2100 Days in Office: Fashola Tasks Lagosians to use Water Transport

Governor Babatunde Fashola while speaking on his achievements so far for the 2100 days he has been in office enjoins all Lagosians to make use of the water transport system.

The governor speaking on a jetty in Agboju area of Festac, Mile2 in Lagos  stated that the State Government is poised to making transportation an ease for all Lagosians. He did not fail to mention the traffic laws as well as the motorbike restrictions.

He said injuries resulting from road accidents have reduced from over 500 in September 2012 to about a 100 in January 2013. The various deaths resulting from motorbike accidents reduced from above 10 in each month from September 2012 to zero in January 2013.

He said the Ado-badore water transport system will be completed by March and will be effective from then while that of Osbourne will be completed later. Eight jetties from the regime of Lateef Jakande are to be refurbished to efficient capacity.

He stated that the waterway is a viable alternative means of transportation as well as a strategic way of easing traffic congestion with standard safety guards and facilities.

The governor tasks all Lagosians to obey the traffic laws as they are for their benefits.

China still Trades the Tiger; Violates UN Agreement

China continues to allow the sale of captive-bred tiger skins and body parts despite signing up to a UN agreement which calls for such trade to be banned, a London-based environmental lobby group claimed on Tuesday. Full Report.

China is not the only country flouting such others but the country is at the heart of it. It even buys illegal ivory from West Africa mostly from the Congo.

Courtesy: @CareNews

Court Okays Eavesdropping on Americans: Amnesty International Loses

The United States Supreme Court will not let Americans challenge a provision in a foreign intelligence law that lets the federal government secretly eavesdrop on the intimate communications of millions of Americans.

The top justices in the US said the country’s highest court will not hear a case in which Amnesty International and a slew of co-plaintiffs have contested a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, or FISA, that lets the National Security Agency silently monitor emails and phone calls.

Under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA), the NSA is allowed to conduct electronic surveillance on any US citizen as long as they are suspected of conversing with any person located outside of the United States.

Along with human rights workers and journalists, Amnesty International first challenged the FAA on the day it went into effect, arguing that the powers provided to the NSA under the FISA amendments likely puts the plaintiffs and perhaps millions of other Americans at risk of surveillance.

“Under the FAA, the government can target anyone — human rights researchers, academics, attorneys, political activists, journalists — simply because they are foreigners outside the United States, and in the course of its surveillance it can collect Americans’ communications with those individuals,” the American Civil Liberties Union wrote on behalf of the plaintiffs in a legal brief filed last year with the court.

“But instead of allowing the case to be heard on the merits, the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to review the case,” the ACLU’s Ateqah Khaki, wrote. “Our brief urges the Court to affirm the appeals court’s decision.”

On Tuesday, however, the Supreme Court dismissed the claims that the plaintiffs were being watched under the FAA.

Source: @Rt_com

United States Deploys Forces to Niger; Nigeria to host Drone Base

It is no longer a surprise that energy drove France to Mali because of Niger's Areva. Though France had an ulterior motive of her own to be in Mali, she however received massive accolades for the intervention. On getting to Mali, she deployed troops to Areva in Niger. Now, it is the US' turn.

The US military deployed about 100 troops in Niger to help coordinate intelligence sharing with the French, whose forces are currently fighting to seize Islamist-controlled territory in Mali, President Obama announced Friday.

The US forces are armed with “weapons for the purpose of providing their own force protection and security,” Obama said in a letter to Congress, adding that Niger officials consented to their deployment. The president said the troops will operate out of Niger to help gather intelligence information about the conflict in Mali, but did not elaborate on any specific plans that will be assigned to them.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after the Nigerian Defence Ministry revealed their approval to host an airbase for unarmed American spy drones, which could be used in Mali to monitor Islamists.

United States Radar to Visit Japan

North Korea has got the US, South Korea and Japan on their toes with the last rocket launch. This has made the US to concentrate more on the events going on around the region.

The US is planning to install an early-warning radar system at a coastal base near the Japanese city of Kyoto to bolster its defences against the North Korean missile threat, reports in the Japanese media claim.

It’ll be the second X-band radar system to be installed in Japan, with another one already operating in northern Aomori prefecture. The location was selected as military experts believe that a North Korean missile targeting Guam or Hawaii would most likely fly over western or central parts of Japan.

