Geezzyworld's Blog

One hundred and forty three former Turkish soldiers went on trial on Monday in Istanbul over their deadly clashes with civilians on a bridge on the night of a coup attempt in 2016, local media reported. Thirty-four people were killed on the bridge over the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul as clashes erupted between civilians and soldiers trying to seal off the bridge at the start of a coup bid by some in the military on July 15, 2016. A close friend of Turkish President Recep Erdogan was among the dead and 318 others were injured in the clashes on the Bosphorus Bridge, which was later renamed July 15 Martyrs Bridge by the government to honour the dead civilians, who resisted the plot. If convicted, the dismissed soldiers each will face aggravated life imprisonment over “murder and attempting to overthrow the parliament and government,” press reports said. Turkey  If convicted, the dismissed soldiers each will face aggravated life imprisonment over “murder and attempting to...

France will not recognise Catalonia if the Spanish region unilaterally declares independence, its European Affairs Minister, Nathalie Loiseau, said on Monday. “If there were to be a declaration of independence, it would be unilateral, and it would not be recognised,” Loiseau said on CNews television. Catalonia, which has its own language and culture and is led by a pro-independence regional government, held a referendum on Oct. 1 over secession in defiance of Spain’s constitutional court, which had declared the vote illegal. “Catalonia cannot be defined by the vote organised by the independence movement just over a week ago,” the French junior minister said. “This crisis needs to be resolved through dialogue at all levels of Spanish politics.’’ A hasty decision to recognise independence following such a unilateral declaration would amount to fleeing France’s responsibilities, Loiseau added. “If independence were to be recognised – which is not something that’s being disc...

Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini suffers ligament damage on Belgium duty Marouane Fellaini suffered knee ligament damage against Bosnia-Herzegovina, says Belgium manager Roberto Martinez. The 29-year-old is now back with Manchester United and a full prognosis on his injury is expected in the next 24 hours. Fellaini had already been ruled out of Belgium’s World Cup Qualifier against Cyprus on Tuesday and Saturday’s crucial Premier League fixture against Liverpool at Anfield. Speaking to the media on Monday, Martinez said: “Marouane Fellaini, it has been confirmed that he has got ligament damage. “He has gone back to Manchester United. “It was a very unfortunate injury for Marouane. I don’t think the state of the pitch played any part. “A collision between two strong players, very committed that they want to win the ball, and unfortunately Marouane ended with a damaged ligament

Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has been passed fit to face Cyprus in Belgium’s final Qualifier for the 2018 World Cup. Lukaku, whose United side face Liverpool on Saturday, had been a doubt for Tuesday’s dead rubber in Group H after an ankle injury ruled him out of the 4-3 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday. However, Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has confirmed the 24-year-old has recovered from the injury and is now “100 per cent fit”. Belgium have already secured their place in Russia next summer after finishing top in Group H and Martinez may opt to rest his first-choice striker against Cyprus. The reason that he wasn’t in the squad in the previous game was because he wasn’t 100 per cent,” said Martinez. “Now he is 100 per cent but we need to take into consideration that he has been with the group for only one [training] session. “He’s been working on an individual basis, really good work, but we need to keep that in mind.” United boss Jose Mourinho...

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has ruled himself out of the presidential race in the forthcoming coming election in 2019. Attending the Financial Times AFRICA Summit in London on Monday, he had been reportedly asked if he had considered running, Osinbajo, to which he replied: “None of that is on the card.” However, speaking at the summit, Osinbajo had explained that the present administration was making specific efforts to enable the private sector to thrive specifically by undertaking extensive ‘ease of doing business’ reforms, in addition to on-going investment in infrastructure. He noted that the federal government in the past months has been working assiduously to improve macroeconomic conditions. “After a continuous slide in growth since 2014, the trend of growth in GDP has turned around with a modest growth of 0.55% in the second quarter of this year while inflation, though still somewhat high, has declined from its peak of 18.7% in January 2017 to about 16% today,” he s...

