Breaking news:South Korea and US in show of firepower over North Korea missile threat

Mercy Lank The US and South Korea have carried out a live-fire exercise in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the American mainland. The display of firepower came as experts said the trajectory of the rocket fired by Pyongyang,which landed in the Sea of Japan, indicated major cities across the US were now within range. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who personally supervised the launch of the missile on Friday night, said it served as a "stern warning" for the US, according to the North's official KCNA news agency. He claimed it brought the whole of the US within firing range that could be hit "at any place and time". Image:Experts say the missile launched by North Korea is capable of reaching major US cities It is the second ICBM launch in less than a month by the North, despite international efforts to curb the development of missile technology by the nuclear-armed authoritarian state. US President Donald Trump said: "By threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people. "The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region." As well as conducting the live-fire exercise, South Korea has also said it will push ahead with the deployment of four additional units of the US THAAD anti-missile defence system. This in turn has led China, the North's main ally, to express serious concerns, arguing it would make the situation "more complex". The country's foreign ministry said it opposed Pyongyang's launch activities, but added: "At the same time, China hopes all parties act with caution, to prevent tensions from continuing to escalate, to jointly protect regional peace and stability." The missile test came a day after the US Senate approved a package of sanctions on North Korea, Russia and Iran. The White House has said Mr Trump is ready to sign off the measures. The sanctions are likely to include measures aimed at Chinese financial institutions that do business with North Korea.

Read More

mob killed a policeman at onitsha

Mercy Lank

A mob on Thursday killed a policeman over the death of a woman and two children at a checkpoint on Owerri Road, Onitsha, Anambra state.

Witnesses said that the incident occurred at 3.30p.m. when the policeman attempted to stop an articulated vehicle loaded with sand.according to the witnesses, the driver lost control, causing the fatal accident.

“A tipper driver who was carrying sharp sand tried to meander his way past the policemen at the checkpoint but in the attempt to escape ran into the woman and children.

“I wouldn’t know exactly why the tipper driver was stopped but immediately the accident happened, the policemen around the area made effort to leave the scene but were attacked by the mob,” a witness said.

The witness said that the victims were standing by the roadside to board a vehicle to their destination when they were killed.

Another witness said that the mob spontaneously chased the policemen and beat up two of them, while the others escaped with their guns.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the factory located near the police checkpoint was set ablaze by the mob.

The incident later forced police from Okpoko Police Station in Onitsha to carry out a mass arrest of persons along the busy road.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Nkeiru Nwode, expressed dismay over the development, saying the youths should have reported the matter to the police.

“It was just an accident. Three people died on the spot and their remains have been deposited in the mortuary.

“The scene of the accident has also been barricaded and the police are in control of the situation,” she said.

Nwode said the police were against unlawful assembly and would not relent in efforts to maintain peace and order in the state.

Read More

Femi fani-kayode:disintegrate into smaller independent entities if Nigeria cannot be restructured,

Mercy Lank ​

rejection of the proposal to devolve more constitutional powers from the centre to the states which would have kicked-off the process of restructuring Nigeria in earnest.


the country can never be achieved through the 1999 constitution or the current National Assembly. According to him, the system was rigged and designed to protect and preserve itself, adding that and the core north effectively had a power of veto in the National Assembly which it will always exercise in order to block any form of restructuring. Fani-Kayode wrote on his Facebook page: “For those commentators in this forum who have never participated in or understand Nigerian politics but who tend to speak and act as if they are the only ones that are sincere about restructuring I have the following to say.
“I hope you have learnt a lesson or two from the fact that during the constitutional review exercise that took place in the last few days the Senate has refused to devolve power from the centre and initiate the process for genuine restructuring in our country. “These are the hard facts, hidden obstacles and bitter realities about the struggle that some of us that are in the field have been facing and complaining about for the last 25 years! “From henceforth let it be clearly understood by all, including those that desire restructuring but who have never participated in Nigerian politics, that we can never achieve it through the existing constitutional structure or the National Assembly.
“This is because the system is rigged and designed to protect and preserve itself and because the core north effectively has a power of veto in the National Assembly which it will always exercise in order to block any form of restructuring. It is this point that people like Nnamdi Kanu and other ethnic nationalist leaders came to appreciate long ago and it explains their ‘hardline’ posture on these issues. “The bottom line is as follows: restructuring will not be given to us freely or on a platter of gold. “It must be taken and if necessary it must be taken by force.
“Finally mark this: if it does not eventually come then I say let us cease to be one nation. “I would rather live as a free man in an independent Oduduwa Republic than continue to live and die as a slave in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Read More

The US Senate has voted almost unanimously to slap new sanctions on Russia, putting President Donald Trump in a tough position by forcing him to take a hard line on Moscow or veto the legislation.