Iran's Economy is going through Difficult Times --Ahmadinejad

The series of sanctions imposed by Western nations is beginning to take a naked toll on the economy of Iran as admitted by the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Western nations remained skeptical that Tehran's nuclear programme is to make the Islamic Republic a nuclear power which represents a threat to Israel and the greater Middle East. Tehran denies this saying her programme is for peaceful purposes.

Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a rare acknowledgment, saying the country’s economy is going through harsh times. “This was a very difficult year for our economy,” he stressed.

The statement came during a live television interview, in which the head of the Islamic Republic outlined his government’s budget plan for the coming fiscal year. Ahmadinejad has blamed the US of using all its economic might to put unfair pressure on the Iran.

United States risks a Nuclear Holocaust if it Attacks Iran ---Castro

In a rare public appearance at the Cuban parliament, erstwhile Cuban president, Fidel Castro says the United States risks a nuclear holocaust if it dears attack Iran.

There have been numerous outbursts on possible Israeli or US attack on Iran in relation to Iran's nuclear programme which the West believes is to make Iran a nuclear power.

Tehran continues to deny the allegations saying its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes of energy and medical researches.

Castro while speaking to parliamentarians in an event that saw the re-election of his brother, Raul Castro took them aback in spirits to the famous Cuban Missile Crisis while emphasizing on his point.

The closest the world was to a nuclear disaster and holocaust was during Castro's regime when the Soviet Union transferred nuclear elements to Cuba deter the US from attacking Cuba or ousting Castro. US activities was rampant then to oust Castro as well as destabilize his regime after the Bay of Pigs event.

Breaking News: Balloon Explodes in Egypt killing Tourists

CAIRO (AFP) – A hot air balloon exploded and plunged to earth at Egypt’s ancient temple city of Luxor during a sunrise flight on Tuesday, killing up to 19 tourists, including Asians and Europeans, sources said.

The balloon carrying 21 people was flying at 300 metres (1,000 feet) when it caught fire, a security official said.

An employee at the company operating the balloon, Sky Cruise, said the pilot and one tourist survived by jumping out of the basket before it hit the ground. Both were taken to hospital.

There were contradictory reports over the death toll and the nationalities of those killed in the crash.

An Egyptian security official said 19 tourists had died including nine from Hong Kong, four from Japan, three Britons, two French tourists and one Hungarian.

The health ministry said 14 people had died, and four were missing. It said three people survived but were injured in the crash, including two Britons and one Egyptian.

The Britons were in “critical condition” including one undergoing surgery, state television reported, but security officials said all three Britons had died.

The British foreign office could not immediately confirm if any Britons had died. “We are aware of the reports. We are making inquiries,” a foreign office spokesman said.

In Luxor, security services cordoned off the scene of the crash in the dense sugar cane fields, as police and residents inspected the charred remains of the balloon. The Japanese embassy in Cairo said it was trying to confirm the reports that Japanese nationals died in the accident.

The French embassy was also trying to ascertain whether French nationals had died in the crash, amid conflicting reports.

In Hong Kong, the general manager of a tour operator said nine Hong Kong people were feared dead. “We believe that there is a high possibility that nine of our customers have died,” Raymond Ng of travel agency Kuoni which organised the Hong Kongers’ tour told a news conference.

The five women and four men were aged between 33 and 62, Ng said. Their relatives were to fly to Cairo later on Tuesday via Qatar, accompanied by three staff from Kuoni, he added.

The nine were from a group of 15 Hong Kongers who had left for Egypt on February 22. Ng said that according to local employees, the balloon caught fire about an hour after it had set off, plummeting to the ground two minutes later.

“This is terrible, just terrible,” the Sky Cruise employee told AFP by telephone, declining to give her name. “We don’t yet know what happened exactly or what went wrong,” she said.

The balloon had been floating over the west bank of Luxor, one of Egypt’s most renowned archaeological sites and home to the famous Valley of the Kings and the grand Temple of Hatshepsut.

In 2009, 13 foreign tourists were injured when their hot air balloon hit a phone mast and crashed at Luxor. Sources at the time said the balloon was overcrowded.

The crash comes amid widespread anger over safety standards in Egypt following several deadly transport and construction accidents.

Emergence of Tony Anenih as the BoT chairman of the PDP

Chief Tony Anenih was on Monday February 25th elected Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees after a meeting of the party at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The meeting was attended by President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, PDP chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim.

