A "serious data breach" is being investigated after the names and salaries of MPs' staff were published on the internet.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) wrote to MPs to inform them that a number of documents had been been available on the watchdog's "old website" for about four hours after an "error".
"These should not have been made public as they contained confidential personal information about MPs' staff names, salaries, rewards, working patterns and holiday entitlements," Marcial Boo, IPSA chiefe executive, said.
"I would like to reassure you that no information relating to the security of the individuals affected was made public - no addresses, no bank account details, no phone numbers, and no National Insurance numbers were disclosed.
"However, we recognise that this was still extremely sensitive personal information."
It is understood that the documents were viewed and downloaded while they were visible, but it is not immediately known how many people did so.
IPSA said the Information Commissioner had been informed about the breach.
"Our first priority was to remove the data from our website as soon as we were first notified and it was taken down from our website last night within an hour of becoming aware of the issue," Mr Boo said.
"We believe that the information was accessible for around four hours and we will keep you updated with further details as we carry out a full investigation."
IPSA launched a new website last year but the old website is still used, mainly by MPs and their staff.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Trump to pay $25m settlement over university fraud claims
Donald Trump must pay $25m (£20m) to settle lawsuits over his Trump University, a US judge has ruled.
The legal action claimed students on property seminars at the now defunct university were defrauded.
They paid as much as $35,000 (£27,900) for the infomercial-like seminars, lured by what they described as "false promises" of Mr Trump's investing secrets from his "hand-picked" instructors.
Students said they had been constantly pressured to spend more money but that the university had failed to deliver on the promises.
The Trump University closed in 2010.
Mr Trump vowed to fight the fraud claims during his presidential campaign, but then agreed to settle the cases soon after his election win in November.
He said he was too busy for a trial, despite being adamant that he would have won.
Under the terms of the settlement, Mr Trump does not admit any wrongdoing.
Sky News US Correspondent Amanda Walker said: "It was a problem for him during his campaign, with hundreds of people coming forward saying that Trump University was not what it proclaimed to be, that it wasn't a university of any kind.
"Part of that settlement is actually $1m to the state of New York for those misleading claims that it was a university."
During his campaign, Mr Trump even criticised Gonzalo Curiel, who gave the settlement the final nod, implying the Indiana-born judge's Mexican heritage made him biased.
Judge Curiel said the settlement "provides significant and immediate recovery" and that only two of about 7,000 eligible class action members had objected to its terms.
Sky's Amanda Walker said: "The way (Trump's team) is shaping this is that Donald Trump needs to focus on running the country.
"If he hadn't paid up he would have had to testify, that would have become a distraction from his presidency, so now this is out of the way, he can focus on that.
"But for those people who were involved in this case and for those who have criticised his handling of what was called his university, this is an example of his fraudulent activity as a businessman and it's another criticism, certainly from people who didn't agree with him during his campaign, that he's not fit to be president."
The legal action claimed students on property seminars at the now defunct university were defrauded.
They paid as much as $35,000 (£27,900) for the infomercial-like seminars, lured by what they described as "false promises" of Mr Trump's investing secrets from his "hand-picked" instructors.
Students said they had been constantly pressured to spend more money but that the university had failed to deliver on the promises.
The Trump University closed in 2010.
Mr Trump vowed to fight the fraud claims during his presidential campaign, but then agreed to settle the cases soon after his election win in November.
He said he was too busy for a trial, despite being adamant that he would have won.
Under the terms of the settlement, Mr Trump does not admit any wrongdoing.
Sky News US Correspondent Amanda Walker said: "It was a problem for him during his campaign, with hundreds of people coming forward saying that Trump University was not what it proclaimed to be, that it wasn't a university of any kind.
"Part of that settlement is actually $1m to the state of New York for those misleading claims that it was a university."
During his campaign, Mr Trump even criticised Gonzalo Curiel, who gave the settlement the final nod, implying the Indiana-born judge's Mexican heritage made him biased.
Judge Curiel said the settlement "provides significant and immediate recovery" and that only two of about 7,000 eligible class action members had objected to its terms.
Sky's Amanda Walker said: "The way (Trump's team) is shaping this is that Donald Trump needs to focus on running the country.
"If he hadn't paid up he would have had to testify, that would have become a distraction from his presidency, so now this is out of the way, he can focus on that.
"But for those people who were involved in this case and for those who have criticised his handling of what was called his university, this is an example of his fraudulent activity as a businessman and it's another criticism, certainly from people who didn't agree with him during his campaign, that he's not fit to be president."
Former Power Ranger Ricardo Medina Jr jailed after killing roommate with sword
A former Power Rangers star has been jailed for six years after killing his roommate with a sword.
Prosecutors said Ricardo Medina Jr stabbed Josh Sutter "multiple times" at a home they shared in Green Valley, Los Angeles county, in January 2015.
Medina, who played the red Power Ranger in the TV show in 2002, claimed he was acting in self-defence after Mr Sutter broke into his bedroom following an argument.
The 38-year-old actor was originally charged with first degree murder but later pleaded guilty to a count of voluntary manslaughter.
Medina's lawyer, Stanley Friedman, said the actor agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter so as not to risk a murder conviction and possible life sentence.
During the sentencing at Superior Court in Lancaster, California, Mr Sutter's father asked Judge Daviann Mitchell to show no leniency towards Medina.
Donald Sutter said: "Put this killer in general (prison) population so he will see and feel the same fear that Joshua must have felt."
After stabbing Mr Sutter, Medina called 911 and took his roommate to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
The victim's sister, Rachel Kennedy, told ABC News a post-mortem found her brother sustained 10 sharp force injuries.
These were said to have included hand injuries and a stab wound through the abdomen.
Last year, the TMZ website reported that the blade used had been a "Conan The Barbarian-style broadsword".
Prosecutors said Ricardo Medina Jr stabbed Josh Sutter "multiple times" at a home they shared in Green Valley, Los Angeles county, in January 2015.
Medina, who played the red Power Ranger in the TV show in 2002, claimed he was acting in self-defence after Mr Sutter broke into his bedroom following an argument.
The 38-year-old actor was originally charged with first degree murder but later pleaded guilty to a count of voluntary manslaughter.
Medina's lawyer, Stanley Friedman, said the actor agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter so as not to risk a murder conviction and possible life sentence.
During the sentencing at Superior Court in Lancaster, California, Mr Sutter's father asked Judge Daviann Mitchell to show no leniency towards Medina.
Donald Sutter said: "Put this killer in general (prison) population so he will see and feel the same fear that Joshua must have felt."
After stabbing Mr Sutter, Medina called 911 and took his roommate to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
The victim's sister, Rachel Kennedy, told ABC News a post-mortem found her brother sustained 10 sharp force injuries.
These were said to have included hand injuries and a stab wound through the abdomen.
Last year, the TMZ website reported that the blade used had been a "Conan The Barbarian-style broadsword".
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Kim Jong-Nam's body to be returned to North Korea under deal with Malaysia
Malaysia has agreed to release the body of Kim Jong-Nam to North Korea in return for the release of nine Malaysians being held there.
Mr Kim, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, died last month after two women smeared a deadly nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport.
The killing, which has been widely blamed on Pyongyang, led to the breakdown of Malaysia's normally close relations with the secretive regime.
In tit-for-tat moves, the two countries first withdrew their ambassadors, then banned each other's citizens from leaving its soil.
But the day after, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, adopted a more conciliatory tone, saying the dispute would be solved through quiet negotiations.
Those talks, which he described as "very sensitive", have been successful as on Thursday, Mr Razak announced the deal.
He said: "I had a deep personal concern about this matter, and we worked intensively behind the scenes to achieve this successful outcome.
"Many challenges were overcome to ensure the return of our fellow Malaysians."
Mr Kim, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, died last month after two women smeared a deadly nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport.
The killing, which has been widely blamed on Pyongyang, led to the breakdown of Malaysia's normally close relations with the secretive regime.
In tit-for-tat moves, the two countries first withdrew their ambassadors, then banned each other's citizens from leaving its soil.
But the day after, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, adopted a more conciliatory tone, saying the dispute would be solved through quiet negotiations.
Those talks, which he described as "very sensitive", have been successful as on Thursday, Mr Razak announced the deal.
He said: "I had a deep personal concern about this matter, and we worked intensively behind the scenes to achieve this successful outcome.
"Many challenges were overcome to ensure the return of our fellow Malaysians."
Vladimir Putin Denies Russia Meddled in the Presidential Election
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied any Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Thursday, claiming any allegations are politically motivated lies.
"Read my lips, no," Putin said during a panel moderated by CNBC.
"All those things are fictional, illusory and provocations, lies," he said. "All these are used for domestic American political agendas."
Putin made the comments, which come as the FBI is investigating Russia's election interference, during a panel moderated by CNBC co-anchor Geoff Cutmore at the International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk, Russia. FBI Director James Comey confirmed at a congressional hearing this month that the FBI was looking into Russian interference during the election, but did not reveal any information about the investigation.
Earlier this week, the White House said Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, would testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its inquiry into the matter. But Putin's comments echo those of Trump, who has repeatedly taken to Twitter to call allegations of a connection between his campaign and Russia a "hoax."
"Read my lips, no," Putin said during a panel moderated by CNBC.
"All those things are fictional, illusory and provocations, lies," he said. "All these are used for domestic American political agendas."
Putin made the comments, which come as the FBI is investigating Russia's election interference, during a panel moderated by CNBC co-anchor Geoff Cutmore at the International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk, Russia. FBI Director James Comey confirmed at a congressional hearing this month that the FBI was looking into Russian interference during the election, but did not reveal any information about the investigation.
Earlier this week, the White House said Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, would testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its inquiry into the matter. But Putin's comments echo those of Trump, who has repeatedly taken to Twitter to call allegations of a connection between his campaign and Russia a "hoax."
Alleged Islamic State sympathisers arrested over plot to bomb Venice's Rialto Bridge
Three alleged Islamic State extremists have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to blow up the Rialto Bridge in Venice.
The group had expressed unconditional support for IS and had celebrated after last week's deadly terror attack in London, Venice's chief prosecutor said.
Police had been monitoring the Kosovars since last year - bugging their apartments, tapping their phones and tracking their online communications.
A search of an apartment in the city suggested the suspects had been getting in physical shape and watching Islamic extremist videos demonstrating knife attacks, chief prosecutor Adelchi D'Ippolito said.
The men, who all had regular residency permits to live in Italy, were named as Fisnik Bekaj, 24, Dake Haziraj, 25 and Arjan Babaj, 27.
A minor from Kosovo was also detained to prevent him from interfering with the investigation, police said, while up to three other Kosovars are under investigation over their ties to those arrested.
Mr D'Ippolito said all those detained lived in the historic centre of Venice, the ancient city famous for its canals and packed with tourists for much of the year.
The 426-year-old Rialto Bridge is the oldest of four spanning the Grand Canal. George Clooney and his wife Amal were photographed taking a boat trip under the bridge after their wedding in 2014.
In a statement, Venice's mayor Luigi Brugnaro thanked police for "breaking up a dangerous and active jihadist cell in the centre of the city".
Police also carried out 10 raids overnight in Venice, one in the neighbouring town of Mestre and one in nearby Treviso.
The group had expressed unconditional support for IS and had celebrated after last week's deadly terror attack in London, Venice's chief prosecutor said.
Police had been monitoring the Kosovars since last year - bugging their apartments, tapping their phones and tracking their online communications.
A search of an apartment in the city suggested the suspects had been getting in physical shape and watching Islamic extremist videos demonstrating knife attacks, chief prosecutor Adelchi D'Ippolito said.
The men, who all had regular residency permits to live in Italy, were named as Fisnik Bekaj, 24, Dake Haziraj, 25 and Arjan Babaj, 27.
A minor from Kosovo was also detained to prevent him from interfering with the investigation, police said, while up to three other Kosovars are under investigation over their ties to those arrested.
Mr D'Ippolito said all those detained lived in the historic centre of Venice, the ancient city famous for its canals and packed with tourists for much of the year.
The 426-year-old Rialto Bridge is the oldest of four spanning the Grand Canal. George Clooney and his wife Amal were photographed taking a boat trip under the bridge after their wedding in 2014.
In a statement, Venice's mayor Luigi Brugnaro thanked police for "breaking up a dangerous and active jihadist cell in the centre of the city".
Police also carried out 10 raids overnight in Venice, one in the neighbouring town of Mestre and one in nearby Treviso.
Cheaters Don’t Stop After The First Time For Alarming Reason, Science Says
Once a cheater, always a cheater. It’s a warning that you should be wary of a serial cheater — that people who aren’t loyal to a partner will cheat again. Whether you believe it’s true or not, a new study linking dishonesty and the brain may explain why serial cheaters continue to commit infidelity. The paper, titled “The brain adapts to dishonesty,” claims each time a person lies, they feel less guilty about doing so.
It’s all because of the amygdala, a region of the brain that provides a negative response when humans lie — but every time we are dishonest, the response weakens. The study states, We speculate that the blunted response to repeated acts of dishonesty may reflect a reduction in the emotional response to these decisions or to their affective assessment and saliency.
Elite Daily spoke to Neil Garrett, a co-author of the paper and researcher at Princeton Neuroscience Institute. He said the findings would need to be tested specifically on relationships to determine whether it applies to infidelity, but that a “similar mechanism could apply.” He told Elite Daily, The idea would be the first time we commit adultery we feel bad about it. But the next time we feel less bad and so on, with the result that we can commit adultery to a greater extent.
Garrett added, What our study and others suggest is a powerful factor that prevents us from cheating is our emotional reaction to it, how bad we feel essentially, and the process of adaptation reduces this reaction, thereby allowing us to cheat more. With serial cheaters, it could be the case that they initially felt bad about cheating, but have cheated so much they’ve adapted to their ways and simply don’t feel bad about cheating any more. Another possibility is that they never felt bad about cheating to begin with, so they didn’t need adaptation to occur, they were comfortable with it from the get-go.
Essentially, those little white lies — regardless of what they’re about, and whether you tell them to your parents, boss or friends — grow into more significant lies because we can deal with them better. Or, of course, you’re a raging sociopath with an inability to feel guilt about hurting someone you care about. Garrett also said the study would need to be modified to assess the impact of cheating on the amygdala, adding, I think one of the key differences would be that cheating in relationships often takes place over shorter timescales than in my study. So whether adaptation takes place at slower time scales and whether it generalizes to other types of behavior we find aversive like adultery, violence, etc are the key two things we’d need to test to start to answer this. The authors behind the study came to their conclusion after an experiment that tested participants’ capacity to lie. People were shown a jar filled with coins and asked to help a partner, who was only given a blurry image, guess how many were in the jar. But when they were told they would receive a financial reward if their partner overestimated the amount of money in the jar, they were more likely to lie — prompting a response from the amygdala.
It’s all because of the amygdala, a region of the brain that provides a negative response when humans lie — but every time we are dishonest, the response weakens. The study states, We speculate that the blunted response to repeated acts of dishonesty may reflect a reduction in the emotional response to these decisions or to their affective assessment and saliency.
Elite Daily spoke to Neil Garrett, a co-author of the paper and researcher at Princeton Neuroscience Institute. He said the findings would need to be tested specifically on relationships to determine whether it applies to infidelity, but that a “similar mechanism could apply.” He told Elite Daily, The idea would be the first time we commit adultery we feel bad about it. But the next time we feel less bad and so on, with the result that we can commit adultery to a greater extent.
Garrett added, What our study and others suggest is a powerful factor that prevents us from cheating is our emotional reaction to it, how bad we feel essentially, and the process of adaptation reduces this reaction, thereby allowing us to cheat more. With serial cheaters, it could be the case that they initially felt bad about cheating, but have cheated so much they’ve adapted to their ways and simply don’t feel bad about cheating any more. Another possibility is that they never felt bad about cheating to begin with, so they didn’t need adaptation to occur, they were comfortable with it from the get-go.
Essentially, those little white lies — regardless of what they’re about, and whether you tell them to your parents, boss or friends — grow into more significant lies because we can deal with them better. Or, of course, you’re a raging sociopath with an inability to feel guilt about hurting someone you care about. Garrett also said the study would need to be modified to assess the impact of cheating on the amygdala, adding, I think one of the key differences would be that cheating in relationships often takes place over shorter timescales than in my study. So whether adaptation takes place at slower time scales and whether it generalizes to other types of behavior we find aversive like adultery, violence, etc are the key two things we’d need to test to start to answer this. The authors behind the study came to their conclusion after an experiment that tested participants’ capacity to lie. People were shown a jar filled with coins and asked to help a partner, who was only given a blurry image, guess how many were in the jar. But when they were told they would receive a financial reward if their partner overestimated the amount of money in the jar, they were more likely to lie — prompting a response from the amygdala.
Lloyd's of London confirms Brussels as EU base in Brexit shift
Lloyd's of London is to shift around 100 jobs to the heart of the EU to limit potential damage to the world's biggest insurance market from Brexit.
It made the announcement, as Sky News reported, less than 24 hours after Theresa May began the formal process to commence divorce talks with the EU.
The decision highlights the pressure felt by financial services firms to secure their continued access to the bloc once the UK leaves as so-called passport rights - which currently allow them to trade seamlessly across borders - are expected to be lost.
Lloyd's, which derives 10% of its revenue from the EU, said it intended to have the Brussels office "ready to write business" for the 1 January 2019 renewal season, subject to regulatory approval.
It had considered Luxembourg instead.
Chief executive, Inga Beale, said: "It is important that we are able to provide the market and customers with an effective solution that means business can carry on without interruption when the UK leaves the EU.
"Brussels met the critical elements of providing a robust regulatory framework in a central European location, and will enable Lloyd's to continue to provide specialist underwriting expertise to our customers.
"I am excited about the opportunities this venture will offer the market by providing that important European access efficiently."
Lloyd's has not been alone in mulling its response.
Large investment banks are also weighing the future of their UK-based operations, with Sky News revealing that Deutsche Bank had signed a 25-year lease on a new City base.
