Greek Banks To Remain Closed As Bailout Deal Deadline Looms

GREEK banks will remain closed until Monday July 13, 2015 the country’s finance ministry has said.

This is as Thursday July 9, 2015 midnight is the deadline for Greece to submit new bailout plans

The government is making frantic efforts to come up with a new proposal to present to creditors for a new bailout deal.

“The bank holiday is extended to July 13,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The banks had been closed since June 28, with withdrawals by Greeks limited to 60 euros ($66) to stave off a liquidity shortage after the government called a referendum on EU-IMF creditors’ terms for an international bailout.

A ministry source also told the AFP that the withdrawal limits would remain unchanged.

The referendum turned out a 61-per cent result against the creditors’ latest bailout proposals, souring relations between Athens and many of its European peers.

The capital controls have kept Greek banks going, but authorities have been struggling to keep ATMs supplied with cash, and additional obstacles to imports leading to fears of shortages in goods and medicine.

Thursday July 9, 2015 midnight is the deadline for Greece to submit new bailout plans to unlock billions of euros of fresh aid desperately needed to keep its struggling economy afloat.

Sunday is the deadline set by the EU to agree on a bailout deal with Athens in return for economic reforms.

“The Greek government will tomorrow file new concrete proposals, credible reforms, for a fair and viable solution,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday.

On the same day, the new Greek finance minister sent a letter to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the EU’s bailout fund, requesting loan assistance to carry out its planned pension and tax reforms demanded by creditors.

“We propose to immediately implement a set of measures as early as the beginning of next week, including tax reform related measures; pension related measures” if the loan from the ESM was forthcoming, the letter signed by Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said.

The ESM was set up as a lender of last resort for euro zone states to ensure the stability of the European single currency, the euro.

Tsakalotos said the letter underlined “the urgency of our loan request at this time given the fragility of our banking system, our shortage of available liquidity, our upcoming obligations, our build-up of internal arrears, and our expressed desire to clear our outstanding arrears with the International Money Fund (IMF) and the Bank of Greece”.

The government’s room for manoeuvre, however, is restricted by Sunday’s referendum, which showed Greek voters overwhelmingly opposed to further cuts under the austerity terms demanded by the creditors.

Greece is teetering on the brink of financial collapse and a possible exit from the eurozone after the developments of the past two weeks.

On June 30, Greece’s last bailout programme expired and the country failed to honour a loan repayment to the IMF, cutting it off from further credit from this organisation until it settles the $1.7billion amount.

Curled from Daily Independent

BREAKING NEWS! Iyaloja of Ijebuland killed

BY MOSHOOD ADEBAYO

Iyaloja of Ijebuland, Alhaja Sadia Elewuju was brutally killed on Wednesday night by some persons suspected to be hire killers.
The 82-year old was besieged by six men who stormed her residence, a bungalow at about 3:00 pm yesterday.
Daily Sun learnt that the gunmen allegedly used machet their victim,leaving her bleeding profusely. She reportedly taken by some person to hospital but died before medical attention could get to her.

Details soon…

BREAKING NEWS!!!! Lamido, sons remanded in Kano prisons

BY OUR REPORTER ON JULY 9, 2015

A Federal High Court sitting in Kano has ordered a former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, accused of fraud to be remanded in prison custody in Kano till September 28.
The former governor was arraigned on Thursday alongside his children for allegedly receiving N1.35 billion kick back from a government contractor.
The money was allegedly paid into accounts controlled by the governor and his sons.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is accusing the four suspects of money laundering, amongst other charges.
They were due for arraignment Wednesday, but the court appearance was rescheduled to Thursday (today).
Security was stepped up around the court vicinity in Kano ahead of the hearing Thursday.
Delivering a ruling, Justice Evelyn Anyadike ordered that the four accused persons be remanded in a Kano Prison Custody because the EFCC said they lacked enough facilities to accommodate them.
She rejected the pleas of defence counsel, Effiong Effiong, SAN, that the accused be kept at EFCC custody, saying the commission had complained of inadequate facilities.
Twenty eight-count charge bordering on a number of alleged breach of trust by Sule Lamido, Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido and one Aminu Wada Abubakar, was read in court.
They pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them.
The case involved N1.351 billion.
The judge ruled that the accused persons be remanded pending the hearing of their bail applications.
Earlier, the defence counsel, Mr. Effiong, had argued that remanding the accused persons in prison would amount to trampling on their fundamental human rights.
He pleaded they be sent to either of EFCC facilities in Abuja or Kano.
However, the counsel to the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, objected to the plea, saying EFCC facilities were full to capacity both in Kano and Abuja.
The case was adjourned to September 28 for ruling on bail applications.
There was pandemonium in court between those supporting Mr. Lamido and those against him, leading the police to fire teargas canisters into the air to disperse the crowd.
Mr. Lamido, his sons and Mr. Abubakar are accused of using their positions to siphon Jigawa State funds. (PREMIUM TIMES)

