Patience Jonathan To Address First Ladies At UN General Assembly In New York

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, will participate at the High Level Forum for First Ladies at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event, with the theme “Building Bridges for Peace on Health Disability: Post 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda Initiative”, is scheduled for Sept. 24.

She is expected to deliver a speech for the opening of the workshop session, while Senior Advisor, RAND Corporation on the African First Ladies Fellowship Programme, Nicole Brzeski, will chair the workshop.

The session will address various creative strategies in addressing and overcoming peace challenges on various forms of women’s health and wellbeing.

Dr Ada Okika, the Secretary-General, U.S. Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations New York State Chapter, told NAN that the time had come for realistic understanding of the significance of a transformative agenda to build peace among nations.

“ Peace is directly related to poverty eradication, health care and improvement, good governance, leadership, social and economic emancipation and sustainability.

“Throughout its history, there have been global experiences on a wide range of conflicts, violence and other numerous challenges.

“These challenges must be addressed in order to promote human development, revitalise infrastructure and establish sustainable peace in working towards the future that the world want,’’ Okika said.

She noted that people throughout the world desired peace and good health, adding that women in particular had unique capacities to promote the peace and achieve positive health.

“ For this reason, we propose to convene First Ladies Forum from all UN Member States.

“The forum can serve as active agent for peace, building bridges on women’s health disability and child marriage, and meeting the challenges for sustainable peace and development of nations,’’ Okika added.

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Why Nigeria Was Barred From Applying For 2015 DV Lottery- U.S Consulate General

The United States Consul-General, Mr. Jeffery Hawkins, on Thursday, gave reasons why Nigeria was excluded from the 2015 Diversity-Visa-Programme registration.

Hawkins told journalists at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, that Nigeria was among other countries that had in the last five years, sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the country through the programme.

“As at today, Nigerians have graduated from being under-represented to being a fully well represented group in the U.S.

“There is therefore no longer any need to encourage Nigerians to apply to travel to the U.S. through the Diversity-Visa-Programme. “Already there are too many Nigerians in the U.S. that have benefited from this programme,’’ he said.

The envoy explained that the diversity visa was created to promote countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. Hawkins said that Nigeria and other affected countries had already exceeded their quota in the last five years.

He, however, stressed that the U.S. authorities would continue to give preference to Nigerians travelling to U.S for visits, business transactions, studies and professional engagements. “All other types of immigration from Nigeria to the U.S, apart from the diversity visa, would continue unabated.

“Also, let me say that the ban has nothing to do with our relations with Nigeria now, and in the years ahead,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the envoy as saying to journalists. He also dismissed insinuations making the rounds that the move was to reduce the number of Nigerians travelling to the U.S.

The U.S official also said that the development had “nothing to do with insecurity, activities of Boko Haram and other forms of upheaval in Nigeria.” It would be recalled that the U.S. Department of State, banned Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador and Haiti from participating in the 2015 Diversity-Visa-Programme.

Other affected countries are: India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

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A.U Members To Meet On Whether To Join Kenya's Pullout From ICC.

BY OYEDOTUN QUDUS

African leaders to meet on Kenya's ICC cases

Kenya's spokesman for the presidency Manoah Esipisu said the country had not canvassed for the summit, but "welcomed the opportunity by African leaders to discuss what is obviously an important matter for the continent". 

African leaders will meet in the Ethiopian capital on Oct. 13 to take a common stance on whether to join Kenya's planned pull-out from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the prosecution of its leaders, officials said on Thursday.

So far there does not seem to be much support for it, but heads of state from the 54-member African Union (AU) may still discuss the possibility of a pullout by the 34 African signatories to the Rome Statute that created the tribunal.

Last week's start of the trial of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto for crimes against humanity - with President Uhuru Kenyatta's trial due in November - has fuelled a growing backlash against the Hague-based court from some African governments, which see it as a tool of Western powers.

"The Kenyans have been criss-crossing Africa in search of support for their cause, even before their parliament voted to withdraw from the ICC," an AU official told Reuters.