Goldman Sachs signalled earlier this week that it was accelerating plans to create more jobs on the Continent, with its London-based operations calling a halt to expansion.
JPMorgan, HSBC and UBS have also given strong indications that thousands of jobs may cross the Channel or go to Dublin.
Ms Beale called for the EU and UK to come to a sensible compromise in their looming divorce deal.
She said: "It is now crucial that the UK Government and the European Union proceed to negotiate an agreement that allows business to continue to flow under the best possible conditions once the UK formally leaves the EU.
"I believe it is important not just for the City but also for Europe that we reach a mutually beneficial agreement. We stand ready to help and support the Government as best we can."
Lloyd's made the announcement as it published annual results - with 2016 profits flat on the previous 12 months.
It said pricing pressures made for an "extremely challenging" environment despite gross written premiums rising 11%.
Pre-tax profits came in a £2.1bn.
It made the announcement, as Sky News reported, less than 24 hours after Theresa May began the formal process to commence divorce talks with the EU.
The decision highlights the pressure felt by financial services firms to secure their continued access to the bloc once the UK leaves as so-called passport rights - which currently allow them to trade seamlessly across borders - are expected to be lost.
Lloyd's, which derives 10% of its revenue from the EU, said it intended to have the Brussels office "ready to write business" for the 1 January 2019 renewal season, subject to regulatory approval.
It had considered Luxembourg instead.
Chief executive, Inga Beale, said: "It is important that we are able to provide the market and customers with an effective solution that means business can carry on without interruption when the UK leaves the EU.
"Brussels met the critical elements of providing a robust regulatory framework in a central European location, and will enable Lloyd's to continue to provide specialist underwriting expertise to our customers.
"I am excited about the opportunities this venture will offer the market by providing that important European access efficiently."
Lloyd's has not been alone in mulling its response.
Large investment banks are also weighing the future of their UK-based operations, with Sky News revealing that Deutsche Bank had signed a 25-year lease on a new City base.
Goldman Sachs signalled earlier this week that it was accelerating plans to create more jobs on the Continent, with its London-based operations calling a halt to expansion.
JPMorgan, HSBC and UBS have also given strong indications that thousands of jobs may cross the Channel or go to Dublin.
Ms Beale called for the EU and UK to come to a sensible compromise in their looming divorce deal.
She said: "It is now crucial that the UK Government and the European Union proceed to negotiate an agreement that allows business to continue to flow under the best possible conditions once the UK formally leaves the EU.
"I believe it is important not just for the City but also for Europe that we reach a mutually beneficial agreement. We stand ready to help and support the Government as best we can."
Lloyd's made the announcement as it published annual results - with 2016 profits flat on the previous 12 months.
It said pricing pressures made for an "extremely challenging" environment despite gross written premiums rising 11%.
Pre-tax profits came in a £2.1bn.
Samsung Galaxy S8: Firm unveils 'comeback' phone after Note 7 fire woes
Samsung has unveiled new versions of its flagship smartphone as it looks to bounce back from the disaster of its fire-prone Note 7 handset.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus bump up the screen size by doing away with a physical home button and dramatically reducing the frame - or bezel.
Taking up nearly all of the front of the phone, the screen curves around the side like the previous model.
The Samsung logo is gone and the home button is instead 'virtual' and on the display itself.
The S8 comes in at 5.8 inches (up from 5.1 on the S7) and the Plus measures 6.2 inches (up from 5.5 on the S7 Edge).
Apple's iPhone 7, one of the phone's closest rivals, is sold in 4.7 inch and 5.5-inch versions.
But - possibly to cover the cost of such a fancy screen - Samsung has also significantly hiked the price.
The S8 will be £689 and the Plus £779 (that's up from £569 and £639 on the S7).
Tech fans saving up for the release can also look forward to trying out the firm's new Siri-like personal assistant, Bixby.
The voice-activated feature can handle many of the functions done via touch and can recognise and retrieve information from the web when a user scans an object, such as an item of clothing or book, with their camera.
As for the battery - which sparked last year's PR disaster and subsequent recall of the Note 7 - Samsung says the S8 cells will go through multiple inspections that include X-rays and extreme temperature stress tests.
They are also said to have better longevity, retaining most of the charge after several years of use.
Last year's Note 7 fire debacle, where battery problems caused some to combust, led to the device being banned from planes in the US and forced Samsung to remove the handset from sale.
"The Galaxy S8 is the most important phone for Samsung in a decade and every aspect will be under the microscope following the Note 7 recall," said Ben Wood, a smartphone industry analyst with UK-based CCS Insight.
Other features of the S8 include iris scanning to unlock the phone, the front-facing camera boosted from five to eight megapixels, and an optional docking station to turn the phone into a desktop computer.
The new models, unveiled at dual events in London and New York, will go on general sale in the UK on 28 April and a week earlier in the US.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus bump up the screen size by doing away with a physical home button and dramatically reducing the frame - or bezel.
Taking up nearly all of the front of the phone, the screen curves around the side like the previous model.
The Samsung logo is gone and the home button is instead 'virtual' and on the display itself.
The S8 comes in at 5.8 inches (up from 5.1 on the S7) and the Plus measures 6.2 inches (up from 5.5 on the S7 Edge).
Apple's iPhone 7, one of the phone's closest rivals, is sold in 4.7 inch and 5.5-inch versions.
But - possibly to cover the cost of such a fancy screen - Samsung has also significantly hiked the price.
The S8 will be £689 and the Plus £779 (that's up from £569 and £639 on the S7).
Tech fans saving up for the release can also look forward to trying out the firm's new Siri-like personal assistant, Bixby.
The voice-activated feature can handle many of the functions done via touch and can recognise and retrieve information from the web when a user scans an object, such as an item of clothing or book, with their camera.
As for the battery - which sparked last year's PR disaster and subsequent recall of the Note 7 - Samsung says the S8 cells will go through multiple inspections that include X-rays and extreme temperature stress tests.
They are also said to have better longevity, retaining most of the charge after several years of use.
Last year's Note 7 fire debacle, where battery problems caused some to combust, led to the device being banned from planes in the US and forced Samsung to remove the handset from sale.
"The Galaxy S8 is the most important phone for Samsung in a decade and every aspect will be under the microscope following the Note 7 recall," said Ben Wood, a smartphone industry analyst with UK-based CCS Insight.
Other features of the S8 include iris scanning to unlock the phone, the front-facing camera boosted from five to eight megapixels, and an optional docking station to turn the phone into a desktop computer.
The new models, unveiled at dual events in London and New York, will go on general sale in the UK on 28 April and a week earlier in the US.
Article 50: Pit your Brexit wits against Adam Boulton
By Adam Boulton, All Out Politics Presenter
So we're off. The trigger has been pulled, we are on the way out: soon-to-be ex-members of the EU.
For well over a year it's been Brexit means Brexit means more Brexit, whatever that means.
Now it's time to test your knowledge. Just how much do you know about the European Union - and the UK's imminent departure?
So we're off. The trigger has been pulled, we are on the way out: soon-to-be ex-members of the EU.
For well over a year it's been Brexit means Brexit means more Brexit, whatever that means.
Now it's time to test your knowledge. Just how much do you know about the European Union - and the UK's imminent departure?
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Genital mutilation also occurs in the US, activists call on states to make it illegal
Every day, an estimated 8,000 girls worldwide are cut and marred in a debilitating process known as female genital mutilation, or FGM.
But survivors and experts stress that this is not a faraway human rights violation. A portion of it is happening right here in the United States of America.
“Not a day goes by where I am not contacted by a girl who has been cut in this country, or forced to visit another country to have it done,” Jaha Dukureh, an infant FGM survivor, activist and founder of the support and educational foundation Safe Hands for Girls, told Fox News. “Sometimes, it is doctors performing it under the guise of plastic or vaginoplasty procedures, or in quiet and underground settings.”
Expand / ContractJaha Dukureh, FGM survivor, activist and founder of "Safe Hands for Girls" campaigns for U.S lawmakers to do more to end the inhumane practice.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than half a million girls in the United States have endured, or remain at risk, of suffering FGM – a threefold uptick from their 1990 projection. FGM is considered a cultural practice that ensures “a girl’s purity and eligibility for marriage,” and typically involves the partial or complete extraction of the external female genitalia.
BRITAIN'S FAILURE TO TACKLE FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION A 'NATIONAL DISGRACE': LAWMAKERS
“There are many who are secretly doing it here in the USA,” noted Wahid Boctor, an Egyptian-American and former Director of Arab-American Television. “It is done very secretly and mostly women who do to their kids or grand kids.”
Beyond the brutality of the ritual procedure itself and the chance of death, FGM has a string of long-term consequences – from the physical to the psychological. Complications include sexual dysfunction, incontinence and increased risk of HIV transmission.
HONOR KILLING IN AMERICA: DOJ REPORT SAYS GROWING PROBLEM IS HIDDEN IN STAT
A bipartisan effort has sought to criminalize the practice. The 2013 Transport for Female Genital Mutilation Act made it illegal to transport U.S girls abroad for FGM – sometimes referred to as “vacation cutting.” Since 1996, it has been a federal crime.
However, only 24 states have laws in place that designate FGM unlawful, while 26 do not. Activists assert that such legal loopholes need to close, and at least some states are trying to follow suit.
Last month, Virginia’s General Assembly unanimously passed legislation to criminalize the act as a Class 1 misdemeanor, which holds a maximum jail term of one year. Critics say that while that’s a step in the right direction, the punishment is significantly lower than the five-year sentence initially proposed by Republican State Sen. Richard Black.
“States need to make this illegal because the federal courts don’t have the time to prosecute these all over the country,” Black’s aide Michelle Stanton said. “States need to educate people and the federal law needs to add the civil liability – to give the girl standing to sue if mutilated – and that will make a big impact.”
Massachusetts has a bill in-motion seeking to prohibit FGM in the state as a form of gender-based violence – including jail time and financial penalties for practitioners and families that “perpetuate this abuse.”
Law enforcement agencies have pledged in recent times to make the issue a higher priority. Last month, the FBI recognized the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation and reiterated that individuals suspected of perpetuating or facilitating the crime will be investigated and prosecuted accordingly. Special Agent Kerry Sparks, who focuses on FGM cases as part of the bureau’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU), stated that the practice continues at the hand of both medical practitioners and “female elders within the communities.”
“The FBI is dedicated to investigating this horrendous crime and works with U.S government and foreign law enforcement partners to gather intelligence and investigate any allegations of criminal activity,” said FBI spokesperson Samantha Shero.
Just two weeks ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported an Ethiopian man in Georgia to his home country – after he served 10 years behind bars – for the 2006 genital mutilation of his then 2-year-old daughter.
But, as Dukureh stressed, while laws are important – they are not the solution to ending the practice.
“Until we look at this from a holistic perspective, it will only be driven further underground. We need more educational programs, more awareness and we can’t forget about the girls who have already had to endure this and so we need more doctors helping,” she said.
Activists also underscore the importance of educating refugees and immigrants on arrival – especially from countries in the Middle East and Africa where it is widely practiced – of its strict illegality in the U.S., something which the State Department itself does not do.
According to Stanton, as long as the U.S. allows immigration from countries where it is widely practiced – from Egypt and Somalia to Iran, Iraq and Yemen – the problem “will continue to spread.”
“Immigrants are not educated that this is a human rights abuse with no health benefits and lifelong consequences,” said Amanda Parker, senior director at the women’s activist organization the AHA Foundation, founded by FGM survivor Ayaan Hirsi Ali. “Raising awareness with immigrants should be a priority for the administration to ensure that women and girls know their rights and their families and communities would know that this is a harmful practice that will not be tolerated.”
Chocolate bars could shrink in health watchdog bid to cut obesity
England's health watchdog says sugar reduction targets for the food industry intended to tackle the childhood obesity crisis can be met - despite only being voluntary.
Public Health England (PHE) has published guidelines for the food industry to cut overall sugar content across nine food groups - including chocolate confectionary, cakes and biscuits - by 20% in the next three years.
PHE believes the voluntary measures will cut 200,000 tonnes of sugar from children's diets each year and contribute to a 20% reduction in the number of overweight children in the next decade.
Currently a third of 11 year-olds are overweight and obesity is considered one of the gravest public health issues facing the NHS.
Under the guidelines, firms have been asked to reduce sugar by 5% this year and 20% by 2020.
However, there are no penalties for companies that miss the targets - meaning the Government's central strategy for tackling obesity is reliant on goodwill from manufacturers.
MPs on the House of Commons Health Select Committee are among critics who have accused the Government of watering down the strategy, but PHE says it believes the scheme will work.
Chief executive Duncan Selbie said: "We asked for this to be a voluntary plan because we did not want to spend two years trying to regulate and arguing whether a Jaffa cake was a biscuit or a cake.
"We think this is actually a pro-business plan, and this is the most ambitious anti-obesity plan anywhere in the world.
"British food manufacturers will be leading the world in this."
Food producers can meet the targets in three ways; by reformulating food with less sugar, increasing the volume of lower-sugar products they sell, or by reducing portion sizes.
The measures are intended to lead to lower sugar content across all categories, but the confectionary sector may be forced to reduce the size of chocolate bars and sweets.
Given the high volume of sugar in confectionary reducing portion size may be the only relevant option, a move that could prove controversial with consumers if it is not accompanied by a price cut.
The targets also apply to restaurants, fast food and coffee outlets, known as the "out-of-home" sector, which accounts for 20-30% of all food consumption and typically sells food with a higher proportion of sugar than the retail sector.
Mr Selbie insisted he is not instructing manufacturers to make smaller chocolate bars, but said the obesity crisis was too grave to ignore.
He said: "This is not moralistic and it is not hysterical, this is about children and we have a problem."
Public Health England (PHE) has published guidelines for the food industry to cut overall sugar content across nine food groups - including chocolate confectionary, cakes and biscuits - by 20% in the next three years.
PHE believes the voluntary measures will cut 200,000 tonnes of sugar from children's diets each year and contribute to a 20% reduction in the number of overweight children in the next decade.
Currently a third of 11 year-olds are overweight and obesity is considered one of the gravest public health issues facing the NHS.
Under the guidelines, firms have been asked to reduce sugar by 5% this year and 20% by 2020.
However, there are no penalties for companies that miss the targets - meaning the Government's central strategy for tackling obesity is reliant on goodwill from manufacturers.
MPs on the House of Commons Health Select Committee are among critics who have accused the Government of watering down the strategy, but PHE says it believes the scheme will work.
Chief executive Duncan Selbie said: "We asked for this to be a voluntary plan because we did not want to spend two years trying to regulate and arguing whether a Jaffa cake was a biscuit or a cake.
"We think this is actually a pro-business plan, and this is the most ambitious anti-obesity plan anywhere in the world.
"British food manufacturers will be leading the world in this."
Food producers can meet the targets in three ways; by reformulating food with less sugar, increasing the volume of lower-sugar products they sell, or by reducing portion sizes.
The measures are intended to lead to lower sugar content across all categories, but the confectionary sector may be forced to reduce the size of chocolate bars and sweets.
Given the high volume of sugar in confectionary reducing portion size may be the only relevant option, a move that could prove controversial with consumers if it is not accompanied by a price cut.
The targets also apply to restaurants, fast food and coffee outlets, known as the "out-of-home" sector, which accounts for 20-30% of all food consumption and typically sells food with a higher proportion of sugar than the retail sector.
Mr Selbie insisted he is not instructing manufacturers to make smaller chocolate bars, but said the obesity crisis was too grave to ignore.
He said: "This is not moralistic and it is not hysterical, this is about children and we have a problem."
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Spiders could theoretically eat every human on Earth in one year
Spiders are quite literally all around us. A recent entomological surveyof North Carolina homes turned up spiders in 100 percent of them, including 68 percent of bathrooms and more than three-quarters of bedrooms. There's a good chance at least one spider is staring at you right now, sizing you up from a darkened corner of the room, eight eyes glistening in the shadows.
Spiders mostly eat insects, although some of the larger species have been known to snack on lizards, birds and even small mammals. Given their abundance and the voraciousness of their appetites, two European biologists recently wondered: If you were to tally up all the food eaten by the world's entire spider population in a single year, how much would it be?
Martin Nyffeler and Klaus Birkhofer published their estimate in the journal the Science of Nature earlier this month, and the number they arrived at is frankly shocking: The world's spiders consume somewhere between 400 million and 800 million tons of prey in any given year. That means that spiders eat at least as much meat as all 7 billion humans on the planet combined, who the authors note consume about 400 million tons of meat and fish each year.
Or, for a slightly more disturbing comparison: The total biomass of all adult humans on Earth is estimated to be 287 million tons. Even if you tack on another 70 million-ish tons to account for the weight of kids, it's still not equal to the total amount of food eaten by spiders in a given year, exceeding the total weight of humanity.
In other words, spiders could eat all of us and still be hungry.
To arrive at this number Nyffler and Birkhofer did a lot of sophisticated estimation based on existing research into A) how many spiders live in a square meter of land for all the main habitat types on Earth, and B) the average amount of food consumed by spiders of different sizes in a given year.
These numbers yielded some interesting factoids on their own. For instance, one study estimated that global average spider density stands at about 131 spiders per square meter. Some habitats, like deserts and tundra, are home to fewer spiders. On the other hand, spider densities of 1,000 or more individuals per square meter have been observed under certain “favorable” conditions — since Nyffler and Birkhofer don't define what “favorable” means in this context, I'm going to assume it refers to dark, dusty places like the area under my bed.
If you gathered up all the spiders on the planet and placed them on a very large scale, together they'd weigh about 25 million tons, according to Nyffler and Birkhofer. For comparison, the Titanic weighed about 52,000 tons. The mass of every spider on Earth today, in other words, is equivalent to 478 Titanics.
Spider biologists have also generally found that spiders consume approximately 10 percent of their body weight in food per day. That's equivalent to a 200-pound man eating 20 pounds of meat each day.
Conversely, it would take approximately 2,000 pounds of spiders to consume a 200-pound man in one day.
