4th November 2022 |
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Good Morning. In case you missed it, Hobby Lobby founder gave away his company last Friday. David Green, the owner of the crafting and home decor company with over 700 stores across America, said he considered himself a steward and decided to give up its ownership saying he ‘chose God’.
That is noble, we think.
Israel. A coalition led by the right-wing former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won a majority of seats in the 120-seat parliament, or Knesset, allowing the controversial figure to return to power. Netanyahu was prime minister for 12 years between 2009 and 2021
Pakistan. Ousted Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has survived a gun attack on his convoy while holding a protest march. He was wounded in the leg when a burst of gunfire hit his vehicle. One person was killed and at least five others were injured. There was no immediate official comment on the motive for the attack which allies say was an assassination bid. The protest march had been called to demand early elections.
Ethiopia. World leaders have hailed the peace agreement between the government and Tigray rebels signed on Wednesday, raising hopes for millions of people displaced by nearly two years of deadly war. The war, which broke out in November 2020, has pitted regional forces from Tigray against Ethiopia’s federal army and its allies. It has killed thousands of people, displaced millions from their homes and left hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine.
1933 Odumegwu-Ojukwu born
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, army general and politician, was born at Zungeru, Northern Nigeria. He proclaimed the Republic of Biafra, secessionist state in southeastern Nigeria, an event that sparked the Nigerian Civil War.
NIGERIA
Expensive Maintenance
The Story
The State House Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar, has lamented the inadequacy of the N7.2b allocated for the 'maintenance' of the Presidential Villa in the proposed 2023 budget.
How much would be enough?
Umar would like to have as much as N40b for the State House, like it was in the 2022 budget. The N7.2b was set out for the upkeep of Villa facilities as part of the State House's 2023 budgetary allocation. The sum is a portion of the State House's overall 2023 fiscal year N21.1b budget. The State House also set aside N644m for upkeep of the State House Lagos Complex and guest houses, as well as N1.96b for the procurement of vehicles. Umar added that the N1.96b budgeted for vehicle purchases was insufficient because 2023 is an election year.
What does this maintenance entail?
The residence of the President and that of the Vice President, offices, the State House Auditorium, as well as the Presidential and Ministerial Airport Chalets are among the facilities to be maintained, according to Umar. According to him, the proposed N7.2b allocation for the maintenance of Villa facilities formed the critical component of the capital expenditure segment of the proposed N21.1b State House budget. “It is also instructive to note that the provision of N1.96b in the 2023 proposal for vehicle purchase would still be inadequate to meet existing requirements. 2023 being an election year which entails frequent travels with associated costs as well as the replacement of vehicles by incoming administration", Umar said.
The State House permanent secretary, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Federal Character on Thursday, complained that the State House 2023 budget was cut by almost 50%, in comparison to the 2022 own, and the allocation is inadequate. Umar joined other Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies - including ministers of works and information, Babatunde Fashola and Lai Mohammed respectively - who lamented the budget cuts in the 2023 appropriation bill. SOURCE
EUROPE
Unwholesome Trade
The Story
A London court on Thursday ordered the UK unit of the mining and commodity trading group Glencore to pay £281m in fines and confisticated profit.
What's the company's crime?
Bribery of officials in several African countries. According to the ruling by Judge Peter Fraser, the actions of Glencore's UK subsidiary indicated “corporate corruption on a widespread scale, deploying very substantial sums of money in bribes”. As part of the sanction, the company will pay £182.9m as fine, and have £93.5m from its profits withheld through a confiscation order.
Did the company admit guilt?
Yes, it did. In June, Glencore admitted to the wrongdoings, and saved itself from a greater punishment. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), a division of the UK government charged with investigating and prosecuting serious and complex bribery, fraud, and graft, brought the bribery charges against Glencore. As a result of Glencore's admission of guilt, it was granted a one-third discount on the fine. "The company unreservedly regrets the harm caused by these offences and recognises the harm caused, both at national and public levels in the African states concerned, as well as the damage caused to others", said Clare Montgomery who represented the company.
The SFO disclosed to the London court on Wednesday how Glencore's employees and middlemen paid kickbacks totaling £27m to officials in Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, South Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea, causing damages that were - at the time of the offenses - estimated at £81m. According to the SFO, Glencore officials used private jets to transport bribes to the five countries, concealing their true intentions with fictitious documentation. SOURCE
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ASIA
Too Close For Comfort
The Story
Tensions have again been heightened in the frosty relations between North Korea and its neighbours.
What's happening?