The Chief had earlier held the position during the Obasanjo days as president of Nigeria. He was earlier in the year appointed the Chairman of Nigeria's Port Authority which sparked massive criticisms from Nigerians on the kind of future for the youths if such an old man could be appointed.

Anenih's appointed simply shows the cycle of corruption in Nigeria which rotates around government cronies and confederates.

Russia to Soft-pedal on Oil Exploration

Russia’s remote regions could become alive with access by foreign companies to explore oil in order to avoid the possible decline in oil, gas and mineral extraction.

They may be allowed to co-developing onshore deposits of federal importance, the Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergey Donskoy told a news-conference. He explained deposits in the Far East and Eastern Siberia will be first.

The initiative concerns all kinds of mineral resources except of those on the continental shelf, the Russian Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Denis Khramov, told the Vedomosti daily.

In current Russian law, oil and gas deposits of national importance are those having 70mn tones of oil and 50bcm of gas. The list of those deposits was outlined in 2008. Ever since, only two Russian majors, Gazprom and Rosneft, have had access to sea deposits, while the right to develop fields were put up for auction with the limited list of bidders.

The access of foreign investors to such deposits was restricted four years ago; they have to get government approval to have more than 10% of the company developing deposits of federal importance.

The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources expects oil production in the country to considerably drop in the near future. In 2013 the decline is expected to reach 0.8% or 510 million tonnes. In order to change the trend and until the Arctic shelf can fill the gap, which is unlikely to happen until 2020, the ministry plans to propel onshore production.

It is hoped the initiative will have a major impact on ore extraction as well as oil and gas. Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East are under-explored even though they have great potentials. If the initiative is approved by the government and the president, it could stimulate companies to develop the  area.

This will mark a turning point in Russia's Oil Industry and in Vladimir Putin's external rapport. The KGB 'guy' has always been skeptical of foreign investments and actions in Russia. Russia could simply be taking a leaf from China.

Russia to become Developed in Seven Years

Russia has been projected to become a developed country with low inflation, a sizable middle class, and much slower economic growth rates in just seven years according to a research report from Bank of America's Merrill Lynch.

Ironically the research argues that the country’s problems, such as a declining population, will become the catalysts for these changes and will actually drive the country to improvement in internal consumption.

“By the year 2020, Russia will turn into a developed country thanks mainly to its demographic problems,” the research by Vladimir Osakovsky of Bank of America Merrill Lynch suggests.

The Russian Ministry of Economic Development also supported this concept, Finmarket.ru reports. Economists believe that scarce human resources will force employers to compete for qualified workers. Hence higher salaries will boost internal consumption.

Experts of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development however have disagreed with such a notion.

Nigeria achieves an Important Phase in her Economy --Peterside

Mr. Atedo Peterside said Nigeria’s economy has reached a threshold, a critical phase during which the country will accelerate the realisation of its vast economic potentials and deliver growth on a sustainable basis.

Speaking at the 2013 Standard Bank West Africa Investors’ Conference in Lagos last week , Peterside, who is the Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and Chairman of the Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation, said Nigeria’s economic foundations and thrusts are getting stronger every day.

According to him, this is pivotal in helping investors to leverage the attractive investment opportunities that exist in the country and to derive optimal value from such investments. “We all know that a tipping point only becomes unmistakably clear after the fact when one has joined the ranks of those who are left to ponder how they could possibly have missed out,” Peterside stated.

Nigeria’s quest for economic growth and development attained important milestones in the last 12 months, with the power sector, capital market, ports, agriculture and foreign direct investments recording significant improvements.

He enjoined all Nigerians to contribute their quota to the development of the economy and the advancement of Nigeria.

Lagos State Government Violates Human Rights -- Amnesty International

The International Human Rights Watchdog, Amnesty International has accused the Lagos State Government of human rights violations in the government latest demolition process at Ijora Badiya in which hundreds of people have being evacuated and displaced.

The government in its bid to make the state a megacity has demolished numerous houses and structures around the area rendering hundreds of people homeless and without support or palliatives.

In a related development, the state government has also made its intention to eradicate slums in Lagos. This move is to render about 40,000 people homeless at the Ajegunle area of Lagos.

