9th December 2022 |
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Good morning. A Florida woman is suing a food company arguing its packed food takes longer than the 3 ½ minute cook time printed on the box. She wants $5 million paid as damages.
First world problems...
European Union. Croatia will join the European Union's Schengen Area on January 1, 2023. EU ministers on Thursday voted to reject bids made by Romania and Bulgaria to join the visa-free area. The Schengen Area includes most EU states, plus Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Iceland.
World Cup. A blockbuster set of quarter-finals gets underway today as 5-times champions Brazil face 2018 runners-up Croatia, and Lionel Messi’s Argentina face three-time losing finalists the Netherlands. After three weeks of pulsating action, just eight teams are left standing as the 32-nation tournament heads into the final rounds of the knockout competition after a two-day break.
Global Health. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an additional 13 million malaria cases and 63,000 deaths from the disease in the past two years. ~95% of the world's malaria infections and deaths last year occurred in Africa. More than half of global deaths from malaria occurred in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Niger. The WHO raised concerns about a new invasive mosquito species that is pesticide-resistant and thrives in urban areas.
1979 Smallpox Eradicated
A commission of scientists declare that smallpox has been eradicated. The disease, which carries around a 30 percent chance of death for those who contract it, is the only infectious disease afflicting humans that has officially been eradicated. Smallpox was the leading cause of death in 18th century Europe.
NIGERIA
DSS Threaten NNPC
The Story
Nigeria's Department of State Services (DSS) has given a two-day ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other oil sector players to end the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.
How's this a concern of the DSS?
This was disclosed by the DSS' spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, during a press conference yesterday in Abuja. Noting that people may be wondering why the DSS is intervening in a fuel crisis, Afunanya stated that the DSS has the constitutional mandate to detect and prevent threats to Nigeria's internal security, a threat that the lingering scarcity may become. “You might be wondering what our business is on this issue. Don’t forget the Constitution charged us with the mandate of detecting and preventing any threat against our internal security", he explained.
Is there enough fuel in the country?
According to the DSS spokesperson, who said that the DSS had just held a meeting with NNPLC and other stakeholders in the downstream sector, there is enough fuel to cover at least the remaining weeks in the year. "The NNPCL said there are 1.9 billion barrels of petroleum in stock and all the stakeholders agreed to that", Afunanya said, adding that, “Among the resolutions reached at the end of the meeting is that the marketers will be operating for 24 hours on a daily basis". The DSS also said it will provide security to aide the distribution of fuel across the country.
Afunanya added that all DSS commands across the country have been placed on red alert and would commence operations to bring defaulters to book, once the two-day ultimatum ends.SOURCE
EUROPE
Give, And Take
The Story
The United States and Russia reached an agreement yesterday, for the first time in a long while, despite existing hostilities between them.
What agreement?
A prisoner swap agreement was reached by both sides yesterday, as American basketball star Brittney Griner was freed in exchange for a notorious Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Jailed in Russia since February when she was arrested by authorities in Moscow for possession of canabis oil, Griner's release brings an end to Bout's 12 years incarceration. Tagged the "merchant of death", Bout had been held in an American prison for 12 years, for selling arms to warlords and rogue governments.
Left in the cold
While the swap has been hailed by some, including Griner's wife, another American, Paul Whelan - also jailed in Russia - has expressed disappointment that his release was not secured. The former US Marine, who was detained on espionage charges in 2018, told CNN he was “disappointed” to remain in Russian jail. President Biden, who acknowledged the deal [for Whelan] had come up short and vowed to continue negotiations, hailed the release of the 32-year old Griner. "We have made one more family whole again", Biden said. SOURCE
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EUROPE
Vigilance Saves Germany
The Story
A dangerous coup has been stopped in Germany.
A coup in Germany?
That's right. In raids conducted across Germany, Austria, and Italy, German officials arrested at least 25 individuals. A former member of parliament, a Russian national, a special forces soldier, and a self-declared prince are purportedly members of a far-right and suspected terrorist cell that was created more than a year ago.
Were they really planning a coup?
The group, which appears to have been influenced by QAnon, sees Germany as an illegal state administered by a "deep state." According to the prosecution, the organization intended to attack the nation's parliament, overturn the current administration, and install Prince Heinrich XIII, a D-list aristocrat, as the next leader of the nation. Even a military wing would have been part of their new government.