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, on Monday said that two suspected cases of Monkeypox have been recorded in the state. The Commissioner disclosed this at a news conference on Monday, saying that the two suspected cases were currently under observation in health facilities in the state. “Though no confirmed case has been recorded, there is need to sensitise members of the public and provide adequate information on measures for prevention and control of the disease in line with the policy of the State government,” he said.

The United States and Turkey on Sunday scaled back visa issuing services in each other’s countries in a deepening diplomatic row sparked by the arrest of a Turkish staffer at the American mission in Istanbul. The American embassy in Ankara said that “recent events” forced the US government to reassess Turkey’s “commitment” to the security of US mission services and personnel in the country. In order to minimise the number of visitors while the assessment is carried out, “effective immediately we have suspended all non-immigrant visa services at all US diplomatic facilities in Turkey,” it said. Non-immigrant visas are issued to all those travelling to the United States for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study. Immigrant visa services are only for those seeking to live in the US permanently. Turkey responded by suspending “all visa services” for Americans in the US, saying the measures also apply to visas issued online and at the border. In an appa...

Toyin Ijiyemi, a 38-year-old widow, has been allegedly killed by officials of Akure south local government in Ondo state over non-payment of radio and television levies. The deceased was said to have fallen down while struggling with the tax officials who were trying to seize her television because of her failure to pay the levies. The local government workers reportedly took the television into thier vehicle and left the scene of the incident without attending to the deceased. It was learnt that the hairdresser, who was the only child of her aged mother, later gave up the ghost. Sources said her corpse had been deposited at the morgue of the State Specialists Hospital, Akure, the state capital, and two of the council staff arrested by the police. Mojisola Otitilowo, aunt of the deceased, who narrated how the incident happened, said: “Toyin was at her shop at Bolajoko Street, Oke-Aro area, around 2pm when the council officials invaded the shop. They were four in number. Th...

Paul Unongo, chairman of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has stated that the region is against Biafra because the civil war was a bitter experience that should not be witnessed again. The Minister of Steel Development in the Second Republic said this in a chat with Vanguard. Answering a question on why Nigeria has yet to decide on desirable constitution after many years, Unogo said some people were playing politics with the issue. “People are just playing politics. I know precisely what is worrying the people of the South-East. You have a Constitution that somehow stopped an Igbo man from becoming the President. “The Igbo is a majority tribe. Even my tribe, Tiv, is not a minority tribe. We are the majority tribe in Taraba, in Nasarawa and in Benue. And when Nigeria chose to discuss, we were not represented”, he said. “I know what is behind the agitation for Biafra. But you don’t go out and say, ‘give us Biafra.’ Biafra is a bitter experience. Biafra is a war we fought for ...

President Muhammadu Buhari has spoken to President Nana Akufo-Addo to condole the government and people of Ghana on the gas explosions in the Legon suburb of Accra on Saturday. According to a statement on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President condoled Akufo-Addo in a telephone conversation on Sunday. Buhari was said to have prayed for those who lost loved ones and friends in the tragedy and a speedy recovery for the injured. The statement read, “The Nigerian leader told his Ghanaian counterpart that his personal thoughts and prayers, as well as that of all Nigerians, are with our Ghanaian brothers and sisters as they mourn their loved ones. “President Buhari further prayed that Ghanaians, who are known for their extraordinary strength and resilience, will overcome this disaster and rise above the losses the country had suffered in recent times from gas-related explosions. “President Akufo-Addo thanked President Buhari for his ...

A devastating election and a high-profile speech strewn with mishaps have ignited a leadership crisis for British Prime Minister Theresa May at a critical time as Brexit negotiators push for a deal in Brussels. A plot by a group of Conservative MPs to oust May was exposed on Friday, reviving memories of the backstabbing that led to Margaret Thatcher’s ouster in 1990. Many colleagues publicly condemned the attempt and backed their leader, but the Sunday Times reported that at least three cabinet ministers had discussed the need to replace her this week. Parliament returns on Monday and May is expected to announce a number of policy initiatives in a bid to reassert her authority, while there are also rumours of a cabinet reshuffle. But she will also need some progress in the deadlocked Brexit negotiations which resume on Monday. The prime minister has struggled since June when her gamble in calling an election to cement her power backfired spectacularly and she lost her pa...

