VISION-WORLD NEWS

(FRANKS..) Suleiman Hashimu walked 750km (460 miles) and wore out six pairs of shoes over 18 days in order to see the inauguration of Nigeria's new president. His trek caught the public imagination and when he completed his trek, he actually got an invitation to meet Muhammadu Buhari before he was sworn in on Friday. Two years ago, Mr Hashimu was talking with a group of friends about what they would do if Mr Buhari, a former military leader, won the 2015 presidential election. One owned a shop and said he would let people take whatever they wanted, free of charge, but Mr Hashimu did not have much money to give away. "I made a promise that if Gen Buhari should win the election I would trek from Lagos to Abuja - so it started as this joke!" he says. When Mr Buhari was declared the winner on 1 April 2015 - becoming the first opposition candidate to win a presidential election in Nigeria - Mr Hashimu's friends called him, reminding him of his promis...

(FRANKS..)   Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) – Nigeria’s military on Saturday repelled a Boko Haram attack on the key northeast city of Maiduguri that saw rocket-propelled grenades fired into homes, witnesses and security sources said. The Islamists’ assault on the Borno state capital came a day after President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration, with the new leader vowing to re-enforce Maiduguri with a new command and control centre to better coordinate the counter-insurgency effort. Shortly after midnight (2300 GMT Friday), residents in the Dala suburb south of the city woke to the sound of RPGs being fired in succession, said resident Modu Karumi, in an account supported by several others. Witnesses said hundreds of Islamist gunmen were trying to advance on the city, which is now home to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by unrest in other parts of Borno state. An AFP reporter who lives in the area said he heard what sounded like armoured personnel carrier...

(FRANKS..)     President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday warned political forces or anyone who thought he would be answerable to him in the next four years, saying he belonged to nobody. He spoke soon after he was formally inaugurated as the successor to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan at the Eagle Square, Abuja, the nation’s capital. Amid intermittent applause and shouts of “Sai Baba” and “Sai Buhari” from the audience, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Muhammed, administered the oaths on Buhari at exactly 10.47am In his inaugural speech, Buhari dressed in a cream-coloured kaftan with a brown cap to match stated that while he was prepared to serve Nigerians, who voted him into power on March 28, he would not be under the control of anybody. “Having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book, I intend to keep my oath and serve as President to all Nigerians. I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” Buhari said. He allayed the fears by some suspec...

(FRANKS..)   Soft-spoken but extremely eloquent; there are many things that make Aisha Buhari, wife of Nigeria’s new president, thick. Blessed with an infectious smile; many, often as a result of her warm disposition, underrate the power that lies in her. Though, only soaring in popularity in recent months especially in the build up to the March 28 presidential election, where her husband, Muhammadu, a retired general and former Head of State, coasted to an overwhelming victory, Aisha has always been a known face especially among people who seek to pamper their bodies. The First Lady, until recently, owned one of the biggest spas and beauty institutes in the country. Situated along Camp Road, a high brow area of Ungwan-Rimi Government Residential Area in Kaduna, Hanzy Spa and Hanzy Beauty Institute was always a beehive of activities all week long. It is the first beauty institute in northern Nigeria, a National Board of Technical Education accredited vocationa...

(FRANKS..)   The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, on Friday, described President Muhammadu Buhari’s inaugural speech as laying out “a powerful agenda.” Kerry, who gave assurance that the United States would support the new administration to tackle insurgency and the economic challenges bedevilling the country, was accosted by journalists within the venue of the inauguration immediately after the event. He said, “The inauguration is historic and very promising. The President made a very important speech, laid out a very powerful agenda and the United States is prepared to work very closely to help to do and everything we can on the economy, Boko Haram and other issues. The President did a very great job today.” Others who also spoke with our correspondent at the venue of the event on Friday were former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, an All Progressives Congress chieftain and former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Audu Og...

(FRANKS..)   Enugu State-born actress, Uche Ogbodo is at it again. The controversial actress who took time off to have a baby is back and smoking hot! In this chat with Entertainer, the thespian opens up on motherhood, career and her break up with her lover. Excerpts: What have you been up to lately? Hmmm…same old things. I have been working, schooling and of course, settling into motherhood. I am also trying to finish my degree programme because I dropped out of school; I am currently studying Banking & Finance. So how did you start the journey into the movie industry? I would say it was since I was born. Acting is a talent I discovered as a little girl. I realized I had that talent when I was in nursery school. Even when I got to secondary school I still loved acting and I started organizing stuffs myself. I started directing plays and dramas and I was writing scripts also. I am very passionate about acting. What challenges have you faced so far? I have ...

