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| car-bomb-french-embassy-libya |
The blast was so powerful it blew the front wall off the embassy. Windows of nearby buildings in this upscale, largely residential neighborhood were also blown out.
Deputy Prime Minister Awad Barasi said a 13-year-old girl in a nearby house was injured in the attack and will be taken to Tunisia for treatment.
Barasi said he spoke with the French ambassador to Libya, who assured him he will not leave Tripoli.
A criminal investigation is under way to try to determine who was behind the attack, and why.
The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attack.
"In conjunction with the Libyan authorities, our government departments will make every effort to ensure that all light be shed on the circumstances of this heinous act and its perpetrators quickly identified," the foreign ministry said.
The bombing stirred memories of another attack on a foreign office in Libya.
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| eurozone |
José Manuel Barroso said that while he still believed in the need for sweeping economic reforms and drastic cuts in budget deficits, such policies needed to have "acceptance, politically and socially", which was now at risk.
"While this policy is fundamentally right, I think it has reached its limits in many aspects," Mr Barroso said. "A policy to be successful not only has to be properly designed. It has to have the minimum of political and social support."
Mr Barroso's comments come as advocates of the eurozone's austerity-led crisis response are on the defensive following a voter revolt in Italy, a deepening recession in much of the bloc and the tarnishing of a highly-influential academic treatise arguing high government debt severely hinders economic growth.
Mr Barroso's views are particularly influential because the commission has sweeping new powers to rule on whether struggling eurozone countries are able to ease up on belt-tightening.
His remarks came the same day Eurostat released data showing debt in many struggling eurozone countries continues to rocket despite unprecedented budget cuts and tax increases.
Of the four eurozone countries receiving rescue aid from the EU last year, only Greece saw its debt levels decrease, from 170 per cent of economic output in 2011 to 157 per cent -- still the highest in the EU.
Irish, Spanish and Portuguese debt levels all hit euro-era highs last year, with Portugal close to surpassing Italy as the second most indebted nation in the eurozone. Lisbon's debt jumped to 124 per cent of gross domestic product from 108 per cent, narrowly behind Rome's, which rose from 121 per cent to 127 per cent. Overall, eurozone sovereign debt rose to 90.6 per cent of GDP last year, the highest on record.
The report also highlighted the periphery's divergence from the eurozone's core, particularly Germany, which was the only EU country to post a budget surplus in 2012 but also saw its debt level remain flat for the third straight year.
In another sign that Germany is decoupling from the rest of the eurozone, German tax revenue increased 3.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2013. In March alone, the increase was 5.7 per cent on last year, according to official figures, even though economic growth was 1.5 per cent.
"Falling unemployment and higher wages are the biggest contributors to this development," said Jens Boysen-Hogrefe, an economist and expert for public finances at the Kiel Institute, who cautioned the trend may not continue since it relied heavily on a high turnover in real estate. The sales tax on land and houses rose by 14.3 per cent in March.
Still, Mr Boysen-Hogrefe said the new data made it unlikely that Germany would post a budget deficit of 0.5 per cent of GDP this year, as finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble has estimated, noting Berlin would save €11bn alone on lower borrowing costs in the bond market.
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| Duchess of Cambridge |
The change will go into effect once it has been approved by the 15 other realms of the Commonwealth where Queen Elizabeth is head of state.
The new rules cover the baby expected by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, due later this year.
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| Dr. Okhue Iboi |
Dr. Okhue Iboi, the acclaimed spokesperson of the Association in an interview with Sunday Express asserted that witches and wizards in the region would not allow him to spearhead the affairs of the nation again.
He further stressed that Nigeria would not break-up after 2015 contrary to what Dr. Fasheun and the American government predicted.
According to him, “During the meeting we held on January 29 in Ilorin, we talked about the government of this country.
Goodluck Jonathan will re-contest and he will win the 2015 election irrespective of whatever opposition rises against him,” the coven’s spokesman affirmed.
On the menace of Boko Haram, Iboi said, “We gave the witches in the North the mandate to cool down Boko Haram; mark my words, by the end of this year, you will hardly hear of any Boko Haram mayhem again.”
The extensive interview with the witchdoctor was not all glad tidings, however, his revelations raised serious concerns about the 2015 election.