In addition to the recent bombardment of weapons tests that have heightened tensions in the region, North Korea launched at least six missiles into the sea on Thursday, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that sparked evacuation alerts and stopped trains in northern Japan. Two short-range ballistic missile launches in the morning followed the ICBM test, which drew swift condemnation from North Korea's neighbors and the United States. In response, the US extended ongoing joint air force exercises with South Korea.
Why's North Korea doing this?
This is North Korea's response to the US-South Korea drills in the region. After a senior North Korean military official threatened retaliation for the US-South Korea drills' prolongation, the missiles came an hour later. North Korea has increased its testing activity since late September, including what it claimed as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and American targets, after already breaking an annual record in 2022 with dozens of missile launches. The United States conducts military exercises with its allies South Korea and Japan, which North Korea claims are drills for an impending invasion. North Korea has claimed that its tests serve as a warning against these exercises.
According to experts, North Korea is stepping up its display in an effort to force Washington to recognize it as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength. The U.S., however, doesn't appear to be moved. In reaction to North Korea's latest launches, the Biden administration stated that it is prepared to take "all necessary measures" to protect Japan, South Korea, and the American homeland. If North Korea decides to escalate the ante by detonating a nuclear test weapon, Washington added a warning of unspecified "additional costs and consequences". SOURCE
TELECOMMS
Why 'Emergency Only Call' Work
Reddit Question: If there is no cellphone signal, how does the "emergency calls only" mode work?
not_anonymouse
Short Answer: At least one carrier needs to have coverage in the location you are trying to make an emergency call from. If none of them do, your cellphone won't be able to connect an emergency call. It's not magic, just engineering 
Longer Answer: A cell phone connects to a tower by "tuning" into what are called bands or channels. For something simple as GSM, it is literally frequency bands.
When you buy phones from different carriers, they are set to ignore bands or channels that the carrier doesn't use. It serves several purposes - 1) to make sure you can't take to phone to another carrier 2) to make sure your phone doesn't waste time and battery tuning to cell towers that won't accept them.
When you make an emergency call, the software that's responsible for picking to tower tells the tuning software "THIS IS A F*CKIN EMERGENCY CALL. FULL SPEED AHEAD! CONNECT TO WHATEVER YOU CAN FIND".
Once it finds a tower, the software for making calls says "HEY MAN, I KNOW WE MIGHT NOT BE COOL WITH EACH OTHER, BUT THIS IS A F*CKIN EMERGENCY CALL MAN! CAN YOU PLEASE CONNECT THIS?".
The tower goes "OH F*CK! SHIT! I'll connect you". If the tower is at full capacity, it'll kick out someone who's not in an emergency call and then connect the incoming emergency call.
In fact, you don't even need a SIM card (in some countries) or ever have had service in a cell phone to make an emergency call. That's why when there's no SIM card, the phone will still tune to a tower with good signal and show "Emergency call mode". This is to make sure we don't waste time when you actually need to make an emergency call.
Amanda Azubuike becomes brigadier-general in US army
2023: l remain Afenifere leader, we’re backing Tinubu – Pa Fasoranti
Emirates Airline suspends flight operations to Nigeria over trapped funds
Osimhen rated fourth best striker in Europe
Canada unveils plan to welcome 1.4m migrants from 2023 to 2025
Bolsonaro tells protesting truckers to clear roads
Jeff Bezos sued by former housekeeper over racial discrimination
Musk aiming to charge for Twitter check mark from Monday
Russia strips protester and his family of citizenship
UN General Assembly rebukes US embargo on Cuba
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Book Review — Why Buildings Fall Down by Matthys Levy. Medium
Ranking the world's most altruistic countries. GoodCountry
Browse the world's collection of historical maps. (best on desktop). Maps
The best street photographers of 2022. Eyeland
FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE
Pele's Superstition
Footballers sometimes get caught up in superstitions and Brazilian legend Pele was not left out.
Pele once gave out a match shirt to a Santos fan, only to suffer a dip in form afterwards.
He arrived at the conclusion that his poor performances were down to him giving his ‘lucky’ shirt to the fan.
So he instructed a friend to track down the old shirt and a week later it was returned to Pele, who immediately returned to his goal-scoring form.
The truth was that the friend did not find the original shirt but gave Pele another one. However, the belief that it was the same 'lucky' shirt was probably enough to revive the Brazilian's confidence and his form returned.
TRIVIA
World Religion Quiz
Religion has always been playing an important part in human history. From Paganism, Judaism, and Muslim to Christianity, Buddhism and many other folk practices, the world of religion is as diverse as culture. To see how much you know, check out the following 10 religion quiz questions and answers.
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