In the end, spiders' voracity actually works out to mankind's benefit. Since they primarily feast on bugs, their hunger means fewer pests in the garden, fewer mosquitoes in the yard and fewer flies in the house.
The Washington Post reached out to a spider for comment on this story. Its reply:
Spiders mostly eat insects, although some of the larger species have been known to snack on lizards, birds and even small mammals. Given their abundance and the voraciousness of their appetites, two European biologists recently wondered: If you were to tally up all the food eaten by the world's entire spider population in a single year, how much would it be?
Martin Nyffeler and Klaus Birkhofer published their estimate in the journal the Science of Nature earlier this month, and the number they arrived at is frankly shocking: The world's spiders consume somewhere between 400 million and 800 million tons of prey in any given year. That means that spiders eat at least as much meat as all 7 billion humans on the planet combined, who the authors note consume about 400 million tons of meat and fish each year.
Or, for a slightly more disturbing comparison: The total biomass of all adult humans on Earth is estimated to be 287 million tons. Even if you tack on another 70 million-ish tons to account for the weight of kids, it's still not equal to the total amount of food eaten by spiders in a given year, exceeding the total weight of humanity.
In other words, spiders could eat all of us and still be hungry.
To arrive at this number Nyffler and Birkhofer did a lot of sophisticated estimation based on existing research into A) how many spiders live in a square meter of land for all the main habitat types on Earth, and B) the average amount of food consumed by spiders of different sizes in a given year.
These numbers yielded some interesting factoids on their own. For instance, one study estimated that global average spider density stands at about 131 spiders per square meter. Some habitats, like deserts and tundra, are home to fewer spiders. On the other hand, spider densities of 1,000 or more individuals per square meter have been observed under certain “favorable” conditions — since Nyffler and Birkhofer don't define what “favorable” means in this context, I'm going to assume it refers to dark, dusty places like the area under my bed.
If you gathered up all the spiders on the planet and placed them on a very large scale, together they'd weigh about 25 million tons, according to Nyffler and Birkhofer. For comparison, the Titanic weighed about 52,000 tons. The mass of every spider on Earth today, in other words, is equivalent to 478 Titanics.
Spider biologists have also generally found that spiders consume approximately 10 percent of their body weight in food per day. That's equivalent to a 200-pound man eating 20 pounds of meat each day.
Conversely, it would take approximately 2,000 pounds of spiders to consume a 200-pound man in one day.
In the end, spiders' voracity actually works out to mankind's benefit. Since they primarily feast on bugs, their hunger means fewer pests in the garden, fewer mosquitoes in the yard and fewer flies in the house.
The Washington Post reached out to a spider for comment on this story. Its reply:
Google Home smart speaker gets UK launch date
Google is to launch its voice-controlled smart speaker to rival Amazon's Echo in the UK on 6 April, the tech giant has announced.
Google Home is a small speaker controlled by using the phrase "OK Google", which will utilise Google Search as well as the maps and translation functions to answer questions and provide information.
Google Home's Suveer Kothari said: "A really useful assistant takes context into account, like using your location to give you accurate weather readings.
"But you are always firmly in control. We're sensitive to privacy and give users the choice of whether to make personal data accessible on Google Home.
"Our goal is to create a helpful assistant that is welcome in your home. We may not be perfect at the start, but we'll continue to add new features and get better over time."
The Google Home speaker can be used to play music and also uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to understand context and answer follow-up questions.
The device, which will cost £129 and be available in a range of colours, can also be used to control other smart home products such as light bulbs, thermostats and TVs.
The tech giant is also launching its Wifi router, Google Wifi, in the UK.
It will also cost £129 and uses technology called mesh Wifi, which the firm says uses multiple routers to evenly spread internet signal throughout the home.
Google Home is a small speaker controlled by using the phrase "OK Google", which will utilise Google Search as well as the maps and translation functions to answer questions and provide information.
Google Home's Suveer Kothari said: "A really useful assistant takes context into account, like using your location to give you accurate weather readings.
"But you are always firmly in control. We're sensitive to privacy and give users the choice of whether to make personal data accessible on Google Home.
"Our goal is to create a helpful assistant that is welcome in your home. We may not be perfect at the start, but we'll continue to add new features and get better over time."
The Google Home speaker can be used to play music and also uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to understand context and answer follow-up questions.
The device, which will cost £129 and be available in a range of colours, can also be used to control other smart home products such as light bulbs, thermostats and TVs.
The tech giant is also launching its Wifi router, Google Wifi, in the UK.
It will also cost £129 and uses technology called mesh Wifi, which the firm says uses multiple routers to evenly spread internet signal throughout the home.
Sky Data Brexit poll: Half of Britons happy about EU divorce process starting
Across the country, emotions ran high during the EU referendum campaign - but there is little sign of Bregret from voters as Theresa May prepares to pull the trigger on Brexit.
A Sky Data poll found one in two people were happy or very happy about the triggering of Article 50, while only 36% said they felt sad about leaving the EU.
That suggests that there has been little voter remorse for the referendum decision last June to quit the EU, when 52% of the population voted to leave while 48% voted to remain.
Sky News travelled to the East of England to take the Brexit temperature in one of the most eurosceptic parts of the UK.
Like many parts of the country, city dwellers were at odds with those living in neighbouring towns and villages.
University city Norwich was the only place in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex that voted remain, with 56% of local residents opting to stay in the EU.
Locals in Norwich told Sky News they were feeling ambivalent and sad about Theresa May pulling the trigger on Brexit.
As one market stall worker said: "I don't feel right about it. When unions break apart, it never ends well."
Leave the city centre and the surrounding towns and villages tell a very different story.
Just 20 miles away in Great Yarmouth, nearly three in four adults voted to quit the EU - making this seaside town the fifth strongest Vote Leave area in the UK.
Locals on the seaside promenade told Sky News they were happy with the result: they hope Brexit might bring some benefits for their seaside town ravaged by decades of neglect.
One local man, Carl, said he had voted to leave the EU and hoped Brexit might mean more attention; that Government funding might flow into the town where he was born and bred.
He said: "People have had enough. Hopefully it'll mean we can concentrate on the UK."
Great Yarmouth, like many other coastal towns, suffers from high rates of teenage pregnancy, social deprivation, low educational attainment and higher than average levels of unemployment.
Support for the UKIP has surged in Great Yarmouth, with the anti-EU party picking up four councils seats in last year's local council election - making it the second biggest party in local government behind the Tories, with 12 councillors.
A desire for change in a town with little to lose, Sky Data suggests voters up and down the country are braced for some sort of economic hit from Brexit - but are also undeterred.
In a Sky poll, 42% of respondents said they thought Brexit would be bad for the economy, while 36% thought leaving the EU will benefit the economy. The rest didn't know.
Chris Hanretty, lecturer in politics at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News there was little reason for people to feel Bregret at this stage of the process.
"There hasn't been much evidence at all of Bregret or remorse or people changing their minds, just because, well, they haven't seen much change - so far."
A Sky Data poll found one in two people were happy or very happy about the triggering of Article 50, while only 36% said they felt sad about leaving the EU.
That suggests that there has been little voter remorse for the referendum decision last June to quit the EU, when 52% of the population voted to leave while 48% voted to remain.
Sky News travelled to the East of England to take the Brexit temperature in one of the most eurosceptic parts of the UK.
Like many parts of the country, city dwellers were at odds with those living in neighbouring towns and villages.
University city Norwich was the only place in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex that voted remain, with 56% of local residents opting to stay in the EU.
Locals in Norwich told Sky News they were feeling ambivalent and sad about Theresa May pulling the trigger on Brexit.
As one market stall worker said: "I don't feel right about it. When unions break apart, it never ends well."
Leave the city centre and the surrounding towns and villages tell a very different story.
Just 20 miles away in Great Yarmouth, nearly three in four adults voted to quit the EU - making this seaside town the fifth strongest Vote Leave area in the UK.
Locals on the seaside promenade told Sky News they were happy with the result: they hope Brexit might bring some benefits for their seaside town ravaged by decades of neglect.
One local man, Carl, said he had voted to leave the EU and hoped Brexit might mean more attention; that Government funding might flow into the town where he was born and bred.
He said: "People have had enough. Hopefully it'll mean we can concentrate on the UK."
Great Yarmouth, like many other coastal towns, suffers from high rates of teenage pregnancy, social deprivation, low educational attainment and higher than average levels of unemployment.
Support for the UKIP has surged in Great Yarmouth, with the anti-EU party picking up four councils seats in last year's local council election - making it the second biggest party in local government behind the Tories, with 12 councillors.
A desire for change in a town with little to lose, Sky Data suggests voters up and down the country are braced for some sort of economic hit from Brexit - but are also undeterred.
In a Sky poll, 42% of respondents said they thought Brexit would be bad for the economy, while 36% thought leaving the EU will benefit the economy. The rest didn't know.
Chris Hanretty, lecturer in politics at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News there was little reason for people to feel Bregret at this stage of the process.
"There hasn't been much evidence at all of Bregret or remorse or people changing their minds, just because, well, they haven't seen much change - so far."
Police investigating after 'human waste' found in empty Coke cans
Police are investigating after cans delivered to a Coca Cola factory in Northern Ireland appeared to have been contaminated with suspected human waste.
The problem occurred at a Coke factory in Co Antrim where empty cans are filled with the drink before being sealed and sold across Northern Ireland.
Coke said the problem at their plant in Lisburn was "identified immediately through our robust quality procedures".
They also reassured the public that this was an "isolated incident" and had not affected any products currently on sale.
"All of the product from the affected batch was immediately impounded and will not be sold", a Coca Cola spokeswoman said.
"We are treating this matter extremely seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation in co-operation with the PSNI."
The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed they were investigating reports that a consignment of containers had been contaminated, but said there were no further details available at this time.
The Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland also said it was aware of a "physical contamination incident".
But an FSA spokeswoman said: "There is no evidence to suggest that any affected product has reached the market".
The problem occurred at a Coke factory in Co Antrim where empty cans are filled with the drink before being sealed and sold across Northern Ireland.
Coke said the problem at their plant in Lisburn was "identified immediately through our robust quality procedures".
They also reassured the public that this was an "isolated incident" and had not affected any products currently on sale.
"All of the product from the affected batch was immediately impounded and will not be sold", a Coca Cola spokeswoman said.
"We are treating this matter extremely seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation in co-operation with the PSNI."
The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed they were investigating reports that a consignment of containers had been contaminated, but said there were no further details available at this time.
The Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland also said it was aware of a "physical contamination incident".
But an FSA spokeswoman said: "There is no evidence to suggest that any affected product has reached the market".
Refurbished Samsung Note 7 phones to be sold after withdrawal due to fire hazard
Samsung is to sell refurbished versions of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones which it pulled from stores last year because they kept bursting into flames.
Note 7s were permanently scrapped in October following a global recall after the batteries were found to be causing them to self-combust.
Samsung launched an investigation that discovered manufacturing problems in batteries supplied by two different companies - Samsung SDI Co Ltd and Amperex Technology Ltd.
The company and independent researchers found no other problems in the Note 7 devices, raising speculation that Samsung will recoup some of its losses by selling refurbished models.
The time of Samsung's announcement that revamped Note 7s will go back on sale has surprised industry insiders as it comes just days before it launches its new S8 smartphone in the United States.
It will be its first premium phone since the Note 7 fire problems.
The company is under pressure to turn its image around and had previously not commented on its plans to sell refurbished devices.
But in a statement Samsung said: "Regarding the Galaxy Note 7 devices as refurbished phones or rental phones, applicability is dependent upon consultations with regulatory authorities and carriers as well as due consideration of local demand."
South Korea's Electronic Times newspaper reported that Samsung will start selling refurbished Note 7s in its home country in July or August and would aim to sell between 400,000 and 500,000 of them using safe batteries.
However, in response, Samsung said it has not set specifics on refurbished Note 7 sales plans, including what markets and when they would go on sale.
The company added that Note 7s will be equipped with new batteries that have gone through its new rigorous safety testing measures.
It said: "The objective of introducing refurbished devices is solely to reduce and minimise any environmental impact."
The company estimated it lost £4.40bn in profit over three quarters because of the Note 7's problems.
More than three million Note 7s were sold before the phones were withdrawn from the market.
The company also plans to recover and use or sell reusable components such as chips and camera modules and extract rare metals such as copper, gold, nickel and silver from Note 7 devices that are not sold as refurbished products.
Environment rights group Greenpeace and others have lobbied the company to come up with environmentally friendly ways to deal with the recovered Note 7s.
Note 7s were permanently scrapped in October following a global recall after the batteries were found to be causing them to self-combust.
Samsung launched an investigation that discovered manufacturing problems in batteries supplied by two different companies - Samsung SDI Co Ltd and Amperex Technology Ltd.
The company and independent researchers found no other problems in the Note 7 devices, raising speculation that Samsung will recoup some of its losses by selling refurbished models.
The time of Samsung's announcement that revamped Note 7s will go back on sale has surprised industry insiders as it comes just days before it launches its new S8 smartphone in the United States.
It will be its first premium phone since the Note 7 fire problems.
The company is under pressure to turn its image around and had previously not commented on its plans to sell refurbished devices.
But in a statement Samsung said: "Regarding the Galaxy Note 7 devices as refurbished phones or rental phones, applicability is dependent upon consultations with regulatory authorities and carriers as well as due consideration of local demand."
South Korea's Electronic Times newspaper reported that Samsung will start selling refurbished Note 7s in its home country in July or August and would aim to sell between 400,000 and 500,000 of them using safe batteries.
However, in response, Samsung said it has not set specifics on refurbished Note 7 sales plans, including what markets and when they would go on sale.
The company added that Note 7s will be equipped with new batteries that have gone through its new rigorous safety testing measures.
It said: "The objective of introducing refurbished devices is solely to reduce and minimise any environmental impact."
The company estimated it lost £4.40bn in profit over three quarters because of the Note 7's problems.
More than three million Note 7s were sold before the phones were withdrawn from the market.
The company also plans to recover and use or sell reusable components such as chips and camera modules and extract rare metals such as copper, gold, nickel and silver from Note 7 devices that are not sold as refurbished products.
Environment rights group Greenpeace and others have lobbied the company to come up with environmentally friendly ways to deal with the recovered Note 7s.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan urges EU not to punish UK for Brexit
The EU should not try to "instil fear" by threatening to "punish" the UK for Brexit with a bad deal, the London Mayor has warned Brussels.
Sadiq Khan says the EU should not try to "secure its future by fear" and said a bad deal for Britain's capital would hurt Europe too.
Mr Khan's intervention, in a speech in Brussels, comes the day before Theresa May is to trigger Article 50 - the official two-year divorce process.
He said: "Now is the time to be confident in the European Union, and to act with confidence. There is no need - as some have suggested - for the EU to send a message, or to instil fear, by punishing the UK.
"Because a proud, optimistic and confident institution does not secure its future by fear."
He added that a "bad Brexit deal that hurts London would hurt the European Union too".
:: PM hails 'unstoppable UK' as she meets Sturgeon
The mayor's address set the scene for a series of high-level meetings with key EU figures to send the message that London wants EU trade and investment after Brexit.
He will be holding talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, and the European Parliament's Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt.
When asked if he wanted Britain to face an EU punishment deal, Mr Verhofstadt said: "Not at all."
However, the spectre of a $60bn (£52bn) Brexit bill indicates a potentially hostile start to negotiations.
:: Brexit deal must pass six tests, says Labour
EU negotiatior Michel Barnier wants to get the issue settled quickly so both sides can reach the outlines of a Brexit agreement within 18 months.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said the UK would not be paying the EU that amount of money.
He said: "We will, of course, meet our international obligations be we expect also our rights to be respected too.
"I don't think we are going to be seeing that sort of money change hands."
:: What happens when Article 50 is triggered?
Mr Khan also called on Mrs May to work to make an early deal on EU citizens living in the UK.
Speaking on Question Time on Monday, Mr Davis said that immigration levels might need to rise "from time to time" suggesting the Government could be looking to quotas in the wake of Brexit.
He said: "The first issue here is to bring this back under the control of the UK Government, the UK Parliament, to bring migration under control.
"I don't think most people oppose migration, I think most people are in favour of migration so long as it's managed. The point is, it will need to be managed."
Sadiq Khan says the EU should not try to "secure its future by fear" and said a bad deal for Britain's capital would hurt Europe too.
Mr Khan's intervention, in a speech in Brussels, comes the day before Theresa May is to trigger Article 50 - the official two-year divorce process.
He said: "Now is the time to be confident in the European Union, and to act with confidence. There is no need - as some have suggested - for the EU to send a message, or to instil fear, by punishing the UK.
"Because a proud, optimistic and confident institution does not secure its future by fear."
He added that a "bad Brexit deal that hurts London would hurt the European Union too".
:: PM hails 'unstoppable UK' as she meets Sturgeon
The mayor's address set the scene for a series of high-level meetings with key EU figures to send the message that London wants EU trade and investment after Brexit.
He will be holding talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, and the European Parliament's Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt.
When asked if he wanted Britain to face an EU punishment deal, Mr Verhofstadt said: "Not at all."
However, the spectre of a $60bn (£52bn) Brexit bill indicates a potentially hostile start to negotiations.
:: Brexit deal must pass six tests, says Labour
EU negotiatior Michel Barnier wants to get the issue settled quickly so both sides can reach the outlines of a Brexit agreement within 18 months.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said the UK would not be paying the EU that amount of money.
He said: "We will, of course, meet our international obligations be we expect also our rights to be respected too.
"I don't think we are going to be seeing that sort of money change hands."
:: What happens when Article 50 is triggered?
Mr Khan also called on Mrs May to work to make an early deal on EU citizens living in the UK.
Speaking on Question Time on Monday, Mr Davis said that immigration levels might need to rise "from time to time" suggesting the Government could be looking to quotas in the wake of Brexit.
He said: "The first issue here is to bring this back under the control of the UK Government, the UK Parliament, to bring migration under control.
