computation are outdated, making it difficult to ascertain the true market value of many solid minerals, such as laterite, granite and sand.
While explaining the benefit of publishing the audit report, Ledum Mitee, chairman, National Stakeholders Working Group, which is the governing board of NEITI, said findings in the report show how extractive business is done in Nigeria. According to him, data for the report was generated by simply using what extractive industries said they paid into government coffers as taxes, levies, royalties, signature bonuses and rents and reconciling same with what government actually received from the companies.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala admitted that the reports “point to some lapses by government agencies which we need to address,” and hinted that a subcommittee is already working in the ministry of mines to sanitise the mining industry.
But, in the past reports, NEITI audits have not only clearly identified financial, physical and process lapses, but also uncovered a loss of over billions of dollars from underpayments, under-assessments, poor judgment in the computations of volume of crude sales and other leakages only for teh recommendatiosn not to be acted on. Observers believe there is need to strengthen NEITI through necessary amendments to its enabling Act to give it the powers to implement the findings and recommendations in its audit reports.
NEITI, which is the Nigerian subset of EITI, has the mandate to promote due process, transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s extractive industries revenues, but it lacks the power to assert its authority and realise this mandate over the years.
Having consistently fingered poor institutional linkages, systematic leakages, poor legal framework, governance and process lapses as factors that have characterised business ethics in the oil and gas industry over the years, is it not sad and counterproductive that NEITI lacks constitutional powers to enforce the recommendations contained in the four industry audits it has conducted since 1999 to date?

Man burnt to death for impregnating mother, daughter

 The university town of Nsukka in Enugu State has witnessed yet another brutal death as a tipper driver who allegedly impregnated a widow and her daughter has reportedly been burnt to death by son of the widow, Sunday Ugwoke.Vanguard gathered that the tipper driver, Sylvester Ezema, attached to  Ferguson Nig. Limited hailed from Akpa Edem, Nsukka Local Government  Area, Enugu State and shared a common fence boundary with his widowed lover, Mrs. Ugwoke.
Report said he had been having amorous dealings with the woman’s daughter too unknown to the widow before he died  a few days ago.
According to report, Sylvester was allegedly burnt to death by Sunday, who had warned him to leave his mother alone and stop making love with her in his late father’s bedroom, which is adjacent to his room, a warning the  deceased allegedly turned down and continue with his amorous act.
Vanguard gathered that Sylvester defied all the warnings by Sunday, saying the widow was a family friend and as such nobody would  suspect them.
Having defied his warning, Sunday, armed with grinded pepper and petrol ambushed the lover boy. As Sylvester stepped out of the house, Sunday poured the  powder pepper and petrol on Sylvester and  set him ablaze.

Teenage boy drowns at Lagos Bar Beach

 

Lagos Bar Beach
| credits: grandioseparlor.com

An unidentified teenager drowned at the Bar Beach, Lagos as revellers celebrated Eid-el-fitri in the area on Friday.

A fun seeker, who witnessed the incident and identified himself simply as Michael, said there was a heavy traffic of persons at the beach while there were only two live guards on duty.

It is usual in metropolitan cities like Lagos for residents to go to the beaches during important national celebrations, especially when holidays have been declared.

According to the witness, the teenage boy was spotted by a few people who were standing at the tip of the ocean.

He said three unidentified young men made frantic attempts to see if they could rescue the drowning boy, but they could not muster enough courage to move into the centre of the ocean.

He said the high waves of the surging ocean were too much for the volunteers, who eventually gave up the idea of saving the victim.

According to him, all the fun seekers around watched helplessly as the boy struggled and was finally submerged by water.

However, other fun seekers continued with their fun as if nothing had happened.

It was learnt that nobody came out to complain about a missing person before most of the fun seekers left the beach.

It was leant that a young lady initially raised the alarm, believing erroneously that the victim was her brother, but she soon kept calm when she saw her own brother.

Spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, who confirmed the tragedy on Friday, told Saturday PUNCH that the victim had not been identified.

“The body has been taken to the mortuary. It is just sad that this had to happen despite the warnings we issued that people should stay off the beach because of an impending ocean surge,” he said.

Farinloye said the warning issued by NEMA stated that there might be an ocean surge of a minimum of four days and maximum of five days, appealing to revellers to avoid swimming at the beach for some days.

 “People are allowed to go to the beach but they should not swim. For some months, the ocean had been monitored and the warnings NEMA issued were consistent with the signs that were noticed, which showed that there might be an ocean surge,” he said.

