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Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis rejects country's first ever Muslim prime minister

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis rejects country's first ever Muslim prime minister

8/25

© Provided by Independent Print Limited Romania’s president has rejected the nomination of the country’s first ever Muslim candidate for prime minister.
President Klaus Iohannis said he had “carefully weighed the arguments for and against” appointing Sevil Shhaideh and had decided not to accept the nomination.
Ms Shhaideh, who is a member of the country’s Muslim Tartar minority, had been put forward by the Social Democratic Party, which comprehensively won Romania's election earlier this month with 45 per cent of the vote.
She was nominated by party leader Liviu Dragnea, who would normally have assumed the post himself but is unable to do so because of a conviction for electoral fraud.
Some had suggested he was instead planning to run the government through Ms Shhaideh, who has only a few months' experience in government.
​President Iohannis called on the Social Democrats to pick someone else to lead the government but did not give a reason for rejecting Ms Shhaideh.
Mr Dragnea has previously suggested he will fight any attempt by the president to block his choice of prime minister.
“If Iohannis rejects our proposal, I’m not going to make a second one. We’ll see each other in some other place," he said.
Following the rejection, Mr Dragnea said he could begin the process of seeking to remove Mr Iohannis as president.
“It seems the president clearly wants to be suspended," Mr Dragnea said.
“We’ll weigh our options very carefully, because we don’t want to take emotional decisions. We don’t want to trigger a political crisis for nothing, but if we come to the conclusion that the president must be suspended, I won’t hesitate.”
Under Romania’s constitution, Mr Dragnea now has the opportunity to nominate one other candidate for prime minister, who must be accepted by the president. If that does not happen, another election will be held.
Before her nomination was rejected, Ms Shhaideh was on course to become the first Muslim leader of an EU country and the first female Romanian prime minister.
An economist, she previously served for six months as Minister of Regional Development in the last Social Democrat-led government but otherwise has little political experience.
Her nomination by Mr Dragnea came as a shock, with commentators having expected a more senior member of the party to be chosen for the post.
It led to suggestions the party leader was attempting to appoint a prime minister he could easily control.
There is no law preventing Mr Dragnea taking the position himself but President Iohannis was elected on an anti-corruption platform and has said he will not accept as prime minister anyone who has a criminal conviction.
​Sergiu Miscoiu, a Romanian political science professor, told Reuters: “Dragnea has nominated a loyal person ... it will be a government controlled by Dragnea."
Mr Dragnea himself appeared to echo the sentiment, telling reporters: “The political responsibility stays with me first of all."
Ms Shhaideh’s nomination was a historic one in a country where only 0.3 per cent of people are Muslim.
With President Iohannis being a Protestant of German heritage, it temporarily raised the prospect of Romania’s two leading politicians both coming from religious minorities in a country where 80 per cent of the population is Orthodox Christian.
© Provided by Independent Print Limited
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Romanian president Klaus Iohannis rejects country's first ever Muslim prime minister

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis rejects country's first ever Muslim prime minister

8/25

© Provided by Independent Print Limited Romania’s president has rejected the nomination of the country’s first ever Muslim candidate for prime minister.
President Klaus Iohannis said he had “carefully weighed the arguments for and against” appointing Sevil Shhaideh and had decided not to accept the nomination.
Ms Shhaideh, who is a member of the country’s Muslim Tartar minority, had been put forward by the Social Democratic Party, which comprehensively won Romania's election earlier this month with 45 per cent of the vote.
She was nominated by party leader Liviu Dragnea, who would normally have assumed the post himself but is unable to do so because of a conviction for electoral fraud.
Some had suggested he was instead planning to run the government through Ms Shhaideh, who has only a few months' experience in government.
​President Iohannis called on the Social Democrats to pick someone else to lead the government but did not give a reason for rejecting Ms Shhaideh.
Mr Dragnea has previously suggested he will fight any attempt by the president to block his choice of prime minister.
“If Iohannis rejects our proposal, I’m not going to make a second one. We’ll see each other in some other place," he said.
Following the rejection, Mr Dragnea said he could begin the process of seeking to remove Mr Iohannis as president.
“It seems the president clearly wants to be suspended," Mr Dragnea said.
“We’ll weigh our options very carefully, because we don’t want to take emotional decisions. We don’t want to trigger a political crisis for nothing, but if we come to the conclusion that the president must be suspended, I won’t hesitate.”
Under Romania’s constitution, Mr Dragnea now has the opportunity to nominate one other candidate for prime minister, who must be accepted by the president. If that does not happen, another election will be held.
Before her nomination was rejected, Ms Shhaideh was on course to become the first Muslim leader of an EU country and the first female Romanian prime minister.
An economist, she previously served for six months as Minister of Regional Development in the last Social Democrat-led government but otherwise has little political experience.
Her nomination by Mr Dragnea came as a shock, with commentators having expected a more senior member of the party to be chosen for the post.
It led to suggestions the party leader was attempting to appoint a prime minister he could easily control.
There is no law preventing Mr Dragnea taking the position himself but President Iohannis was elected on an anti-corruption platform and has said he will not accept as prime minister anyone who has a criminal conviction.
​Sergiu Miscoiu, a Romanian political science professor, told Reuters: “Dragnea has nominated a loyal person ... it will be a government controlled by Dragnea."
Mr Dragnea himself appeared to echo the sentiment, telling reporters: “The political responsibility stays with me first of all."
Ms Shhaideh’s nomination was a historic one in a country where only 0.3 per cent of people are Muslim.
With President Iohannis being a Protestant of German heritage, it temporarily raised the prospect of Romania’s two leading politicians both coming from religious minorities in a country where 80 per cent of the population is Orthodox Christian
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Tuesday, December 27, 2016