Some Lagosians reacting to the move say there are slums all over the world, hence while should the state government put more people on the suffering line by compounding their problems all in a bid to make the convenient for the rich.

No Going Back on N4BN Peace Mission Building Proposal – First Lady

The proposed N4 billion African First Ladies’ peace mission building project must not be turned down as canvassed by the opposition because it will amount to abdication of responsibility by Nigeria and such diplomatic somersault will be incongruent with the country’s status and leadership role in Africa, the first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan said yesterday.
 

She refuted the claim that the peace mission building was a non governmental organisation (NGO) of the first lady, just as she implored Nigerians to be wary of politicians who see both the media and the unsuspecting public as instruments to pursue private and personal political objectives of bringing dishonour and embarrassment to government, using every issue that concerns her.
 

The proposed N4 billion African First Ladies’ Peace Mission building had been the subject of a raging criticism, with the opposition parties, including the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and civil society groups contending that, apart from being illegal and a misplaced priority, it would also constitute profligacy on the part of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.
 

Drawing the attention of the federal lawmakers to it, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had on Sunday also joined those opposing the proposed project to argue that it was one of the flamboyant life styles of the first lady and also one of the exorbitant and extravagant ventures of wives of leaders in the country.
 

But speaking through her special assistant, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, the first lady told State House Correspondents that despite the pressure being mounted on the National Assembly to turn down the endorsement of the peace mission building, the project deserves to proceed.
She said that her office would, instead, expect that objective attention should be given by both the public and the legislature, to the gains of what she described as the all important continental attraction to the country.
 

Dame Patience added that, while it was not the duty of the office of the first lady to defend the budget which was not its proposal, but that of the FCT ministry which has responded appropriately, there was every cause to wonder why it is suddenly an issue that a group of the wives of Africa presidents came together to undertake the moral duty to stop violent conflict on the continent and in the case where the conflict becomes inevitable, to try to see if they can provide relief to victims, saying “it offends the original African culture of charity to obstruct any effort to promote peace and development such as the decision of all African First Ladies to rise up to the social responsibility as mothers and wives of leaders on the continent to save the women, children and the aged on the continent from the traumatic consequences of violent conflicts and wars.”
 

Osinlu said, “I can assure you, without any doubt that it is far from the desire of the first lady to have the project turned down. One, it will amount to an abdication of responsibility by Nigeria and that level of disappointment will be injurious for the leadership status of Nigeria in Africa. Certainly, the first lady will not expect Nigeria to behave in such a manner.
 

“Two, the first lady would not also want the project abandoned because it is an undertaking that the country has made to the continent. It means therefore that the credibility of Nigeria will drop significantly if it goes back on its deliberate and willing commitment to host such an organ for the continent and at the request of the continent. Africa First Ladies Mission give us a secretariat and you agreed that you will do it and then five years after, you wake up and say you don’t want to do it again. I don’t think that level of irresponsibility would be expected of Nigeria and the first lady won’t encourage that at all.”
 

Source: Leadership; Tony Nwajei

On the Road to Kazakhstan: Iran Discovers More Uranium Sites

As Iran prepares for talks over its disputed atomic programme, it said on Saturday it had found significant new deposits of raw uranium and identified sites for 16 more nuclear power stations.

State news agency IRNA quoted a report by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) which said the reserves were discovered in northern and southern coastal areas and had trebled the amount outlined in previous estimates.

"We have discovered new sources of uranium in the country and we will put them to use in the near future," Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of the AEOI, was quoted as saying at Iran's annual nuclear industry conference.

The announcement could be deciphered as Iran's strategy to bolster its negotiation power at talks in Kazakhstan on Tuesday with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. by talking up its reserves and nuclear ambitions, may hope

Diplomats say the six powers, known as the P5+1, are set to offer Iran some relief from international sanctions if it agrees to curb its production of higher-grade enriched uranium.

The West says Iran's enrichment of uranium to a fissile purity of 20 percent demonstrates its intent to develop a nuclear weapons capability, an allegation the Islamic republic denies.

Iran's reserves of raw uranium now stood at around 4,400 tonnes, taking into account discoveries over the past 18 months, IRNA quoted the report as saying.

In another sign that Iran is intent on pushing forward with its nuclear ambitions, the report also said 16 sites had been identified for the construction of nuclear power stations.

The exact locations was not specified but they included coastal areas of the Gulf, Sea of Oman, Khuzestan province and the Caspian Sea.