Mercy Lank

Senate vote to force Trump's hand on Russia sanctions The bill targets Russia for its annexation of Crimea and alleged meddling in the US electi eS Senate has voted almost unanimously to slap new sanctions on Russia, putting President Donald Trump in a tough position by forcing him to take a hard line on Moscow or veto the legislation. The legislation all but dashes Mr Trump's hopes for warmer ties with Moscow as his administration is dogged by congressional and special counsel investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly denied the conclusions of US intelligence agencies that Moscow interfered using cyber warfare methods, has threatened retaliation against the legislation. The Senate backed the bill, which also imposes sanctions on Iran and North Korea, by a margin of 98-2 with strong support from Mr Trump's fellow Republicans as well as Democrats. The bill, which includes a provision that allows Congress to stop any effort by Mr Trump to ease existing sanctions on Russia, will now be sent to the White House for the President to sign into law or veto.
It is the first major foreign policy legislation approved by Congress under Mr Trump, who has struggled to advance his domestic agenda despite Republicans controlling the Senate and House of Representatives. The strong bipartisan support for the bill was a sharp contrast to the bitter partisan rancor during debate over how to overhaul the US healthcare system. If Mr Trump chooses to veto it, the bill is expected to garner enough support in both chambers to override his veto and pass it into law. The sanctions measure has already passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 419-3. Republicans and Democrats have pushed for more sanctions partly as a response to the election allegations. Mr Trump denies any collusion between his campaign and Moscow.
publican Senator John McCain, a leading congressional voice calling for a firm line against Russia, said before the vote: "The United States of America needs to send a strong message to Vladimir Putin and any other aggressor that we will not tolerate attacks on our democracy." Mr Putin said Moscow would only decide on how to retaliate once it had seen the final text of the proposed law. The 184-page bill seeks to hit Mr Putin and the oligarchs close to him by targeting Russian corruption, human rights abusers, and crucial sectors of the Russian economy, including weapons sales and energy exports. The North Korea sanctions are intended to thwart Pyongyang's ambition for nuclear weapons by cutting off access to the cash the reclusive nation needs to follow through with its plans. The package also imposes mandatory penalties on people involved in Iran's ballistic missile programme and anyone who does business with them. The measure would apply terrorism sanctions to the country's Revolutionary Guards and enforce an arms embargo.

Read More

protesters clash with security forces at a rally in Caracas

Mercy Lank lt is sitting on more oil than any other country on Earth but Venezuela is now an economic basket case. The country is sliding towards violent anarchy, despite all its natural blessings and its current misery could be just the beginning of something far worse How does a country with enormous potential wealth come to this? There are many reasons, but top of the list are gross economic mismanagement and, perversely, the curses brought by all that oil. By any number of measures Venezuela is falling apart. Nine out of 10 Venezuelans say they cannot afford enough food. Three quarters have lost weight in the last year. Maternal mortality rates have shot up. People are routinely dying of treatable conditions because doctors can no longer find the most basic of drugs. Image:Protests in the country have become increasingly violent We may moan in the UK about falling living standards, but in Venezuela income per head is back to levels last seen in the 50s. On the streets, political protests are paralysing much of the country. Their brutal suppression by the Maduro regime is, on average, claiming one life every day. Like the government of Hugo Chavez that it followed, the Maduro government claims to be on the side of the masses. But its kleptocratic rule has been disastrous for every level of society. The poor just have less to lose. The regime is tightening its grip on the levers of control more and more jealously, fearful of what might happen should it fall from power. In turn, the frustration and anger of the people only intensifies in what is becoming an explosively combustible mix. Image:Security forces have been deployed on the streets The government is in some ways only following the example of previous political and business elites in Venezuela. Since its democratic heyday in the 50s, one government after another has closely guarded its control of the oil monopoly, and not delivered necessary political and economic reforms. But the Maduro government's mismanagement of the economy has been breathtakingly irresponsible. The hose of public spending has been left on, aimed only at supporters of the regime. To fund such profligate finances Maduro has printed money, unable to rely on oil income in a period of falling prices. Nationalisation, price controls and rampant corruption have added to the witches' brew poisoning the economy. And there is little hope of relief. The regime may be despised but it remains confidently in control. The army is in as deep as Maduro, co-conspirators in his misgovernment of the country. He retains the support of much of the very poor and the opposition remains divided. Video:Naked protester walks through ugly Venezuela clashes And he is not likely to give up power easily nor are his henchmen and cronies. They know the fate that could await them if they do. So a painful deterioration seems inevitable.Protests will become increasingly desperate and violent, their leadership passing from conventional politicians to more extreme elements. Increasingly paranoid and wary, the regime may respond with ever increasing violence. And in the anarchy that ensues criminal gangs and organised crime will foster greater instability, and profit from it. The only hope is shrewd and sustained intervention from outside the country. Other Latin American nations are waking up to the threat of a Venezuelan failed state. In normal times Washington could be counted on too. But the right kind of US mediation, that does not just make matters worse, is under this president and his deliberately weakened State Department far from a foregone conclusion

Read More

NNamdi kanu visit to abonyi state

Mercy Lank
The IPOB leader maazi nnamdi kanu steps out of the car to clear road that was blocked by the Nigerian security on his way to Ebonyi State.
On the process all the security Members clear out of road and ran away. It was understood that Governor of the state ask see not to enter the state a day before the event, which points out a clear information to every other eastern Governors that has warn him not to enter their respective states.

Read More

Nigerians want PDP back in 2019 – Jonathan

Mercy Lank

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Nigerians still want the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to return to power in 2019. He therefore appealed to the party’s members to rebuild it. Mr. Jonathan said this on Monday evening as he led other party chieftains to a meeting of Expanded National Caucus of the party at its Wadata Plaza national secretariat. Mr. Jonathan also assured that many members of the party who left it as a result of its internal crisis would return. The former president, who arrived at the venue to a loud ovation, assured party supporters that the PDP has gone past ‘its worst moment.’ “The first thing we need to do is to rebuild the party because when the party is strong, everything will be added to that.

“Whether you have individual or group interest, as a politician, you must serve. These are very basic things. But first and foremost, we must strengthen the party. “Let us cooperate with the Caretaker Committee and make sure that PDP is very cohesive. And when that happens, people who stepped aside may step back.’’ PDP had been factionalised since its national convention which held in May 2016 in Port Harcourt leading to numerous court cases that ended last week at the Supreme Court.

With the affirmation of Ahmed Makarfi as its authentic chairman by the apex court, the crisis that had ravaged the party was finally laid to rest.

Read More