Bombs are back

The jihadists have switched from holding towns to waging guerrilla war

Nigeria’s insurgency

Jul 11th 2015 | LAGOS | From the print edition

POLITICIANS often promise more than they deliver, but those in Nigeria bit off more than most when they campaigned on a pledge to “defeat Boko Haram”. Six weeks after the inauguration of its new president, Muhammadu Buhari, the government must be wishing it had promised something less ambitious.

Boko Haram seemed to be on the ropes a few months ago. Despite its threats to disrupt the election at the end of March, the vote was largely peaceful, and the militants had been pushed back from many of the towns they had captured. Yet in recent weeks the group has struck back from its remote redoubts, killing more than 200 people in the week to July 5th (and more since then) in a series of attacks across the north.

In this section

• A glimpse of Africa’s future
• Bombs are back
• One year on
• Editor Sisi
• Five peace plans—and counting

Reprints

Bombs were detonated in the major cities of Jos and Kano, neither of which had been attacked since February. Boko Haram also showed that it can still operate across borders: two suicide bombers struck Chad’s hitherto unscathed capital, N’Djamena, in mid-June, blowing themselves up outside police headquarters, killing 34 people. Horseback and motorbike-mounted raiders attacked another neighbour, Niger, twice in two weeks.

The recent attacks suggest that since their ejection from urban areas, Boko Haram jihadis have regrouped in the forests and mountains along the border with Cameroon, or have melted into local populations disguised as merchants or beggars. Many of its 6,000 fighters are still active and its leadership is intact. The group may lack the sophistication to administer territory, but it has been honing its skill at hit-and-run attacks since 2009.

Nigeria’s army, by contrast, is finding counter-insurgency far more difficult than merely liberating captured towns. It has also lost much of the support that contributed to its victories earlier this year. Mercenaries who helped turn the tide in the north-east have been sent home and Chadian soldiers have pulled back over the border. Morale among poorly equipped Nigerian troops is plummeting again. “[It is becoming] the way it used to be before—[when] one man [was issued with just] one bullet [per target]—it’s just the same now,” says one military man.

In charts: Explore Nigeria’s economy and politics

Things may get still worse. Boko Haram has been formally affiliated with Islamic State (IS) since March and has taken to referring to itself as the caliphate’s “West Africa Province”. Its most recent attacks coincide with a call by IS for violence during the holy month of Ramadan. So far there is no evidence of IS training or finance in Nigeria, but those close to the counter-insurgency fear that this will change.

Mr Buhari, a former military ruler, thinks of little else. Already he has moved the army command centre to the north-east, and reinvigorated talks over a regional force, whose troops are set to be deployed this month. But co-ordinating that contingent will be a challenge, as will removing corrupt generals without hollowing out the army. Amnesties for militants forced into the fight may be discussed, but low oil prices leave Nigeria with little cash to wage a war, let alone to address the deeper causes of the conflict, such as joblessness and dysfunctional government. “Boko Haram,” the solider says, “is not something that could just stop.”

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21657386-jihadists-have-switched-holding-towns-waging-guerrilla-war-bombs-are?

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Who is The Cutest ? and who changed the most

Satanists plan statue to stand alongside Ten Commandments in Oklahoma

A decision to erect a Christian monument outside the statehouse could backfire as satanists demand religious parity

 The Horned One may get his own monument outside Oklahoma's statehouse if the Satanic Temple has its way. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis Bettmann/CORBIS

Associated Press in Oklahoma City

Sunday 8 December 2013 19.22 GMTLast modified on Tuesday 7 October 201414.58 BST

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In their zeal to tout their faith in the public square, conservatives in Oklahomamay have unwittingly opened the door to a wide range of religious groups, including Satanists who are seeking to put their own statue next to a Ten Commandments monument outside the statehouse.

The Republican-controlled legislature in the state known as the buckle of the Bible Belt authorised the privately funded Ten Commandments monument in 2009. It was placed on the Capitol grounds last year despite criticism from legal experts, who questioned its constitutionality. The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit seeking its removal.