"I don't think most people oppose migration, I think most people are in favour of migration so long as it's managed. The point is, it will need to be managed."
Battle for Mosul: US 'probably had role in civilian casualties'
The top American commander in Iraq says the US probably had a role in civilian casualties in the battle to retake Mosul from Islamic State.
Scores of civilians have died in coalition airstrikes in the west of the city this month as US-backed government forces fight to defeat IS jihadists, according to Iraqi officials.
General Stephen Townsend, head of the anti-IS coalition in Baghdad, said coalition forces were "probably" involved in the deaths of civilians during recent bombings.
But he also cautioned that IS could have played a part.
He said: "My initial assessment is that we probably had a role in these casualties. What I don't know is were they (the civilians) gathered there by the enemy?"
Around 200 civilians are feared to have been killed in a single incident on 17 March in Mosul's al Jadida area.
Investigators are trying to work out whether a coalition airstrike or Islamic State-rigged explosives caused a deadly explosion there.
Some residents said an aerial strike hit an explosive-filled truck and the subsequent blast led to the collapse of buildings packed with families.
Gen Townsend said: "My initial impression is the enemy had a hand in this. And there's also a fair chance that our strike had some role in it. I think it's probably going to play out to be some sort of combination."
The United Nations expressed profound concern over the incident, saying it was "stunned by this terrible loss of life".
The US Central Command said on Saturday a review found a US-led coalition operation, requested by Iraq's government, struck IS fighters and equipment "at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties".
Scores of civilians have died in coalition airstrikes in the west of the city this month as US-backed government forces fight to defeat IS jihadists, according to Iraqi officials.
General Stephen Townsend, head of the anti-IS coalition in Baghdad, said coalition forces were "probably" involved in the deaths of civilians during recent bombings.
But he also cautioned that IS could have played a part.
He said: "My initial assessment is that we probably had a role in these casualties. What I don't know is were they (the civilians) gathered there by the enemy?"
Around 200 civilians are feared to have been killed in a single incident on 17 March in Mosul's al Jadida area.
Investigators are trying to work out whether a coalition airstrike or Islamic State-rigged explosives caused a deadly explosion there.
Some residents said an aerial strike hit an explosive-filled truck and the subsequent blast led to the collapse of buildings packed with families.
Gen Townsend said: "My initial impression is the enemy had a hand in this. And there's also a fair chance that our strike had some role in it. I think it's probably going to play out to be some sort of combination."
The United Nations expressed profound concern over the incident, saying it was "stunned by this terrible loss of life".
The US Central Command said on Saturday a review found a US-led coalition operation, requested by Iraq's government, struck IS fighters and equipment "at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties".
Gang planned to steal Enzo Ferrari's body from his tomb in Italy
Italian detectives say they have foiled a plot by a gang to steal the body of Formula One racing pioneer Enzo Ferrari and demand a ransom.
Ferrari, founder of the firm that produces some of the world's fastest and most expensive cars, died in 1988 at the age of 90.
He made the company's prancing horse logo an internationally recognised brand and is buried in a ground-level family tomb in the San Cataldo cemetery in Modena.
It is situated near the Ferrari plant at Maranello in central Italy.
The gang had reportedly carried out surveillance of the tomb - and had also arranged for someone to keep the body and get in touch with the Ferrari family.
The plot was uncovered during an investigation into arms and drug trafficking during which 34 arrest warrants were issued.
Raids took place involving 300 officers and resulted in a number of arrests.
Details of the plan were revealed during a news conference by police in Nuoro on the island of Sardinia.
The organised gang is said to have been based there, as well as being active in northern Italy.
Ferrari, founder of the firm that produces some of the world's fastest and most expensive cars, died in 1988 at the age of 90.
He made the company's prancing horse logo an internationally recognised brand and is buried in a ground-level family tomb in the San Cataldo cemetery in Modena.
It is situated near the Ferrari plant at Maranello in central Italy.
The gang had reportedly carried out surveillance of the tomb - and had also arranged for someone to keep the body and get in touch with the Ferrari family.
The plot was uncovered during an investigation into arms and drug trafficking during which 34 arrest warrants were issued.
Raids took place involving 300 officers and resulted in a number of arrests.
Details of the plan were revealed during a news conference by police in Nuoro on the island of Sardinia.
The organised gang is said to have been based there, as well as being active in northern Italy.
Donald Trump's 'energy revolution' wipes out Obama's climate change record
Donald Trump has rolled back Barack Obama's record on climate change with a series of orders undermining America's commitment to tackle global warming.
In his first trip to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the President - who has called global warming "a hoax" created by China - has signed an Energy Independence Executive Order.
Kicking off what he called "the start of a new era in American energy", his instructions will allow regulators to rewrite key rules curbing US carbon emissions, lift a temporary ban on federal coal leasing and scrap a requirement for federal officials to consider the impact of climate change when making decisions.
Before signing the decree Mr Trump said: "My administration is putting an end to the war on coal.
"With today's executive action I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations."
Central to the changes is a review of Barack Obama's clean power plan - a pledge to cut US emissions by 26-28% by 2025 - which paved the way for the Paris agreement on tackling climate change involving 195 countries.
A senior Trump administration official told the AFP news agency that the prospect of withdrawal from the Paris agreement was "still under discussion".
The White House said the measures will "help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable, and clean in order to boost economic growth and job creation".
But environmentalists have warned that the White House's new measures will have serious consequences both at home and abroad.
Billionaire environmental activist and head of activist group NextGen Climate Tom Steyer said: "These actions are an assault on American values and they endanger the health, safety and prosperity of every American."
The president of green group Earthjustice, Trip Van Noppen, said: "This order ignores the law and scientific reality." The organisation has said it will be challenging the ruling in court.
Mr Trump's environmental views are very different to those of former president Obama, who said that climate change was "real and cannot be ignored".
The President has already vowed to slash EPA funding by a third and appointed Scott Pruitt - who previously sued the agency - as its head.
His pick of former Exxon chief executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State has also caused concern among environmental campaigners.
But Mr Trump's climate scepticism - and promises to bring back coal mining jobs to states such as Kentucky and West Virginia - appeared to strike a chord with Republican supporters on the campaign trail.
Around 68% of Americans believe climate change is caused by humans, but just 40% of Republicans say they worry about it, according to a Gallup poll.
Some experts have warned the economic benefit from ditching the clean power plan will be limited.
"In my view, it will have virtually no impact," said professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia University, who said the decline of coal had more to do with higher mining costs and cheaper natural gas and renewables.
"Defunding or dismantling the EPA and repealing its regulations is not going to bring the coal industry back."
The US is the world's second largest polluter. Around 37% of domestic carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity generation.
Mr Trump has issued a series of executive orders since entering the Oval Office in January.
He would claim success for pulling the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership international trade agreement - which he saw as a "bad deal" for the country.
But his most controversial order - a travel ban on Muslim-majority countries - has twice been blocked by legal challenges.
In his first trip to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the President - who has called global warming "a hoax" created by China - has signed an Energy Independence Executive Order.
Kicking off what he called "the start of a new era in American energy", his instructions will allow regulators to rewrite key rules curbing US carbon emissions, lift a temporary ban on federal coal leasing and scrap a requirement for federal officials to consider the impact of climate change when making decisions.
Before signing the decree Mr Trump said: "My administration is putting an end to the war on coal.
"With today's executive action I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations."
Central to the changes is a review of Barack Obama's clean power plan - a pledge to cut US emissions by 26-28% by 2025 - which paved the way for the Paris agreement on tackling climate change involving 195 countries.
A senior Trump administration official told the AFP news agency that the prospect of withdrawal from the Paris agreement was "still under discussion".
The White House said the measures will "help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable, and clean in order to boost economic growth and job creation".
But environmentalists have warned that the White House's new measures will have serious consequences both at home and abroad.
Billionaire environmental activist and head of activist group NextGen Climate Tom Steyer said: "These actions are an assault on American values and they endanger the health, safety and prosperity of every American."
The president of green group Earthjustice, Trip Van Noppen, said: "This order ignores the law and scientific reality." The organisation has said it will be challenging the ruling in court.
Mr Trump's environmental views are very different to those of former president Obama, who said that climate change was "real and cannot be ignored".
The President has already vowed to slash EPA funding by a third and appointed Scott Pruitt - who previously sued the agency - as its head.
His pick of former Exxon chief executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State has also caused concern among environmental campaigners.
But Mr Trump's climate scepticism - and promises to bring back coal mining jobs to states such as Kentucky and West Virginia - appeared to strike a chord with Republican supporters on the campaign trail.
Around 68% of Americans believe climate change is caused by humans, but just 40% of Republicans say they worry about it, according to a Gallup poll.
Some experts have warned the economic benefit from ditching the clean power plan will be limited.
"In my view, it will have virtually no impact," said professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia University, who said the decline of coal had more to do with higher mining costs and cheaper natural gas and renewables.
"Defunding or dismantling the EPA and repealing its regulations is not going to bring the coal industry back."
The US is the world's second largest polluter. Around 37% of domestic carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity generation.
Mr Trump has issued a series of executive orders since entering the Oval Office in January.
He would claim success for pulling the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership international trade agreement - which he saw as a "bad deal" for the country.
But his most controversial order - a travel ban on Muslim-majority countries - has twice been blocked by legal challenges.
Goodbye? Adele says she may never tour again
She may have sold tens of millions of albums and filled arenas around the world, but Adele says she may never tour again.
The British singer told fans at a concert in Auckland that she was not good at touring - and even admitted she feels "vulnerable" on stage, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Her performance Down Under was the final international gig of her epic 15-month world tour.
She will next be on stage in London for four sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium from 28 June to 2 July which have been described as "The Finale".
The 28-year-old told her fans in New Zealand: "Touring isn't something I'm good at. Applause makes me feel a bit vulnerable.
"I don't know if I will ever tour again. The only reason I've toured is you. I'm not sure if touring is my bag."
Adele reportedly burst into tears as she described her latest tour as "the greatest accomplishment in her career" - and said it changed her life.
Her Auckland show on Sunday was outdoors, and she sang through torrential rain. Although she donned a plastic poncho, photographs show her dress was drenched.
"Just spent two hours in hair and make-up for nothing," she joked.
The Grammy award-winning artist will certainly be able to keep herself busy if she decides to leave her touring days behind.
She recently confirmed she has married her long-term partner Simon Konecki - and their son, Angelo, is now four years old.
The British singer told fans at a concert in Auckland that she was not good at touring - and even admitted she feels "vulnerable" on stage, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Her performance Down Under was the final international gig of her epic 15-month world tour.
She will next be on stage in London for four sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium from 28 June to 2 July which have been described as "The Finale".
The 28-year-old told her fans in New Zealand: "Touring isn't something I'm good at. Applause makes me feel a bit vulnerable.
"I don't know if I will ever tour again. The only reason I've toured is you. I'm not sure if touring is my bag."
Adele reportedly burst into tears as she described her latest tour as "the greatest accomplishment in her career" - and said it changed her life.
Her Auckland show on Sunday was outdoors, and she sang through torrential rain. Although she donned a plastic poncho, photographs show her dress was drenched.
"Just spent two hours in hair and make-up for nothing," she joked.
The Grammy award-winning artist will certainly be able to keep herself busy if she decides to leave her touring days behind.
She recently confirmed she has married her long-term partner Simon Konecki - and their son, Angelo, is now four years old.
More than 400 former jihadi fighters back in Britain, say security sources
UK authorities are facing an increased terror threat from battle-hardened fighters returning from Mosul and other conflict zones in Iraq and Syria.
Security sources have told Sky News more than 400 former fighters are now believed to be back in Britain.
The authorities believe there is a growing risk the UK could suffer the kind of mass gun and bomb attacks seen in France and Belgium recently, as many returning fighters will have been trained in the use of weapons and the construction of improvised explosive devices.
It is a serious, two-pronged challenge for the police and security services, who are already working flat-out to counter the threat from homegrown lone-wolf extremists, like Khalid Masood, who launched last week's deadly attack on Westminster.
:: The battle for Mosul: A timeline
Former Scotland Yard Specialist Firearms Officer and author Tony Long said combating an attack launched by a well-trained returning jihadist could be a tough prospect.
He said: "These are combat-hardened soldiers. They might not be trained in the way that NATO might train their soldiers but they've seen more close quarter conflict and more urban fighting than probably most members of the British Armed Forces and you have to respect that.
"Of course they're bringing that knowledge back with them to the UK and it's very very difficult because of the legal restrictions that are put on the security services and the police to actually monitor all of these people."
To date, only a fraction of those returning from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq have been prosecuted, as authorities need enough evidence to put before the courts and often returning fighters go to great lengths to cover up their overseas activities.
Imran Khawaja, 29, from west London, is currently serving 12 years in prison after he faked his own death in Syria in an attempt to sneak back into the UK undetected.
Khawaja had joined a militant group with links to so-called Islamic State while overseas.
He was pictured posing with the severed heads of Syrian soldiers during his six months in the country.
He was arrested as he tried to re-enter the UK through the port of Dover and later admitted preparing for acts of terrorism, attending a camp, receiving training and possessing firearms.
Security sources have told Sky News more than 400 former fighters are now believed to be back in Britain.
The authorities believe there is a growing risk the UK could suffer the kind of mass gun and bomb attacks seen in France and Belgium recently, as many returning fighters will have been trained in the use of weapons and the construction of improvised explosive devices.
It is a serious, two-pronged challenge for the police and security services, who are already working flat-out to counter the threat from homegrown lone-wolf extremists, like Khalid Masood, who launched last week's deadly attack on Westminster.
:: The battle for Mosul: A timeline
Former Scotland Yard Specialist Firearms Officer and author Tony Long said combating an attack launched by a well-trained returning jihadist could be a tough prospect.
He said: "These are combat-hardened soldiers. They might not be trained in the way that NATO might train their soldiers but they've seen more close quarter conflict and more urban fighting than probably most members of the British Armed Forces and you have to respect that.
"Of course they're bringing that knowledge back with them to the UK and it's very very difficult because of the legal restrictions that are put on the security services and the police to actually monitor all of these people."
To date, only a fraction of those returning from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq have been prosecuted, as authorities need enough evidence to put before the courts and often returning fighters go to great lengths to cover up their overseas activities.
Imran Khawaja, 29, from west London, is currently serving 12 years in prison after he faked his own death in Syria in an attempt to sneak back into the UK undetected.
Khawaja had joined a militant group with links to so-called Islamic State while overseas.
He was pictured posing with the severed heads of Syrian soldiers during his six months in the country.
He was arrested as he tried to re-enter the UK through the port of Dover and later admitted preparing for acts of terrorism, attending a camp, receiving training and possessing firearms.
WhatsApp feels the heat over Westminster terror attack
Technology giants will this week face more pressure to allow intelligence services access to encrypted messaging in the aftermath of the Westminster attack.
Khalid Masood is known to have used WhatsApp in the moments before the attack, but encryption has hampered investigators trying to access his messages.
The company has faced a barrage of criticism - not least from Home Secretary Amber Rudd - at a time when tech firms were already under pressure over extremist content.
They have been invited to a meeting with government officials later this week.
And the giants of Silicon Valley once again find themselves in the centre of the debate over privacy and security.
:: Messaging apps and terror: Seven key questions
Ian Sherr, executive editor of tech magazine CNET, said: "It is all about privacy. The concern the tech industry has is that if they allow anyone access once it is just going to snowball and suddenly the government is going to be able to pull in anything they want."
In some ways, he said, tech firms might relish the opportunity to show consumers how hard they fight to protect their data, a key selling point of what they offer.
And it is not clear what capabilities firms such as WhatsApp currently have to access data contained in communications.
But, as with Apple's clash with the FBI over the San Bernardino gunman's iPhone, it raises some uncomfortable questions.
"They said 'we can't build this programme and then pretend like it never happened'," said Mr Sherr. "So they don't want to make that opening for anybody."
It is the focus of much discussion on the streets of WhatsApp's hometown of Mountain View in Silicon Valley.
It was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009, using the Red Rock Coffee Company as a makeshift office.
Today the company, bought by Facebook for $19bn (£15bn) in 2014, occupies a stylish new office complex a hundred yards away.
No signs confirm that WhatsApp owns the headquarters - and when Sky News paid a visit to the building, security guards refused to confirm which company was based there.
Outside Red Rock, programmer John Voorhees told Sky News: "If you're looking for people who want to do harm to us you need to consider better ways of getting information that are not just broad collections of data.
"You need to use connections within communities and things like that. There are lots more intelligent ways to go about gathering information."
Some of Mountain View's more traditional industries have some sympathy for their neighbour.
Diana Tucker, who owns the West Valley Music store, said: "I tend to fall more on the tech side because once you open that box, that genie will not go back in."
WhatsApp says it is cooperating with law enforcement over the Westminster attack.
But it is evident that governments around the world want more than that.
Khalid Masood is known to have used WhatsApp in the moments before the attack, but encryption has hampered investigators trying to access his messages.
The company has faced a barrage of criticism - not least from Home Secretary Amber Rudd - at a time when tech firms were already under pressure over extremist content.
They have been invited to a meeting with government officials later this week.
And the giants of Silicon Valley once again find themselves in the centre of the debate over privacy and security.
:: Messaging apps and terror: Seven key questions
Ian Sherr, executive editor of tech magazine CNET, said: "It is all about privacy. The concern the tech industry has is that if they allow anyone access once it is just going to snowball and suddenly the government is going to be able to pull in anything they want."
In some ways, he said, tech firms might relish the opportunity to show consumers how hard they fight to protect their data, a key selling point of what they offer.
And it is not clear what capabilities firms such as WhatsApp currently have to access data contained in communications.
But, as with Apple's clash with the FBI over the San Bernardino gunman's iPhone, it raises some uncomfortable questions.
"They said 'we can't build this programme and then pretend like it never happened'," said Mr Sherr. "So they don't want to make that opening for anybody."
It is the focus of much discussion on the streets of WhatsApp's hometown of Mountain View in Silicon Valley.
