Saturday

Peter Obi reacts to Buhari’s postponement of National Population Census

Buhari betrayed Jonathan’s Legacy

CC™ Global News

By Gboyega Sowemimo

Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Gregory Obi, has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to postpone the 2023 Population and Housing Census, earlier scheduled for May 3-7 2023.

Buhari in a press statement signed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Saturday, officially approved the census postponement.

Mohammed revealed that Buhari gave the approval after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday.

According to the minister, President Buhari approved that a new date would be determined by the incoming administration.

Reacting via Twitter on Saturday, Peter Obi described Buhari’s decision as a welcome development, stressing that National Census is a critical development and nation-building tool.

Obi tweeted: “FGN’s decision to postpone the 2023 Population and Housing Census, scheduled for 3-7 May 2023, to a date to be determined by the incoming Administration is a propitious and welcome development. National Census is a critical development and nation-building tool”

It is imperative that the next National Population Census is done right, with a view to addressing past concerns of the exercise being manipulated to favor a certain region of the country. 

Friday

Transgender female runner who beat 14,000 women at London Marathon offers to give medal back

Twitter 

CC™ Global News

By Ryan Gaydos and Chantz Martin

Glenique Franka transgender woman who ran the London Marathon in the female category, offered to give her medal back after controversy stirred when she beat out about 14,000 women in the race.

Frank sparked criticism after she appeared in a BBC interview and gushed about becoming a grandmother. She told the New York Post that the London Marathon was the first race she was able to pick her own name and gender. Several other races she plans on running need her name and gender given on her passport, including New York City, Tokyo and Boston, among others.

Frank told the outlet she was only sorry for "upsetting" her critics.

"If they want me to give my medal back, I’ll say, ‘OK, fine. No problem,'" Frank told the New York Post. "If they really think I’ve stolen the place [of a female runner], I don’t mind giving the medal back, because I’ll run again next year for charity.

"They’re angry because they’re saying that one of 14,000 women behind me could have had my place. Really? I did [the race in] 4 hours 11 minutes. There’s lots of women that beat me."

Frank said she understood she does not have a "womb" but insisted she did not compete as an elite runner and "didn’t steal any money."

Frank’s foray into the London Marathon irked two-time Olympian Mara Yamauchi, who finished in sixth place in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 while representing her home country of Great Britain.

Yamauchi did not mince words when she spoke on Frank's win at the marathon over the weekend.

"Males in the [female] category is UNFAIR for females," Yamauchi wrote in a tweet.

"Nearly 14,000 actual females suffered a worse finish position [because] of him," Yamauchi wrote on Twitter.

Frank said her attention was not to try to trick anyone.

"I’ve known since I was 5 that I was in the wrong body," Frank said.

Frank said she is still planning on running marathons and planned on entering the London race next year as "other" or "male" to "just keep everybody happy."

Frank previously ran at an event in New York City while wearing a bra and a wig.

Frank, who is a British citizen, identifies as a female. After running a 17th career marathon, she excitedly spoke about using "girl power" to help get through the race.

FOX NEWS

Thursday

Nigeria Completes Gas Pipeline Without Chinese Funds


CC™ Energy News

By Charles Kennedy

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has used around $1.1 billion of its own funds so far and has completed work on 70% of a large natural gas pipeline in Nigeria even after a Chinese loan for the project failed to materialize.

Nigeria's federal government announced in July 2020 that the Bank of China and Sinosure had agreed to finance part of the costs for constructing the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline to the economic hub in the north, Kano. In the summer of 2021, reports started swirling that Chinese lenders were reluctant to increase their exposure and finance part of the gas pipeline project estimated to cost $2.8 billion.

Nigeria has started to look for alternative funding for at least US$1 billion of the pipeline's cost and has started to approach other lenders, including export-import credit institutions, sources told Reuters two years ago.

This week, NNPC Group chief executive, Mele Kyari, said on a site inspection that the AKK Gas Pipeline project was nearly 70% completed, and more than $1.1 billion has been released so far to finance the project. The pipeline is planned to run for 614 kilometers (382 miles) and is currently being financed by the NNPC.

The AKK Gas Pipeline line will flow 2 Bscf/d and will power industries and power plants and create gas-based industries, Kyari said. By the third quarter of this year, NNPC will complete the entire welding job on this line, he said while visiting a construction site along the pipeline's route. 

“We have so far spent over $1.1 billion on this project from our cashflow," NNPC's Kyari said.

"We are a commercial company today. We have inter-company loans within our company now. This company can fund this project, so we do not need any support to deliver this project now."

Oilprice.com

Saturday

Egyptian lawyer sues Netflix for depicting Cleopatra as Black woman


CC™ Entertainment News

By Adele James

An Egyptian lawyer has taken legal action against the popular streaming platform, Netflix. The lawyer filed a case with the Public Prosecutor calling for the closure of the platform after the release of the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Queen Cleopatra."

The film depicts the Greek historical figure as a black-skinned woman, a portrayal that has caused controversy and sparked outrage in Egypt.

