Decomposing corpse chases patients out of wards

Foul odour emanating from a decomposing corpse at the Accident and Emergency Clinic, Orile-Agege General Hospital, Lagos, on Monday, prevented medical workers from attending to patients at the clinic and wards attached to it.

Rather, patients were treated outside a large shed where new patients queued to collect cards before they were eventually taken to different wards for further attention.

When our correspondent visited the hospital on Monday morning, the doors of the clinic, which is located close to the Pharmacy Unit, had been locked and a male ward attendant in purple uniform was seen mopping the lobby with disinfectant. The nurses evicted from their station were also seen shouting at people not to open the door.

A patient who was relocated to the Surgery Ward said it took hospital officials more than two hours to evacuate the corpse.

“I came in here around 5am and there was no power supply at the time. The generator was also not working at the time, but there was no odour. I was already on a drip inside the ward when this foul odour hit the ward. In a matter of minutes, we were all asked to leave the ward. My drip was detached and condemned by the nurses.

“We were all taken outside and we sat on the benches by the Pharmacy Unit. It took them more than two hours to decide what to do with the corpse. I was later dispatched to the Surgery Ward, while others were taken to the Casualty Ward,” he said.

When contacted, the Medical Director, Dr. Afusat Tijani, refused to talk to our correspondent. “I am not allowed to talk to the press,” she simply said.

However, a source who did not want to be quoted because of civil service rule said the corpse was ‘a coroner’s case.’ The source denied that the corpse had been left unattended for three days.

“What happened was that the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit was supposed to have evacuated the corpse, but they said they did not have fuel to get here. The corpse was a coroner case and there was nothing we could have done. SEHMU only came to pick the corpse this morning.

“Patients are being attended to at the moment. The affected section was just the clinic and the patients were taken to another place pending the time disinfection would be completed. We usually wait for 24 hours after disinfecting an area before patients would be allowed to go back there,” said the source.

Learnt from Punchng online

Bloomberg partners UNILAG, LBS for training

Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa is collaborating with six universities, including the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos and the University of Lagos, Akoka, to provide executive training for the advancement of financial journalism.

The partner universities are from three African countries — Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

The University of Nairobi, School of Journalism, and Strathmore Business School, both in Kenya; while in South Africa, the University of Rhodes School of Journalism, and Gordon Institute of Business Science, are the other four universities.

The BMIA will also focus on executive training programmes to enhance coverage of business and economic development in Africa.

In an email interview with our correspondent, the UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rahmon Bello, expressed his delight at the partnership.

He said, “For us at the UNILAG, we expect that we are going to benefit from this partnership. The curriculum developed will have an impact on our existing curriculum in order to enhance the quality of training we offer to our students. We will also take advantage through exposing our people – our members of staff and students – to the techniques to be used, and imbibe them. We may end up developing a specialisation in financial journalism if it becomes necessary.”

Bello added that Nigeria and Africa would encourage foreign investment into the continent, as well as infuse the best practices in business education and journalism.

He said, “The BMIA is expected to enhance financial journalism for adequate coverage of business and economic development in Africa. The baseline is the need to have accurate and analytical reporting of economic situations on the continent. As I mentioned during the launching of BMIA in Johannesburg, South Africa, last year, this is what will enable faster and accurate business decisions by would-be investors within and outside of the continent.

Learnt from Punchng online

KANYE WEST RECEIVES HONORARY DOCTORATE IN CHICAGO

Kanye West accepted an honorary degree Monday from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Now, you can call him "Dr. West".

More than 900 students graduated at the Auditorium Theatre, and rapper Kanye West joined them to pick up his own degree. Some considered him a controversial choice, but he's an undeniable influence on popular culture.

"We dig ideas, we dig crafts. Mix it up, put it forward, put it out into the world. It's your design. And this is what Kanye is all about. He's a real artist, and unafraid. He's unafraid to bring whatever he needs to his palette and put it out in front of an audience," said Lisa Wainright, Dean of Faculty, SAIC.

"Kanye's somebody I've always looked up to growing up in Chicago, so the fact that the two come together for graduation is unbelievable," said Kenrick McFarlane, SAIC graduate.

West was raised in Chicago and got back in town early enough to take in the Bulls game Sunday with Scottie Pippen. He even gave an impromptu performance during a time out. Wife Kim Kardashian didn't join him, she's in Brazil.

"My medium is public opinion and the world is my canvas," West said.

"It was alright. It was pretty mediocre," said Bobby Zehnder, SAIC graduate.

"He did a good job! He spoke about humility, so I think that was pretty polarizing for the audience," said Jennie Crichlow, SAIC graduate.

"When I went on that mission to create in other spaces - apparel, film, performance - it would have been easier if I could have said I had a degree at the Art Institute of Chicago," West said.

This is Kanye's first honorary doctorate.

Learnt from abc7chicago online

Thunderbolt hits five in Ogun school, kills vendor

Five people, including three food vendors, a teacher and a pupil, were hit by a thunderbolt in Ejila Awori Community High School, Ipatira, in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident happened around 12pm while activities in the school were still on.
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The Principal of the school, Mr. O.O. Oshiname, said he was having a meeting in his office when a heavy rain started.

He said, “The incident happened last week Wednesday. I was in my office with the executive of the Parent-Teacher-Association. We were having a meeting.

“While the meeting was on, it began to rain heavily around 11.30am. About 45 minutes after the rain, it began to drizzle.

“Suddenly, a thunderbolt hit and it was so strong that it threw me off balance. The school generator was on, but after the thunderbolt, I asked one of the teachers to turn off the generator.”

He said the teacher, on getting outside saw the five victims, who were under a shade in the food vendors’ corner, on the floor.

The teacher was said to have raised the alarm.

The principal told our correspondent that he went out along with other people in the meeting and saw that the people were lying unconscious on the floor.

“They were all unconscious. It was a pathetic sight,” he added.

However, an hour after the incident, our correspondent learnt that the victims began to come round one by one, but the fruit vendor, Mrs. Felicia Fagbayi, 50, did not wake up.