Iranian authorities have long announced their desire to build more nuclear power plants for electricity production. Only one currently exists, in the southern city of Bushehr, and that has suffered several shutdowns in recent months.

The announcements could further complicate the search for a breakthrough in Kazakhstan, after three unsuccessful rounds of talks between the two sides in 2012.

In what Washington has called a provocative move, Iran is also installing new-generation centrifuges, capable of producing enriched uranium much faster, at a site in Natanz in the centre of the country.

Western diplomats say the Six-power will reiterate demands for the suspension of uranium enrichment to a purity of 20 percent, the closure of Iran's Fordow enrichment plant, increased access for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and agreement to address concerns on existing uranium stockpiles.

In return, the latest embargoes on gold and metals trading with Iran would be lifted. Iran has criticized the offer and says its rights need to be fully recognized. Suggestions were earlier made that Iran transfers its enriched uranium to Russia and in return it gets tghe 20% purity needed for medical isotopes.

"If the Six-power group wants to start constructive talks with Tehran it needs to present a valid proposal," said Jalili. "It needs to put its past errors to one side ... to win the trust of the Iranian nation." Ayatollah Khameini had earlier rejected direct talks with Washington saying "it is holding a gun against Iran."

In a statement issued before the Iranian announcement, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the Six-power group wanted to enter a 'substantial negotiation process' over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Russia and Cuba: Remembering the Cold War

Cuba's President, Raul Castro and Russia's Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev

Russia to lease eight jets worth $650 million to its Cold War- era ally Cuba and will partially write off the country's multi-billion-dollar debt owed during the Soviet-era under agreements signed during Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Havana.

Moscow will write off part of the $30 billion debt and will offer a 10-year refinancing plan for the remaining amount, according to the preliminary agreement, Russia's industry and trade minister Denis Manturov told reporters on the sidelines of the talks.

"There was an accumulated debt on loans allocated by the Soviet Union and we have now prepared an agreement that should undergo all the necessary procedures," he said.

Manturov said the final decision on debt settlement will be signed by the end of the year.

Russia will also lease three Ilyushin-96-400 long-haul jets, three AN-158 regional planes and two TU-204SM mid-range aircraft to Cuba under the agreements inked in the presence of Medvedev and Cuban leader Raul Castro.

Moscow will provide sovereign guarantees to a syndicate of Russian banks financing the deal, Manturov said.

Medvedev and Castro were seen chatting informally and broadly smiling during the ceremony. The Cuban leader greeted reporters in Russian.

Russia and Cuba enjoyed close relations during the Cold War which was between the Soviet Union and Washington over world hegemony and supremacy.

The volume of trade between the two countries last year was roughly $200 million. Oil companies from Russia, the world's largest energy exporter, are drilling into Cuba's offshore oil deposits which has also being of interest to the United States.

Killing Africa's Future: Mali's Crisis Disrupts Schooling of 700,000 Children - Unicef

The education of some 700,000 children in Mali has been disrupted due to the violence in the country according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The organisation  added that there is an urgent need to rebuild schools, train teachers and provide learning supplies.

Since the violence began over a year ago, at least 115 schools in the north were closed, destroyed, looted and sometimes contaminated with unexploded ordnance. Of the 700,000 children affected, 200,000 still have no access to school, UNICEF said in a news release.

Many teachers were among those displaced and have not returned to the northern part of the country. Instead, they are working in the already overcrowded schools in the south, which cannot cope with the amount of displaced students from the north.

"When a teacher is afraid to teach and when a student is afraid to go to school, the whole education is at risk," said UNICEF's Representative in Mali, Françoise Ackermans.

In the north, only one in three schools is now functioning. In some towns, all schools remain closed, as is the case in Kidal, while in others a few have opened. Five per cent of schools have now reopened in Timbuktu.

UNICEF noted that the violence has also had a significant psychological impact on children, who have reported hearing gunshots at school and at home.

The agency said it is working with the Malian educational authorities to accelerate the return of children to school. Since December, UNICEF has trained 1,190 Malian teachers to provide psychological support and mine-risk education to children. In addition, more than 16,000 children have received educational materials across the country.

Other UN agencies have continued to work in Mali to assist the estimated 1.2 million people that have been affected by armed operations.