(FRANKS..)   Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, will serve out the tenure of the incumbent Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, the House resolved yesterday. To this end, members of the chamber will today, during plenary, formerly empower Ihedioha to act as the speaker for the remaining part of the dispensation which is expected to elapse on June 4. Tambuwal will be sworn in on Friday as Governor of Sokoto State, thus leaving his current seat vacant. Announcing the decision of the House when he met with newsmen, Tambuwal said the chamber arrived at the option in compliance with the constitution, which foreclosed allowing the seat vacant.

(FRANKS..) By ISAAC ANUMIHE Since the beginning of March, the nation has grappled with shortage of fuel which invariably resulted in long queues at the filling stations and loss of production hours in wait to buy the product. However, the end doesn’t seem to be in sight following accusations and counter-accusations between the oil marketers and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala over payment of subsidy claims. The marketers had alleged that the Federal Government owed them a balance of N200 billion as against government’s N98 billion claim. Government said that it had paid N500b to petroleum marketers with a balance of N98bn to complete the payment. The latest payment of N156b, the government said was made in April. The payment, according to Okonjo-Iweala, has two components. The first consists of the cash-backing of the N100b IOU which the marketers were given in March. T...

(FRANKS..) Nigeria's incoming president may commute the death sentences of 66 soldiers convicted for refusing to fight Boko Haram, a lawyer has said. Femi Falana told the BBC that Muhammadu Buhari had promised to review all operations against the militants. He said that he was now confident the soldiers, who said they lacked weapons to take on the Islamist insurgents, would not be executed and face justice. This week it was revealed another 579 soldiers face trial over indiscipline Army spokesman Sani Usman said the courts martial, currently taking place in the capital, Abuja, were to ensure professionalism in the army. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that the Boko Haram insurgency, which began in 2009, had caused "one of the most serious humanitarian crises in Africa". 'State negligence' Mr Falana, who is a prominent human rights lawyer and represented some of the 66 sentenced to death for conspiracy, cowardice ...

(FRANKS..) Prince Charles has met Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams at the start of his four-day visit to Ireland. Mr Adams was among a number of politicians to greet the prince at a reception at National University of Ireland Galway. It was the first meeting in the Republic of Ireland between Sinn Féin's leadership and a Royal Family member. Mr Adams and his colleague Martin McGuinness also had a private meeting with Prince Charles. That meeting took place after the handshake and was in a private room. It lasted between 15 and 20 minutes. Afterwards, Mr Adams said: "We did discuss the need for the entire process to move forward, particularly in regard to those who have suffered, those who have been bereaved. He said the meeting "was a big thing for him to do and a big thing for us to do. "We have a cause to represent and a future to carve out and that's what it's all about." The...

(FRANKS..)   At least 10 people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, a doctor has told the BBC. The emergency doctor at Qatif Central Hospital said at least 70 had been injured, "some very critically". Witnesses reported a huge blast at the Imam Ali mosque in the village of al-Qadeeh, in Qatif governorate. It is the first such incident in Saudi Arabia amid rising tension in the wider region between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind a similar attack on a Shia mosque in neighbouring Yemen on Friday, which injured about a dozen people. But it said nothing about the bombing in eastern Saudi Arabia and no other group has said it was behind the attack. Television pictures of the Saudi bombing broadcast on Lebanon's al-Manar network showed shattered glass and debris inside the mosque, where scores were said to have been praying. Bodies covered in sheets could be...

(FRANKS..)  North Korea said Wednesday that it has the ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons, a key step toward building nuclear missiles. Analysts and U.S. officials have said previously that they suspected Kim Jong Un's regime was capable of the technical feat, which is needed to fit a nuclear device on the tip of a ballistic missile. "We have had the capability of miniaturizing nuclear warheads, as well as producing multiform weapons, for some time," the North Korean military said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. "We can also guarantee the accuracy not only of short-to-mid-range but also long-range rocket launches, for which we have had the technology for a long time," the statement said. Claim echoes U.S. military assessments Pyongyang's announcement about miniaturization, the first time it has publicly made such a claim, tallies with some recent assessments from senior U.S. military official...