PUNCH Metro learnt that some Sango (god of thunder) worshippers were invited to the scene of the incident by the people of the community.

The devotees, after making some consultations, were said to have set up a shrine around the site where the victim died.

A source said they demanded the payment of N500,000.

The source said, “The community called in the Sango worshippers and they asked for N500,000. They set up a shrine and forbade people from moving near the place. Their leader said he would need to call his superior. When he came, he gave the community a long list of materials for rituals.

“The school management ordered the pupils to go home until further notice to avoid further tragedy.”

Our correspondent learnt that the corpse was not evacuated from the scene until 7pm on Thursday, more than 24 hours after the woman died.

The relatives of the victim were said to have taken the corpse away for burial.

The husband of the victim, Sunday Fagbayi, said he was not at home at the time of the incident, adding that his late wife was not a victim of any spiritual attack.

He said, “I was told that out of the five people that were hit, my wife was the only one that died. I don’t believe it was because she had offended anyone that she died.

“I believe it was fear that killed my wife. She was afraid and that was why she died. She was a very religious person.”

The Councillor representing the area in the LGA, Makinde Samson, said the incident was unprecedented in the community.

He said, “Usually, when somebody is struck down by thunder, the belief is that the person may have stolen something and if that is the case, the stolen items will be placed on the victim’s chest. But that did not happen in this case. Those that we invited told us it was coincidental because there was no mark on the woman.”

He said the LGA chairman had been informed of the development.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, John Odubela, when contacted, confirmed the incident.

He said, “It is sad and unfortunate. One person died in the incident.”

The police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said, “The truth is that when such an incident happen, people prefer to keep it away from the police. The command is not aware; it is strange to us.”

Learnt from Punchng online

APC to Jonathan: Only the guilty should be afraid

The All Progressives Congress on Monday said only those who are guilty of crimes against the Nigerian people need to be afraid of the incoming administration.

It assured Nigerians that the incoming Buhari administration will not persecute anyone, contrary to statements credited to President Goodluck Jonathan.

This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

APC said, “Those who have played poker with the nation’s destiny must be willing and eager to clear their conscience before man and God.

“That the President-elect is a man of integrity is not an issue for debate, and he has made it clear that he will not be bogged down by endless probes.

“However, the hands of the incoming government will not be tied by those who have chosen to play the victim and exhibit a persecution mentality.

“Whoever has any reason to be afraid must lay bare such reason before Nigerians.

According to the party, under the climate of change which Nigerians have ushered in with their votes, only the guilty needs to be afraid. Those with a guilty conscience, on account of their actions in the public sphere, must clear such so they can be at peace with themselves.

“The last time we checked, this does not fit the definition of persecution,” APC said.

The party wondered why the President chose a public forum to express his fears when he could have done so privately during his meetings with the President-elect.

It noted that since the presidential election was won and lost, the President and the President-elect have met privately a number of times. He therefore wondered why President Jonathan failed to express his apprehensions during those meetings.

The party also said, “Even if the two have not met, the President could have reached out to the President-elect over any fears that he may be nursing, instead of engaging in an action that seems like he was being pre-emptive and seeking to curry public sympathy.”

APC insisted that the priority of the incoming government will be the welfare and security of the long-suffering people of Nigeria. He enjoined all citizens to support the administration in charting a new path for the country – away from the rapaciousness and impunity of the past years.

Learnt from Punchng online

Jonathan’s aides expel journalist from Aso Rock

The embattled journalist was expelled from the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for asking visiting Chadian President, Idriss Derby, a question which authority found to be embarrassing.

Musa had asked the visiting President to explain the relationship between the multinational task force fighting in Lake Chad and the South African mercenaries fighting with them.

Derby simply responded that he had no information concerning mercenaries from South Africa.

Shortly after the visiting President left, Musa was invited into the CSO’s office and his tag was withdrawn.

Security operatives thereafter drove him in a vehicle out of the fore-court of the President’s office through the Service Chiefs’ gate.

When he told the operatives that some of his working tools were still inside the Press Gallery where journalists operate from, the operatives led him to the hall to retrieve his belongings and led him out of the Villa again.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, was said to have assured a delegation of State House correspondents who met him on the matter that the issue would be resolved appropriately.

As at the time of filing this report, however, Musa’s accreditation has not yet been restored.

Learnt from Punchng online

2 DEAD, OTHERS MISSING AFTER TORNADO HITS EASTERN TEXAS

At least two people died when an EF3 tornado struck eastern Texas on Sunday, authorities said today.

The two deaths in Texas were in addition to at least two in Arkansas, as severe weather this weekend slammed the nation's midsection.

The tornado that hit Van, Texas, a small city in northern Van Zandt County, was confirmed as an EF3 today, local officials said. An EF3 tornado carries winds from 135 mph to 140 mph.

Dozens of people were hospitalized, officials in Van Zandt County said this afternoon, and three people remained unaccounted for, down from eight earlier in the day. The two killed were a husband and wife at their home, officials said. The couple was not identified by name.

Approximately 30 percent of the city suffered damages, officials said today, ranging from destroyed homes to downed trees and power lines. Officials were still working to restore power to all residents.

"My stomach kind of just went in knots when I saw this," one resident said. "I didn't think it was going to be this bad."

Roy Betencourt, who suffered a broken arm during the storm, said by the time the skies darkened Sunday night, the tornado was already on top of him and his family.

"Once the sirens came on, the lights kind of flickered out. They went out. and, as soon as they hit, it was in my backyard," he said.

Don Dunn, superintendent of Van's school district, said several schools were also damaged.

"We feel very blessed that this did not happen during a school day and that I'm not standing up here right now talking to you about any kids," Dunn said. "[I] just ask that you continue to send your thoughts and your prayers to the community of Van."

Van Zandt County Judge Don Kirkpatrick said Van is a "strong community" and "will rebuild."

There were 71 reported apparent tornadoes this weekend, stretching from Iowa to Texas. Besides Van, the areas hit hardest by possible tornadoes were Lake City, Iowa, and Delmont, South Dakota.

