chidi Nduka Aja

The boys, aged between 11 and 17, became trapped with their coach on 23 June The 12 young footballers freed from a cave in Thailand have been offered the chance to attend the World Cup final but are too ill to travel, Fifa says. Divers completed the rescue of the Wild Boars football team and their coach on Tuesday, 17 days after they got trapped underground. Offers of support have come from across the world, with Manchester United offering the chance to attend a game. England's Kyle Walker and Jack Butland have offered to send kit to the boys. Those offers have come after one of the boys rescued was pictured wearing an England shirt. Fifa had invited the boys to fly to Moscow for Sunday's World Cup final, but said they would not be able to go as they needed time to recover. "Our priority remains the health of everyone involved," Fifa said. "We will look into finding a new opportunity to invite the boys to a Fifa event to share with them a mo...

The African Development Bank (AfDB) said it would assist the Nigerian government to bridge its infrastructure gap estimated to cost about $3 trillion in the next 26 years. The Senior Director, AfDB Nigeria, Mr Ebrima Faal, said this at the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Road show on Tuesday in Abuja. Faal said the AIF idea came from the reality that the government alone could not finance the infrastructure gap in the country which made it difficult to achievr sustainable development. “Indeed, over the last decade, and despite impressive growth rates in most of the continent, Africa’s infrastructure needs remain formidable with annual financing gap between 130 and $107 billion annually. “Nigeria’s infrastructure cumulative financing needs are estimated to reach $3 trillion by 2044 or about $100 billion annually. “This is all happening at a time when public sector finances are extremely pressured. “There is therefore a critical need to change the current funding mix and create partnership...

The UN has accused South Sudan government forces and allies of killing 232 civilians and raping 120 women and girls in opposition-held villages. A UN investigation identified three commanders suspected of bearing the “greatest responsibility” in the violence in Unity State between April 16 and May 24 that may amount to war crimes, the UN said. “The perpetrators …must not be allowed to get away with it,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Al-Hussein. The investigation has also identified three individuals who may bear the greatest responsibility for the violations committed. One of them was reportedly removed from his functions for his alleged implication in these violations. The violence took place after clashes between the SPLA and associated forces, and SPLA-IO (RM) in Unity State culminated in a significant military operation by Government and associated forces between April and May in multiple areas in southern Unity. The military offensive was pa...

The number of divorces in Germany has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years, the Federal Statistics Office reported on Tuesday. “In 2017, there were 153,500 marriages officially dissolved by the state, 9,000 fewer than the previous year, representing an annual drop of 5.5 per cent,’’ the office reported. The last time the annual divorce figure was lower than that was in 1992, when it was 135,000. Contrary to the cliché of the “seven-year itch,” a large number of divorces actually occurred after six years: some 8,000 of last year’s divorces resulted from marriages made in 2011. Couples going their separate ways after 25 years or more made up 17.5 per cent of 2017 total. The average length of a marriage before divorce was 15 years. There was a slight majority of wives instigating divorce proceedings, at 51.5 per cent of the total. (dpa/NAN)

Malaysia Sharia Court fined village imam who married an 11-year-old Thai girl 1,800 ringgit (450 dollars) and sentenced to six months in jail, a prosecutor said on Tuesday. Zaini Sulaiman, from the state sharia court in north-eastern Kelantan, confirmed the charges to dpa and said the marriage has been invalidated. Zaini said that Che Abdul Karim Che Abdul Hamid, aged 41, had violated Islamic family laws. “That’s why the punishment imposed is appropriate,” he added. The rubber scrap dealer, who is said to have six children from his first two marriages, apparently got married in Thailand without the consent of his other wives. The prosecutor had previously told dpa that the case was being treated as “polygamy without consent.” According to local media, the girl’s parents gave consent to the marriage and were present when the marriage took place at a Thai mosque. The mother is thought to work for the imam’s first wife and a...