It was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009, using the Red Rock Coffee Company as a makeshift office.
Today the company, bought by Facebook for $19bn (£15bn) in 2014, occupies a stylish new office complex a hundred yards away.
No signs confirm that WhatsApp owns the headquarters - and when Sky News paid a visit to the building, security guards refused to confirm which company was based there.
Outside Red Rock, programmer John Voorhees told Sky News: "If you're looking for people who want to do harm to us you need to consider better ways of getting information that are not just broad collections of data.
"You need to use connections within communities and things like that. There are lots more intelligent ways to go about gathering information."
Some of Mountain View's more traditional industries have some sympathy for their neighbour.
Diana Tucker, who owns the West Valley Music store, said: "I tend to fall more on the tech side because once you open that box, that genie will not go back in."
WhatsApp says it is cooperating with law enforcement over the Westminster attack.
But it is evident that governments around the world want more than that.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Thieves steal 100kg gold coin worth millions from Berlin museum
An oversized gold coin worth millions of pounds has been stolen from a museum in Germany.
The Big Maple Leaf weighs 100 kg (221lbs) and measures 53cm (21ins) across, and is thought to be the world's biggest coin.
Berlin police said it was taken by thieves who broke into the Bode museum in the city at around 3.30am on Monday.
Spokesman Stefen Petersen said they entered through a window and broke into a cabinet where the coin was kept.
A ladder found alongside nearby railway tracks is believed to have been used by the thieves and then dumped.
The coin has a face value of $1m (£790,000), but the gold in it makes it worth almost $4.5m (£3.9m) at today's market prices.
The museum says the Big Maple Leaf is in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold.
It has a portrait of the Queen on one side and maple leaves on the other.
The three centimetre thick coin is a commemorative piece issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007.
The Bode Museum houses one of the world's biggest collections of coins.
Exhibits include 102,000 coins from ancient Greece and about 50,000 Roman coins.
The Big Maple Leaf weighs 100 kg (221lbs) and measures 53cm (21ins) across, and is thought to be the world's biggest coin.
Berlin police said it was taken by thieves who broke into the Bode museum in the city at around 3.30am on Monday.
Spokesman Stefen Petersen said they entered through a window and broke into a cabinet where the coin was kept.
A ladder found alongside nearby railway tracks is believed to have been used by the thieves and then dumped.
The coin has a face value of $1m (£790,000), but the gold in it makes it worth almost $4.5m (£3.9m) at today's market prices.
The museum says the Big Maple Leaf is in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold.
It has a portrait of the Queen on one side and maple leaves on the other.
The three centimetre thick coin is a commemorative piece issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007.
The Bode Museum houses one of the world's biggest collections of coins.
Exhibits include 102,000 coins from ancient Greece and about 50,000 Roman coins.
Vogue Williams 'still recovering' from Jump injury
Vogue Williams has said she is still recovering from a knee injury she suffered while training for TV show The Jump.
The Irish presenter and model was the first person forced to pull out of the winter sports competition after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament while training.
Williams left the show one day before it aired, and was replaced by former Miss Britain Amy Willerton.
Speaking at Disneyland Paris on Sunday, more than one month after having undergone surgery, Williams said she was afraid she might have taken it "a bit too far".
The Irish presenter and model was the first person forced to pull out of the winter sports competition after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament while training.
Williams left the show one day before it aired, and was replaced by former Miss Britain Amy Willerton.
Speaking at Disneyland Paris on Sunday, more than one month after having undergone surgery, Williams said she was afraid she might have taken it "a bit too far".
Mosul's humanitarian crisis as important as battle for city
For the past 14 years, Iraq has lurched from one multi-ethnic, multi-religious conflict to another.
Some 10,000 to 12,000 refugees are fleeing the western part of Mosul every day - a great exodus from a city that once numbered five million.
Residents have been driven out by heavy shelling and street-to-street combat between the Iraqi Army and Islamic State - but they are also exhausted and desperately hungry.
Lisa Grande, the person leading the UN's humanitarian response in the country, has spent her career working in some of the largest humanitarian crises in the world and knows the next one lurks just around the corner in Iraq.
She said: "There's something that people do not realise.
"The successful protection and, if necessary, relocation of residents from west Mosul is just as important as the battle for the city itself."
With parts of IS-controlled west Mosul under siege by the Iraqis, the price of basic supplies has skyrocketed.
"It is a catastrophe," one woman told us as she boarded a bus for the refugee camps.
"There is famine, there is hunger. One kilo of onions costs 180,000 dinars (£122). One kilo of sugar is one million to 1.4 million dinars (£680-950). This is my neighbourhood."
Their requirements are straightforward and immediate - a place to stay, food and clean water, and health care to keep people alive.
Some 10,000 to 12,000 refugees are fleeing the western part of Mosul every day - a great exodus from a city that once numbered five million.
Residents have been driven out by heavy shelling and street-to-street combat between the Iraqi Army and Islamic State - but they are also exhausted and desperately hungry.
Lisa Grande, the person leading the UN's humanitarian response in the country, has spent her career working in some of the largest humanitarian crises in the world and knows the next one lurks just around the corner in Iraq.
She said: "There's something that people do not realise.
"The successful protection and, if necessary, relocation of residents from west Mosul is just as important as the battle for the city itself."
With parts of IS-controlled west Mosul under siege by the Iraqis, the price of basic supplies has skyrocketed.
"It is a catastrophe," one woman told us as she boarded a bus for the refugee camps.
"There is famine, there is hunger. One kilo of onions costs 180,000 dinars (£122). One kilo of sugar is one million to 1.4 million dinars (£680-950). This is my neighbourhood."
Their requirements are straightforward and immediate - a place to stay, food and clean water, and health care to keep people alive.
Cyclone Debbie: Thousands evacuated as storm bears down on Queensland
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes as a powerful storm approaches Australia's northeast coast.
Cyclone Debbie is expected to turn into a Category 4 storm, the second strongest on the scale of hurricane intensity, before it makes landfall in Queensland on Tuesday morning.
Winds are forecast to reach up to 260 kmph (160 mph) as the storm hits, making it Australia's most powerful storm since Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
Around 3,500 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas near Townsville after concerns that the tidal surge could be as high as 4m (13ft).
Authorities have also advised a further 2,000 people in the town of Bowen to leave their homes and evacuations are underway from low-lying areas in Mackay.
Queensland State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk encouraged Queensland residents to listen to authorities, saying that "the window of opportunity to leave is drastically closing".
"I am just pleading to everyone, please, listen to authorities. I do, you must as well. This is about your safety, it is about the safety of your family and the safety of your children," she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said the farming region has never experienced a storm stronger than Category 2 and warned that older homes would not withstand a Category 4 storm.
Queensland State Disaster Co-ordination Centre deputy commissioner Steve Gollschewski told people in the areas affected "to move now".
"Don't wait till tomorrow because you will not will be able to move probably past midnight tonight," he said.
The storm is expected to land somewhere along a sparsely populated 60-mile stretch of coast between the towns of Ayr and Bowen, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said.
The bad weather is also due to hit the Whitsundays Islands.
Whitsundays Regional Council Mayor Andrew Wilcox said: "in the Whitsundays we're pretty laid back sort of people.
"So what my message is, 'guys, this is a real threat, this is serious, don't be complacent, make sure you have all your preparation right, take shelter and please be safe'."
Operations at several coal mines in the area have been halted ahead of the storm and the Abbot Point coal terminal and ports at Mackay and Hay Point have also closed.
Flights to the region are also affected. Townsville Airport is closed and airlines Qantas, Jetstar, Rex and Virgin Australia say they have cancelled flights in the region.
Cyclone Debbie is expected to turn into a Category 4 storm, the second strongest on the scale of hurricane intensity, before it makes landfall in Queensland on Tuesday morning.
Winds are forecast to reach up to 260 kmph (160 mph) as the storm hits, making it Australia's most powerful storm since Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
Around 3,500 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas near Townsville after concerns that the tidal surge could be as high as 4m (13ft).
Authorities have also advised a further 2,000 people in the town of Bowen to leave their homes and evacuations are underway from low-lying areas in Mackay.
Queensland State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk encouraged Queensland residents to listen to authorities, saying that "the window of opportunity to leave is drastically closing".
"I am just pleading to everyone, please, listen to authorities. I do, you must as well. This is about your safety, it is about the safety of your family and the safety of your children," she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said the farming region has never experienced a storm stronger than Category 2 and warned that older homes would not withstand a Category 4 storm.
Queensland State Disaster Co-ordination Centre deputy commissioner Steve Gollschewski told people in the areas affected "to move now".
"Don't wait till tomorrow because you will not will be able to move probably past midnight tonight," he said.
The storm is expected to land somewhere along a sparsely populated 60-mile stretch of coast between the towns of Ayr and Bowen, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said.
The bad weather is also due to hit the Whitsundays Islands.
Whitsundays Regional Council Mayor Andrew Wilcox said: "in the Whitsundays we're pretty laid back sort of people.
"So what my message is, 'guys, this is a real threat, this is serious, don't be complacent, make sure you have all your preparation right, take shelter and please be safe'."
Operations at several coal mines in the area have been halted ahead of the storm and the Abbot Point coal terminal and ports at Mackay and Hay Point have also closed.
Flights to the region are also affected. Townsville Airport is closed and airlines Qantas, Jetstar, Rex and Virgin Australia say they have cancelled flights in the region.
Al Qaeda terror mastermind Qari Yasin killed in US airstrike in Afghanistan
An al Qaeda leader behind a series of terror attacks including one on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team has been killed, the Pentagon has said.
Qari Yasin, a senior militant figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, died during US airstrikes in Afghanistan.
He had ties with the Pakistani Taliban terror group and masterminded the bombing on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed dozens, including two American service members in 2008.
A 2009 bus attack in Lahore, Pakistan, killed six Pakistani policemen and two civilians and wounded six members of the Sri Lankan cricket team.
US defence secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Yasin died in Paktika Province on 19 March and said in a statement: "The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice."
The death of Yasin in eastern Afghanistan will fuel Pakistan's claims its militant enemies have established sanctuaries there.
The neighbouring countries have accused each other of harbouring the other's foes.
Relations deteriorated earlier this year after a series of attacks in Pakistan killed 125 people led Islamabad to close its border with Afghanistan for more than a month.
The two countries have exchanged lists of insurgents hiding out on the other's soil.
Afghanistan has given Pakistan the locations of 23 bases where its Taliban militants are hiding, which it is demanding are closed.
Qari Yasin, a senior militant figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, died during US airstrikes in Afghanistan.
He had ties with the Pakistani Taliban terror group and masterminded the bombing on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed dozens, including two American service members in 2008.
A 2009 bus attack in Lahore, Pakistan, killed six Pakistani policemen and two civilians and wounded six members of the Sri Lankan cricket team.
US defence secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Yasin died in Paktika Province on 19 March and said in a statement: "The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice."
The death of Yasin in eastern Afghanistan will fuel Pakistan's claims its militant enemies have established sanctuaries there.
The neighbouring countries have accused each other of harbouring the other's foes.
Relations deteriorated earlier this year after a series of attacks in Pakistan killed 125 people led Islamabad to close its border with Afghanistan for more than a month.
The two countries have exchanged lists of insurgents hiding out on the other's soil.
Afghanistan has given Pakistan the locations of 23 bases where its Taliban militants are hiding, which it is demanding are closed.
Low-cost airline easyJet close to landing post-Brexit EU base
EasyJet will announce within weeks the location of a new European base as Britain's airline industry grapples with the potential consequences of a 'hard Brexit'.
Sky News understands that the low-cost carrier's board has pencilled in an April decision on the location of a new air operator's certificate (AOC), which will allow it to continue flying between EU member states.
The decision will effectively entail the establishment of a new legal headquarters for easyJet, although the company has no plans to relocate the 1000 staff who work at its operational head office at Luton Airport.
EasyJet has spent the last nine months evaluating the merits of securing an AOC in each of the remaining 27 EU member states, and sources said on Sunday that countries including Austria, Malta and Portugal had been under serious recent consideration.
Sky News understands that the low-cost carrier's board has pencilled in an April decision on the location of a new air operator's certificate (AOC), which will allow it to continue flying between EU member states.
The decision will effectively entail the establishment of a new legal headquarters for easyJet, although the company has no plans to relocate the 1000 staff who work at its operational head office at Luton Airport.
EasyJet has spent the last nine months evaluating the merits of securing an AOC in each of the remaining 27 EU member states, and sources said on Sunday that countries including Austria, Malta and Portugal had been under serious recent consideration.
Scottish Muay Thai boxer Jordan Coe found dead in Thailand
A Scottish boxer has died in Thailand of suspected heatstroke.
Jordan Coe, who was 20 years old, was wearing a heavy tracksuit when his body was discovered.
It is believed he was trying to reach a certain weight for a professional fight.
Mr Coe, who was from Maddiston in Falkirk, was a professional Muay Thai boxer and used to train at a gym in Glasgow.
He had been scheduled to fight a Cambodian boxer in the Muang district on Sunday night, and was expected to return to Scotland in the summer.
Craig Floan, his coach at the Glasgow Thai Boxing Academy, said: "He moved to Thailand to chase his dream of becoming a professional after being with me for three-and-a-half years.
"We've set up a fundraiser for him and I'm now trying to help raise enough money to bring him home."
More than £15,000 has been raised for Mr Coe's family so far - and the boxer has been described as "the most loveable, likeable, caring, enthusiastic young man you will ever have come across".
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said assistance is being provided to Mr Coe's family.
Jordan Coe, who was 20 years old, was wearing a heavy tracksuit when his body was discovered.
It is believed he was trying to reach a certain weight for a professional fight.
Mr Coe, who was from Maddiston in Falkirk, was a professional Muay Thai boxer and used to train at a gym in Glasgow.
He had been scheduled to fight a Cambodian boxer in the Muang district on Sunday night, and was expected to return to Scotland in the summer.
Craig Floan, his coach at the Glasgow Thai Boxing Academy, said: "He moved to Thailand to chase his dream of becoming a professional after being with me for three-and-a-half years.
"We've set up a fundraiser for him and I'm now trying to help raise enough money to bring him home."
More than £15,000 has been raised for Mr Coe's family so far - and the boxer has been described as "the most loveable, likeable, caring, enthusiastic young man you will ever have come across".
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said assistance is being provided to Mr Coe's family.
The Battle for Mosul
A huge operation, involving more than 100,000 Iraqi troops, federal police, Shia and Sunni militias, was launched in October 2016 to recapture the country's second-largest city.
Mosul has been under Islamic State control since 2014, when it was used as the base by leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to declare a caliphate across Iraq and Syria.
Military officials estimated up to 5,000 IS fighters were left defending the city when the offensive began, with as many as 2,000 more in towns and villages surrounding the city.
The city - the last IS stronghold in Iraq - is a key milestone in Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led military intervention to degrade and ultimately destroy the extremist group.
Here is a timeline of the operation to recapture Mosul:
4-10 June 2014Fall of Mosul
Militants from Islamic State began their attack on Mosul on 4 June 2014, after the death of the group's military leader Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi near the city on the previous day.
Initially, convoys of pick-up trucks carrying four IS militants entered the city, shooting their way through checkpoints with many of the city's 25,000 soldiers and police away fighting in Fallujah.
The group infiltrated the city, seizing military vehicles and weapons and crucifying, burning and hanging soldiers.
Lieutenant General Mahdi Gharawi, operational commander of Nineveh province which has Mosul as its capital, has been blamed for the city's collapse, with reports that thousands of Iraqi troops tasked with defending it deserted or followed orders to flee in the face of the IS attack.
Gharawi has been charged with dereliction of duty and could be sentenced to death if he is found guilty at a military trial. He denies the charge and claims he was a scapegoat for members of then-prime minister Nuri al-Maliki's regime.
5 July 2014IS leader's sermon
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gives a 21-minute sermon at the pulpit of Mosul's Great Mosque of al-Nuri.
The video came days after Islamic State declared a caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria.
In it, he said: "Do jihad in the cause of God, incite the believers and be patient in the face of this hardship.
"If you knew about the reward and dignity in this world and the hereafter through jihad, then none of you would delay in doing it."
19 August 2014Fight for Mosul Dam
Militants from Islamic State began their attack on Mosul on 4 June 2014, after the death of the group's military leader Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi near the city on the previous day.
Initially, convoys of pick-up trucks carrying four IS militants entered the city, shooting their way through checkpoints with many of the city's 25,000 soldiers and police away fighting in Fallujah.
The group infiltrated the city, seizing military vehicles and weapons and crucifying, burning and hanging soldiers.
Lieutenant General Mahdi Gharawi, operational commander of Nineveh province which has Mosul as its capital, has been blamed for the city's collapse, with reports that thousands of Iraqi troops tasked with defending it deserted or followed orders to flee in the face of the IS attack.
Gharawi has been charged with dereliction of duty and could be sentenced to death if he is found guilty at a military trial. He denies the charge and claims he was a scapegoat for members of then-prime minister Nuri al-Maliki's regime.
5 July 2014IS leader's sermon
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gives a 21-minute sermon at the pulpit of Mosul's Great Mosque of al-Nuri.
The video came days after Islamic State declared a caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria.
In it, he said: "Do jihad in the cause of God, incite the believers and be patient in the face of this hardship.
"If you knew about the reward and dignity in this world and the hereafter through jihad, then none of you would delay in doing it."
19 August 2014Fight for Mosul Dam
IS seized the strategically important Mosul Dam, which provides water and power to millions of people down the Tigris River valley, in August 2014.
Kurdish forces, backed by US airstrikes on IS, fought to retake the key facility hindered by roadside bombs left behind by retreating militants.
The US military had warned of the danger of the dam collapsing, with estimates saying 500,000 people in Mosul and Baghdad could be killed if it did give way.
The hydroelectric dam - dubbed by the US Army Corps of Engineers as "the most dangerous in the world" in 2007 - requires constant grouting to maintain its structural integrity.
Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford reported from the damas Peshmerga troops fought with the militants to drive them away from the area.
2015US airstrikes begin
A major military operation involving a force of up to 25,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops to sever supply routes and then recapture neighbouring areas outside the city was planned for the spring.
The US began co-ordinating airstrikes on Mosul with Kurdish forces to target supply lines and IS positions around the city.
But the offensive was postponed until October 2016 after IS captured Ramadi in May 2015.
The sustained bombardment did temporarily force militants to begin leaving Mosul as the US-led coalition dropped leaflets on the city warning residents to evacuate ahead of the offensive.
IS responded by threatening to behead civilians over loudspeakers if they attempted to flee.
In March, IS leader al-Baghdadi is reportedly seriously injured by a US airstrike in the al-Baaj district of Mosul.
21 October 2016On the frontline
The postponed offensive began in March 2016, with Iraqi troops, Shia and Sunni militias advancing on Mosul from the east.
Kurdish forces, backed by US airstrikes on IS, fought to retake the key facility hindered by roadside bombs left behind by retreating militants.
The US military had warned of the danger of the dam collapsing, with estimates saying 500,000 people in Mosul and Baghdad could be killed if it did give way.
The hydroelectric dam - dubbed by the US Army Corps of Engineers as "the most dangerous in the world" in 2007 - requires constant grouting to maintain its structural integrity.
Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford reported from the damas Peshmerga troops fought with the militants to drive them away from the area.
2015US airstrikes begin
A major military operation involving a force of up to 25,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops to sever supply routes and then recapture neighbouring areas outside the city was planned for the spring.
The US began co-ordinating airstrikes on Mosul with Kurdish forces to target supply lines and IS positions around the city.
But the offensive was postponed until October 2016 after IS captured Ramadi in May 2015.
The sustained bombardment did temporarily force militants to begin leaving Mosul as the US-led coalition dropped leaflets on the city warning residents to evacuate ahead of the offensive.
IS responded by threatening to behead civilians over loudspeakers if they attempted to flee.
In March, IS leader al-Baghdadi is reportedly seriously injured by a US airstrike in the al-Baaj district of Mosul.
21 October 2016On the frontline
The postponed offensive began in March 2016, with Iraqi troops, Shia and Sunni militias advancing on Mosul from the east.
They faced strong resistance in villages outside, with IS deploying suicide bombers and well as mortars and machine guns.
US-led coalition airstrikes targeted key IS positions around the city as Iraqi forces slowly gained control of the areas surrounding the south and east of Mosul.
By October, the assault to recapture Mosul was declared by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi with a huge number of troops vastly outnumbering the IS militants.
The following month, troops entered the east of the city where they were met with fierce fighting and defences erected by IS including road blocks, booby traps, snipers and suicide bombs.
Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay was embedded with the Iraqi army's elite Golden Division, a US-trained special forces unit, as they arrived on the front lines of the offensive.
The Golden Division was tasked with retaking the city and to rescue civilians.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Uber halts driverless car tests after vehicle rolls over in Arizona smash
Uber has suspended its self-driving car programme after a crash involving one of its vehicles.
The accident happened in Tempe, Arizona, and pictures posted on Twitter showed the autonomous car on its side next to another vehicle which was badly dented with its windows smashed.
Despite the severe damage to both vehicles, nobody was seriously injured.
The Volvo SUV was moving in autonomous mode when the accident happened.
Uber has stopped its self-driving car pilot in Arizona while it launches a probe into the crash.
An Uber spokesman said: "We are continuing to look into this incident and can confirm we had no backseat passengers in the vehicle."
Tempe Police said another vehicle failed to give way at a traffic signal while making a left turn and collided with the Uber SUV, before a third vehicle was hit.
The self-driving programme was launched in Arizona last December after California revoked the licence of some of the cars because it said they were not properly marked as test vehicles.
Uber said on its website that the use of the vehicles was still in its early stages.
It said: "While Uber is still in the early days of our self-driving efforts, every day of testing leads to improvements.
"Self-driving cars have the potential to save millions of lives and improve quality of life for people around the world."
Uber has been hitting the headlines after a string of scandals including accusations it tolerates sexism after a female engineer wrote a blog claiming she was harassed by her boss.
Earlier this year its CEO Travis Kalanick was forced to apologise after he was caught on video yelling at one of his own drivers.
The accident happened in Tempe, Arizona, and pictures posted on Twitter showed the autonomous car on its side next to another vehicle which was badly dented with its windows smashed.
Despite the severe damage to both vehicles, nobody was seriously injured.
The Volvo SUV was moving in autonomous mode when the accident happened.
Uber has stopped its self-driving car pilot in Arizona while it launches a probe into the crash.
An Uber spokesman said: "We are continuing to look into this incident and can confirm we had no backseat passengers in the vehicle."
Tempe Police said another vehicle failed to give way at a traffic signal while making a left turn and collided with the Uber SUV, before a third vehicle was hit.
The self-driving programme was launched in Arizona last December after California revoked the licence of some of the cars because it said they were not properly marked as test vehicles.
Uber said on its website that the use of the vehicles was still in its early stages.
It said: "While Uber is still in the early days of our self-driving efforts, every day of testing leads to improvements.
"Self-driving cars have the potential to save millions of lives and improve quality of life for people around the world."
Uber has been hitting the headlines after a string of scandals including accusations it tolerates sexism after a female engineer wrote a blog claiming she was harassed by her boss.
Earlier this year its CEO Travis Kalanick was forced to apologise after he was caught on video yelling at one of his own drivers.
Gunman opens fire on bus on Las Vegas Strip, killing one
One person has been killed and another injured after a gunman opened fire on on a double-decker bus on the Las Vegas Strip.
The attacker then barricaded himself inside the vehicle, beginning an armed stand-off with police that lasted several hours.
The siege began at about 11am local time on Saturday as the bus stopped on Las Vegas Boulevard, near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino.
:: Las Vegas casino panic over suspected robber in pig mask
"He was on the bus. He was shooting people on the bus. He was just contained to that location. He never exited the bus," Clark County assistant sheriff Tom Roberts said.
Two people were taken to hospital after the shooting. One later died and the other was said to be in a stable condition.
SWAT teams surrounded the vehicle as the authorities as the authorities tried to establish if there were any more victims inside.
Officers also swept into the casinos to warn tourists to take cover until further notice, leaving the normally busy road empty.
The famous illuminated Strip was shut down in both directions.
Las Vegas police said the man, believed to be in his 50s, gave himself up just before 3.30pm without incident.
Police did not open fire and said they believe the man was the only suspect.
They ruled out terrorism or any connection to an earlier robbery nearby that put part of the Bellagio hotel in lockdown.
Up to three robbers, one wearing a pig mask, used sledgehammers to break into a jewellery case in a store in the luxury hotel.
One person was taken into custody.
The attacker then barricaded himself inside the vehicle, beginning an armed stand-off with police that lasted several hours.
The siege began at about 11am local time on Saturday as the bus stopped on Las Vegas Boulevard, near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino.
:: Las Vegas casino panic over suspected robber in pig mask
"He was on the bus. He was shooting people on the bus. He was just contained to that location. He never exited the bus," Clark County assistant sheriff Tom Roberts said.
Two people were taken to hospital after the shooting. One later died and the other was said to be in a stable condition.
SWAT teams surrounded the vehicle as the authorities as the authorities tried to establish if there were any more victims inside.
Officers also swept into the casinos to warn tourists to take cover until further notice, leaving the normally busy road empty.
The famous illuminated Strip was shut down in both directions.
Las Vegas police said the man, believed to be in his 50s, gave himself up just before 3.30pm without incident.
Police did not open fire and said they believe the man was the only suspect.
They ruled out terrorism or any connection to an earlier robbery nearby that put part of the Bellagio hotel in lockdown.
Up to three robbers, one wearing a pig mask, used sledgehammers to break into a jewellery case in a store in the luxury hotel.
One person was taken into custody.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Westminster attack was over in just 82 seconds
The Westminster terror attack lasted only 82 seconds, Scotland Yard has said.
Khalid Masood's attack began at 2.40pm on Wednesday, and was over by 2.41pm, according to a detailed investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.
The car the terrorist was driving first mounted the northbound pavement on Westminster Bridge at 2.40pm and 8 seconds.
Police say he then continued towards Bridge Street along both the footpath and road, before crashing into the Palace of Westminster's perimeter fence at 2.40pm and 38 seconds.
The first 999 call to the Met was made at 2.40pm and 59 seconds.
Masood then left his car and was "shot by a police firearms officer inside the Palace of Westminster boundary" at 2.41pm and 30 seconds.
:: Westminster gates left open after PC Palmer killed, video shows
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said: "We still believe that Masood acted alone on the day and there is no information or intelligence to suggest there are further attacks planned."
But while he added that police "need to establish with absolute clarity why he did these unspeakable acts", DAC Basu acknowledged "there is a possibility we will never understand why he did this".
"That understanding may have died with him," he added.
He continued: "Nevertheless, we are determined to understand if Masood was a lone actor inspired by terrorist propaganda or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him.
:: Westminster attacker told friend of desire to kill people
"If the latter proves to be the case, they will face justice.
"Whilst the attack lasted only 82 seconds it will remain in the memories of many forever.
"The thoughts of all those working on this investigation are with those so deeply affected."
Khalid Masood's attack began at 2.40pm on Wednesday, and was over by 2.41pm, according to a detailed investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.
The car the terrorist was driving first mounted the northbound pavement on Westminster Bridge at 2.40pm and 8 seconds.
Police say he then continued towards Bridge Street along both the footpath and road, before crashing into the Palace of Westminster's perimeter fence at 2.40pm and 38 seconds.
The first 999 call to the Met was made at 2.40pm and 59 seconds.
Masood then left his car and was "shot by a police firearms officer inside the Palace of Westminster boundary" at 2.41pm and 30 seconds.
:: Westminster gates left open after PC Palmer killed, video shows
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said: "We still believe that Masood acted alone on the day and there is no information or intelligence to suggest there are further attacks planned."
But while he added that police "need to establish with absolute clarity why he did these unspeakable acts", DAC Basu acknowledged "there is a possibility we will never understand why he did this".
"That understanding may have died with him," he added.
He continued: "Nevertheless, we are determined to understand if Masood was a lone actor inspired by terrorist propaganda or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him.
:: Westminster attacker told friend of desire to kill people
"If the latter proves to be the case, they will face justice.
"Whilst the attack lasted only 82 seconds it will remain in the memories of many forever.
"The thoughts of all those working on this investigation are with those so deeply affected."
Top Nigerian Politician with Certificate Scandals
“I’ll never resign!” his gentle voice echoed through his expansive office, as his body shook like a man being led inevitably to the gallows as he addressed journalists in a press conference.
The grandeur of his office as the Speaker, House of Representatives, was unmistakable with his retinue of security details and aides.
There were five rooms adjoining and leading to his expansive official personal office: the security details, receptionists, private secretaries, aides, chief of staff and aid-de-camp.
As the Number Four citizen of Nigeria, he could wield enormous power and would do anything to remain in power – as he had already lied his way to become the fourth most powerful person in the most populous black nation on earth.
The Ahmadu Bello University connection
Erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari’s way to the lower chamber of the National Assembly was fraught with forgeries. To become a federal lawmaker, he claimed he was 36 years old as of 1999, though he was born in 1970.
The minimum required age to be a lawmaker in the House, according to the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, is 30.
He also claimed to have attended University of Toronto in Canada and graduated with a degree in Business Administration, but the university denied he was ever a student of the institution.
And for falsifying his credentials to gain admission into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, he was kicked out and never had the opportunity to participate in the one-year National Youth Service Corps exercise.
In 2000, the lid was fully blown open and the defiant Buhari broke down in tears of confession before the nation, owning up to allegations of forgery and perjury.
“I apologise to you. I apologise to the nation. I apologise to my family and friends for all the distress I have caused them. I was misled in error by my zeal to serve the nation. I hope the nation will forgive me and give me the opportunity to serve again,” he begged.
Dino Melaye
To date, Salisu Buhari has remained the poster boy of certificate scandal in the country’s political space, with the latest accusation levelled against a one-time anti-corruption activist and now senator, Dino Melaye.
Forty-three-year-old Melaye, bald-headed with a well-tended moustache to boot, was accused by an online news medium, SaharaReporters of not graduating from the same ABU. One of his colleagues, Senator Ali Ndume, called for the upper legislative chamber to probe him for forgery and perjury.
“SaharaReporters, please sue me and ABU if it is true that I did not graduate from Zaria. Tell (the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) Magu (Ibrahim) to arrest and prosecute me. I’m presently a student of ABU pursuing my seventh degree,” Melaye retorted.
However, Harvard University and the London School of Economics and Political Science, which Melaye had reportedly claimed to have graduated from, told SaharaReporters that Melaye did not study degree courses with them, and hence, couldn’t have graduated.
As it is customary, the Senate has referred Melaye’s case to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. The committee’s report is expected to come in towards the end of April.
Just a fortnight ago, the firebrand politician was breathing fire and brimstone, hankering that Magu’s confirmation should be dismissed because he did not pass the Senate’s “integrity test.”
But the spokesman for northern delegates in the last National Conference, Anthony Sani, does not think it is a problem peculiar to politically exposed persons.
“Certificate scandal is not an exclusive preserve of politicians but manifestations of corrupt practices that have distorted our sense of what is right and what is evil in the polity. Consider the prevalence of exam malpractices, among our youths in order to have realistic appreciation of the unsavoury situation,” he told SUNDAY PUNCH.
A scandal that rocks even presidents
In an animated manner, Sani dismissed an allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari did not have a certificate to show that he finished his secondary school education. He had told SUNDAY PUNCH in 2015 that it was an insult to say the man – a general – that would soon be the nation’s president did not have such a certificate.
Even though the respected former Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (retd.), in defence of President Buhari, had expressed disdain for those who accused the President of not having the Cambridge West African School Certificate Ordinary Level in 1961 as he claimed, the allegation left much a chink in the armour of Buhari than any other issue as the 73-year-old has yet to present the certificate.
Few months to the 2015 presidential poll, Buhari defended himself, saying that he attended the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, with many prominent Nigerians, including the late General Shehu Yar’Adua.
Certain of not forging his certificate, Buhari said he sat for the University of Cambridge/WASSCE Examination in 1961, with the examination number 8280002, which he reportedly passed in the Second Division.
He also submitted an affidavit to the Independent National Electoral Commission that all his academic credentials were with the Military Board. However, the army issued a curious disclaimer that it did not have the original, certified true copy or statement of results of the retired general.
In the ensuing claim and counterclaim, one Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe instituted a lawsuit asking the court to disqualify Buhari from running for president because he did not have the minimum qualification required to contest for the presidential election.
There was raucous noise across the nation as opponents and supporters awaited the court’s pronouncement but before the case could be decided, the former head of state won the election and was sworn in as a democratically elected president.
On June 16, 2016, a Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned the suit indefinitely seemingly putting an end to a nail-biting controversy that may be forever associated with a president who built his claim to the presidency on the platform of integrity.
Goodluck Jonathan
But before Buhari was subjected to this scrutiny, former President Goodluck Jonathan had also been caught momentarily in the web of a certificate scandal.
Like a salvo, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo hauled a bombshell that must have unsettled and rattled the leadership of the PDP and others who revered Jonathan and never ceased to laud him as the first doctoral degree holder to lead Nigeria.
Obasanjo had said, “Even Jonathan did not finish his PhD course but when it was presented, we stated that it does not matter but many people did not know because it was a PDP thing.”
Coming from arguably Nigeria’s most respected leader and global statesman, the accusation was weighty and left the sitting president’s integrity and image in a precarious state.
Jonathan reportedly holds a BSc in Zoology with second class honours; an MSc in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology; and a PhD in Zoology, all from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
His supporters felt Obasanjo was making desperate efforts to discredit the then president ahead of the 2015 presidential poll to ensure he would not win the election.
In a response to an inquiry by The PUNCH, the university had dismissed such accusation as having “neither legs nor grounds to stand on.”
The institution, through its Deputy Registrar, William Wodi, had said concerning information on Jonathan’s qualifications, “We have absolutely nothing to hide as an institution that has a statutory mandate to advance the frontiers of knowledge.”
Yet, when civil society organisation, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, requested for Jonathan’s academic records through the Freedom of Information law, the university replied, “The Management of the university has carefully considered your request vis-a-vis the FOI Act.
“It is my instruction to inform you that your request does not come within the relevant provisions of the FOI Act for its practicability or for the university to provide such details as requested. Details of the PhD Degree of President Goodluck Jonathan in the University of Port Harcourt cannot therefore be made available to you.”
That put paid to Obasanjo’s accusation.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
Since 1999, only few men have bestridden Nigeria’s political landscape like a colossus as the current National Leader of the All Progressives Congress. As the ultimate kingmaker, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has anointed governors and frustrated the ambitions of those who would not kowtow to his political vision.
A formidable political fighter and strategist, loved by many and hated by as much, the allegation that he forged a certificate may always dog the APC leader.
In 1999, one Dr. Waliu Balogun had written a petition against Tinubu that he did not attend Chicago State University as indicated in his INEC form 001 filled when he contested the Lagos State governorship poll and that he also lied in the affidavit he attached to the INEC form, in which he declared that he lost his university degree certificate while he was in exile between 1994 and 1998.
Balogun’s litany of complaints included accusations that Tinubu’s claim of attending Government College, Ibadan, was false; and that he lied in the INEC form about his age – that he was born in 1952 as against the 1954 he filled in the documents at the Chicago university. Tinubu was also accused of not participating in the compulsory one-year NYSC exercise.
Generating a lot of furore, Tinubu was forced to present the original copy of his certificate while he dismissed the allegations as “baseless, wicked and unfortunate.”
Notwithstanding, that year, a firebrand lawyer and human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, went to court to compel the Inspector General of Police to investigate Tinubu. Fawehinmi did not live long enough to finish the lawsuit.
In 2013, however, one Dr. Dominic Adegbola filed an unsuccessful application seeking to reopen the suit.