In Arkansas, a married couple -- Michael and Melissa Mooneyhan, Howard County Coroner John Gray said, according to The Associated Press -- was killed Sunday after severe weather tore through the mobile home park where they lived. An infant inside the home survived, authorities said.

Tornado threats continued today further north around Detroit and Cleveland.

Learnt from abc7chicago online

90-YEAR-OLD 'SEESEE' IS THE OLDEST WORKING NURSE IN THE U.S.

SeeSee's coworkers at Tacoma General Hospital presented her with flowers, a crown and a birthday sash to celebrate the occasion. She seemed delighted by the fanfare and joked that she stayed in bed that morning overwhelmed by her age, to which everyone laughed.

"I thank you all," she said. "You are all wonderful."

The birthday girl was even read a letter written to her by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

The CEO of Multicare hospitals, Bill Robertson, also wrote a message in her honor, pointing out that she is the oldest working nurse in the country.

"Just imagine all the changes SeeSee has seen in her life since she graduated from high school -- in 1943," he wrote. "Listening to some of the details of the experiences she has had over the course of a wonderful life is inspiring."

SeeSee is known for her enthusiasm and love of learning; it's even where her nickname came from. People started calling her that when she would exclaim, "See, see," to show a teacher how well she knew her lessons.

The celebration, of course, ended with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" for a very grateful SeeSee.

Learnt from abc7chicago online

10 Best Smartphones

OMG! IPhone 6 and 6 Plus has dropped to 3rd in ranking...

Samsung Galaxy S6 And Galaxy S6 Edge

HTC One M9

iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus

Motorola Nexus 6

Sony Xperia Z3

Motorola Droid Turbo

LG G3

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Where is Infinix Zero and Tecno Phones? Low end demand.

Learnt from Forbes Online

How Pinterest plans to spend its new millions and why it only hires nice employees, according to its cofounder

Late last week, news broke that Pinterest had raised an additional $186 million as part of a $553 Series G round of funding.

That brought the startup's total funding to $1.3 billion with an $11 billion valuation — In other words, boatloads of money for the five-year-old company.

Business Insider talked to Pinterest cofounder Evan Sharp not long before the company closed its latest funding.

During our interview, he talked about why he thinks the company's vision is so powerful, and how it plans to grow and change in the coming year.

Here are some highlights of what we learned:
Pinterest plans to spend the next year focusing on international growth and making its Pins more "actionable." As the site expands geographically, it also needs to become more regionally focused.
People have stopped talking about Pinterest as a "social network" — but that's a good thing. "Pinterest is not about sharing with your friends," Sharp says. "It’s about saving ideas for your future."
Pinterest puts a lot of stock in hiring employees who aren't just really smart, but who are also really nice. "Those are the people who can 'knit' together and build great innovative products," Sharp says.
Pinterest needs to do a better job of explaining its various uses. "I don’t think people realize the breadth of it and how it’s useful it is for so many things," he says. "I just got a dog, and I never thought about using it to look up toys you get for the dog and walks to take the dog on, but there’s so much stuff about that on Pinterest!"
Here's a transcript of the interview, lightly edited for clarity and length:

Business Insider: So, what have you personally used Pinterest for recently?

Evan Sharp: I’m going to Yellowstone National Park in a few weeks. I was there about a decade ago and so I was browsing things to do there. What I was really interested in are there things to do there, or interesting things at Yellowstone that I didn’t know about.

Because I remember a lot of the stand-out stuff from my last trip, but I was wondering if there were things I didn’t know about — that 'are there secrets?' And Pinterest has helped me with that.

Screenshot / YouTubeHere's an example of Guided Search: When you search something like "plants," Pinterest will give you options like "that keep the mosquitos away" or "garden"

BI: It’s been about a year since Pinterestfirst launched Guided Search to help people narrow down their search results. Why is that function important to Pinterest’s goals and how has it changed?

ES: We think of Pinterest as a visual bookmarking tool for saving and discovering creative ideas, and that discovery part is a really a core part of what we work on every day. When you’re searching for something on the web, you’re generally looking for something very specific. But on Pinterest, it’s usually more general. It’s like, ‘I need a scarf, but I don’t know what kind of scarf.’ Or ‘I need to stain something, but I don’t know anything about how to do that.’

The Guides are a way for us to give you the vocabulary. You may need help discovering and exploring things you didn’t even know existed.

BI: Pinterest recently announced that there are a whopping 50 billion Pins in the system. What’s the goal, growth-wise, there?

ES: I don’t know if we have a number that is the goal. Numbers are easy to talk about externally so we use them, but it’s not actually about the quantity. But for us, it’s really about ‘Do we have all the most interesting stuff well-represented on Pinterest?’

If you’re a user who is looking for something, do we have an idea that’s relevant to you? Do we have enough stuff that we can help you discover something interesting? For us, it’s less about thinking about how to make that number higher and more about, how do we take those 50 billion things and show you the right five or ten or twenty for what you’re doing. And that’s a really hard problem.

BI: What are some ways that you’re solving that problem?

ES: This year, we’re really interested in how we make Pinterest feel very regionally focused. Our biggest company focus this year is international growth. When you’re in Japan and you’re looking for something to cook for dinner, how do we make sure you’re seeing a Japanese recipe?

Another focus is how we take those 50 billion Pins — or however many we have at the end of the year — and make them more useful and more actionable? If you come across anything — clothing, a place to travel — how do we help you understand what you’re looking at — how you can get that piece of clothing, how you can get to that place? And that’s more about the information and the metadata that we have about the pins themselves.

 

BI: You recently made it possible to download apps through Pinterest. How else will you make more actionable pins?

ES: When you see something on Pinterest, how well are we helping you understand what you’re looking at, and how easy is it for you to go do that thing in real life?

If you see an image and it’s just an image, and there’s a bad link or no description, and you don’t know what that image is, or who took it, or what it’s a picture of, it’s not a very satisfying or actionable experience.

Whereas, if you see a photo of an awesome bag and it says what it is and there’s a link to the store and you can get it and there are reviews — all of that stuff would make the experience of discovering that bag on Pinterest way better for you. Just way easier. So there’s a whole suite of stuff that we could build.