“Some people are prepared to frustrate President Jonathan by all means and these people would resort to foul means. But in doing that, they will jeopardize Nigeria. I beg Nigeria to pray. Let us all pray, Christians, Muslims and herbalists,” he said seriously.
Continuing he stated “there will be many disturbances during the primary and at the main election, a lot of bombs will be thrown around. But I can assure you,” he said, “Nigeria will not break or divide as the Americans have prophesied.” The witches’ imagemaker further foretold the future of politics in the country.
He started with the proposed merger parties, APC and its chances of challenging the dominion of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. “This mega party when we looked at them and their future, they are good, they have good intentions, but at the last minute, before election, they will be thrown into disarray; they will have a big disagreement that will shatter the party and in-fighting over superiority.
This discord will not be settled until the elections hold.” Similarly, he also divulged the council of witches’ verdicts on some political personalities. In the case of General Muhammadu Buhari, one of the key opposition politicians against the PDP-led government and a crucial actor in any serious coalitions, Iboi unveiled a damning verdict.
“If Buhari contests 100 times, he can’t rule this country again,” Iboi began, “because the “pillars of the north at night” have no likeness for him. They would not let him rule this country.” Witches’ stance towards former military president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida was not any different. “Babangida can take his money to support another party but he can’t rule this country again.” On the contrary, former President Olusegun Obasanjo fared better as he was in the good book of the witches. “Till the day he will die, Obasanjo will still be important and relevant to the Nigerian politics.
That is his destiny,” Iboi affirmed. Iboi who claimed to be in the fourth year of his seven-year tenure as the coven’s spokesperson also spoke about the coming wrath of witches over Nigerian politicians. “Some of the politicians that are using other people’s destiny, I mean those who steal other people’s luck, between now and next year, God’s wrath is coming upon them,” he threatened. “And as for the current PDP National Chairman, he will have his hands full with many problems that will eventually swallow him.”
He expressed hope that a better Nigeria lies ahead, he said, “In the meeting we had last year in Niger State, we gazed into the future of this country and we discovered that Nigeria will still be better.” But before then, he opined that a cleansing will take place. “The bad elements disturbing this country will have to be removed and that will happen in no distant time; one by one, they shall all perish. Then, Nigeria will get better. And I tell you, the youths will enjoy this Nigeria, but that time is not in the immediate future,” he concluded.
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| President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi |
Surprisingly, each time PDP members begin to heave a sigh of relief that the dispute between the two has been resolved and they are ready to move forward, the enmity between the President on one hand and the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum on the other takes a more bizarre dimension. Today, rather than resolve their differences for the benefit of their political party, President Jonathan and Amaechi are still at each other’s throats.
While efforts have been made to quell the already heated polity, it is obvious that mutual suspicion and outright mistrust among party faithful have been the bane of true reconciliation between the Presidency and the governor. Only recently, there were reports that Amaechi had acquired bulletproof helicopters to prosecute a presidential ambition in 2015.
It was alleged that Amaechi was wooing governors of the eastern states to join his presidential campaign train with the sum of N2 billion each. It was also reported that the governor was planning to dump the PDP and join a yet to be identified political party to pursue his alleged presidential (or Vice Presidential) ambition in the next political dispensation. Amaechi has consistently denied these allegations while restating his loyalty to the ruling party.
The Rivers State Government has also risen in defence of the governor by denying these allegations; especially that of purchasing armoured helicopters for the 2015 elections. The State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, described the allegations as a smear campaign and an attempt by some self-serving politicians to seek relevance and enjoy cheap popularity.
Semenitari explained that the state government had at several fora mentioned its intention to purchase two security helicopters for 29 million USD to collaborate with the federal government and to support security agencies in the state. According to her, the said helicopters are to be operated by the Nigeria police in conjunction with oil companies, that have offered to bear some of the operating costs, to enable government to fight the menace of oil bunkering.
She said, “The Rivers State Government has always owned a private jet and has not purchased any new airplane nor does it intend to purchase one. As is typical of Governor Amaechi, such purchases would be openly and transparently done and so would not need to be a matter of conjecture. The helicopters, 2 bell 412 helicopters with camera payload for aerial surveillance of Rivers State, were purchased as part of the state government’s collaboration with the federal government and its support for the security agencies in the state.
“The total cost of the helicopters was 29 million USD. The Federal Government of Nigeria through the office of the National Security Adviser paid 15 million USD, while the Rivers State Government paid the balance. The Federal Government granted duty waiver. The aircrafts are being freighted into Nigeria and will be reassembled in Lagos.