An investigation into the origins and ideology of the rebel group and its bloody rise.

Boko Haram: Behind the Rise of Nigeria's Armed Group

An investigation into the origins and ideology of the rebel group and its bloody rise.

 Boko Haram, Nigeria, War & Conflict
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Filmmaker: Xavier Muntz
Since 2010, people in northeastern Nigeria have lived in constant fear of being attacked.
In the past years, Nigeria's rebel group Boko Haram  has repeatedly attacked schools, churches, mosques and markets, but state institutions such as police stations and military facilities have remained primary targets.
The group provoked global outrage in April 2014 when they kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria. The kidnapping received global condemnation and sparked the solidarity campaign #BringBackOurGirls.
In August 2016, Boko Haram split into two factions after long-time leader Abubakar Shekau rejected an attempt by ISIL's Abu Musab al-Barnawi to replace him. Al-Barnawi is believed to be the son of late Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf and used to be Boko Haram's spokesman. Sporadic fighting broke out between the two factions, one headed by Shekau and the other by al-Barnawi and some believe that the division could break the spine of the Nigerian rebel group.
Since the start of the insurgency, the violence has resulted in more than 32,000 deaths and over two million people displaced.
But how did Boko Haram emerge and rise to power? What motivates them and why do they continue to thrive?
This documentary explores the origins and ideology of the rebel group and its bloody rise to power.
Some of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls released by Boko Haram during their visit to meet President Muhammadu Buhari In Abuja, Nigeria  [REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY]

Mohammed Yusuf and the origins of Boko Haram

Boko Haram, also known as Jama'at ahl al-sunna li-da'wa wa-l-qital, was established in 2002 in the town of Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, by  32-year-old  Mohammed Yusuf.
Yusuf set up his own mosque in a run-down neighbourhood ... People were intrigued ... There was a lot of curiosity in this radical rejection of the Nigerian state ... It was packed with people ... Yusuf fed the orphans and the street children. It became more than just a mosque.
Marc-Antoine Perouse de Monclos, professor at the French Institute of Geopolitics
With the return of democracy in 1999, Nigerians hoped for an end to widespread corruption within the elite and for fairer distribution of wealth.
To bring an end to corruption in politics, the Muslim majority in the north of the country wanted to see Islamic law applied more strictly. And Boko Haram took advantage of this popular demand.
"He [Yusuf] was quite a gifted preacher who became very popular because he was a good orator. And above all, he was a political preacher. It was that which spoke to his followers, the people of Borno. He talked a lot about lies... because for him, the politicians were liars," says Elodie Apard, French Research Institute for Africa.
Yusuf's message quickly resonated with people in the Borno region where the level of poverty was as high as 69 percent in 2011.
Nigeria is the leading economic power in Africa, but more than half of its population lives below the poverty line. Plagued by corruption, which is endemic among Nigeria's elite, politicians have gradually lost the trust of the people.
"Poor people identified with this [Yusuf's] discourse because they were promised paradise. They promised an Islamic state with Shariah, which is a form of social justice. Then the rich would no longer siphon off public money. They joined this group because they believed it would improve their lives through the more rigorous practice of Islam," explains Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos, pr
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Why Buhari is silent on Southern Kaduna killings – Spokesperson