But the New York-based Satanic Temple saw an opportunity. It notified the state's Capitol Preservation Commission that it wants to donate a monument and plans to submit one of several possible designs this month, said Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the temple.

"We believe that all monuments should be in good taste and consistent with community standards," Greaves wrote in letter to state officials. "Our proposed monument, as an homage to the historic/literary Satan, will certainly abide by these guidelines."

Greaves said one potential design involves a pentagram, a satanic symbol, while another is meant to be an interactive display for children. He said he expects the monument, if approved by Oklahoma officials, would cost about $20,000.

The Republican state representative Mike Ritze, who spearheaded the push for the Ten Commandments monument and whose family helped pay the $10,000 for its construction, declined to comment on the Satanic Temple's effort, but Greaves credited Ritze for opening the door to his group's proposal.

"He's helping a satanic agenda grow more than any of us possibly could," Greaves said. "You don't walk around and see too many satanic temples around, but when you open the door to public spaces for us, that's when you're going to see us."

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The Oklahoma legislature has taken other steps that many believe blur the line that divides church and state. The House speaker said he wants to build a chapel inside the Capitol to celebrate Oklahoma's "Judeo-Christian heritage". Several lawmakers have said they want to allow nativity scenes and other religious-themed symbols in public schools.

The Republican representative Bobby Cleveland, who plans to introduce one such bill next year, said many Christians feel they are under attack as a result of political correctness. He dismissed the notion of Satanists erecting a monument at the Capitol.

"I think these Satanists are a different group," Cleveland said. "You put them under the nut category."

Brady Henderson, the legal director for ACLU Oklahoma, said if state officials allow one type of religious expression, they must allow alternative forms of expression, although he said a better solution might be to allow none at all on state property.

"We would prefer to see Oklahoma's government officials work to faithfully serve our communities and improve the lives of Oklahomans instead of erecting granite monuments to show us all how righteous they are," Henderson said. "But if the Ten Commandments, with its overtly Christian message, is allowed to stay at the Capitol, the Satanic Temple's proposed monument cannot be rejected because of its different religious viewpoint."

Arrest made in 2014 after car smashes Oklahoma's Ten Commandments monument

The Ten Commandments monument prompted a New York-based Satanist group to propose its own statue on the statehouse steps in Oklahoma.

Police said a vehicle plowed into the Ten Commandments monument near Oklahoma's capitol building at about 9pm on Oct. 23, 2014. The monument was smashed into pieces. The vehicle was abandoned after the incident and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is investigating. The monument was replaced with an exact replica on Jan 8.

The U.S. Secret Service on Oct. 24, 2014 arrested 29-year-old Michael Reed Jr. after he made threatening comments at the Oklahoma City Federal Building about President Obama and said Satan told him to smash the monument. Reed also claimed he urinated on the monument before running it over.

 The ACLU of Oklahoma and our clients are outraged at this apparent act of vandalism. While we have and continue to seek the removal of the Ten Commandments monument from the Capitol grounds through the judicial process, the Ten Commandments constitute a strong foundation in our clients' deeply held religious beliefs.– ACLU of Oklahoma

No evidence has linked Ten Commandments incident to the group of Satanists who seek to install their own monument at the state's 

capital building.

Oklahoma State Capitol

Oklahoma City, OK

A Satanist organization is seeking to build its own statue on the steps of the Oklahoma Statehouse, four years after the conservative legislature controversially approved building a Ten Commandments monument in the same place, in what critics called a blurring of the line between church and state.

Source: www.thesatanictemple.com

The Satanic Temple in January 2014 released designs for a 7-foot-tall statue it hopes to install. The statue depicts Satan as a goat-headed figure called Baphomet sitting on a throne adorned with a pentagram and surrounded by two smiling children. The Satanic Temple raised over $28,000 of its original $20,000 goal to build the statue.

An atheist group filed a lawsuit in an Oklahoma federal court in January 2014 to have the Ten Commandments statue removed. American Atheists contend the monument violates the constitution's establishment and equal protection clauses because it amounts to a religious endorsement on government land.

• Another dispute:NM Ten Commandments Trial

A federal judge dismissed American Atheists' lawsuit March 10, ruling the New Jersey-based nonprofit group lacked the legal standing to file the suit. In 2014, a state judge ruled against a separate constitutional challenge to the Ten Commandments monument. That ruling was appealed to the state Supreme Court.