Councilors Beat Up Delta Council Chairman And Secretary As They ‘Shared’ Allocation In Hotel

By SaharaReporters, New York

Sunday Chukwuedo, the chairman of Aniocha North local government of Delta State was yesterday mercilessly beaten up in a hotel by the transition committee.
Also beaten up as they shared the monthly allocation accruing to the council were the secretary, one Mr. Onwuka, as well as the council treasurer and the Head of Personnel Management (HPM)
Trouble, it was gathered, started when the councilors were tipped-off that the chairman, secretary, treasurer and the acting female HPM were hiding in one of the rooms at Dove Hart Hotel at the Issele-Uku headquarters of the council allegedly sharing the monthly allocation without their participation.
An impeccable council source told our correspondent that as soon as the angry councilors arrived at the hotel, they forcibly opened the door to the room where the illicit deal was allegedly taking place.  The source said the four council officials were seen seated dismantling the allocation and the visibly angry councilors gave them the beating of their lives.  In the process, the Secretary received head injuries and was rushed to a nearby clinic by witnesses.
According to a member of the hotel staff, shortly after the beatings were suitably delivered, men of the Issele-Uku police station arrived at the scene and arrested the councilors along with the chairman, treasurer and the HPM.  They were taken to the station and statements obtained from them.
Our correspondent gathered that it took the intervention of the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Victor Ochei who is still away in the United States of America on a training course, along with other prominent indigenes of the local government, to bring the matter under control and taken from the police station.
It was also learnt that there had been a cold war between the chairman and some of the councilors who alleged that the chairman was not carrying them along in the scheme of things, especially in financial matters.
Speaking to our correspondent on the phone, one of the angry councilors disclosed that the embattled Chukwuedo, who was allegedly planted as the transition committee council chairman by Ochei, has fraudulently introduced the concept of “built-in” salary, the proceeds of which he discreetly shares with the three council officials.
Explaining what is meant by “built-in” salary, the councilor described it as the fraudulent smuggling of fictitious names into the council’s pay roll.  In practice, as soon as the allocation arrives, the chairman and his cohorts would deduct the illegal salaries, running into millions of Naira and shared it.  He alleged that the manipulation has been going on for several months.
Also contacted on phone, the embattled chairman denied the story, saying he was at the police station for a different issue.
Two councilors who simply gave their names as Mrs. Egbe and Mr. Buggy confirmed the story to our correspondent on the phone and promised to call back for more details which they never did at as the time of going to press.
Since the incident happened, the acting Chief Press Secretary to the speaker, Mr. Nkem Osu, have been mounting pressure and pleading with a section of the press to drop the story with a promise that as soon as the speaker returns from his leadership training in the USA, they would be “appreciated.”

PDP confirms APC threat

PDP will win if APC picks Buhari in 2015 –Presidency •Buhari is light, Jonathan darkness –CPC’s ex-spokesman

Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak

The Presidency has said that if the newly registered All Progressives Congress picks a former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as its presidential candidate, the 2015 election will be a walkover for the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Presidency was apparently hitting back at the APC, which earlier said that it would be a disaster for any party to field President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election.

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, stated this in a telephone interview with one of correspondents in Abuja on Thursday.

He also commented on other APC leaders, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i.

He said, “As far as that merger is concerned, the calculation of the Congress for Progressive Change elements is that Buhari will stand for the election. If he stands for the election, it is a walkover for the PDP; so, we are praying that they field Buhari.”

While stating that he had information that Tinubu was not interested in the presidential race, Gulak added that El-Rufa’i did not have the qualities that could qualify him to contest the presidential election.

He said, “Tinubu is not interested in the presidential race. I have it on good authority that Tinubu is not interested.

“El-Rufa’i is not a politician. When we are talking about politicians who are likely candidates, we don’t talk about people like El-Rufa’i. We are talking about political politicians.

“But in all, the President has yet to declare his intention whether he will re-contest or not. When the time comes in 2014, we will know whether he will offer himself for a second term or not. As of now, we are here to work for Nigerians.”

Gulak said that the APC was too young to decide the fate of the President if the PDP fielded him for the 2015 presidential election.

He said since the APC had just been registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, its leaders must first learn the political ropes before commenting on who should be fielded by the PDP.

He said, “The APC that was just born yesterday should not have the mouth to talk.

“They should mind their own business and face the struggle ahead of them. They should stop focusing on what PDP will do or will not do, that is none of their business.”