Why Buhari is silent on Southern Kaduna killings – Spokesperson

southern-kaduna-800x500_c
President Muhammadu Buhari is silent on the ongoing violence in southern part of Kaduna State because the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is handling it, presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, has said.
Mr. Adesina stated this Monday morning on Channels Television during its Sunrise Daily programme.
At least six persons were killed in Goska village, Jema’a local Government Area in the early hours of Christmas.
The victims included a teenage secondary school student, Gimbia Morik, daughter of a former council chairman in Jema’a.
The killings, by suspected herdsmen, occurred despite Jema’a and two other local governments – Kaura and Zango Kataf – being under a 24-hour curfew.
The state government after a meeting of heads of various security agencies in the state, had on December 21 imposed the 24-hour curfew to prevent violence during the festive season.
Scores of people have been killed in ethno-religious violence in Southern Kaduna in 2016.
As the killings continue, Mr. Buhari had come under criticism from Nigerians for his silence.
Citing Nigeria’s federal structure, Mr. Adesina said there was no need for Mr. Buhari to speak since Mr. El-Rufai is “on top of the matter.”
The presidential aide said as the chief security officer of his state, it rests on Mr. El-Rufai, who has pledged to bring perpetrators to book, to deal with the matter.
“You don’t have to hear from the president on that matter. When it pays us, we talk about federalism and true federalism; yet you want the president and presidency to talk about everything,” Mr. Adesina said.
He also said “when a thing like this happens in a state, there is a chief security officer and he is supposed to be on top of the matter.
“Governor El-Rufai Rufai was at the villa on Thursday to brief the president, so why should the president then be talking about it?
“True federalism is the governor should be in charge and he is in charge of it,” he said.
LOCAL MATTER
The killings in Southern Kaduna are suspected to be due to violence between the locals and migrating Fulani herdsmen.
Apart from Kaduna, similar violence between locals, mainly farmers, and migrating herdsmen has caused the death of hundreds of people in several other states including Benue and Taraba.
Mr. Adesina on Monday said local authorities must play a crucial role in stopping the violence.
He said state and local governments have a major role to play in dealing with herdsmen crisis.
He said Mr. Buhari is always in constant touch with governors whenever an attack occurs to get timely updates.
The spokesperson said Mr. Buhari has consistently maintained that the best way to stop the killings is through collaboration  between the states and the grassroots leaders in local governments.
“The federal government has roles to play but not as much as the state and local governments,” he said.
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Monday, December 26, 2016

Man Chops Off Own Penis After Wife Denied Him Sex

Man Chops Off Own Penis After Wife Denied Him Sex

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Man chops off own penis after wife denied him sex
A 37-year-old ‘sexually frustrated’ Indian, Ghasi Ram, has cut off his penis after his wife Manjhri Devi, refused his sexual advances.
Ram, who claims his wife had not slept with him in a decade, came home drunk on Tuesday when she turned down his demands,
The incident happened in Uttar Pradesh in northern India where he reportedly sliced off his manhood after grabbing a knife and collapsed on the floor.
His wife called for help and a doctor was brought in.
“She would never make love to me. She will not sit close to me and always refuses my demands.”
His 34-year-old wife denied her husband’s claim, stating that he came home most nights drunk and never cared about her.
She said, “I just simply said no to him as he was drunk and I was very angry with him.
“Now he is blaming me for all this when I have done nothing.”
The couple, with a daughter and two sons, got married 18 years ago.
By Danielle Ogbeche
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Wole Soyinka To Hold Private Funeral On Trump’s Inauguration Day

By
 TheSay News
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Wole Soyinka To Hold
Private Funeral On Trump’s Inauguration Day
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Monday said he will hold a private funeral on January 20 when the United States, U.S President-elect, Donald Trump, is inaugurated as President.
Speaking at a media parley at Freedom Park in Lagos, the revered playwright said the funeral is to mourn the death of common sense in Nigeria, and not to mourn with the citizens of the U.S.
According to Soyinka, “Why do Nigerians wail louder than the bereaved?
“I am embarrassed to occupy the same nation space as some imbeciles and morons. I am planning my Wolexit, which could be internal or external.
“On the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, I will have a private funeral keep to mourn the death of Nigeria’s common sense. If the board agrees (because I do not like to be authoritarian) I will move the residency of my foundation out of the country.”
Recall that the Nobel laureate, who had said he would destroy his Green Card should Trump be elected as President, on Thursday last week disclosed that he had carried out his earlier pronouncement.
By Seun Opejobi


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China denies exporting human meat to African supermarkets as fake photos go viral

By
 TheSay News
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China denies exporting human meat to African supermarkets as fake photos go viral
Chinese officials have issued an angry denial following claims the country has been marinating human cadavers, putting them in cans and then selling them in African supermarkets.
The outlandish rumour appears to have been started on Facebook, where a post featuring grisly images, supposedly of human meat being processed, went viral earlier in the month of May this year
The post was picked up by Zambia’s Daily Post, among others, which published a report saying: “One cannot deny the possibilities (sic) of this being true since we all know that the Asians are among the largest population in the entire world.
“Since China is so overpopulated to a point where there is no space to spit, what do they do with the dead bodies of the Chinese? Well the answer might be that they are shipping the bodies to Africa in the form of canned meat, and they make a profit during the process.”
Earlier in May 3, 2016, a Facebook user from Zambia posted:
Please send this to all your contacts, it’s very important.
Chinese people have started producing corned beef with their dead bodies and sending them to Africa. Please stay away from corned beef irrespective of brand, most especially in Africa and from Afro-Asian grocery shops.
Culled from Telegraph May 20,2016
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