BI: About 80% of Pinterest's traffic now comes from mobile and you’ve talked about how international expansion is a big priority right now. How do those two things go together?

ES: For us, the phone is the platform that we think about every day when we develop new features and products. We have experiences on other devices and other platforms, and we’ll continue to do that, but the phone is really what most people think of when they think of the internet. Without that, we’d be in a much, much worse position when we think about Asia, South America, Europe and someday maybe Africa. It’s vital.

For example, we’re finally prioritizing Brazil this year. It’s one of the five countries we’re focused on. We’re focused on the the UK, Germany, Japan, and Brazil, and Brazil is a very mobile dominant country. For us, it’s kind of a test-bed of how we really try and grow without a desktop presence, which I think is a good exercise for us to go through as a company.

BI: People used to always talk about Pinterest as a ‘social network.’ Now, you see it described as a ‘discovery tool.’ Do you think the social element of Pinterest is as important as it used to be?

ES: One of the problems is that there’s not a good definition of what social means online. When people use that as a label, it’s hard to agree or disagree. To me, a social service is a service that is primarily about sharing and communicating with your friends. So that’s Facebook, that’s messaging apps, that may or may not be Twitter depending on how you define friend…

Pinterest is not about sharing with your friends. It’s about saving ideas for your future.

I do think, obviously, you can get inspired about things you want to do by looking at what other people do. People are at the core of Pinterest, but it’s just not about sharing. For me, a lot of the people who inspire me are people I know. Like, my friend Everett re-does scooters and motorcycles — and that’s really inspiring I never thought about doing that before I saw his Pin Boards. And my friend Shaw is an architect in New York so I can keep a pulse on what he’s doing, because he’s way more cutting edge than I am.

But I don’t think of those interactions as social interactions. I’m more interested in the fact that they’re experts in a taste I admire then that they’re people I’m friends with.

PinterestA big group of Pinterest employees. Sharp and cofounder Ben Silbermann are in the center

BI: Pinterest recently held an event called “Knitcon” where employees taught each other classes about things like song writing, photo editing, fixing a flat bike tire, and more. Why is that sort of thing important to Pinterest’s culture.

ES: Our core company value is actually the word 'knit,' which is kind of a funny word. That’s the word we use to describe different types of people learning to see each other’s point of view and work on a problem together. And that’s just how creative things get built right?

We want the different disciplines and functions to be learning each other’s languages. Engineering and design work very closely. I think that there are a lot of companies in the valley that call themselves an ’engineering company,’ or a ‘marketing company,’ — they’re very focused on a specific part of a business.

We’re more interested in forming a business where there is no Alpha dog team within the company.

PinterestHow Pinterest welcomed the company Kosei after its acquisition

There’s one more thing… We try to hire people who are nice. Which is kind of obvious in some ways, but there’s definitely a stereotype of a successful startup that it’s often this aggressive, type A place. And that’s just not necessarily true.

You can have geniuses that are nice or geniuses that are really egotistical. But they’re both geniuses. So, we really want to work with the geniuses that are nice to each other and have a common level of respect. Because those are the people who can knit together and build great innovative products.

BI: What do you wish people better understood about Pinterest?

ES: I don’t think people realize the breadth of it and how useful it is for so many things. Even I don’t sometimes.

I just got a dog, and I never thought about using it to look up toys you get for the dog and walks to take the dog on, but there’s so much stuff about that on Pinterest!

Pinterest really is a portal. We’re an effective search engine for a lot of things in people’s lives, and I’m not sure that we’re top-of-mind in that way yet. You wouldn’t ask Pinterest how far it is from New York to San Francisco, but you would definitely ask it, ‘What should I do in San Francisco?’ or ‘What kind of sofa do I want in my apartment,?’ or ‘What kind of clothes do I want to wear?’ These very subjective questions that have no right answer, that I think a visual, object-focused service can help you answer really well.

Learnt from BI Online

Saudi says absence at Camp David 'not a snub to US'

Saudi Arabia's new foreign minister has said that King Salman's last-minute decision not to attend a Camp David summit of US and allied Arab leaders later this week was not intended as a snub to Washington.

"This is not related in any way, shape or form to any disagreement between the two countries," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters on Monday at Saudi Arabia's embassy in the US capital.

In a statement on Sunday, Jubeir had said Thursday's summit coincides with a humanitarian ceasefire in the conflict in Yemen, where a coalition of Arab nations are fighting Houthi rebels.

The annoucement was interpreted by some as a deliberate rebuff to US President Barack Obama, at a time when ties between the allies have been strained by Saudi opposition to a proposed US nuclear deal with Iran.

But Jubeir, until recently the Saudi ambassador to Washington, said this idea was "really off base" and that the replacement delegates were "the right people" to represent Riyadh at the meeting in Maryland.

The foreign minister said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, would lead the Saudi delegation and the king's son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is defence minister, will also attend.

Presidential retreat

President Barack Obama had planned to meet King Salman one-on-one a day before the gathering of leaders at the presidential retreat.

The Kingdom of Bahrain said separately that its delegation would be headed by the country's crown prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

The sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said, is among those staying away.

The sultanate will be represented instead by the deputy prime minister, Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, and other officials, the country's official news agency announced.

Health issues will also keep the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, from attending. He suffered a stroke in January last year and has not been seen publicly since.

The influential Abu Dhabi crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will lead the Emirati delegation.

Among those who will be at the summit is the Kuwaiti emir, Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who arrived at Andrews Air Force Base on Monday, the official Kuwait News Agency reported.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is scheduled to depart Monday to take part in the meeting.

'No substantial disagreement'

The White House said it did not take the Saudi king's decision to skip the summit as a sign of any substantial disagreement with the US, but some commentators called the king's cancellation a snub.

The New York Times said: "The decision appeared to be a signal of Saudi Arabia's continued displeasure with the Obama administration over United States relations with Iran, its rising regional adversary."