It's Columbus Day (or, in some places,  Indigenous Peoples Day ). Donald Trump's  presidential proclamation for the day  is a lot different than Barack Obama's. By: Mr.Geezzy 1. DACA dealHopes for a DACA deal diminished dramatically after the White House put out  an aggressive list of demands . The Trump administration wants tougher immigration and border security measures, crackdowns on sanctuary cities, green card restrictions and money for the President's border wall. Those are all non-starters for Democrats, whose votes will be needed to OK a deal that would let the so-called Dreamers -- undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children -- stay. President Trump said he would end DACA but gave Congress a six-month window to come up with a fix. 2. Politics Well, you knew it was coming. Outgoing Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker publicly criticized President Trump a few days ago. Trump struck back over the weekend via -- what else? -- his Twitter feed. Th...

In Spain, the sight of countless red and yellow national flags was usually only seen at football stadiums — until Catalonia’s independence drive fanned the fires of patriotism this week. Despairing at what they see as dangerous Catalan nationalism, Spaniards opposed to secession wrapped themselves in the flag and demonstrated this weekend, chanting, “I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish”. Catalan separatist leaders have threatened to declare independence this week based on an outlawed October 1 referendum. “They want to break Spain up, so we are uniting to defend it,” said Fernando Gomez, 74, protesting in Madrid’s Colon Square on Saturday. Like many of her fellow demonstrators, Rocio Villanueva, 30, wore a flag in a sign of national pride. “It has not increased, it is just that now it is showing itself. Perhaps what is happening is making us no longer feel ashamed” of showing it, she said. – Patriotism flourishes – National government officials said 50,000 people joined t...

US economist Richard Thaler, one of the founding fathers of behavioural economics, has won this year’s Nobel Prize for Economics. Prof Thaler, of the University of Chicago Booth, co-wrote the global best seller Nudge, which looks at how people make bad choices. It spawned “nudge theory” of how to help people make better life decisions. The Nobel prize panel said his work had contributed to an understanding of the psychology of economics. Prof Thaler will receive 9 million Swedish krona (£850,000) from the committee. I will try to spend it as irrationally as possible!” the 72 year-old economist said. One of the judges, Per Stroemberg of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said his work had explored how specific aspects of human psychology shape economic decisions. “Richard Thaler’s findings have inspired many other researchers coming in his footsteps and it has paved the way for a new field in economics which we call behavioural economics,” Mr Stroemberg said.

South Africa and Chad on Sunday signed an agreement that will see the re-introduction next year of critically endangered black rhino to the central African country, decades after it was last seen there. Environment ministers from the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding “which will allow for the translocation of six black rhino from South Africa to Chad,” said a government statement. The last time a rhino was spotted in Chad was in 1972, according to official documents Chad submitted to South Africa. The animals would be airlifted to Chad’s Zakouma National Park “sometime next year. We are looking at around March, April or May” environmental affairs ministry spokesperson Albi Modise told AFP. Black rhino are officially listed as critically endangered, but are still native to the mainly eastern and southern African countries of South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. They have been re-introduced to several other southern Afri...

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday extended for two months a unilateral ceasefire in the war-torn regions of Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan, state media said. The decision, extending the truce to December 31, came days after the United States lifted a 20-year trade embargo on Sudan. Sudan’s official news agency SUNA said Bashir had made the move to show that the government is “Keen to achieve peace and stability in Sudan”. Since June 2016, Bashir has declared several ceasefires in the three regions, where fighting between government forces and rebels has killed tens of thousands of people. Sudanese officials claim that the conflict in Darfur has ended, but there are still sporadic reports of clashes. Sunday’s announcement came just two days after Washington ended a two-decades-old trade embargo imposed on Khartoum over its alleged support for Islamist militant groups. Now slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was based in Sudan from 1992 to 1996