"An extraordinary summit will now take place to discuss the issue. A complete walk-out of signatories (to the Rome Statute) is certainly a possibility, but other requests maybe made."

The summit would be preceded by a meeting of African foreign ministers a day earlier, he said.

Kenya's spokesman for the presidency Manoah Esipisu said the country had not canvassed for the summit, but "welcomed the opportunity by African leaders to discuss what is obviously an important matter for the continent".

ICC prosecutors have accused Kenyatta and Ruto, alongside radio journalist Joshua arap Sang, of fomenting ethnic violence that killed about 1,200 people after a disputed election in December 2007. The three suspects deny the charges.

Some neighbours of east Africa's biggest economy have petitioned the ICC alongside Ruto's lawyers for him to be excused from attending all ICC hearings.

A diplomat at the African Union said Kenya may ask that Kenyatta and Ruto not to attend the entire trial.

"There is a belief shared by the Kenyans and African states that the leaders appearing in the trials risks destabilising the country," said the diplomat who declined to be named.

In May, the AU backed a request by Kenya for the trials to be referred back to Kenya, on the ground that the ICC hearings risked raising ethnic tensions and destabilising its economy.

Officials from some of the AU's biggest member states, told Reuters their governments had no plans so far to leave the ICC.

"We are far from that sort of position. There is a big if," said South African Foreign Ministry spokesmanClayson Monyela when asked if there were plans for a walk-out.

Nurudeen Muhammed, Nigeria's minister of state of foreign affairs, said the continent's leading oil-producer had no "grudge against the ICC".

"Kenya ... has its own reasons because the country's president and vice president were both indicted by ICC," he told Reuters in an interview.

Zambia's foreign affairs minister, Wylbur Simusa, said Lusaka would want to study the issue more thoroughly before commenting, adding "as for now we still remain part of the ICC."

Nigerian woman Ajibola Obabiyi wins Muslim World Beauty Pageant

21 year old University of Lagos student Obabiyi Aisha Ajibola, beat 19 other beauty hopefuls to emerge Muslimah Queen 2013. Ajibola won the exclusive beauty pageant for Muslim women which took place today Wednesday September 18th in Jakarta, Indonesia. She received 25 million rupiah ($2,200) and trips to Mecca and India as prizes.

The contestants were all required to wear headscarves, covered from head to foot. They were judged on their looks, how well they recited Koranic verses and their views on Islam in the modern world, in front of an audience of mainly religious scholars and devout Muslims

This pageant was actually staged as a retort to the Miss World pageant holding in the same country. The organizers said they wanted to create an awareness within the muslim female community that there is a better form of beauty than the one being portrayed by the Miss World. They said the pageant is Islam's answer to the glamorous Miss World Pageant. Congrats to her!

source: linda ikeji's blog

ICC calls on US to arrest Sudan President

The International Criminal Court called on the United States to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir if he travels to next week's U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The request comes after Sudan said it had applied for a U.S. visa for Bashir, who is sought by the court on suspicion of masterminding war crimes in Darfur.

Washington said it had received the application and called the request "deplorable". However, the United States is not a member of the Hague-based ICC so would not be legally bound to cooperate.

Nonetheless, Washington has led calls for Bashir to face international justice over the bloodshed in the now decade-old conflict in the western region of Darfur and has transferred suspects to the ICC before.

The world's permanent war crimes court "invited the competent U.S. authorities to arrest Omar al-Bashirand surrender him to the court, in the event he enters their territory".

Sudan dismisses the ICC charges, says reports of mass killings in Darfur have been exaggerated, and refuses to recognise the court which it says is part of a Western plot against it. 