Arab allies feel threatened by Iran's rising influence and worry a nuclear pact taking shape with the US, Iran and other nations may embolden Tehran to intrude more aggressively in countries of the region.

King Salman, who took power in January after his brother King Abdullah died, has not travelled abroad since his ascension to the throne.

Learnt from aljazeera

Tom Brady suspended 4 games for Deflategate

Tom Brady has been suspended for four games for "conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL" for his role the New England Patriots' deflated football scandal, the league announced on Monday.

In addition, the NFL took away the Patriots' 2016 first-round pick and 2017 fourth-round pick and fined the team $1 million.

NFL investigator Tedd Wells' massive report on the scandal, which was released last week, determined that two team employees probably deflated footballs on purpose before the AFC title game against the Indianapolis Colts, and Brady was likely "generally aware" of what was going on.

The two employees in question — locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski — have been suspended by the team indefinitely. Wells said in his report that he believed McNally deflated the footballs used in the game using a needle provided by Jastremski. Text messages between the two indicated that Brady was concerned about ball inflation levels.

Brady will not be paid during the suspension, but can participate in the preseason. He'll lose $2 million of his $8 million in base salary, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. If Brady's suspension remains at four games, he'd take the field for the first time in 2015 against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6 (the Patriots have a Week 4 bye).

In a letter to the team that was released by the league, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent cited the Patriots' history of rule breaking (specifically, the 2007 Spygate scandal), the team's lack of full cooperation with the investigation, and the fact that Brady, Jastremski, and McNally "were not fully candid during the investigation" as reasons for the punishment.

Brady's agent has been vigorous in his defense of his client. Brady can appeal:



Brady has three days to file notice of appeal. There will be lawyers...— Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) May 11, 2015



Here's the NFL's full statement:

The New England Patriots were notified today of the following discipline that has been imposed for violations of the NFL Policy on Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules relating to the use of under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game of this past season:

For the violation of the playing rules and the failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation, the New England Patriots are fined $1 million and will forfeit the club’s first-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. If the Patriots have more than one selection in either of these rounds, the earlier selection shall be forfeited. The club may not trade or otherwise encumber these selections.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft advised Commissioner Roger Goodell last week that Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective on May 6th. Neither of these individuals may be reinstated without the prior approval of NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent. If they are reinstated by the Patriots, Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day.

Quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL. Brady may participate in all offseason, training camp and pre-season activities, including pre-season games.

Commissioner Goodell authorized the discipline that was imposed by NFL Executive President Troy Vincent, pursuant to the commissioner’s disciplinary authority under the NFL Constitution and Bylaws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association. “We reached these decisions after extensive discussion with Troy Vincent and many others,” Commissioner Goodell said. “We relied on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game and the thoroughness and independence of the Wells report.”

Following are excerpts from Troy Vincent’s letters to the Patriots and Tom Brady:

From Troy Vincent’s letter to the Patriots: “On May 6th , independent investigator Ted Wells issued his report regarding the footballs used by the Patriots in this year’s AFC Championship Game. That report established that the footballs used by the Patriots were inflated at a level that did not satisfy the standard set forth in the NFL’s Official Playing Rules and that the condition of the footballs was the result of deliberate actions by employees of the Patriots. The activities of the Patriots’ employees were thoroughly documented in the report, including through a series of text messages and telephone communications, as well as evidence of a breach in pre-game protocol. In addition, the conclusions were supported by extensive scientific analysis, as detailed in the report.

“Based on the extensive record developed in the investigation and detailed in the Wells report, and after full consideration of this matter by the Commissioner and the Football Operations department, we have determined that the Patriots have violated the NFL's Policy on Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules, as well as the Official Playing Rules and the established guidelines for the preparation of game footballs set forth in the NFL’s Game Operations Policy Manual for Member Clubs. In making this determination, we have accepted the findings contained in the comprehensive report independently prepared by Mr. Wells and his colleagues.

“In determining that a violation occurred, we applied the standard of proof stated in the Integrity of the Game Policy: namely, preponderance of the evidence, meaning that ‘as a whole, the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not.’ This is a well-recognized legal standard, which is applied in courts and workplaces every day throughout the country. The evidence gathered during the investigation and reviewed in the report more than satisfy this standard and demonstrate an ongoing plan by at least certain Patriots’ employees to deflate footballs, to do so in a secretive manner after the game officials have certified the footballs as suitable for play, and to hide these activities even from their own supervisors.

“As you know, we regard violations of competitive rules as significant and deserving of a strong sanction, both to punish the actual violation and to deter misconduct in the future. In this case, the footballs were intentionally deflated in an effort to provide a competitive advantage to Tom Brady after having been certified by the game officials as being in compliance with the playing rules. While we cannot be certain when the activity began, the evidence suggests that January 18th was not the first and only occasion when this occurred, particularly in light of the evidence referring to deflation of footballs going back to before the beginning of the 2014 season.

“It is impossible to determine whether this activity had an effect on the outcome of games or what that effect was. There seems little question that the outcome of the AFC Championship Game was not affected. But this has never been a significant factor in assessing discipline. There are many factors which affect the outcome of a game. It is an inherently speculative exercise to try to assign specific weight to any one factor. The key consideration in any case like this is that the playing rules exist for a reason, and all clubs are entitled to expect that the playing rules will be followed by participating teams. Violations that diminish the league's reputation for integrity and fair play cannot be excused simply because the precise impact on the final score cannot be determined.

“Here, there are several factors that merit strong consideration in assessing discipline. The first is the club’s prior record. In 2007 the club and several individuals were sanctioned for videotaping signals of opposing defensive coaches in violation of the Constitution and Bylaws. Under the Integrity of the Game Policy, this prior violation of competitive rules was properly considered in determining the discipline in this case.

“Another important consideration identified in the Policy is ‘the extent to which the club and relevant individuals cooperated with the investigation.’ The Wells report identifies two significant failures in this respect. The first involves the refusal by the club’s attorneys to make Mr. McNally available for an additional interview, despite numerous requests by Mr. Wells and a cautionary note in writing of the club’s obligation to cooperate in the investigation. The second was the failure of Tom Brady to produce any electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information. Although we do not hold the club directly responsible for Mr. Brady’s refusal to cooperate, it remains significant that the quarterback of the team failed to cooperate fully with the investigation.

