* Senate set to Investigate Billions of Naira Spent on Electricity Under Obasanjo and Jonathan Government
* Nigerian, David Oyelowo is the New James Bond.
* 10 killed in Boko Haram Fresh Attack in Cameroun
On the Foreign Scene
* Nepal sets new Reconstruction Authourity, Fours Months After Quake-hit
* Colorado Baker Discriminated by Denying Gay couple Wedding cake: Judge
Nigerian, David Oyelowo is new James Bond
Nigerian, David Oyelowo is new James Bond
Senate set to Investigate Billions of Naira Spent on Electricity Under Obasanjo and Jonathan Government.
The senate constituted an ad-hoc committee of 13 member to be led by Abubakar Kyari, whose agenda is to; carry investigation into the management of funds allocated for the power sector by President Buhari predecessors since 1999. The committee have just two weeks to complete their investigation and report back to the house.
The investigation is expected to cover the tenures of former President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007), late President Umaru Yar’Adua (2007-2010) and President Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015). The ad-hoc committee will also probe the unbundling of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria by the Federal Government.
Nigerian, David Oyelowo is the New James Bond.
After many months of speculation, it has been made official that David Oyelowo will be playing the role of James Bond in the audio version of Tigris Mortis. An audiobook written by Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by the Ian Flemming estate.
Expressing his excitement, the actor said "I am officially the only person on planet earth who can legitimately say; I am the new James Bond.' - even saying the name is the cinematic equivalent of doing the 'to be or not to be speech.'
Other critically acclaimed roles played by the British born actor include; Henry VI for the Royal Shakespeare company, making him the first black man to play the role of an English King in a major Shakespeare production. He was also in the BBC TV drama M15 Officer as Danny Hunter and in Selma as Martin Luther King. Congratulations to him.
10 killed in Boko Haram Fresh Attack in Cameroun.
The insurgents recent attack has led to the death of 10 people, including two soldiers and 8 civilians and burnt several houses during their Wednesday raid in northern Cameroun according to reports. The Islamists also burnt several houses in the town , which lies near Lake Chad, before retreating to Nigeria.
Nepal sets new Reconstruction Authourity Fours Months After Quake-hit.
A new state body has been set up by Nepal Government on Thursday to commence reconstruction after the country was hit by a severe earth quake nearly four months ago. And Govind Raj Pokharel, vice chairperson of the national planning commission, is to head the new body, said Uttar Kumar Khatri, spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office.
He also added that; "The government says Nepal will need around $6.7 billion to pay for rebuilding and wants all reconstruction funds to be channeled through the new body, raising concerns that bureaucracy and poor planning will delay rebuilding."
Khatri also made references to previous experiences when speaking to AFP. "In the past we have experienced delays while working on mega projects due to lack of authority and legal hurdles… keeping that in view, government has given full authority to the NRA so it won’t face problems on issues like land acquisition."
The new authority, which will be monitored by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, will have five years to complete its task and will have to present a public report on its progress every four months, Khatri said.
"Reconstruction is not only a national issue now but it’s a matter of our image in the global arena. We want to show the world that Nepal can be rebuilt within five years,"
The government has allocated nearly a billion dollars to the rebuilding effort in its annual budget.
This includes cuts in customs duties on construction materials as well as low-cost loans to quake survivors seeking to repair or put up new homes, which runs into hundreds of thousands of death and lost properties.
Colorado Baker Discriminated by Denying Gay couple Wedding cake: Judge
A baker in suburban Denver cannot cite his religious beliefs in refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday, backing a lower court that decided he had illegally discriminated against the two men.
The decision follows a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that legalized gay marriage nationwide.
David Mullins and Charlie Craig had said it was "offensive and dehumanizing" when Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips told them his Christian beliefs prevented him from baking the cake when they visited his business in 2012.
The couple was wed in Massachusetts but wanted to celebrate their nuptials with friends in Colorado. At the time, Colorado allowed civil unions but did not permit marriage between same-sex couples.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint on behalf of Mullins and Craig, and in December 2013 Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer found that the baker had violated a state law barring discrimination at public accommodations based on race, gender or sexual orientation.
Phillips countered that requiring his business to provide such a cake violated his rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion.
The Colorado Civil Rights Commission affirmed Spencer's decision and required the cake shop to take remedial measures including comprehensive staff training and the filing of quarterly compliance reports. Phillips appealed.
In its opinion on Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals said the state's Anti Discrimination Act, known as CADA, clearly prohibits businesses from refusing to serve customers based on their sexual orientation.
It said the bakery had argued that wedding cakes inherently convey a celebratory message about marriage, and that the commission's order therefore conflicted with the baker's beliefs.
"We disagree," the appeals court wrote.
"Nothing in the record supports the conclusion that a reasonable observer would interpret Masterpiece's providing a wedding cake for a same-sex couple as an endorsement of same-sex marriage rather than a reflection of its desire to conduct business in accordance with Colorado's public accommodations law," it added.
It said the bakery remains free to continue espousing its beliefs, including opposition to gay marriage.
"However, if it wishes to operate as a public accommodation and conduct business within the State of Colorado, CADA prohibits it from picking and choosing customers based on their sexual orientation," the court wrote.
Source: Reuters.
And another weekend it is: Do take sometime to relax from the week day's hard work. Cheers!
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