The proposed Counter Terrorism and Border Security Bill, which is currently going through UK parliament, may be misinterpreted and might violate human rights, the parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) said on Tuesday. “The Committee is concerned that some of the new powers are too vaguely defined and do not have sufficient safeguards to protect human rights,” the JCHR said. The proposed counter-terrorism bill provides for punishment of up to 15 years in prison. Though the bill aims to close some loopholes in the current legislation, some of its provisions extend the reach of the criminal law into private spaces. The bill might criminalise “curious minds and expressions of belief which do not carry any consequent harm or intent to cause harm,” the committee explained. The conclusions of the parliamentary watchdog contradict the opinion of UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who called the proposed legislation a “balanced” response to terrorism. In June, Ja...

Israel will not dismiss the possibility of future relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,  Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday. The statement came as the Syrian government retook parts of southern Syria recently, regaining territories lost to rebels during the country’s seven-year civil war. Responding to a reporter’s question if Israel would establish some kind of relations with Syria, Lieberman responded: “Our assessment is that we are far from that, but we do not rule out anything.’’ Israel says it has not taken sides in the Syrian civil war, but has bombed targets repeatedly in the war-torn country, typically weapons transfers to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and regional rival, and sites affiliated with Iran. Lieberman has also stepped up rhetoric against the Syrian military warning them not to enter a buffer zone in the Syrian Golan Heights established after a 1973 war with Israel. “Any Syrian soldier found in the buffer zone...

  Nollywood actor, Chinedu Ikedieze a.k.a Aki, has added another feather to his cap with the honorarium as a distinguished visitor to the city of Miami, Florida. The actor shared the news on his instagram page @Chineduikedieze with some pictures from the ceremony which took place in Miami, Florida. Ikedieze was full of thanks to the Mayor of Miami for according to him the renowned title. He said, ‘’When the world believed in you, believe in yourself also. Have faith in your abilities. “Without a humble or reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.’-Norman Vincent Peale’’ “From the bottom of my heart I say thank you to Miami-Dade ,country office of the Mayor and the county commissioners for honouring me as a distinguished visitor to the city of Miami, Florida’’. ‘’You have just given me a key to more success in life’’, he said. The 39 year-old Abia State born actor joined the movie industry in 2000 and rose to fame after starring in the block...

Sub-Saharan African countries like South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius and Rwanda have encouraged innovations to stimulate growth of their economies and spread prosperity, says the 2018 Global Innovation Index report launched in Nairobi and New York on Tuesday. The report, whose theme was “Energizing the World with Innovation,” reveals that harnessing science, technology, higher education and skilled labor has enhanced the competitiveness of African economies. “The Global Innovation Index has noted that Sub-Saharan Africa performs relatively well on innovation. Since 2012 the region had had more countries among the group of innovation achievers than any other region,” the report says. “It will be important for Africa to preserve its current innovation momentum,” adds the report published by World Intellectual Property Organisation  and partners from academia and globally acclaimed think-tanks. South Africa topped the list of the most innovative economies in Africa fol...

Trading returned to the negative territory on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday with market indicators declining by 0.60 per cent due to losses by some oil majors. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market capitalisation lost N82 billion or 0.60 per cent to close at N13.555 trillion against N13.637 trillion posted on Monday. Also, the All-Share Index dipped 225.09 points or 0.60 per cent to close at 37,422.84 compared with 37,647.93 achieved on Monday. Seplat recorded the highest loss to lead the losers’ table, shedding N15 to close at N635 per share. Total trailed with a loss of N10 to close at N200, while Lafarge Africa shed N2.25 to close at N35.75 per share. Guaranty Trust Bank lost N1.40 to close at N40.10, while Nigerian Breweries dropped N1.10 to close at N110 per share. Conversely, Forte Oil led the gainers’ table during the day, gaining N2.70 to close at N29.85 per share. Custodian and Allied Insurance followed with a gain of 40k to close ...