The presidential aide said so far, the APC did not have any potential presidential candidate that could give a Jonathan sleepless night if he decided to re-contest in 2015.

But the National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said his (Gulak) statement was the “hallmark” of a dying regime.

He said that Buhari was head and shoulder above Jonathan.

He said, “Putting Buhari and President Jonathan side by side is like putting light and darkness together. Buhari is head and shoulder above Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who is occupying the nation’s highest seat.

“It is Nigerians who will determine who will win the 2015 election, but we know that in a free and fair election, Jonathan does not stand a chance against Buhari. Let him say whatever he wants.

“The PDP primaries could be manipulated for the President. We have said it that the PDP will be in the opposition as from 2015.”

Describing Buhari as a patriot, the former CPC spokesman said Nigerians knew that the administration had been lying against the former head of state over the insurgency in the North.

He stated, “It should be clear to all now that the people planning the insurgency are within Goodluck Jonathan’s regime.

“It makes no absolute sense that the insurgency is Islamic when people were bombed in Kano during Ramadan. It is totally incongruous. That is to show you that it is not Islamic in any way. It is about vicious politics, which this regime is playing.”

Fashakin stated that with the kind of leadership Jonathan and the PDP had provided in the last three years, it would be difficult for the President to win the 2015 presidential election.

He said, “We know the truth. Nigerians know the truth; that the kind of leadership that President Jonathan and the PDP have shown us in the last three years has been nothing to write home about.

 “It shows that in terms of leadership at the highest level, Gen. Buhari is head and shoulder above anybody they can present in the PDP.”

Photo news

Muslim Brothrhood gives Morsi reinstatement as the condition to end crisis

Mon Aug 5, 2013 5:28PM GMT

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Muslim Brotherhood says the only solution to the crisis in Egypt is full restoration of constitutional legitimacy, rejecting calls from Western and Arab envoys to accept that Mohamed Morsi will not return as president.

British police apologize for G20 protest death

Ian Tomlinson, British newspaper vendor

Mon Aug 5, 2013 6:7PM GMT

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The British Metropolitan Police have admitted misconduct in the death of Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper vendor, who police beat to death during protests against a Group of 20 meeting in 2009.

The forced apologized and said it had reached an out-of- court settlement with the family of the murdered.

The 47-year-old newspaper vendor was trying to leave a police cordon put up to contain protesters in London financial district, when officer Simon Harwood shoved him to the ground causing him to collapse and subsequently death.

In a statement on Monday, Scotland Yard acknowledged the suffering Tomlinson's family has "endured with dignity" over the last four years, adding that a settlement had been reached.

“I apologize unreservedly for Simon Harwood's use of excessive and unlawful force, which caused Mr. Tomlinson's death, and for the suffering and distress caused to his family as a result," Deputy Assistant Commissioner Maxine de Brunner said in the statement.

De Brunner added that she took "full responsibility" for Harwood's actions.

Harwood was tried and acquitted of manslaughter, but later fired after a police disciplinary panel ruled these actions amounted to gross misconduct.

Tomlinson's widow, Julia, said Monday that the police apology was "as close as we are going to get to justice."

“It will always be painful for us that Ian died so violently, but at least he is at rest now, and the force has publicly acknowledged the truth," she said.

Boko Haram KIlled 35 In Borno

Boko Haram fighters

By Ola' Audu

Fresh attacks by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram left at least 35 persons dead and several others injured in Borno State, military officials said.
The spokesman of the Joint Task Force, JTF, Lt Col Sagir Musa, said Boko Haram terrorists who had threatened to launch massive attacks as Ramadan ends lived out their threat by launching coordinated attacks on Sunday.
Mr. Musa said “troops have successfully repelled Boko Haram terrorists attack on Mobile Police Base and Bama town.”
“Terrorists using sophisticated weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices launched attacks at about 6:45am on 4th August, 2013′.
“The encounter led to the death of one policeman and 17 Boko Haram Terrorists; two soldiers were also wounded,” he said.
Mr. Musa also said two soldiers were killed when Boko Haram staged another attack on the operatives of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF). The soldiers were able to kill15 Boko Haram terrorists during the attack, he added.
He said the attack took place “about 10am on 4th August, 2013 when some Boko Haram Terrorists armed with sophisticated weapons attacked MNJTF location at Malum Fatori.”
The military said normalcy had returned to the two towns.
PREMIUM TIMES observed that the recent attacks have heightened residents fear in Maiduguri especially as they prepare for the Eid-el-Fitri which marks the end of the Ramadan fast.