Ayodele Fayose
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, means many things to many people. Some hail him as a courageous politician daring the APC–led Federal Government. Others see him as an impostor using populism to take advantage of the Ekiti people – this is partly based on a 2013 certificate scandal that he was embroiled in.
Flamboyant Fayose had claimed that he attended The Polytechnic, Ibadan and bagged a Higher National Diploma certificate but he was left in a state of disbelief when the institution issued a disclaimer that he was never a student of the polytechnic and that the certificate he claimed as his actually belonged to a different person.
Not a few people asked for his prosecution just as Fayose prepared for the governorship election.
In an intriguing volte-face, the state polytechnic ate their words, admitting that Fayose was a graduate of the school and he eventually won the election in October 2014 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Gabriel Suswam
With chubby cheeks and usually wearing a smile, former two-time Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam was accused of forging his West African School Certificate which he used to gain admission to the University of Lagos to study Law.
Ahead of the 2007 governorship poll in Benue, Suswam submitted the certificate to INEC as prerequisite to contest in the election.
No sooner had he done that than it was alleged that his original certificate showed that he passed five subjects, excluding Mathematics and English, which are mandatory for admission into a Nigerian university.
His accusers also accused Suswam of writing to WAEC in 2005 claiming that his certificate was missing, attaching photocopies of the missing certificate, a police report and an affidavit of loss of certificate to the letter.
A PDP aspirant and opponent of Suswam, Terver Kakih, took the matter to court claiming that WAEC issued the accused a new certificate that indicated he passed English and Mathematics, raising suspicions it might have been forged.
The case literally dragged from that point until Suswam completed his tenure as governor with the examination body standing by the certificate it issued Suswam.
The lawsuit moved from the High Court to the Supreme Court and in 2014, the apex court cleared Suswam of any wrongdoing.
Adams Oshiomhole
For many a Nigerian governor, unease lies the head that wears the crown. Like his colleagues mentioned earlier, former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, also walked the often tight rope of a forgery scandal in 2012 when Major General Charles Airhiavbere (retd.) challenged the authenticity of his academic records.
Airhiavbere, who was contesting governorship on the platform of PDP, had said Oshiomhole’s primary and school certificates were forged.
In a case that went before elections tribunal, Airhiavbere argued that all certificates presented to INEC by Oshiomhole were not authentic.
According to him, Oshiomhole attended Iyamoh Primary School, Iyamoh, from 1957 to 1962, with Edo State Ministry of Education’s record indicating that the school was founded in 1963, a year after the then governor said he graduated from it; and that his name was not listed among graduands of Blessed Martins Secondary Modern School, which Oshiomhole was said to have graduated from in 1965, among other issues.
Though Airhiavbere lost his case at the tribunal, he got a reprieve at the Court of Appeal, as the court ordered that a new tribunal should be convened to revisit the petition he had earlier filed.
As time fled past, what used to be a legal tussle between Oshiomhole and the retired general turned into a case of camaraderie because in 2015 during the former’s seventh anniversary as governor, Airhiavbere praised him, saying, “The platform created by Oshiomhole is strong and tenable and one upon which the APC as a party should allow all aspirants to contest to fly the party’s flag in the 2016 governorship election. The governor’s crowd of supporters and the relevance of the party in the state have been deep-rooted even in opposition, before that election.”
Godwin Obaseki
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, succeeded Oshiomhole in running the affairs of the state. He is also like his predecessor in another sense.
Obaseki’s profile indicates that he attended the Columbia University and Pace University in New York, US and has an MBA in Finance and International Business.
Like his forerunner, Obaseki was accused of using a doctored certificate to seek admission into the university.
Chairman of the PDP in Edo, Dan Orbih, had said about him, “He claimed he entered university the year he left secondary school. How could he have gained admission with such result? The result was not even good enough for any form of preliminary studies.
“This can only mean that Godwin Obaseki forged certificates to gain admission to the university. It is obvious that the man has no academic qualifications as he had only three credits.”
In response, Obaseki produced an affidavit from an Abuja High Court which stated that all of his educational certificates, including his NYSC discharge certificate were missing and in their stead he produced photocopies of the original documents.
The claim was dismissed as “flimsy” and “unconvincing” by the PDP.
Staunchly defending himself, Obaseki said, “The truth is that I have not had any reason to look for them in the last 25 years. I know that I kept them somewhere in a safe box and I had photocopies. When I needed them for the exercise, I could not find them. So, I swore to an affidavit that I cannot find the originals.
“So when the whole controversy started raging, my cousin called me from New York and said, ‘But your originals are here.’ I said, ‘Please, send them to me now’.”
For Obaseki, all is well that ends well.
Evan(s) Enwerem
Evan(s) Enwerem was the Senate President on June 3, 1999 but he did not hold the position for long as he was embroiled in a scandal involving forgery and perjury.
He was accused by colleagues in the Senate, said to be led by Senator Chuba Okadigbo (who eventually replaced him and was also booted out in a similar fashion), of using a fake name and falsifying academic records.
The allegation against Enwerem was that he falsified his name and a debate ensued as to whether Enwerem’s real name was Evan or Evans.
Eventually, he was removed as the senate president on November 18, 1999 but remained as a senator until 2003 and was never prosecuted. He died in 2007.
Stella Oduah
Aged 55, according to Senator Stella Oduah’s profile on the National Assembly’s page, she reportedly went to St. John’s Primary School and graduated in 1974 with a First School Leaving Certificate; Zixton Secondary School and graduated in 1978 with West African School Certificate; and St. Paul College and finished in 1982 with no certificate received indicated.
A former Minister of Aviation, Oduah is not one to be frightened in times of scandals – she was accused of being among the privileged few women who influenced the decisions of ex-president Jonathan and that she allegedly bought bulletproof automobiles for personal use with government money.
According to information gleaned from online sources, Oduah claimed she attended St. Paul’s College, Lawrenceville in Virginia, US, from 1978 to 1982, obtaining a first degree in Accounting and a master’s degree in 1983. But St. Paul’s College did not seem to have run a master’s programme.
On Wikipedia, the senator was also credited with having received an honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration from Pacific Christian University based in Glendale.
That claim too said was said to be preposterous. SaharaReporters had, through a story it published, accused Oduah of falsely claiming to attend the academic institutions.
According to the online publication, the then President of St. Paul’s, Dr. Claud Flythe, refused to deny or confirm the senator’s claim when contacted.
It added that efforts to verify Oduah’s academic claim was fruitless as the institution’s Office of Alumni Affairs said the college had been closed since June 2013 due to loss of its accreditation.
In spite of these weighty allegations, the delectable senator has kept mum. The citation of the degree has however been yanked off from her Wikipedia page.
Andy Uba
According to his photo-less profile on the National Assembly’s official website, Andy Uba is 59 years old; he went to St James Primary School, Uga Aguata, Anambra State and Union Secondary School, Enugu State. SUNDAY PUNCH observed that the space for dates he attended those schools was vacant. He also claimed in the profile that he went to California State University, Los Angeles in 2013 with qualifications that read, “Ba, p.hd, dpa award.” His profile like many other federal lawmakers did not say much.
In 2006, there were claims that Andy Uba did not have a first degree in Geology which he said he obtained from Concordia University, Canada, in 1984.
His master’s degree from California State University was also said to be doubtful; so was his claim to have acquired a doctoral degree from Buxton University in the United Kingdom, as the institution was said to run unaccredited online degrees with an address in Portugal, which was not recognised by the United Kingdom.
Ikechukwu Obiorah had made these allegations in a bid to overturn Uba’s election as the senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District in 2011, asking the election tribunal to invalidate his election and order a rerun poll.
While the legal battle continues in the court, the senator relishes his privilege as one of the nation’s federal lawmakers.
Domingo Obende
The senator representing Edo North senatorial district of Edo State, Domingo Obende, of the APC was one of the nation’s lawmakers with a moral burden to prove that the documents presented for election into public offices were not forged.
A PDP candidate, Yisa Braimoh, had accused Obende of forging his primary school certificate for the 2011 National Assembly election.
A lawsuit Braimoh filed against Obende was dismissed in 2012. He appealed the judgment but the ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
For the senator, that was not just an electoral victory, it was a vindication of his integrity.
Maurice Iwu
Professor Maurice Iwu was INEC’s Chairman between 2005 and 2010. Last year, the National Human Rights Commission recommended his prosecution for conducting what international observers perceived as one of the most bizarre elections ever held in the world.
The outcome inaugurated the strange staggering of governorship elections now in vogue in the country and affecting Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Kogi states, where election tribunals upturned the fraud-tainted results.
He bears more burden than that; even his personal integrity was under question as SaharaReporters questioned whether Iwu was actually a pharmacist and if he had a first degree from a university in Cameroon.
The online publication claimed that Iwu attended Biafra Holy Rosary School of Pharmacy, Ummuna Orlu from 1968-1969 where he dropped out in Class 4, coinciding with the same period he indicated to the University of Bradford to have graduated from a university in Cameroon.
Following his stint at the school of pharmacy, the ex-INEC boss was said to have undertaken a course, Dispensing Pharmacy Technician in Compounding, in Côte d’Ivoire, under the Biafran-Ivory Coast training scholarships for Biafrans. The course was for two months. Following the end of the Biafran war, he landed a job as a dispensing chemist (though he was alleged to have paraded himself as a medical doctor to many of his ‘patients’) in Enugu at 35 Zik Avenue, Uwani, opposite Leventis stores, Enugu. He held this job between 1970 and 1973.
Iwu has neither refuted or confirmed these allegations and INEC, too, has remained silent on the matter.
Following the role he allegedly played in connection with the N23.29bn bribery of INEC officials, the EFCC is said to be on his trail.
A LinkedIn profile of Iwu indicated that he went to “Lagos University” between 1972 and 1977. But another record, according to SaharaReporters showed that the ex-INEC boss obtained his undergraduate, master’s and PhD degrees from University of Bradford between 1972 and 1978.
Ndi Okereke-Onyuike
In 2011, according to an online medium, Nigerianvillagesquare.com, the US Securities and Exchange Commission had sent a request to the City University of New York’s Graduate School asking to know if a former Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Okereke-Onyiuke, had a PhD. The response of the school’s Director of Student Services and Senior Registrar of CUNY’s Graduate School, Vincent De Luca, was startling.
The statement of the school obtained by our correspondent from the website quoted De Luca as saying, “On January 18, 2011, I caused a search to be conducted of our student records (including graduation records) at The Graduate Center, at the request of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, to determine if Ms. Ndi Okereke–Onyiuke was ever enrolled in the PhD programme in Business and if she received a PhD in Business at The Graduate Centre.
“A thorough search of our electronic and paper files for the names, Ndi Leche Okereke, Ndi Okereke, Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke and Ndi Lechi Okereke–Onyiuke was conducted. No record was found that Ms. Ndi Okereke–Onyiuke ever enrolled in the PhD programme in Business or received a PhD in Business at The Graduate Centre.”
That the former NSE boss earned a first class honours degree in Business Administration, Computer Science and Economics, from Baruch College of the City College of the City, University of New York in 1975, is also said to be contestable – as the institution was said to be non-existent at least in the US, according to SaharaReporters.
The “Amazon” of the NSE still has all the academic records glowingly displayed on Bloomberg’s Executive Profile for big guns. She has also yet to counter the rebuttal of the CUNY’s Graduate School; and no law enforcement agency in Nigeria is known to have looked into her issue.
Christian Abah
This month, the Supreme Court ended the dreams of Christian Abah of enjoying the privilege of making laws for the country.
Abah, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadigbo Federal Constituency of Benue State, was kicked out of the legislative chamber.
He was earlier given the boot by a Federal High Court in Abuja in 2016 for submitting a forged certificate of academic qualification to INEC.
The court had ordered INEC to issue fresh certificate of return to Abah’s first runner-up in the PDP’s primary held in 2014, Hassan Saleh.
The apex court affirmed that he had forged the Ordinary National Diploma certificate purportedly issued to him in 1985 by the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa State.
“It is a must, to take the lead, righting the wrong in our society if and when the opportunity presents itself as in this appeal. Allowing criminality and certificate forgery to continue to percolate into the streams, waters and oceans of our national polity will only mean that our waters are and will remain dangerously contaminated.
“The purification efforts must start now and be sustained as we seek, as a nation, to now change from our old culture of reckless impunity. The Nigerian Constitution is supreme. It desires that no one who has ever presented a forged certificate to INEC should contest election into the Nigerian National Assembly. This is clear and sacrosanct,” the court had said while delivering its judgment.
Abah was said to have, in addition to tendering a forged certificate for the 2015 election, falsely claimed in the INEC’s Form CF001 ahead of the 2015 general elections that he had never submitted a forged certificate to INEC, contrary to an earlier judgment of an election petition tribunal in 2011, declaring that the certificate submitted by him was forged.
The Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the Nigerian socio-economic and political system is set up to encourage fraud.
Adeniran, expressing his disdain for the government’s inability to provide access to free education to Nigerians and blaming such for forging educational certificates, said, “This is not to say that it is correct to forge certificates for the purpose of getting into elective offices or any other purpose. No; this is because the act itself is not just criminal, it is morally wrong and depicts a low sense of self-respect and esteem about the forger. It shows lack of self-confidence in one’s inherent abilities and the false need to parade oneself as what one is not. It is moral bankruptcy. An honest person would not lie about educational qualifications no matter what.”
What the laws say
Concerning perjury, Section 118 of the Criminal Code says, “Any person who commits perjury is liable to imprisonment for 14 years. If the offender commits the offence in order to procure the conviction of another person for an offence punishable with death or with imprisonment for life, he is liable to imprisonment for life.”
On forgery, Section 465, of the Criminal Code Act, says, “A person who makes a false document or writing knowing it to be false, and with intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine, whether in the state or elsewhere, to the prejudice of any person or with intent that any person may, in the belief that it is genuine, be induced to do or refrain from doing any act, whether in the state or elsewhere is said to forge the document or writing.”
But Nigeria’s wheel of justice may grind too slowly to exact punishment on culprits of perjury and forgery, especially among politically exposed individuals.
“One needs not to be told that anyone capable of forging a certificate to get into office is extremely likely to perpetrate corruption if elected into office. This is one of what is responsible for the rampant corrupt and sharp practices we witness in public and elected offices on daily basis,” the CACOL boss pointed out.
The grandeur of his office as the Speaker, House of Representatives, was unmistakable with his retinue of security details and aides.
There were five rooms adjoining and leading to his expansive official personal office: the security details, receptionists, private secretaries, aides, chief of staff and aid-de-camp.
As the Number Four citizen of Nigeria, he could wield enormous power and would do anything to remain in power – as he had already lied his way to become the fourth most powerful person in the most populous black nation on earth.
The Ahmadu Bello University connection
Erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari’s way to the lower chamber of the National Assembly was fraught with forgeries. To become a federal lawmaker, he claimed he was 36 years old as of 1999, though he was born in 1970.
The minimum required age to be a lawmaker in the House, according to the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, is 30.
He also claimed to have attended University of Toronto in Canada and graduated with a degree in Business Administration, but the university denied he was ever a student of the institution.
And for falsifying his credentials to gain admission into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, he was kicked out and never had the opportunity to participate in the one-year National Youth Service Corps exercise.
In 2000, the lid was fully blown open and the defiant Buhari broke down in tears of confession before the nation, owning up to allegations of forgery and perjury.
“I apologise to you. I apologise to the nation. I apologise to my family and friends for all the distress I have caused them. I was misled in error by my zeal to serve the nation. I hope the nation will forgive me and give me the opportunity to serve again,” he begged.
Dino Melaye
To date, Salisu Buhari has remained the poster boy of certificate scandal in the country’s political space, with the latest accusation levelled against a one-time anti-corruption activist and now senator, Dino Melaye.
Forty-three-year-old Melaye, bald-headed with a well-tended moustache to boot, was accused by an online news medium, SaharaReporters of not graduating from the same ABU. One of his colleagues, Senator Ali Ndume, called for the upper legislative chamber to probe him for forgery and perjury.
“SaharaReporters, please sue me and ABU if it is true that I did not graduate from Zaria. Tell (the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) Magu (Ibrahim) to arrest and prosecute me. I’m presently a student of ABU pursuing my seventh degree,” Melaye retorted.
However, Harvard University and the London School of Economics and Political Science, which Melaye had reportedly claimed to have graduated from, told SaharaReporters that Melaye did not study degree courses with them, and hence, couldn’t have graduated.
As it is customary, the Senate has referred Melaye’s case to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. The committee’s report is expected to come in towards the end of April.
Just a fortnight ago, the firebrand politician was breathing fire and brimstone, hankering that Magu’s confirmation should be dismissed because he did not pass the Senate’s “integrity test.”
But the spokesman for northern delegates in the last National Conference, Anthony Sani, does not think it is a problem peculiar to politically exposed persons.
“Certificate scandal is not an exclusive preserve of politicians but manifestations of corrupt practices that have distorted our sense of what is right and what is evil in the polity. Consider the prevalence of exam malpractices, among our youths in order to have realistic appreciation of the unsavoury situation,” he told SUNDAY PUNCH.
A scandal that rocks even presidents
In an animated manner, Sani dismissed an allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari did not have a certificate to show that he finished his secondary school education. He had told SUNDAY PUNCH in 2015 that it was an insult to say the man – a general – that would soon be the nation’s president did not have such a certificate.
Even though the respected former Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (retd.), in defence of President Buhari, had expressed disdain for those who accused the President of not having the Cambridge West African School Certificate Ordinary Level in 1961 as he claimed, the allegation left much a chink in the armour of Buhari than any other issue as the 73-year-old has yet to present the certificate.
Few months to the 2015 presidential poll, Buhari defended himself, saying that he attended the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, with many prominent Nigerians, including the late General Shehu Yar’Adua.
Certain of not forging his certificate, Buhari said he sat for the University of Cambridge/WASSCE Examination in 1961, with the examination number 8280002, which he reportedly passed in the Second Division.
