Abuja – The ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) will hold its 34th Ordinary Session from Sept. 9 to 11 in Ghana.
A statement issued by the commission’s spokesperson, Mr Sunny Ugoh on Monday in Abuja, said it was to review the general security situation in the region and determine adequate responses.
The statement stated that the theme of the meeting would be “Strengthening ECOWAS Military Cooperation for Peace, Stability and Development’’.
The regional defence chiefs will among other issues, be briefed on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa, which is a security threat to the region.
The deadly disease has claimed more than 1,900 lives from the more than 3,000 cases reported in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.
The CCDS meeting will also receive an update on the security situation in Northern Nigeria, where the Boko Haram sect has been waging relentless deadly terrorist attacks and kidnappings.
The statement stated that the meeting would also consider the Status Report on the ECOWAS Standby Force and receive updates on the new Peace Support Operation Division.
Other considerations would be on the operation of the Maritime Model Zone E and the Defence and Security Sector Reform Programme (DSSRP) in Guinea Bissau.
The statement stated that the meeting would also review the mandate of ECOWAS Mission also in Guinea Bissau.
LONDON — The Duchess of Cambridge, wife of Prince William, is expecting her second child, the royal household announced Monday. Prince William said he was “thrilled” at the announcement after what had been “a difficult few days.” As with her first pregnancy, with Prince George of Cambridge who was born on July 22 last year, the former Kate Middleton is suffering from acute morning sickness and being treated by doctors at Kensington Palace, royal officials said in a statement.
“Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their second child,” the statement said. “The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news.” The baby will become fourth in line to the throne, and push Prince Harry to fifth. The Duchess’ sickness — called hyperemesis gravidarum — may require additional hydration, medication and nutrients, and will prevent her attending a planned visit to Oxford on Monday. She required hospitalization during her first pregnancy. Bookmakers were already taking bets on the name and birth date within hours of the announcement. London-based William Hill offered “Alexander” as most likely at 9 to 1, with the Duchess giving birth to twins offered at 20 to 1.
Dr Cairo Ojugbo, National Vice Chairman PDP South-South, says the party will prevail on APC members in the zone to support the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
He said this on Monday in Abuja while addressing newsmen.
“We will talk to them; we will campaign to APC members in Rivers and Edo.
“We shall work extra hard by talking to our brothers in other political parties in the states to come and join this train that is heading Nigeria to right direction,’’ he said.
Ojugbo added that the PDP in the zone planned to deliver the electorate to the party by ensuring that it won all votes in the 2015 general elections.
“We shall go to every nook and crannies in the south-south; we will work 24 hours in the tradition of the PDP.
“We will work to ensure that we do not loose any seat that is on the card to be contested for.
“We will campaign and beg our brothers even in the other parties to cooperate with us because this is a south south agenda.’’
He added that the zone was determined to ensure the re-election of President Jonathan in 2015 to bring peace to the zone and the country generally.
Ojugbo said that the 4 million signatures received by the Transformation Ambassador (TAN) at its Port Harcut rally, from those who wanted President Jonathan re-elected, was an attestation to the determination of people of the zone.
He said the zone was convinced that President Jonathan had done well in all sectors of the country`s economy and should be re-elected.
“We are convinced that the transformation agenda is getting Nigeria out of the woods and that in spite of the country`s security challenges, the president is riding on.’’
He said for the country to continue moving forward, there was need to give President Jonathan more time to complete his transformation agenda.
Ojubgo added that though there may be some divisions amongst politicians in the zone, they would all speak with one voice at the right time.
He appealed to politicians in the zone to cooperate towards the re-election of President Jonathan in 2015.
He called on the people to support the state governor for zoning the 2015 Delta governorship seat to the northern senatorial district.
He said that the party`s structure in the state was massive enough to convince everybody to come on board.
Ojugbo said that PDP was the only part that observed the rule of law.
“It is my worst nightmare that an extremist group like the Islamic State has support in Iraq”
I grew up in Baghdad in a middle-class family. My father served in the Iraqi Air Force and traveled often internationally; my mother was a math teacher; my siblings all attended college. I graduated from the most prestigious high school in Baghdad before getting my degree at pharmacy school.
Until 1990, I never heard a mosque call for prayer. I almost never saw a woman covering her hair with a hijab. My mom wore make-up, skirts, blouses with shoulder pads, and Bermuda shorts.
Since moving to Los Angeles in 2009, I’ve realized that most Americans don’t understand that Iraq used to be a Westernized, secular country. From the 1930s to the 1980s, Iraq’s neighbors used to look to it as the example. The country had an excellent education system, great healthcare, and Iraq was rich—not the richest, but rich.