(FRANKS..) The hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has discovered an uncharted shipwreck in the southern Indian Ocean. Peter Foley, who heads the search team, said the find was "fascinating... But it's not what were looking for". However, he said the find showed that if the flight was in the search area, it would be discovered. MH370 vanished last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. No trace has been found and there is no explanation for its disappearance. Search teams have been focussing a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq mile) area off the coast of Western Australia, where it is believed to have crashed. The shipwreck was discovered when sonar equipment detected a cluster of objects almost 4km (2.5 miles) under the sea. Officials suspected it was not MH370 but investigated further Officials suspected it was not the miss...

(FRANKS..) A passenger train has derailed in Philadelphia, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others, officials in the US city say. Up to 10 carriages of the Washington-New York Amtrak service went off the track on Tuesday evening. Emergency officials and fire-fighters are at the scene looking for passengers who may be trapped in the wreckage. More than 240 people were on board Train 188, the officials say. It is not known what caused the derailment. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching a team of investigators to the crash site. 'Mangled up' The train derailed in a suburb of Philadelphia, shortly after leaving the city's main station. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said at least five people died. More than 240 people were on board the Washington-New York train, officials say ...

(FRANKS..) Windows 10 is going to be the last major revision of the operating system. Jerry Nixon, a Microsoft development executive, said in a conference speech this week that Windows 10 would be the "last version" of the dominant desktop software. His comments were echoed by Microsoft which said it would update Windows in future in an "ongoing manner". Instead of new stand-alone versions, Windows 10 would be improved in regular instalments, the firm said. Mr Nixon made his comments during Microsoft's Ignite conference held in Chicago this week. In a statement, Microsoft said Mr Nixon's comments reflected a change in the way that it made its software. "Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner," it said, adding that it expected there to be a "long future" for Windows. 'No Windows 11' The company said it had yet to decide on what to call the operating syste...

(FRANKS..)  Super Typhoon Noul clipped the northeastern Philippines on Sunday, prompting thousands of people to seek shelter in evacuation centers. The storm, referred to as Dodong in the Philippines, hit land Sunday afternoon at the northeastern tip of the island of Luzon, near the small town of Santa Ana, according to PAGASA, the Philippine government agency that monitors the weather. Noul's outer bands had lashed Luzon's eastern coast through the afternoon as it drew nearer, packing maximum sustained winds of about 260 kph (160 mph) and gusts as strong as 315 kph (195 mph). Authorities said they relocated about 3,800 residents of vulnerable areas to evacuation centers ahead of the typhoon's arrival. No casualties caused by the storm were reported early Monday and the damage wasn't "as significant" as authorities had feared, said Alex Pama, an official at the national disaster management agency. On Monday, the storm weakened ...

(FRANKS..) Two militants have attacked a business college in Potiskum in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Yobe. At least six students were seriously injured by gunfire, but dozens more were hurt as they tried to escape. The gunman was accompanied by a suicide bomber, who blew himself up in the car park. No-one so far has said they were behind the attack but the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has carried out similar raids in the town . The name Boko Haram, loosely translated from the region's Hausa language, means "Western education is forbidden". Gunman arrested The gunfire at the College of Administrative and Business Studies sparked panic, with students jumping from windows to escape the militants. Latest African news updates They were injured after jumping out of windows and over walls, the Associated Press news agency quotes a hospital worker as saying. The police have said that the surviving gunman is in their custody. The attack in Po...

(FRANKS..) Johannesburg, South Africa - The latest wave of xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals occurred in South Africa's Isipingo located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Thousands were displaced from their homes and up to five people were reported to have been killed when violence spread through the province. It began a week after Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini, was reported to have said that foreigners "should pack their bags and go back home". The king later denied making those comments but within days the violence had spread to the country's most populous city Johannesburg. Since the end of apartheid and the opening of South Africa's borders in early 1990s, migrants from all over the world, especially African countries, have flocked to the southern African nation's cities and towns looking to escape the poverty and political intolerance in their home countries. People from outside view South Africa as a place of oppo...