Al Jazeera to take legal action against Egypt

Al Jazeera is to take legal action against Egypt's military-backed government over what the media network says is a "sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation" against its journalists in the country. The Qatar-based network says that since deposed President Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in July, a large number of its journalists have been arrested and detained, either without charge or on what it calls politically-motivated charges.  Al Jazeera's offices have been raided and closed, equipment confiscated, correspondents deported and its transmission jammed by signals coming from military installations. In a statement on Thursday, Al Jazeera said it had instructed London-based lawyers, Carter-Ruck, to take action in international courts and before the United Nations to protect its journalists and their right to report from Egypt. “Al Jazeera cannot permit this situation to continue. The right of journalists to report freely in situations of this kind is protected by international law and is reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 1738 (2006)," a spokesman said. "However, the new regime in Egypt has disregarded this fundamental right and seems determined to silence all independent journalism and reporting in the country, leaving only the voices of its own state-controlled media to be heard."

Iran seeks solution to nuclear standoff

President Rouhani asks for international assurances before compromising on country's nuclear programme.

Iran wants to end the standoff with global powers over its nuclear programme swiftly but will not sacrifice its rights or interests for the sake of a solution, President Hassan Rouhani has said. Meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional security summit on Friday, Rouhani said it was a good time for new steps to resolve the dispute over a programme Western states believe is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. "Regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, we want the swiftest solution to it within international norms," Rouhani said at the meeting with Putin in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek. I declare that only if there is political will, if there is mutual respect and mutual interest, and only if the rights of Iran's people are ensured, can we guarantee the peaceful character of Iran's nuclear programme. Hassan Rouhani, Iranian president "Russia in the past has taken important steps in this sphere and now is the best opportunity for new steps from your side," said Rouhani, whose country has observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, dominated by Russia and China. The comments come two days after US ambassador Joseph MacManus to the UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA, said there had been "troubling developments" in Iran's nuclear programme. Iran has been in on-off talks for years with six global powers seeking to ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons capability. A solution has been elusive and the most recent talks, in April, ended without a breakthrough. Iran said on Friday it has significantly reduced its stocks of 20-percent enriched uranium by converting it to reactor fuel. The US and its allies demand Iran halt all enrichment, which Tehran rejects. 'Mutual respect' Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV late on Thursday that stocks have fallen from 240 kilogrammes to around 140 kilogrammes as it is converted into fuel for a medical research reactor. He said the remainder is also being converted. An August report by the UN nuclear watchdog put Iran's stockpile of 20-percent enriched uranium at 185.5 kilogrammes. Rouhani, who was elected in June, has said Iran will be more transparent and less confrontational in talks with the six powers - the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. But he made clear earlier on Friday he was only ready to go so far, indicating Iran would not give up its right to enrich uranium. "I declare that only if there is political will, if there is mutual respect and mutual interest, and only if the rights of Iran's people are ensured, can we guarantee the peaceful character of Iran's nuclear programme," he said. Western diplomats say Iran has continued to expand its uranium enrichment capacity in recent months, potentially shortening the time it would need to produce sufficient highly-refined material for a bomb. Rouhani said a date could be set for the next round of talks later this month during the UN General Assembly in New York, where meetings between Iran and some of the powers are expected.

Israel cautious over Syria weapons deal

Israeli PM says US-Russia deal will be judged on whether it achieves the complete destruction of Syria's chemical arms.