Of course, Iraq is not like this today.
After Iraq invaded Kuwait, 24 years ago last month, the United States destroyed most of Iraq’s infrastructure during the Persian Gulf War. Bridges were bombed, along with power stations, railroads, dams, and oil refineries.
I remember that we would turn on the faucet, and barely any water would come out. In order to take showers, we had to rely on water tanks on the roof, which supplied extra water to our home. The water would come out boiling hot because it had been sitting in the sun. We also had limited electricity—which remains a problem, even 20 years later. Sleeping was difficult. You would wake up, sweating, in the middle of the night.
In 1990, an embargo was imposed, which prohibited Iraq from exporting oil. Iraqis suddenly found themselves poor. People’s values changed after 1990, too. Robberies increased. If you parked your car by the street—even for just three minutes—you risked your hubcaps being stolen.
Neither of the United States wars changed life in Iraq the way the U.S. government had intended.
I think the United States wanted Iraqis to revolt against Saddam Hussein and depose him. That wasn’t going to happen.
The notion of democracy is foreign to the Arab world. Although the West saw the “Arab Spring” protests as movements for democracy, they were really uprisings against various dictators, which are not the same thing. What we know is that for countless generations, we’ve lived in a society of hierarchy. It’s not about individualism or personal freedoms. It’s about following your father, your family, and your tribe. There’s no culture of respecting different opinions.
So, when Iraqis were given their freedom, instead of turning to democracy, they, like many other in the region, turned to religion—and religious leaders for guidance, and political advice.
Shiites voted for Shiite candidates. Sunnis voted for Sunnis. The Shiites came to power because they were the majority.
What’s happening in Iraq today is merely a continuation of the failure of democracy. And a failure of the United States to understand the psyche of Iraqis.
The people who might have been able to change Iraq—the educated, the artists, the moderates—began leaving in 1990, mostly illegally, after the embargo was imposed and their comfortable lifestyles came to an end.
In 2003, Saddam Hussein fell and the floodgates opened up, with even more leaving the country for good at a time when they were most needed. Until that year, I was barred from traveling along with other pharmacists, doctors, and certain professionals.
I wanted to leave, but what would I do? Where would I go? Only a handful of countries even allowed travel on an Iraqi passport. My parents and siblings fled to Syria, and later to Jordan. I stayed in Baghdad.
With my friends and family gone, I felt very isolated and alone. It also became unsafe to move around—even to do simple things like go to a restaurant or to the market.
In 2009, I managed to come to the U.S. as a refugee, and I was happy to leave Iraq behind. But even though I’d given up on my country, I had hope that things would not get as bad as they have today. It is my worst nightmare that an extremist group like the Islamic State has support in Iraq and, though it pains me to say this, the aftermath of the U.S. invasions has brought us to this point.
I despised Saddam, but I don’t think an extremist group like the Islamic State would exist under his rule. Even if Saddam had gone crazy and killed a bunch of people, it wouldn’t be anywhere near the number of people who have died since he was overthrown. I see a civil war coming, and an Iraq divided into states.
So as I read the news on CNN Arabic and the BBC while pacing around the house, I feel as if I’m experiencing a death in the family. I’m going through the stages of grief—denial, anger, depression. Lately, I’ve even tried to avoid reading the news at all.
Sometimes, I watch old YouTube videos that show the way Iraq used to be. The Iraq I loved and was proud of—the country I lived in before 1990—doesn’t exist anymore. And I don’t see that changing in my lifetime.
10% of all Africans now use the social network on a regular basis
While Facebook’s growth tapers off in the U.S., the social network is continuing to rack up new users abroad. The social network announced Monday that it now has more than 100 million monthly active users in Africa.
The figure means that nearly 10% of all Africans use Facebook on a regular basis. That’s also half of the 200 million Africans that are connected to the Internet, according to Facebook. More than 80% of Facebook’s users in Africa are visiting the site via mobile devices.
Facebook does not regularly break out userbase figures for specific countries, so there are no specific earlier numbers from Africa to compare it to, but the company had 411 million monthly active users outside Asia, Europe, the U.S. and Canada as of June, according to its latest quarterly earnings report. The company announced in April that it also had 100 million users in India.
Much of the company’s focus right now is on attracting more users in the developing world. Facebook’s Internet.org initiative recently launched a mobile app that provides free Internet access to wireless subscribers in Zambia. Earlier this year the social network also bought a drone company, which it plans to use to beam Internet access to remote areas.
Sayelba Times 