“Finally, it is significant that key witnesses – Mr. Brady, Mr. Jastremski, and Mr. McNally - were not fully candid during the investigation.

“In accepting the findings of the report, we note that the report identified no evidence of wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing on the part of any member of the coaching staff, including Head Coach Bill Belichick, or by any Patriots’ staff member other than Mr. Jastremski and Mr. McNally, including head equipment manager Dave Schoenfeld. Similarly, the Wells report is clear that Patriots ownership and executives did not participate in any way in the misconduct, or have knowledge of the misconduct.

“Nonetheless, it remains a fundamental principle that the club is responsible for the actions of club employees. This principle has been applied to many prior cases. Thus, while no discipline should or will be imposed personally on any owner or executive at the Patriots, discipline is appropriately imposed on the club.”

From Troy Vincent’s letter to Tom Brady: “With respect to your particular involvement, the report established that there is substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots’ employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge. Moreover, the report documents your failure to cooperate fully and candidly with the investigation, including by refusing to produce any relevant electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information, and by providing testimony that the report concludes was not plausible and contradicted by other evidence.

“Your actions as set forth in the report clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football. The integrity of the game is of paramount importance to everyone in our league, and requires unshakable commitment to fairness and compliance with the playing rules. Each player, no matter how accomplished and otherwise respected, has an obligation to comply with the rules and must be held accountable for his actions when those rules are violated and the public’s confidence in the game is called into question.”

Learnt from BI Online

Why iMessaging is a much more secure way to chat than a Google Hangout

End-to-end encryption is the mot du jour when it comes to digital privacy. In layman's terms it means that when you send a message from your computer, it is encrypted from the moment you sent it until the moment it is received. This means, in theory, that no third parties can intercept the message.

Apple says it uses end-to-end encryption. Google, however, is another story. The company has been notoriously vague about its privacy practices, and a recent Reddit AMA explains why.

Two Google security executives, Richard Salgado and David Lieber, took to Redditlate last week to answer any and all questions. The American Civil Liberties Union’s principal technologist Christopher Soghoian seized this opportunity.

He asked, "Why has Google refused to be transparent about its ability to provide wiretaps for Hangouts? Given Google's rather impressive track record regarding surveillance transparency, the total secrecy regarding the company's surveillance capabilities for this product is quite unusual."

Salgado responded, "Hangouts are encrypted in transit."


This is an important admission, because it shows that Google can get access to whatever it is that you’re sending. Redditor reddit_polyexplained:

"For non-technical readers, this means that Hangouts are only encrypted on their way between your computer and Google's servers. Once they arrive at Google's end, Google has full access. In short, this is confirmation Google can wiretap Hangouts."

Motherboard reached out to Google, which "confirmed that Hangouts doesn’t use end-to-end encryption."

This is a questionable policy to say the least, one that shows huge privacy limitations for Hangouts. And it's especially telling when you pit Google’s policy next to Apple’s end-to-end iMessage encryption.

Learnt from BI Online

Twitter's new double confirmation feature will save you from embarrassing social media fails

It's becoming more and more common to hearstories of people getting fired for tweeting out something foolish, so Twitter is introducing a new feature within its TweetDeck app to help prevent the same mistake from happening to you.

TweetDeck now includes an optional tweet confirmation feature that asks you to tick a "Ready to Tweet?" box as a final check to see if you really want to pull the triggerand set that tweet live. Once you check the box, you can then click the Tweet button as you normally would, but the thinking is that you might have a change of heart in the time it takes between button presses.

Here's what the secondary confirmation looks like in action.

New on TweetDeck! You can now add a confirmation step before Tweeting from any account. https://t.co/8eKB5u3yMhpic.twitter.com/HYc3Gq46SA— TweetDeck (@TweetDeck) May 11, 2015

Twitter is also hoping the confirmation box will help people managing multiple Twitter accounts, such a social media manager, to make sure they're not tweeting out something personal from an official account.

To turn on the feature, simply navigate to your Account tab on TweetDeck, select the Twitter account you want to enable the confirmation box on, and make sure "Confirmation Step" is toggled on.

TweetDeck

Of course, if you want to make sure you haven't already tweeted or posted something controversial to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you can always check out the social-media digging app Clear, created by former Jeb Bush staffer Ethan Czahor after he lost his job because of past tweets.

Learnt from BI Online

'ATTACK THE MESSENGER' — Seymour Hersh defends his blockbuster bin Laden story

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh is pushing back against critics of his controversial story claiming the White House lied about key details of the Osama bin Laden raid.

Soon after the story was published in the London Review of Books on Sunday night, former CIA officials and national-security experts slammedHersh's reporting, with CNN's Peter Bergen calling the piece "a farrago of nonsense."

And the White Houseblasted the story as full of inaccuracies and "baseless."

When reached at home by Business Insider on Monday afternoon, Hersh addressed some of the criticisms of his reporting, which have centered around his reliance on anonymous sources and an apparent lack of documentary evidence for his claims.

In the story, Hersh alleges the US government's narrative of the death of bin Laden was in fact an elaborate cover story meant to conceal Pakistan's relationship with the Al Qaeda leader and to yield maximum political payoff for President Obama in the runup to the 2012 election season.

Hersh defended his reporting methods. When asked about his decision to base some of his reporting on two unnamed consultants with US Special Operations Command, Hersh said he was being held to an unfair standard over his use of these kinds of anonymous sources.

"It's really an attack-the-messenger," Hersh said. "Every day in the newspaper, how many anonymous-sourced stories do you read? Dozens of them."

In Hersh's view "that doesn't diminish the credibility" of a journalist or a source: "That's just the way it is."

He also strongly defended his leading named source, Asad Durrani, the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency in the 1990s. In the opening paragraphs of Hersh's piece, Durrani corroborates Hersh's account of bin Laden's death.