The Israeli prime minister has said he hoped the US-Russian brokered deal to remove Syria's chemical weapons would result in the "complete destruction" of the arsenal and push the world to stop Iran from nuclear weapons armament. Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before a planned meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday, who has arrived in Israel to brief him on the accord he reachedwith Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday in Geneva. "We hope the understandings reached between the United States and Russia regarding the Syrian chemical weapons will yield results," he said. "These understandings will be judged by their result - the complete destruction of all of the chemical weapons stockpiles that the Syrian regime has used against its own people," he said. Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, who is close to Netanyahu, said the deal had "disadvantages and advantages". "On the one hand, it lacks the necessary speed [in removing chemical arms from Syria]. On the other hand, it is much more comprehensive, as it includes a Syrian commitment to dismantle the manufacturing facilities and to never again produce [chemical weapons]," Steinitz told Army Radio. Also on Army Radio, Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said intelligence that Israel has gathered on neighbouring Syria could help verify President Bashar al-Assad's compliance with the accord. "We will understand Assad's intentions only in a week when he is meant to hand over a full list of all the chemical weapons at his disposal, and I think Israel has a not bad idea of what chemical weapons he has," Lieberman said. Israel's President Shimon Peres said the possibility of US military action if the plan fails should "teach a lesson" to Iran. One-week deadline The Syrian minister of state for national reconciliation Ali Haidar on Sunday called the deal a "victory for Syria". The framework document agreed upon stipulates that Syria must provide full details of its stockpile within a week and its chemical arsenal must then be eliminated by mid-2014. Only a few days ago, Syria was denying having chemical weapons and having used them. From now on we are in a new phase. Laurent Fabius, French FM If Syria fails to comply, the deal could be enforced by a United Nations resolution with the use of force as a last resort. However, President Barack Obama stressed on Saturday that if the government of Assad does not live up to the deal Washington reached with Moscow, "the United States remains prepared to act". The US-Russia deal was welcomed by China on Sunday. "The Chinese side welcomes the framework agreement between the US and Russia. This agreement [to dispose of Syria's chemical weapons] will enable tensions in Syria to be eased," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a meeting with his visiting French counterpart Laurent Fabius. It was the first official reaction by China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, to the deal reached. Fabius, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning and was due to head back to Paris later the same day, called the pact "a significant step forward". "Only a few days ago, Syria was denying having chemical weapons and having used them. From now on we are in a new phase," he said. But while the plan was an important advance, it was "only a first stage", he told reporters. Carrot and stick Fabius is due to host Kerry, British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in Paris on Monday. Spotlight In-depth coverage of escalating violence across Syria The Geneva deal will form the basis of a UN resolution to be agreed within a week, he said, but its enforcement would have to be monitored "extremely closely". The pact came after Washington led calls for military action in response to an August 21 chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus blamed by the US - which says more than 1,400 people were killed - and others on the Syrian government. Damascus denies responsibility and has blamed rebel forces for the incident. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - who has accused Assad of "many crimes against humanity" - is due to issue a report on the incident on Monday. More than 110,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the two-and-a-half year conflict, and rebel representatives have rejected the US-Russian deal, fearing it eliminates any chance of Western military intervention on their side.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Report: NSA shares data with Israel

Leaked report reveals deal between US spy agency and Israel, allowing for the sharing of raw intelligence on citizens.

The United States shares with Israel unfiltered data taken from telephone and internet communications including information on its own citizens, according to the latest leak from whistleblower Edward Snowden. According to an article in the Guardian newspaper, published on Wednesday, The National Security Agency (NSA) agreed a secret deal with Israel allowing for the routine sharing of raw intelligence. But the agreement does not require the NSA to filter and remove information belonging to US citizens, including data within emails and telephone calls. And the deal reportedly places no limits on how Israel may use the material. The report said that the deal was reached in principle in March 2009, according to the undated memorandum, which lays out the ground rules for the intelligence sharing. NSA deal with Israel Read the memorandum of understanding here View the Document But while the contents of emails and phone calls involving most US citizens are fair game to be collected by Israeli intelligence, elected officials are spared from international surveillance The memo mandates that the Israelis must "destroy upon recognition" any communication "that is either to or from an official of the US government". That pool of exempt persons is defined as "officials of the executive branch (including the White House, cabinet departments, and independent agencies), the US House of Representatives and Senate (member and staff) and the US federal court system (including, but not limited to, the Supreme Court)". The NSA assured the British newspaper that "Any US person information that is acquired as a result of NSA's surveillance activities is handled under procedures that are designed to protect privacy rights”.

Israel and AIPAC clash on Syria strike

Dismissing threat from Syria, many Israelis would rather keep Iran in the international community's cross hairs.