How did the authorities uncover the plan?
Well, there was handwriting on the wall. The Wednesday arrests weren't unrelated to anything else. They occurred at a time when the far-right is steadily gaining support in Germany and around Europe, notably in Italy, Sweden, and France. Now that extremism has reached a two-decade high and shows little indication of abating, Germany is attempting to control it.
According to the authorities, there were plans in place, and bloodshed would have resulted. Evidently, they had even had weapons training. The current raids are apparently one of the largest counter-extremism operations in German history. And some are pointing out possible parallels to the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. SOURCE
LIFE EXPERIENCES
Why Not Tell 'Fat People' They Are Fat?
Quora Question: Why do we need to 'accept' fat people instead of telling them they should stop eating junk food and go to the gym? Isn't that in their best interest?
Mel Larson: Many, many years ago I worked at a place that had a female engineer who was exceptionally overweight. Every day she ate the same thing, a small salad and a diet coke. At a Christmas party once she brought her mother, who she lived with, to the party. Her mother was slimish and a very nice woman and at some point we started talking, turns out her daughter had a thyroid condition which caused her to gain weight despite barely eating anything at all.
My wife was on a medication. Called Lyrica, one of the more significant side effects is weight gain, she put on forty pounds in just under a year despite us eating rather healthy diets.
My grandmother barely ate at all, but because she developed diabetes after battling breast cancer she had a very difficult time losing weight.
What I am trying to say is not everyone who is overweight is so because of a poor diet, many are overweight because of medical conditions that prevent them from maintaining a healthy weight. So stop being a jerk and try and find out people's stories before judging them, or maybe someone will find out about your vices and announce to the world how you are supposed to live.
Cash withdrawal: Emefiele insists on limits, Reps demand suspension
Sanwo-Olu cuts tuition fees for state varcities by 65%
D’banj: We reported case to ICPC, says Humanitarian Affairs Ministry
PHOTOS: EFCC auctions 435 forfeited vehicles in Lagos
MFM General Overseer becomes a professor
Abducted Benue commissioner freed
18-yr-old Jaylen Smith becomes youngest Black Mayor in US
New York Times journalists embark on strike — first in 40 years
Confusion and anxiety in China as draconian COVID curbs eased
Portugal says Ronaldo did not threaten to leave World Cup squad
GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY
Laptop Opportunity from Edustipend
Edustipend is an organization that provides learning resources and financial support to aid your learning needs. If you need a laptop, course or data subscription to help in taking you a step closer to your dreams, then check out their website and complete this request form.
Applications close on the 11th of December. APPLY HERE
5 celebrities with very peculiar eating habits. MSN
This year's 100 best songs. PitchFork
An Odd Culture of Obsessing over Degrees. Medium
Revealed: Abortion program run by the Nigerian Army. Reuters
FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE
The man Finidi George
Finidi George made his debut for Nigeria in 1991 during an AFCON qualifier match against Burkina Faso, scoring a goal and providing a hattrick of assists in a 7-1 win.
He won the AFCON in 1994, finished second in 2000 and finished third in 1992 and 2002.
He represented Nigeria at the 1994 and 1998 World Cup editions, scoring against Greece in the former.
Altogether, he made 62 appearances for Nigeria and scored 6 goals.
He played for various clubs but achieved the most success at Ajax where he won a total of eight trophies, including three league titles and one UCL title.
During his time at Ajax, he finished 21st in the 1995 ballon d'Or rankings- the second-highest ranking by a Nigerian player, only behind Kanu Nwankwo who finished 11th in 1996.
Finidi also played for Real Betis and finished runner-up in the Copa del Rey in 1996-97.
In September 2021, he was appointed manager of Enyimba FC and is currently a member of the coaching staff of the Nigerian national football team.
TRIVIA
Name that word
Oxford Dictionaries unveiled its Word of the Year 2022 last Monday. We’ll give you a few excerpts from the description, and you have to identify the word. (Important: It’s actually a two-word phrase.)
- “A type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”
- This term “rose in popularity...as Covid lockdown restrictions eased in many countries and people ventured out of their homes more regularly. Seemingly, it captured the prevailing mood of individuals who rejected the idea of returning to ‘normal life,’ or rebelled against the increasingly unattainable aesthetic standards and unsustainable lifestyles exhibited on social media.”
Can you name the phrase?
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