He also submitted an affidavit to the Independent National Electoral Commission that all his academic credentials were with the Military Board. However, the army issued a curious disclaimer that it did not have the original, certified true copy or statement of results of the retired general.
In the ensuing claim and counterclaim, one Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe instituted a lawsuit asking the court to disqualify Buhari from running for president because he did not have the minimum qualification required to contest for the presidential election.
There was raucous noise across the nation as opponents and supporters awaited the court’s pronouncement but before the case could be decided, the former head of state won the election and was sworn in as a democratically elected president.
On June 16, 2016, a Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned the suit indefinitely seemingly putting an end to a nail-biting controversy that may be forever associated with a president who built his claim to the presidency on the platform of integrity.
Goodluck Jonathan
But before Buhari was subjected to this scrutiny, former President Goodluck Jonathan had also been caught momentarily in the web of a certificate scandal.
Like a salvo, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo hauled a bombshell that must have unsettled and rattled the leadership of the PDP and others who revered Jonathan and never ceased to laud him as the first doctoral degree holder to lead Nigeria.
Obasanjo had said, “Even Jonathan did not finish his PhD course but when it was presented, we stated that it does not matter but many people did not know because it was a PDP thing.”
Coming from arguably Nigeria’s most respected leader and global statesman, the accusation was weighty and left the sitting president’s integrity and image in a precarious state.
Jonathan reportedly holds a BSc in Zoology with second class honours; an MSc in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology; and a PhD in Zoology, all from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
His supporters felt Obasanjo was making desperate efforts to discredit the then president ahead of the 2015 presidential poll to ensure he would not win the election.
In a response to an inquiry by The PUNCH, the university had dismissed such accusation as having “neither legs nor grounds to stand on.”
The institution, through its Deputy Registrar, William Wodi, had said concerning information on Jonathan’s qualifications, “We have absolutely nothing to hide as an institution that has a statutory mandate to advance the frontiers of knowledge.”
Yet, when civil society organisation, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, requested for Jonathan’s academic records through the Freedom of Information law, the university replied, “The Management of the university has carefully considered your request vis-a-vis the FOI Act.
“It is my instruction to inform you that your request does not come within the relevant provisions of the FOI Act for its practicability or for the university to provide such details as requested. Details of the PhD Degree of President Goodluck Jonathan in the University of Port Harcourt cannot therefore be made available to you.”
That put paid to Obasanjo’s accusation.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
Since 1999, only few men have bestridden Nigeria’s political landscape like a colossus as the current National Leader of the All Progressives Congress. As the ultimate kingmaker, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has anointed governors and frustrated the ambitions of those who would not kowtow to his political vision.
A formidable political fighter and strategist, loved by many and hated by as much, the allegation that he forged a certificate may always dog the APC leader.
In 1999, one Dr. Waliu Balogun had written a petition against Tinubu that he did not attend Chicago State University as indicated in his INEC form 001 filled when he contested the Lagos State governorship poll and that he also lied in the affidavit he attached to the INEC form, in which he declared that he lost his university degree certificate while he was in exile between 1994 and 1998.
Balogun’s litany of complaints included accusations that Tinubu’s claim of attending Government College, Ibadan, was false; and that he lied in the INEC form about his age – that he was born in 1952 as against the 1954 he filled in the documents at the Chicago university. Tinubu was also accused of not participating in the compulsory one-year NYSC exercise.
Generating a lot of furore, Tinubu was forced to present the original copy of his certificate while he dismissed the allegations as “baseless, wicked and unfortunate.”
Notwithstanding, that year, a firebrand lawyer and human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, went to court to compel the Inspector General of Police to investigate Tinubu. Fawehinmi did not live long enough to finish the lawsuit.
In 2013, however, one Dr. Dominic Adegbola filed an unsuccessful application seeking to reopen the suit.
Ayodele Fayose
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, means many things to many people. Some hail him as a courageous politician daring the APC–led Federal Government. Others see him as an impostor using populism to take advantage of the Ekiti people – this is partly based on a 2013 certificate scandal that he was embroiled in.
Flamboyant Fayose had claimed that he attended The Polytechnic, Ibadan and bagged a Higher National Diploma certificate but he was left in a state of disbelief when the institution issued a disclaimer that he was never a student of the polytechnic and that the certificate he claimed as his actually belonged to a different person.
Not a few people asked for his prosecution just as Fayose prepared for the governorship election.
In an intriguing volte-face, the state polytechnic ate their words, admitting that Fayose was a graduate of the school and he eventually won the election in October 2014 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Gabriel Suswam
With chubby cheeks and usually wearing a smile, former two-time Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam was accused of forging his West African School Certificate which he used to gain admission to the University of Lagos to study Law.
Ahead of the 2007 governorship poll in Benue, Suswam submitted the certificate to INEC as prerequisite to contest in the election.
No sooner had he done that than it was alleged that his original certificate showed that he passed five subjects, excluding Mathematics and English, which are mandatory for admission into a Nigerian university.
His accusers also accused Suswam of writing to WAEC in 2005 claiming that his certificate was missing, attaching photocopies of the missing certificate, a police report and an affidavit of loss of certificate to the letter.
A PDP aspirant and opponent of Suswam, Terver Kakih, took the matter to court claiming that WAEC issued the accused a new certificate that indicated he passed English and Mathematics, raising suspicions it might have been forged.
The case literally dragged from that point until Suswam completed his tenure as governor with the examination body standing by the certificate it issued Suswam.
The lawsuit moved from the High Court to the Supreme Court and in 2014, the apex court cleared Suswam of any wrongdoing.
Adams Oshiomhole
For many a Nigerian governor, unease lies the head that wears the crown. Like his colleagues mentioned earlier, former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, also walked the often tight rope of a forgery scandal in 2012 when Major General Charles Airhiavbere (retd.) challenged the authenticity of his academic records.
Airhiavbere, who was contesting governorship on the platform of PDP, had said Oshiomhole’s primary and school certificates were forged.
In a case that went before elections tribunal, Airhiavbere argued that all certificates presented to INEC by Oshiomhole were not authentic.
According to him, Oshiomhole attended Iyamoh Primary School, Iyamoh, from 1957 to 1962, with Edo State Ministry of Education’s record indicating that the school was founded in 1963, a year after the then governor said he graduated from it; and that his name was not listed among graduands of Blessed Martins Secondary Modern School, which Oshiomhole was said to have graduated from in 1965, among other issues.
Though Airhiavbere lost his case at the tribunal, he got a reprieve at the Court of Appeal, as the court ordered that a new tribunal should be convened to revisit the petition he had earlier filed.
As time fled past, what used to be a legal tussle between Oshiomhole and the retired general turned into a case of camaraderie because in 2015 during the former’s seventh anniversary as governor, Airhiavbere praised him, saying, “The platform created by Oshiomhole is strong and tenable and one upon which the APC as a party should allow all aspirants to contest to fly the party’s flag in the 2016 governorship election. The governor’s crowd of supporters and the relevance of the party in the state have been deep-rooted even in opposition, before that election.”
Godwin Obaseki
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, succeeded Oshiomhole in running the affairs of the state. He is also like his predecessor in another sense.
Obaseki’s profile indicates that he attended the Columbia University and Pace University in New York, US and has an MBA in Finance and International Business.
Like his forerunner, Obaseki was accused of using a doctored certificate to seek admission into the university.
Chairman of the PDP in Edo, Dan Orbih, had said about him, “He claimed he entered university the year he left secondary school. How could he have gained admission with such result? The result was not even good enough for any form of preliminary studies.
“This can only mean that Godwin Obaseki forged certificates to gain admission to the university. It is obvious that the man has no academic qualifications as he had only three credits.”
In response, Obaseki produced an affidavit from an Abuja High Court which stated that all of his educational certificates, including his NYSC discharge certificate were missing and in their stead he produced photocopies of the original documents.
The claim was dismissed as “flimsy” and “unconvincing” by the PDP.
Staunchly defending himself, Obaseki said, “The truth is that I have not had any reason to look for them in the last 25 years. I know that I kept them somewhere in a safe box and I had photocopies. When I needed them for the exercise, I could not find them. So, I swore to an affidavit that I cannot find the originals.
“So when the whole controversy started raging, my cousin called me from New York and said, ‘But your originals are here.’ I said, ‘Please, send them to me now’.”
For Obaseki, all is well that ends well.
Evan(s) Enwerem
Evan(s) Enwerem was the Senate President on June 3, 1999 but he did not hold the position for long as he was embroiled in a scandal involving forgery and perjury.
He was accused by colleagues in the Senate, said to be led by Senator Chuba Okadigbo (who eventually replaced him and was also booted out in a similar fashion), of using a fake name and falsifying academic records.
The allegation against Enwerem was that he falsified his name and a debate ensued as to whether Enwerem’s real name was Evan or Evans.
Eventually, he was removed as the senate president on November 18, 1999 but remained as a senator until 2003 and was never prosecuted. He died in 2007.
Stella Oduah
Aged 55, according to Senator Stella Oduah’s profile on the National Assembly’s page, she reportedly went to St. John’s Primary School and graduated in 1974 with a First School Leaving Certificate; Zixton Secondary School and graduated in 1978 with West African School Certificate; and St. Paul College and finished in 1982 with no certificate received indicated.
A former Minister of Aviation, Oduah is not one to be frightened in times of scandals – she was accused of being among the privileged few women who influenced the decisions of ex-president Jonathan and that she allegedly bought bulletproof automobiles for personal use with government money.
According to information gleaned from online sources, Oduah claimed she attended St. Paul’s College, Lawrenceville in Virginia, US, from 1978 to 1982, obtaining a first degree in Accounting and a master’s degree in 1983. But St. Paul’s College did not seem to have run a master’s programme.
On Wikipedia, the senator was also credited with having received an honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration from Pacific Christian University based in Glendale.
That claim too said was said to be preposterous. SaharaReporters had, through a story it published, accused Oduah of falsely claiming to attend the academic institutions.
According to the online publication, the then President of St. Paul’s, Dr. Claud Flythe, refused to deny or confirm the senator’s claim when contacted.
It added that efforts to verify Oduah’s academic claim was fruitless as the institution’s Office of Alumni Affairs said the college had been closed since June 2013 due to loss of its accreditation.
In spite of these weighty allegations, the delectable senator has kept mum. The citation of the degree has however been yanked off from her Wikipedia page.
Andy Uba
According to his photo-less profile on the National Assembly’s official website, Andy Uba is 59 years old; he went to St James Primary School, Uga Aguata, Anambra State and Union Secondary School, Enugu State. SUNDAY PUNCH observed that the space for dates he attended those schools was vacant. He also claimed in the profile that he went to California State University, Los Angeles in 2013 with qualifications that read, “Ba, p.hd, dpa award.” His profile like many other federal lawmakers did not say much.
In 2006, there were claims that Andy Uba did not have a first degree in Geology which he said he obtained from Concordia University, Canada, in 1984.
His master’s degree from California State University was also said to be doubtful; so was his claim to have acquired a doctoral degree from Buxton University in the United Kingdom, as the institution was said to run unaccredited online degrees with an address in Portugal, which was not recognised by the United Kingdom.
Ikechukwu Obiorah had made these allegations in a bid to overturn Uba’s election as the senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District in 2011, asking the election tribunal to invalidate his election and order a rerun poll.
While the legal battle continues in the court, the senator relishes his privilege as one of the nation’s federal lawmakers.
Domingo Obende
The senator representing Edo North senatorial district of Edo State, Domingo Obende, of the APC was one of the nation’s lawmakers with a moral burden to prove that the documents presented for election into public offices were not forged.
A PDP candidate, Yisa Braimoh, had accused Obende of forging his primary school certificate for the 2011 National Assembly election.
A lawsuit Braimoh filed against Obende was dismissed in 2012. He appealed the judgment but the ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
For the senator, that was not just an electoral victory, it was a vindication of his integrity.
Maurice Iwu
Professor Maurice Iwu was INEC’s Chairman between 2005 and 2010. Last year, the National Human Rights Commission recommended his prosecution for conducting what international observers perceived as one of the most bizarre elections ever held in the world.
The outcome inaugurated the strange staggering of governorship elections now in vogue in the country and affecting Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Kogi states, where election tribunals upturned the fraud-tainted results.
He bears more burden than that; even his personal integrity was under question as SaharaReporters questioned whether Iwu was actually a pharmacist and if he had a first degree from a university in Cameroon.
The online publication claimed that Iwu attended Biafra Holy Rosary School of Pharmacy, Ummuna Orlu from 1968-1969 where he dropped out in Class 4, coinciding with the same period he indicated to the University of Bradford to have graduated from a university in Cameroon.
Following his stint at the school of pharmacy, the ex-INEC boss was said to have undertaken a course, Dispensing Pharmacy Technician in Compounding, in Côte d’Ivoire, under the Biafran-Ivory Coast training scholarships for Biafrans. The course was for two months. Following the end of the Biafran war, he landed a job as a dispensing chemist (though he was alleged to have paraded himself as a medical doctor to many of his ‘patients’) in Enugu at 35 Zik Avenue, Uwani, opposite Leventis stores, Enugu. He held this job between 1970 and 1973.
Iwu has neither refuted or confirmed these allegations and INEC, too, has remained silent on the matter.
Following the role he allegedly played in connection with the N23.29bn bribery of INEC officials, the EFCC is said to be on his trail.
A LinkedIn profile of Iwu indicated that he went to “Lagos University” between 1972 and 1977. But another record, according to SaharaReporters showed that the ex-INEC boss obtained his undergraduate, master’s and PhD degrees from University of Bradford between 1972 and 1978.
Ndi Okereke-Onyuike
In 2011, according to an online medium, Nigerianvillagesquare.com, the US Securities and Exchange Commission had sent a request to the City University of New York’s Graduate School asking to know if a former Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Okereke-Onyiuke, had a PhD. The response of the school’s Director of Student Services and Senior Registrar of CUNY’s Graduate School, Vincent De Luca, was startling.
The statement of the school obtained by our correspondent from the website quoted De Luca as saying, “On January 18, 2011, I caused a search to be conducted of our student records (including graduation records) at The Graduate Center, at the request of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, to determine if Ms. Ndi Okereke–Onyiuke was ever enrolled in the PhD programme in Business and if she received a PhD in Business at The Graduate Centre.
“A thorough search of our electronic and paper files for the names, Ndi Leche Okereke, Ndi Okereke, Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke and Ndi Lechi Okereke–Onyiuke was conducted. No record was found that Ms. Ndi Okereke–Onyiuke ever enrolled in the PhD programme in Business or received a PhD in Business at The Graduate Centre.”
That the former NSE boss earned a first class honours degree in Business Administration, Computer Science and Economics, from Baruch College of the City College of the City, University of New York in 1975, is also said to be contestable – as the institution was said to be non-existent at least in the US, according to SaharaReporters.
The “Amazon” of the NSE still has all the academic records glowingly displayed on Bloomberg’s Executive Profile for big guns. She has also yet to counter the rebuttal of the CUNY’s Graduate School; and no law enforcement agency in Nigeria is known to have looked into her issue.
Christian Abah
This month, the Supreme Court ended the dreams of Christian Abah of enjoying the privilege of making laws for the country.
Abah, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadigbo Federal Constituency of Benue State, was kicked out of the legislative chamber.
He was earlier given the boot by a Federal High Court in Abuja in 2016 for submitting a forged certificate of academic qualification to INEC.
The court had ordered INEC to issue fresh certificate of return to Abah’s first runner-up in the PDP’s primary held in 2014, Hassan Saleh.
The apex court affirmed that he had forged the Ordinary National Diploma certificate purportedly issued to him in 1985 by the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa State.
“It is a must, to take the lead, righting the wrong in our society if and when the opportunity presents itself as in this appeal. Allowing criminality and certificate forgery to continue to percolate into the streams, waters and oceans of our national polity will only mean that our waters are and will remain dangerously contaminated.
“The purification efforts must start now and be sustained as we seek, as a nation, to now change from our old culture of reckless impunity. The Nigerian Constitution is supreme. It desires that no one who has ever presented a forged certificate to INEC should contest election into the Nigerian National Assembly. This is clear and sacrosanct,” the court had said while delivering its judgment.
Abah was said to have, in addition to tendering a forged certificate for the 2015 election, falsely claimed in the INEC’s Form CF001 ahead of the 2015 general elections that he had never submitted a forged certificate to INEC, contrary to an earlier judgment of an election petition tribunal in 2011, declaring that the certificate submitted by him was forged.
The Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the Nigerian socio-economic and political system is set up to encourage fraud.
Adeniran, expressing his disdain for the government’s inability to provide access to free education to Nigerians and blaming such for forging educational certificates, said, “This is not to say that it is correct to forge certificates for the purpose of getting into elective offices or any other purpose. No; this is because the act itself is not just criminal, it is morally wrong and depicts a low sense of self-respect and esteem about the forger. It shows lack of self-confidence in one’s inherent abilities and the false need to parade oneself as what one is not. It is moral bankruptcy. An honest person would not lie about educational qualifications no matter what.”
What the laws say
Concerning perjury, Section 118 of the Criminal Code says, “Any person who commits perjury is liable to imprisonment for 14 years. If the offender commits the offence in order to procure the conviction of another person for an offence punishable with death or with imprisonment for life, he is liable to imprisonment for life.”
On forgery, Section 465, of the Criminal Code Act, says, “A person who makes a false document or writing knowing it to be false, and with intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine, whether in the state or elsewhere, to the prejudice of any person or with intent that any person may, in the belief that it is genuine, be induced to do or refrain from doing any act, whether in the state or elsewhere is said to forge the document or writing.”
But Nigeria’s wheel of justice may grind too slowly to exact punishment on culprits of perjury and forgery, especially among politically exposed individuals.
“One needs not to be told that anyone capable of forging a certificate to get into office is extremely likely to perpetrate corruption if elected into office. This is one of what is responsible for the rampant corrupt and sharp practices we witness in public and elected offices on daily basis,” the CACOL boss pointed out.
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