Tel Aviv, Israel - When US President Barack Obama made his case for military action in Syria in a televised address on Tuesday, he mentioned Israel only fleetingly, as one of several US allies who could be threatened by the Syrian government's chemical weapons stockpile. "If fighting spills beyond Syria's borders, these weapons could threaten allies like Turkey, Jordan and Israel," Obama said. His scant mention of Israel was an acknowledgement, perhaps, that the Israeli government is increasingly uneasy about being linked to a possible US-led attack on Syria. US officials have warned constantly that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad poses a danger to his neighbour. "Israel is deeply threatened," Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier on Tuesday, in an online forum sponsored by Google. Israel's largest backers in Washington have also pushed this line: Hours before Obama's speech, the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) dispatched hundreds of activists to meet with members of Congress and urge them to vote "yes", authorising a US strike on Syria.  All of this stands in stark contrast to the Israeli government itself, which does not oppose a US strike on Syria but has spent weeks trying to say as little as possible on the subject. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked his cabinet to keep silent on the issue; Netanyahu himself issued a bland statement saying only that Israel was "calm" ahead of any US military action. AIPAC is trying to make clear that aiding the rebels can be considered aid to Israel. Who decided that? - Shalom Yerushalemi, columnist for Maariv Current and former officials here say the government is unhappy that the Obama administration is using Israel to make the case for war. Earlier this month, Israel's Channel 2 news quoted unnamed officials who rebuked Kerry for the sort of language he used on Tuesday. "Israel is not a victim. We don't need America to take care of threats to Israel," the channel quoted one official as saying. Security officials worry the constant talk about Israel's security makes the country look vulnerable. Some diplomats, meanwhile, fear being connected to an unpopular push for another US-led war in the Middle East, because it could complicate efforts to influence US policy towards Iran, a far bigger priority for the Israelis. "They're undermining everything the government has tried to do," said one foreign ministry staffer, who asked to remain anonymous, referring to AIPAC's work. 'Knee-jerk reaction' AIPAC's lobbying push started earlier this month, when its leadership asked members to call their representatives in Congress and urge them to support an attack on Syria. About 250 AIPAC members fanned out across Capitol Hill on Tuesday to make their case in person, the group said. They made a simple argument: A US attack would send a powerful message to Syria's chief sponsor, Iran, that Obama will also enforce his "red line" on the latter's nuclear programme. (Israel and many Western governments believe that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has consistently denied.) But the Israeli government itself has not made this argument, at least not in public. Obama at the 2008 AIPAC policy conference [GALLO/GETTY] "The Israel lobby is quite independent, and I don't think we can give it orders," said Shmuel Sandler, an analyst at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. "But we're uneasy about it. We want to stay away from this mess as much as possible." There may have been limited lobbying efforts in private:Yedioth Ahronoth, a popular local newspaper, reported on Monday that Obama himself called Netanyahu and urged him to personally urge members of Congress to support an attack. Those reports could not be confirmed, though one official said Netanyahu has reached out to members of Congress with whom he has a personal relationship. A spokesman for the prime minister declined to comment on any matters related to Syria. Local newspapers have carried several op-eds this week critical of AIPAC's lobbying efforts. In a column for Maariv, Shalom Yerushalemi argued that the group is "harming Israeli interests" by openly pushing for a US strike. "AIPAC is trying to make clear that aiding the rebels can be considered aid to Israel. Who decided that?" he wrote on Monday. "We should tell them, simply, ‘stay out of this,'" writing those last words in English for emphasis. Analysts and policymakers question whether the two "red lines" are even analogous. The White House views Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to US allies, and worries that it could set off a regional arms race. But the sense among many in Israel is that Assad's possible use of chemical weapons is fundamentally an internal Syrian issue, unlikely to have many wider effects. "This is an automatic knee-jerk reaction, because the two situations are artificially similar," said Oded Eran, a longtime Israeli diplomat. "But one cannot draw any lessons from US action or inaction [in Syria]." What would be the benefit if [Hezbollah] responds to an attack in Syria by attacking Israel? It makes no logical sense." - Analyst, Israel's military intelligence division 'It was a precaution' Obama acknowledged in his speech that Syria could respond to a US attack by targeting Washington's allies in the region. Syrian and Iranian officials have made that threat public in recent weeks, warning that Israel would be the "first casualty". But their threats attracted little interest in Israel. The debate over striking Syria comes amid the Jewish High Holidays, which began last week with Rosh Hashanah, the new year. In a televised statement last week, Netanyahu urged Israelis to go ahead with their holiday plans, suggesting the government does not expect Obama to move quickly, nor does it anticipate much in the way of retaliation. "The citizens of Israel know very well that we are prepared for any possible scenario," Netanyahu said. A small number of army reservists were called up in late August, then quickly stood down a week later, after Obama announced plans to seek congressional approval before attacking. "It was a precaution, but nobody expects a serious response," said one officer from an elite commando unit who was among those mobilised. "Syria can't afford to attack us, and neither can Hezbollah." Several current and former diplomats and intelligence analysts echoed that thinking, suggesting any response would come from smaller "extreme groups" based in either Syria or Lebanon. The Syrian army, already stretched thin fighting a civil war at home, cannot afford a war with Israel, and Hezbollah wants to avoid the domestic consequences of dragging Lebanon further into conflict. Netanyahu speaks at the 2010 AIPAC conference [GALLO/GETTY] Indeed, Lebanese media have reported that Hezbollah is unlikely to respond unless US-led strikes are seen as posing a serious threat to Assad, something US officials have stressed will not happen.  An analyst from Israel's military intelligence division suggested that Hezbollah could retaliate from inside Syria, perhaps by launching rockets at northern Israel. That would give the group an element of deniability and shield it from domestic repercussions. "What would be the benefit if [Hezbollah] responds to an attack in Syria by attacking Israel?" he asked. "It makes no logical sense." Still, even if Israel sees little risk in a US attack on Syria, it also sees little reward. Security officials here see the status quo in Syria, a stalemated civil war, as an acceptable one: It keeps the Syrian army, Hezbollah and Iran bogged down in an intractable conflict, and it avoids the power vacuum that could follow Assad's ouster. "This is a limited action that probably will not bring repercussions, so Israelis support this action, but we're not calling on the US to do anything," said General Shlomo Brom, a retired military intelligence officer. "We would like to use our ability to affect the US on more important issues, like Iran, and not waste it on Syria."

