Dangerous pollution hits China's capital

BEIJING (AFP) – China’s capital was shrouded in dangerous smog on Thursday, cutting visibility down to a few hundred metres as a count of small particulate pollution reached more than 25 times recommended levels.

A grey haze filled the sky, leaving an industrial, burning smell hanging in the air as PM2.5 reached over 500 micrograms per cubic metre in parts of Beijing, according to official statistics.

Figures from the US embassy, which also monitors air quality, reached more than 671 in the early morning. The WHO recommends an exposure level of no more than 25 over a 24-hour period.

The official air quality index reached the top of the scale at 500.

China’s cities are often hit by heavy pollution, blamed on coal-burning by power stations and industry, as well as vehicle use, and it has become a major source of discontent with the ruling Communist Party.

“I can’t believe how bad it is,” said US tourist Richard Deutsch in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, which was shrouded in heavy smog.

“I have never experienced air this bad,” said Deutsch, who is from Vermont. “It’s worse than LA. I feel kind of bad for the people. It’s taking years off their life.”

 

Authorities have become more open about pollution levels, in part as a response to public pressure, but officials have implied that it will take years before the situation improves.

The pollution has been linked to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths, and has tarnished the image of Chinese cities including Beijing, which saw a 10 percent drop in tourist visits during the first 11 months of 2013.

In Tiananmen Square, which is bounded on one side by the Forbidden City, a Unesco World Heritage Site, tourist guide Xiao Yan said: “There are less and less tourists coming to Beijing, it’s normal as people keep on talking about the bad air quality on the internet.”

China’s State Council, or cabinet, said last year that “concentrations of fine particles” in the capital’s air would fall by approximately 25 percent from 2012 levels by 2017.

Other major Chinese cities on China’s affluent east coast, including Shanghai and Guangzhou, will see reductions of between 10 and 20 percent from 2012 levels over the same period, it said.

China is the world’s biggest coal consumer and is forecast to account for more than half of global demand this year.

By mid-afternoon Thursday the air quality had improved, with the official PM2.5 figure down to 189 micrograms per cubic metre and the US embassy at 286.

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President Jonathan has sacked Nigeria's Service Chiefs and appointed new ones.

According to a statement by Presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, Air Marshall Alex Badeh is the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing Admiral Ola Ibrahim. Major-General Kenneth Tobiah Jacob Minimah takes over from Lt.-General Azubike O. Ihejirika as Chief of Army Staff.

Read the State House press release after the cut...

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT JONATHAN APPROVES CHANGES IN MILITARY HIGH COMMAND

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria approved the following changes in the nation’s Military High Command:

Air Marshal Alex Badeh takes over from Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim as Chief of Defence Staff;

Major-General Kenneth Tobiah Jacob Minimah takes over from Lt.-General Azubike O. Ihejirika as Chief of Army Staff;

Rear Admiral Usman O. Jibrin takes over from Vice Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba as Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Vice Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu takes over from Air Marshal Badeh as Chief of Air Staff.

All the changes are with immediate effect.

The new Chief of Defence Staff and former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Badeh was born on January 10, 1957 and joined the Air Force as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s  21 Regular Course while the new Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Minimah was born on July 27, 1959 and joined the Army as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s  25 Regular Course. Until his new appointment, Major-General Minimah was the Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps, Jaji.

The new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin was 

born on September 16, 1959 and joined the Navy as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 24 Regular Course. Until his appointment as Chief of Naval Staff, he was Director of Training at Defence Headquarters.

The new Chief of Air Staff and immediate past Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet, Air Vice Marshal Amosu was born on August 1, 1958 and joined the Air Force as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 25 Regular Course. Until his new appointment, Air Vice Marshal Amosu was the Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command, Makurdi.

President Jonathan has briefed the leadership of the National Assembly on the appointment of the new service chiefs and will, in keeping with the provisions of the law, request the National Assembly to formally confirm the appointments when it reconvenes.

Reuben Abati

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

January 16, 2014

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The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to call the bluff of the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other Western countries that have condemned Nigeria’s new anti-gay law.

In a statement Thursday, the group said Mr. Jonathan “transmitted on the same wavelength with the rest of Nigerians by signing the anti-gay bill into law” and warned Western countries to leave Nigeria alone to deal with “pervasive sexual life” within its boundaries its own way.

Read full statement below.

PRESS RELEASE:

SIGNING OF ANTI-GAY BILL: MURIC COMMENDS JONATHAN

President Goodluck Jonathan this week signed the anti-gay bill into law. The law seeks to jail offenders for 14 years. Nigeria’s anti-gay law has so far drawn the ire of the United States and the European Union. The United Kingdom in particular expressed disappointment in President Jonathan while Banki Moon, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, posited that Nigeria’s anti-gay law would fuel violence.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) affirms that President Jonathan transmitted on the same wave-length with the rest of Nigerians by signing the anti-gay bill into law. Pervasive sexual life is absolutely unIslamic and unAfrican and this explains why other African countries have stood their ground on the matter. It is also on record that both Christian and Muslim clerics and their leaders have vehemently expressed opposition to gay marriage.
We commend the Nigerian president for resisting pressure from Western powers and for boldly identifying with the cultural and religious yearning and aspiration of Nigerians. In the same vein, we condemn this meddling in the affairs of other nations. We also denounce attempts by Western powers to impose their Bohemian practices on poor countries. Most reprehensible is the attempt by foreign powers to intimidate and coerce Nigeria into absorbing their despicable culture by threatening to withhold foreign aids if the anti-gay bill was signed into law.
UN Secretary General’s fear that Nigeria’s anti-gay law would generate violence is misplaced. Banki Moon should not incite an infinitesimally small proportion of misguided Nigerians against the large majority of law-abiding citizens. We assert that it is the other way round as the practice of homosexualism and lesbianism is most capable of instigating widespread hatred and turning society upside down. By openly condemning Nigeria’s anti-gay law, Banki Moon has confirmed fears expressed in several quarters that the UN is no more than a tool in the hands of a few powerful capitalist nations.
Finally, MURIC warns Western countries to respect the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to desist from interfering in its internal affairs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senate Committee on Foreign Matters are advised to activate the checks and balances mechanisms on the activities and pronouncements of the leaders of Western countries. Nigeria should not be turned into a mere satellite of neo-imperialists.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

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Rihanna Poses Nude For Vogue Brazil Photoshoot [PHOTOS]

 Rihanna showed off her banging body as she posed topless, but for the paper covering her n*pples, in a beach photo shoot for Vogue Brazil, which was shot last week on the Brazilian Island of Angra dos Reis.

See more photos below:

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BBA Winner Karen Igho in UK for Cancer Treatment

Big Brother Africa (BBA) winner and actress Karen Igho tweeted last month that she had cancer (read the tweets below) and since then not much has been heard from her. She has been was awaiting results of medical tests which now  indicates that she has breast cancer. It's been confirmed and she is currently undergoing treatment in a UK hospital.

 
Read her December tweets

 

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