The lawyer argues that the depiction is historically inaccurate and offensive to the Egyptian people.

According to Egypt Independent, Mahmoud al-Semary demanded that all legal measures be taken against those responsible for the documentary and the management of the streaming platform for its participation in “this crime.”

The complaint submitted against the streaming platform alleged that "most of what Netflix platform displays contradicts Islamic and societal values and principles, especially Egyptian ones.", Greek city times reported.

The case said that the documentary promotes Afrocentrism that is widely spread on social media, which have slogans and writings aimed at distorting and obliterating the Egyptian identity.

The complaint continued addressing Public Prosecution: "In order to preserve the Egyptian national and cultural identity among Egyptians all over the world… we ask and seek you to take the necessary legal measures against this platform."

It demanded stopping broadcasts showing all works aimed at obliterating and distorting the Egyptian identity, through films aimed at falsifying and distorting history in Egypt.

AFRICA NEWS

Friday

Poetry Fridays

Thoughts and Perspectives.....

There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have ascribed unto themselves the dubious distinction of being all-knowing, and all-conquering…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their greed and avarice has overtaken their sense of humanity, fairness and compassion…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have killed their conscience and ultimately succeeded in shutting the window to their soul…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do not have it in them to see ahead, and as such, they must continually look back…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are conditioned to forever sell their souls to the devil…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are devoid of even the slightest ounce of human decency and integrity…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because not only are they bereft of ideas, but more importantly, they are lacking in courage and a sense of devoir…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their penchant for obfuscating diatribes…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their inherent sense of inferiority feigned by a debilitating superiority complex…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their antecedents tell you they are eternal rogues, liars and marauders…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to being not only deceitful, but also, exceedingly treacherous…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but would rather dibble, dabble and dicker…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they would rather destroy than build…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because their very being serves to be, the manifestation of an anathema…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have never known or felt the brunt of their misgivings and past misdeeds…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but prefer to see themselves as victims, even though the overwhelming evidence, is to the contrary…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… but would rather engage in the art of "Water Power" all in a bid to fulfill their hidden agenda…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they will forever moan about their "plight", but conveniently forget, that you reap what you sow…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they will forever revel in the art of debauchery…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their jaundiced penchant for revisionist history…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their susceptibility to calculated miscalculations…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because of their disposition to selective encumbrances…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because rather than act as leaders, they see themselves as rulers…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because as Baruch Spinoza once stated, "their self-complacency has become pleasure accompanied by the idea of them as cause…"
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do not know any better, but refuse to ask how to…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they know better, but prefer not to act accordingly…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they have lost their way and insist on remaining in a
State of flux…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because rather than look within, they would much rather look without…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they are as clueless as to the objectivity of sense, as they are to their sense of objectivity…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they spit in our faces and tell us it’s raining…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they tell us good morning although the sun has just set…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them why…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them how…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them when…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I have never asked them where…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because you and I shed our blood to make them whole…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they underestimate our resolve and determination…
There are those…
Who will not let things be… because they do all these at their own peril…

© 2023 Boye Coker. All Rights Reserved

Thursday

T-Mobile to make major changes to its wireless plans on April 20th


CC™ Mobility Watch

By Alan Friedman

T-Mobile announced this week that it will announce its next Un-carrier move on Thursday, April 20th. The news will be released at 9 am PDT/Noon EDT. In addition, a promotional image shared by T-Mobile has the phrase "Let's Go" right in the middle which dovetails with the rumored new "Go5G" branding for T-Mobile's wireless plans.

T-Mobile is about to shake up its wireless plans according to The Mobile Report. The latter cites multiple sources who claim that the nation's second-largest wireless provider is going to rebrand its top wireless plans under the "Go5G" name. Those subscribed to the current Magenta plans (Magenta Max, Magenta) will be allowed to keep their current plans. The "Go5G" plan will be the basic plan, similar to the Magenta plan. "Go5G" Plus will match Magenta Max.

The report adds that T-Mobile will also be using the "Go5G" name for its enterprise-related Business and Business Plus plans. Also expected are "Go5G" Military and "Go5G" First Responder plans. 

While it isn't known what additional features the new plans might have, one source mentioned by The Mobile Report suggests that there might be more international calling options. Another possibility is that the new plans might not include taxes and fees. As for the pricing of the new plans, when T-Mobile went from its ONE branding to Magenta, prices were the same before and after the change. While that could be the case here, we will have to wait for an official announcement to know for sure.

Besides the "Go5G" plans, the sources have apparently mentioned a plan called Essentials Savings which might be a less-loaded discounted plan similar to the carrier's current Essentials plan. The report claims that there is a company-wide meeting scheduled for this coming Sunday, April 23rd which is when the new branding and plans could be announced. T-Mobile has broken big stories on Sunday before. On April 29th, 2018, a Sunday, T-Mobile announced that it was going to acquire Sprint.

T-Mobile is supposed to announce its first-quarter results on April 27th and analysts expect it to lead the industry in one of the most important industry metrics, net new postpaid phone customers. Additionally, T-Mobile dominated the latest data speed report released by Ookla for the first quarter.


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