This was a war that  was started covertly by the West and now they claim to be the 'rescuer.' Mali was a country that enjoying relative peace and flourishing democracy till the United States started pumping cash into her military on the one hand and France started bribing rebels on the other hand.

Those who ignited the fire are now the firefighters; appearing in deceitful robes like saviours.

Who wants to Destabilise Iran and Nigeria's Relations?

Iran has denied it has any terror cell in Lagos or in any other part of Nigeria. The government of Iran released a statement saying Western media and Nigerian media are not faithful to media professionalism for not looking into the issue properly before broadcasting the lies.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said such allegations were "made up as the result of the ill will of the enemies of the two countries' good relations", Iranian state television reported.

"Iran and Nigeria have friendly and close relations and despite the vast efforts of the two countries' enemies in recent years relations and cooperation have always improved," he said.

Iran says the West, especially the United States is behind the series of deceit and lies to destabilise the peaceful and cordial relations between the Islamic Republic and Nigeria. Earlier in the week, the SSS released a report that Iranian Terror Cell was uncovered in Lagos.

This report came a day after Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding on irrigation farming with Israel. Putting prejudice and propaganda apart, Iran has continued to be a rational player in the world. It has never attacked a country or forcefully remove any regime.

Everyone in the world knows the whole noise and saga about Iran's Nuclear Programme and the various tactics employed by Washington and Tel Aviv to label Iran an outlaw nation in the world. Washington had earlier lied claiming Iran wanted to attack a Saudi Embassy. The whole allegation died on falsehood.

Iran, though might be against the US and Israel but has never launched any direct attack straightforwardly on any country or does any directly linked to it. America and Israel simply want to make Nigeria an accomplice and in the end destabilise Nigeria rather than blackmail Iran.

CONSPIRACY OF THE CUSTODIAN

Unearthing the gone glory of the Media

Society grows or retards according to the information available to it and the actions forthwith which the pieces of information engineered. No other sector of the society makes the information available and effectively spread it other than the media. The media is the custodian of the society. Everything about a people is known through no other means than the media. The richness in culture, tradition not excluding the organisation of the country in politics and economics are portrayed to the outside world through the artistic exertions of journalism. The job of the journalist anywhere in the world can never be circumvented. In this, the journalists are committed to two guiding principles which are the umbilical cords of the job. Professionalism and Objectivity. In keeping to these ethics, they shoulder a large and heavy load; balancing facts and fictions, separating lies from truths and also keeping the nucleus of the society alive.

Many a time the journalists have swayed in their quest in the separation of facts and fictions as well as promoting more of lies than truths especially when the lies are paid for or wanted by the government of the host country. Propaganda. Loss of prestige. Fox News in the US is clearly notorious for propaganda in the US. Even the Canadian government rejected it as a local broadcasting station. It can only be watched via satellite in Canada. Aljazeera is clearly quite in the propaganda race too. I took special time to view the Arab Spring from different angles, always switching constantly consistently from CNN to Aljazeera. CNN was simply awesome in objectivity though the impression I had for long had about it was that of a Western media bulldog. Aljazeera clearly made it flagrantly known that the Qatari government did not like Maummar Gaddafi and Bashar al Assad. Marvelous propaganda. 'Un-professionalism' at its heights. When CNN was keen on the Bahrain protest and that of Saudi Arabia, complaining of Western connivance and silence, Aljazeera mentioned them in passing. Despite this, Aljazeera still has more educative, innovative and factual programmes than most international media.

Back home, the media in Africa is nothing but ordinary news arena, mostly imbalanced and uninteresting. Gory tales. Horrific news. The media is clearly more of an horror movie news industry. There is no gainsaying the fact that Africa has more of outrageous events than those that positively catch the mind but the media has forgotten that there is a generation to be nurtured after the heinous thieves ruling the continent might have been deposed or gone naturally to meet their king, Lucifer. I wonder if the tales of woes now are more than those of the past. Definitely by all standard NO. Africa now only needs more objectivity and problem-solving media criticism. Constructive criticism. Africa needs a media that will charge the system and not continue to make the thieves influential criminals. Africa needs a media that will tell the people what they need to do. Africa needs a media that will not be too quick to announce to the world that there is a riot after election as witnessed in Ghana.