Source: Al Jazeera

Argentina arrests 19-year-old 'super-hacker'

Police say suspect diverted $50,000 a month targeting money transfer and gambling websites.

Argentine police say they have arrested an alleged 19-year-old hacker on suspicion of leading a network specialised in fraud and complex financial transactions that led to security breaches at numerous websites. The youth, whose identity has not been revealed, is the son of an information systems engineer. He was initially detained at his home in Buenos Aires in July as part of "Operation Zombie," which included five raids in the capital and the city of Rosario, 300km north, the Security Ministry reported on Friday. Dubbed "super-hacker", the suspect diverted about $50,000 a month to his bank account, using the "technological cave" he assembled at his home. Police raiding his Buenos Aires residence seized sophisticated computers and other technological equipment. Officials identified six more people who were involved in the criminal network. The police department's Operation Zombie began in 2012, when a businessman who offered hosting services for personal web pages on his servers said that a hacker was remotely entering the servers to intercept monetary transfers. Former criminal attorney Graciela Gils Carbo, who is now Argentina's chief prosecutor, ordered the federal police to begin an investigation that uncovered that the same person was stealing from money transfer and online game sites. "Internet users were victims of a ‘malware’ virus that the hacker hosted in a server for downloading online gaming applications," said a ministry statement. To complete the job and avoid alerting victims to an illegal money transfer, the suspected hacker carried out a "denial of service" maneuver that used a network of thousands of "zombie" computers to saturate the platform for payments so users could not access their accounts around the time of the attack.