“The helicopters are to be operated by the Nigeria police in conjunction with oil companies who have offered to bear some of the operating costs to enable government combat the menace of oil bunkering. The police took delivery of similar choppers in 2012 built by the same company. The 412 four axis choppers are rated the most advanced civil helicopters in the world. The acquisition, which was done with the support of the federal government, is to enhance security of lives and property in Rivers State.”
She expressed the state government’s desire to acknowledge and thank President Jonathan for his quick action and support leading to the purchase of the helicopters.
She also said, “His commitment to national security and willingness to collaborate with all tiers of government and all sectors to ensure the security of lives and property is worthy of accolade and support.”
However, at a recent forum in Ekiti State, Amaechi accused the presidency of scheming to remove him as the NGF chairman because of his stance that the corruption in the petrol subsidy payments by the Federal Government must stop. The NGF chairman said President Jonathan had decided to ostracise him from some official programmes as a result of his position on the matter.
The Rivers State Governor also used the occasion to announce that the presidency was dissatisfied with his insistence, as NGF chairman, that complete transparency and accountability be brought to the payment of petrol subsidy. He said state governors were not opposed to fuel subsidy, but were frustrated by the corruption in it. He also accused federal officials who supervised the subsidy regime of fraud, saying, “They balloon the figures.”
Reacting, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, dismissed Amaechi’s claim, even as he accused the governor of pursuing a hidden agenda. Gulak, in defending his principal, denied that President Jonathan was after the governor because of his position on the alleged fraud in the fuel subsidy regime and his opposition to the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Excess Crude Account.
He warned the NGF Chairman to stop playing to the gallery in the pursuit of his agenda.
Gulak said the President had no reason to move against Amaechi or any other state governor since they belonged to the same political party. He said, “The President is a man who follows the provisions of the constitution. The President is a man who consults robustly before taking decisions. The governors are members of the National Economic Council and that council, though advisory to the President, takes a lot of decisions about Sovereign Wealth Fund, about Excess Crude Account and everything members agreed on.
“If they don’t agree, such decisions are not implemented. It is wrong for Amaechi to say that the President is after him because of that. People should not play to the gallery. If people have agenda, let them pursue their agenda but let them not point fingers at Mr. President. Mr. President is not pursuing anybody. Mr. President is not pursuing Amaechi or any other governor. After all, they are all members of the same Peoples Democratic Party family. But that does not derogate from the fact that things must be properly done and agencies must be allowed to do their work.”
On the cold war between Amaechi and President Jonathan, a PDP chieftain and former governorship candidate in Rivers State, Prince Tonye Princewill, says contrary to the belief in some quarters, Jonathan does not hate Amaechi and Amaechi does not hate Jonathan. “In fact, secretly, if they are honest, they both like each other, but I think they have been surrounded by events that have led to this gross misunderstanding and in the end, the same Amaechi and Jonathan will surprise us all and settle.
“Some of us have checked the cause of this misunderstanding. When Amaechi became the Chairman of the Governors Forum, he was already suspected of harbouring an anti-Ijaw sentiment in. Remember he was part of the old Rivers State where the Ijaws dominated. So, anybody who saw the arrogance we exhibited back then knows we created our own enemies.
“Combine that with the suspicion that Rivers State was leaning towards Atiku during the 2011 primaries and you will know that an Amaechi Governor’s Forum gave the Jonathan camp goose pimples. Some of us advised him that this is going to bring issues between him and the President; he refused to listen to us because he genuinely believed that there is no reason why this would bring about conflict between him and the President, his boss and the leader of his party. Now we can see who was wrong.”
Also, a political analyst, Chief Jackson Omenazu, urged President Jonathan to provide answers raised by Amaechi on transparency in managing oil subsidy funds rather than persecuting the governor. To him, “Amaechi shoud be seen as one of those who desirously want to wake Mr. President up from his slumber, he (Amaechi) should be appreciated for strengthening our democratic institutions instead of condemnation.”
Truth be told, the squabble between the duo has taken its toll on the ruling PDP as the controversies appear to be draining the popularity of the party. Having lost the states it won in the western part of the country, including Edo to other political parties, not a few are of the view that the latest crisis rocking the PDP could be the beginning of a journey into oblivion.