OUR SOURCES FOR THIS STORY

• Satanists seek spot on Oklahoma Statehouse steps
  http://bigstory.ap.org/article/satanists-seek-spot-oklahoma-statehouse-steps
• Put a Satanic Monument at OK Capitol
  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/put-a-satanic-monument-at-ok-capitol

Satanists unveil statue for Oklahoma capitol

Curled from: http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/ogblog/440766/Satanists-unveil-statue-for-Oklahoma-capitol/

The New York based Satanic Temple is raising revenue from online crowdfunding on Indiegogo to erect a statue of their deity outside the Oklahoma State Capitol building, right beside an existing monument to the Christian Ten Commandments.

Yep, those are misspellings.

The proposed design would feature a 7-foot-tall statue of a goat-headed Baphomet figure sitting cross-legged on a stone slab, flanked by two smiling children. The monument would also include quotes from poets Lord Byron and William Blake.

“The monument has been designed to reflect the views of Satanists in Oklahoma City and beyond," explained Satanic Temple spokesperson Lucian Greaves. "The statue will serve as a beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living creatures. The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation."

"people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan."

The organization claims the project is not just an elaborate prank, and points out they don't actually worship Satan, just the idea of free expression. Critics of that older monument say it marks a de facto endorsement of Christianity by the state government and therefore violates the US Constitution's "establishment clause" against a national religion. 

"By accepting our offer, the good people of Oklahoma City will have the opportunity to show that they espouse the basic freedoms spelled out in the Constitution," the group's Indiegogo project site clarifies.

It's not clear that the Satanic Temple will ever be able to get the chance to build the statue. After other groups — including PETA and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster — asked for their own displays, the Oklahoma City Capitol Preservation Commission placed a moratorium on new monuments at the statehouse.

"I think it is very offensive they would contemplate or even have this kind of conversation," said one Oklahoma lawmaker.

The Satanic Temple, though, is unswayed.

"The decision by Oklahoma to impose a moratorium on new requests for monuments at the state Capitol means little to us, and our course of action remains the same," wrote Greaves.

“Our monument celebrates an unwavering respect for the Constitutional values of religious freedom and free expression. Satanism is a fundamental component at the genesis of American liberty. Medieval witch-hunts taught us to adopt presumption of innocence, secular law, and a more substantive burden of proof.

“Today, we are rightly offended by the notion of blasphemy laws and divine fiats. Acknowledging wrongful persecutions has helped shape the legal system that preserves the sovereignty of our skeptics, heretics, and the misunderstood. It has shaped a proud culture of tolerance and free inquiry. This is to be a historical marker commemorating the scapegoats, the marginalized, the demonized minority, and the unjustly outcast.”

“We trust that this unique monument will also prove a favorite tourist attraction to Oklahoma’s Capitol for years to come."

The Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision on Ten Commandments outside state house

Satanists and Democrats have finally found common ground on a rival statue to the Ten Commandments, but Republicans continue to obstruct the process.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to order a Ten Commandments monument removed from the State Capitol grounds has so angered conservatives in the Legislature that some Republicans are calling for justices to be impeached. Others want to amend the Bill of Rights in the 108-year-old state constitution.

The outcry immediately followed the court's decision Tuesday that the monument violates the Oklahoma constitution's ban on using public property to benefit a religion.

Some state legislators want a public vote on whether to repeal that ban from the constitution, but state Rep. Kevin Clavey is calling for justices to be impeached.

The president of the Oklahoma Bar Association, David Poarch, says calling for impeachment when a ruling doesn't go in your favor is a dangerous precedent.

Copyright 2015 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Jos Terrorist Attacks: Army Confirms Arrest of Mastermind

By NAN

— Jul 9, 2015 2:04 pm | 0 Comments

The Nigerian Army on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of the mastermind of the two recent bomb and gun attacks in Jos and Zaria, Kaduna State.

The confirmation is contained in a statement issued by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in Abuja.

It said the suspect, in company with two others was arrested at a checkpoint in Dadin Kowa town of Gombe State while attempting to flee.

The statement said their arrest was made possible following a security cordon of the general areas, especially along the volatile areas on the north-eastern axis.

It said the security cordon which led to the arrest of the suspects was conducted by troops of 3 Division, Special Task Force and the Department of State Services.

“The terrorist kingpin and his colleagues who disguised in a trailer while trying to evade checks were fished out by troops of Nigerian Army.

“The arrested terrorists are currently being processed for further action and would soon face the full wrath of the law,’’ the Army spokesman said.