The article suggests Durrani would have had knowledge of the article's assertions relating to Pakistan's relationship with the Al Qaeda leader. According to Hersh's reporting, ISI nabbed bin Laden in 2006 and held him captive to use him as leverage against Taliban and Al Qaeda activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"I consider him to be a credible source because he was a former director of the ISI who asked a lot of questions and knew a lot about what was happening on the inside," Hersh told Business Insider.

Hersh cited Durrani's deep involvement in Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and said that he is still active in diplomacy with India. "I've known him for years. He was involved in some very sensitive stuff."

"He's a grownup," Hersh says. "I've known him a long time."

In Hersh's view, Durrani is also a man of conscience, someone willing to risk his own safety to expose his government's activities. "He's got to stay in Pakistan, he's got to stay with his buddies," Hersh says. "But he had the courage to say, this is what it is."

Michael Schmelling

A former ISI director is a promising and potentially hazardous source for a story like Hersh's.

While Durrani was in a position of power, he was also embedded within a deeply opaque intelligence agency with ties to jihadist groups and a difficult-to-place role in Pakistani domestic politics. As Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Business Insider, "there are multiple parts to the Pakistani intelligence services. It's a wheels-within-wheels type of situation. Parts of it have cooperated with the US and parts of it haven't."

Christine Fair, a professor at Georgetown University and a leading authority on Pakistan's security and intelligence apparatus, gave a blunt assessment of Durrani's credibility: "Durrani has been delusional for years now and so far out of the loop that to cite him is as a pivotal source is reckless enthusiasm," Fair told Business Insider by email.

Asked about the White House's firm rebuke of his reporting, Hersh said that he expected the pushback. "The White House is a political institution," Hersh said. "Of course they want to manipulate the press. That's just normal."

Hersh says the presidency has been out to distort public narratives of major events for as long as he's been an investigative reporter.

"The White House doesn't like adverse stories that are contrary to what they want the public to believe," Hersh says. "It's always going to be that way. I don't think there's anything remarkably different now" compared to the Vietnam era.

Hersh may be correct that there is nothing inherently wrong with anonymous sourcing. And the White House certainly promulgates its own version of major global events, with the help of a classification system that gives it an immeasurable advantage in molding public narratives about national-security issues.

The issue is whether criticism of this specific piece is itself tied to any active US government effort to twist the truth of the bin Laden death, or whether criticism of anonymous sourcing and other reporting methods is in fact appropriate in the case of this specific story.

Hersh expressed frustration with journalists who have focused on the story as a "media" story while ignoring its alarming conclusions about the supposed conduct of the Obama administration.

Department of DefenseAn aerial view shows the compound that Osama bin Laden was killed in, in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

At the outset of the conversation, Hersh asked why Business Insider was even interested in talking to him and wondered, with teasing irony, if we planned on asking whether the story is true. It was the kind of question he has heard a wearying number of times over the course of a storied career. The veracity of his own reporting was a topic that seemed only to exasperate him.

"You're talking about someone who was a freelance reporter in 1969 and wrote about massacring hundreds of people in Vietnam for an anti-war news agency," Hersh said. "My God, you don't think I had trouble then?"

He's irritated at what he sees as a public obsession with where and how his bin Laden report had been published. "It's not a press story — it's a story about what the government does," Hersh said. "If the questions are about the press, I can't help you."

Learnt from businessinsider

The life-changing moment that bonded Mark Zuckerberg with one of his investors, who urged him not to sell Facebook

Marc Andreessen is the cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's most prolific venture capital firms.

One of the biggest investments Marc Andreessen has ever made may very well be Facebook.

Marc Andreessen, his wife Laura, and Mark Zuckerberg

According to a New Yorker profile, Marc Andreessen became a valuable mentor to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg in 2006, when Yahoo made a bid to buy Facebook for $1 billion.

At the time, Facebook's lead investor, Accel Partners, told 22-year-old Mark Zuckerberg to accept the offer and sell to Yahoo for $1 billion. But Marc Andreessen urged Zuckerberg not to sell.

“Every single person involved in Facebook wanted Mark to take the Yahoo! offer. The psychological pressure they put on this twenty-two-year-old was intense," Andreessen says. "Mark and I really bonded in that period, because I told him, ‘Don’t sell, don’t sell, don’t sell!’

Zuckerberg took Andreessen's advice and didn't sell to Yahoo. “Marc has this really deep belief that when companies are executing well on their vision they can have a much bigger effect on the world than people think, not just as a business but as a steward of humanity—if they have the time to execute,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg ended up making the right choice by listening to Andreessen: today, Facebook is valued at more than $200 billion. And Andreessen joined Facebook's board of directors in 2008.

Learnt from businessinsider.

Microsoft warns people not to install the Windows 10 Preview on its new Surface 3 computer

Windows 10 is not yet ready for the masses. Microsoft hasn't confirmed rumors that it the new operating system will be ready in July in time for back-to-school PC shopping.

Still, if you want to try an unfinished version of Windows 10 right now on a Windows 7 or 8 PC, you can, through the Windows Insiderprogram. And 3.7 million people have already done so, Microsoft says.

But there's one group of people who can't: The ones using Microsoft's brand new, low-cost Surface 3 tablet, which went on sale last week.

In answering questions about how to upgrade the new tablet on Microsoft's Surface forum, a support person warned:

Please do NOT try to install Windows 10 on the new Surface 3

There are no drivers in the Preview Build because Intel has not yet provided drivers.
There are no drivers for the Intel x5/x7 Atom processors

This warning does not apply to the new high-end Surface Pro 3 tablet, which can handle Windows 10 just fine, the Microsoft support person says says.

This half explains one Microsoft mystery.

At its Build Developer's conference held in San Francisco last month, the company gave attendees a new HP Spectra 365. Most of these attendees, Microsoft developers, are part of the Windows Insider program and immediately upgraded the tablet to Windows 10 Preview.

But attendees were baffled why Microsoft didn't give away one of the new Surface tablets, such as the Surface 3. Now we know why.