During the US election, the Republicans objected to the process in Florida claiming they will contest the result. Many hiccups occurred in the process that produced Obama but all were kept at the base so that distractions will not occur. So also was that of George Bush. The media knows that it is capable of disrupting even the best electoral process in the world. Did we ever hear of the African-like election tales and stories? Rigging is so cheap in the US that only a $2 dollar microchip will perform the magic. Both the Republicans and Democrats know this. Who heard of Patraeus during the campaign and election? How about the US drone fired at by Iran? Media guides societies. Africa does not need a media that only makes bribery and corruption look institutionalised. Africa needs a media that juxtapose facts and developments in different African countries as well as in the world. Africa needs a media that will unearth the past and remake it for the modern age. Africa needs real investigative journalism.

When the continent was really hot with almost 2/3^rd of the wars and conflicts domiciled in it, the media of then still had time to broadcast educative programmes for children and youths. We also heard more from our parents. They contributed to the morals of many today. All these programmes we reminisce today as growing adults and we silently cry. The Tales by Moonlight (traditional African stories of great and dynamic morals), the Village Headmaster (western education in an indigenous act), Checkmate, Palace (showing real fatherly love). There were many too in indigenous languages. How about foreign ones? The most popular was the 'The Rich also Cry'. This movie gave many of us the strong-will that money is not all. We watched 'Passion' and realised the West (US) has charms and voodoo power too. So educative and informative. Programmes with near-adult contents like deep kissing were always broadcast at night where parents would have guided their children to bed. What we have today is extreme adult movies shown in broad daylight even on weekends when children will be at home mostly likely to view them. Where are the 'Power Rangers' and 'Voltron' that simulate a quasi-technology desire in us? All gone. Mexican soaps and even African-style porn mostly coming from Ghana have flooded the media.

We are a continent of great cultural heritage, envied by many in the world. Taking a leaf from China and India, we would see and realise that their cultural pattern influenced their developments. China's censorship of the media is mostly centred on political events. She did not make the mistake of allowing her awe-inspiring culture to be silenced. India is same. Porcelain today is China's traditional commodity and now re-packaged to be accepted in the modern world. Numerous documentaries about great China are shown on CCTV. India is doing same in NDTV. What do we have in Metro TV in Ghana? AIT and many others in Nigeria? Political news on corruption always; making these nefarious ones popular rather than contrast the past and their acts as well as broadcast programmes to show the upcoming ones that this was not the way it was and it can never continue. One day all must be revolutionalised for good. The media has gone along with the society in the extremely colossal search for wealth; thrown ethics, professionalism and objectivity into the thrash bin. No investigative journalism.

Youths need to know that African women were not slaves as portrayed by Western media. They need to know that traditional leadership in Africa was based on the interest of the people not the pockets. They need to know that slave trade and colonialism changed all these. They need to learn about the Amazon of Dahomey. They must know about Queen Amina of Zaria. They should be enlightened about Funmilayo Ransome Kuti. They must know about the Queen mother in the Kikuyu and Ashanti kingdoms. They must know how powerful they were before and immediately after Western-infested contacts. The West bribed African leaders and media not to broadcast 'The Root' again claiming it makes African children and youths hate them. What nonsense! So they never wanted hatred and they destroyed the future from slave trade to colonialism and now neocolonialism. Besides, 'The Root' never made us hate anyone, it built our resolve back then to build our Africa because we could not withstood the sufferings and felt we need to tell the world that Africa shall be free and advanced. I am so sure it will do same magic to the coming ones too.

They must learn that when African women were great traders and farmers, German men used chains and padlocks to lock the private parts of their women till around the 16^th century. They must know that no African woman ever disguised her name to be accepted by the society. The TS Elliot and others of today were women with the pseudonym of men because of the European male stigmatisation of women. African youths must know that all these historical and indigenous feats can be brought back and re-fashioned with modern trends. They need to know that no place is like home. The media needs to bring back the African nucleus for the coming generation if truly Africa must advance.

Bomb Blast in India

At least seven people have been killed  and 47 people injured after three bomb blasts struck the southern Indian city of  Hyderabad.

"There have been three blasts and seven people are dead and 47 people have been rushed to hospital with injuries," an official in the police control room told AFP news agency on Thursday, adding that one of the explosions occurred in a small suburban eatery.

The blasts were about 10 minutes apart and occurred near a movie theatre and a bus station. Police say they are trying to determine the cause of the explosions.