The statement urged the public to be more vigilant, security conscious and report any suspicious persons, movements and facilities to security agencies.

On Sunday, suspected Boko Haram terrorists carried out coordinated bomb and gun attacks on worshippers at Yan Taya mosque, Dilimi Street, Jos.

Another attack was unleashed on Shagalinku Restaurant, along Bauchi Road, Jos, which led to death of over 48 people, injuries on several others and destruction of property.

A similar attack was executed by suspected terrorists on workers undergoing verification at Sabon Gari Local Government Secretariat, Zaria, which claimed more than 25 lives. (NAN)

BET Awards, Organisers Slam African Artistes

The 2015 edition of BET Awards will not be easily forgotten because of the outrage that followed it in Nigeria, which was mainly spurred by Nigerian artistes, who did not win in their award category.

First, Dencia criticised the organisers, accusing them of presenting the BET Best International Act: Africa award before the main event started.

Later, Yemi Alade and Wizkid gave their views on the event, which generated wild criticisms.

But the BET Director, Lilian N. Blankson, has cleared the air on some of the issues raised. She accused African artistes for not doing enough to sell their brands to the global world.

According to her, “First of all, tell the truth and stop tweeting lies and mis-truths. There has never been a backstage presentation of any award. Pre recorded. We need to work hard and get our music on the radio here in the US. How do people respect your brand when you are not on the radio?”

“Make your music more internationally appealing. Think of ways to get all audiences invested. Oliver Twist is a great example. Universal story,” she added.

Read more: http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/entertainment/423481-bet-awards-organisers-slam-african-artistes.html#ixzz3fS4qJPLE

Bashir El Rufai Causes Outrage With Cash Eating Picture

Bashir El Rufai

While Nigerians groan under the harsh economy and the inability of government to pay workers' wages , Bashir El-Rufai, son of Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai was pictured showing off his money. 

Read more: http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/news/423545-bashir-el-rufai-causes-outrage-with-cash-eating-picture.html#ixzz3fS3qjqCA

Satanists caught in Ten Commandments ruling fallout

The Satan Monument                                                                        

By Scott Bomboy

22 hours ago

In fact, the Satanic Temple is now looking for a friend of the devil in Arkansas, and it plans to reveal the 8 1/2 foot tall statue in Detroit later this month.

In late June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court said that its state constitution prevented governments from taking any act to benefit a religion, and the Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol had obvious religious overtones.

The Satanic Temple had planned since 2013 to have a monument to Satan built and installed in Oklahoma City to sit near the Ten Commandments monument, which was installed in 2012 and paid for with private funds. But before the Temple and the state could tackle the Satan monument issue, the ACLU sued about the Ten Commandments monument, which led the state to put all future monuments on hold.

Okla. State house

When the Ten Commandments monument decision was announced on June 30, the Temple initially praised the state Court’s move.

“The entire point of our effort was to offer a monument that would complement and contrast the 10 Commandments, reaffirming that we live in a nation that respects plurality, a nation that refuses to allow a single viewpoint to co-opt the power and authority of government institutions,” spokesman Lucien Greaves said in an email to the Washington Post. “Given the Court’s ruling, TST no longer has any interest in pursuing placement of the Baphomet monument on Oklahoma’s Capitol grounds.”

But now, the project is near completion and the statue, reportedly cost more than $100,000, will have a public debut in Detroit before the Temple finds a suitable location at a government-related site.

“It was always our intention to take this wherever it was relevant, wherever it was necessary, and wherever that dialogue needed to take place,” Greaves told the Associated Press.

And that destination could be Arkansas. In April 2015, Governor Asa Hutchinson signed a bill allowing a privately funded Ten Commandments monument in Little Rock. The bill made it clear that monument was a historical tribute.

“The placing of a monument to the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol would help the people of the United States and of the State of Arkansas to know the Ten Commandments as the moral foundation of the law,” the bill said.

That distinction is important. A 2004 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Van Orden v. Perry held that Texas could keep its Ten Commandments monument because of its historical meaning and the location at the state capitol didn’t violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. But the Court also ruled in a 2005 case, McCreary County v. ACLU, that two Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky violated the Establishment Clause because their purpose was to advance religion.

Greaves told the AP that his group would decide at a later time if it would pursue moving the Satan monument to Arkansas. However, the battle over the Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma is far from over.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said this week the monument will stay in Oklahoma City while the state government asks for a re-hearing and lawmakers draft language for a proposed state constitutional amendment to allow the monument to remain at the capitol.