Learnt from businessinsider

Thief electrocuted to death while trying to steal electric cable

Vandals specializing in sabotaging the power distribution infrastructure in Nigeria would have a lesson to learn from an Asian thief in Abu Dhabi, who was burnt to death after he was electrocuted while trying to steal electric cables from one of the rooms used to supply electricity.

The Director General of Police Operations at Abu Dhabi Police, Omair Al-Muhairi, said Al Shabia Police Station received information recently about a person who was “electrocuted” inside an electrical room surrounded by a gate and an iron fence.

The police boss said following the tip off, some officials who were deployed to the scene found charred body of the Asian thief surrounded by the cables he had wanted to steal.

Mr. Al-Muhairi said preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased was trying to steal electrical wiring from the power house, after removing the iron door lock at night in his attempt to cut the cables with tools that were found in his possession.

The police said it was in the process of cutting the cables that the thief mistakenly stepped on a naked high voltage wire which electrocuted him, killing him on the spot.

The police boss said further investigations showed that the deceased, 33, a Pakistani national, who used to work in a construction company, was identified simply as (S. B. Sh.”,).

The police said the tools he used to remove the doors and locks at the power house were found next to his badly burnt body, along with other tools usually used in similar theft attempts to cut electrical cables.

“The sad ending of the cable thief would serve as a warning to other individuals with similar evil intentions to refrain from such negative behaviors, abide by good morals and stay away from criminal actions that usually result in painful consequences,” Mr. Omair said.

He however, assured that investigations were still underway to reveal the circumstances and causes of the incident.

Learnt from premiumtimesng

Multichoice: ​Nigeria has no power to regulate DSTV prices.

South African digital satellite television company, Multichoice, has defended its decision to increase DSTV subscription rates in Nigeria, saying neither the country nor its courts, has the powers to regulate its prices.

The ruling on the objecti​on by Multichoice Nigeria Limited against an application seeking to stop ​the price increase ​has been scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2015 at the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Two Lagos-based lawyers, Oluyinka Oyeniji and Osasuyi Adebayo, had initiated a class action on behalf of millions of Nigerians who criticised the new subscription rates as exploitative and insensitive.

The duo had sought the order of the court to stop MultiChoice or its agents from implementing the 20 per cent hike in the fees charged subscribers for using the service effective April 1, 2015.

The plaintiffs equally asked the court to compel the National Broadcasting Commission to take steps to monitor and regulate MultiChoice operations in Nigerian to ensure that it does not hike their fees arbitrarily.

The two applicants said they were expecting the NBC to ensure that they compel DSTV to deal with Nigerians the same way DSTV deals with other subscribers in other parts of the continent where MultiChoice operates, by ensuring that the pay-per-view scheme was introduced in the country.

This arrangement, they argued, would ensure that Nigerian subscribers to DSTV would only pay for programmes actually watched, as is the case in South Africa.

However, in objecting to the application, counsel to MultiChoice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), urged the court to deny the plaintiffs their demands and discountenance their pleas.

According to Mr. Onigbanjo, apart from the plaintiffs not having any good cause of action through their application, he also reminded the court that it did not have the legal authority to regulate what the company decides to charge its customers for its services.

The lawyer drew the court’s attention to clauses 40 and 41 in his client’s terms or conditions of service, stating: “Multichoice Nigeria may, from time to time, change the fees payable to Multichoice Nigeria for the Multichoice Service by way of general amendment.”

As a country operating a free market economy, Mr. Onigbanjo said, neither the Nigerian government nor the court has the power to regulate the prices for its services.

He noted that at the moment, Nigeria does not have an existing law that empowers the NBC to monitor and regulate the prices for services offered by satellite television operators.

To enable the court rule on the objection, Justice C.J. Aneke therefore adjourned further sitting till May 21.

Learnt from premiumtimesng

Okonjo-Iweala tackles critics, says Jonathan administration leaving behind solid economic legaciesOkonjo-Iweala tackles critics, says Jonathan administration leaving behind solid economic legacies

The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said despite the current economic challenges the country is facing, the Goodluck Jonathan administration would be leaving some solid economic legacies after it bows out on May 29.

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala dismissed allegations that the country’s economy was in ruins. She said such claims were absolutely untrue, as significant achievements in several sectors attest to this.

In spite of the challenges caused by 50 per cent decline in global crude oil prices, the Minister said nobody would deny that the present administration made a difference in many important areas.

“Anyone who says nothing has been done and nothing is being left behind is being very unfair to facts and to history,” Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said. “We are not perfect, but no one can take away the fact that we are leaving some good legacies behind. Attempts to rewrite history will not stand.”

The Minister, who identified areas of positive legacies under the outgoing administration, said the agricultural sector in particular had seen the rise in food production with attendant positive effect on food prices.

The other areas, according to her, include the National industrial revolution scheme and the automotive policy, which she said led to the opening of factories for car manufacturing and assembly for the first time in the country.

She said the impressive rise in cement production was due to positive government policies, with Nigeria now a net exporter of cement

The present government, she noted, has developed the capacity to create about 1.4 million of the 1.8 million jobs a year needed through various job creation and enhancement schemes such as YOUWIN, which accounts for over 27,000 jobs by young entrepreneurs sponsored and trained by government for other youths.

The creation of the NMRC, she said, was helping in creating a mortgage market to provide affordable housing for Nigerians.

The recently launched Development Bank of Nigeria, the Minister said, would help to achieve strong growth of small businesses by providing small and medium enterprises affordable interest loans of up to ten years.

The support for the creative industries, she said had helped to strengthen the capacity of script writers, producers, directors and other professionals in the motion picture industry, leading to the production of higher quality films, and creation of more jobs.

She urged politicians and opinion leaders not to talk down the economy, as negative and unsubstantiated comments was capable of negatively impacting the economy, the exchange rate and the stock market as well as reduced investor confidence.

Although she said she had no grouse with factual assessments of the economy, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said her concern has to do with sweeping and negative statements, which are not in the interest of the country.

“The statements being made by some personalities about the economy collapsing are not only incorrect, they are also potentially dangerous”, she said.

Learnt from premiumtimesng