The Nation Newspaper

Tag: India

  • FIFA U-17: India gives away 27,000 tickets

    FIFA U-17: India gives away 27,000 tickets

     

    India has given away 27,000 tickets to the opening games of the FIFA U-17 World Cup to fill empty stands, an official said Friday, in a desperate bid to avoid an embarrassing repeat of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

    The under-17 World Cup, which kicks off on Friday, marks India’s first attempt at hosting a FIFA tournament, but sales for the high-profile event have been poor, despite some seats costing less than a dollar.

    Organisers are now scrambling to ensure that the 56,000-capacity Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi appears packed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the opening games which will see India play the United States.

    “We have given away 27,000 tickets to schools around the Delhi region and will also provide pick and drop facility. It will be embarrassing for us if the stadium looks empty,” an organising committee member told AFP on condition of anonymity.

    The event, which runs until October 28, has been dogged by bad news, with Greenpeace issuing a report Wednesday that said the poor quality of air in India’s pollution-clogged cities poses a “serious health risk” to players and spectators during the tournament.

    Twenty-four nations are competing in the event, which is being held in New Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Guwahati and Kolkata.

    Greenpeace said all the six cities “share dangerous levels of air pollution” but singled out New Delhi as the venue with the highest risk.

    “Air pollution levels during the Indian tournament could be significantly worse than during the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” the report warned.

    India’s capital will host its last game of the tournament on October 16, just before pollution levels spike around the Diwali festival, when Hindus celebrate by setting off huge amounts of fireworks.

    Media reports said matches were deliberately kept out of Delhi after October 16 because of pollution fears.

    India’s Supreme Court has ordered authorities to take precautions ahead of the festival, and measures under consideration include pulling some cars off roads and closing polluting industries.

    World Cup organisers did not comment on the Greenpeace report.

    The event is among India’s highest-profile global tournaments after the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010 which were meant to showcase the country’s status as an emerging power but instead left memories of shoddy venues, empty stadiums and massive budget overruns.

  • Ex-NANS President Dauda dies on way to India 

    Ex-NANS President Dauda dies on way to India 

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has announced the death of its former National President, Dauda Mohammed, following a protracted illness.

    He was 38.

    NANS’ President Chinonso Obasi, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said Mohammed died yesterday en route India where he had gone for medical treatment.

    Obasi said the mail sent to him by Artemis Group of Hospitals in Delhi, indicated that Mohammed passed on five minutes before landing at Delhi Airport.

    He said the mail indicated that the hospital would conduct an autopsy on October 3 after which his remains would be released for transportation back to Nigeria.

    Mohammed departed Abuja for India on September 30 to receive treatment for liver cirrhosis.

    According to health experts, cirrhosis is a chronic progressive disease of the liver characterised by the replacement of healthy cells with scar tissue.

    “We declare one month mourning and national action against cancer as we pray God to console his family.

    “We also declare a national action against cancer and appeal to government at all levels to be more proactive on issues pertaining to the health of citizens.

    “Medical facilities in Nigeria should be standardised to enable our medical personnel handle complex forms of sicknesses,’’ Obasi said.

    The NANS president said Mohammed’s family had been informed of his demise.

    Born in 1979, Mohammed, who was NANS’ President from 2011 to 2012, attended the University of Jos (UNIJOS).

  • Patient needs N10m for renal transplant

    Miss Yomade Balogun, a 29-year-old graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has pleaded with good-spirited Nigerians to assist her to raise the sum of N10 million to enable her to undergo renal transplant in India.

    Balogun, who is a Sociology and Archaeology graduate  is billed for her second renal transplant in India,  according to a medical report dated August 30, 2017 and signed by Dr. A. A. Sonanya for the Head of Nephrology Unit.

    In a letter with reference number SUB/LASUTH/MED/2017/303, the report stated: “The above named is a known patient of our unit, who presented for the first time in April, 2017. She had a renal transplant done about two-and-a-half years ago in India prior to presentation.

    “She subsequently developed a failed renal allograft  and is now on maintenance haemodialysis (once a week).

    “She attends regular out-patient nephrology clinic and is currently being worked up for a repeat renal transplantation. Therefore, any assistance you can render will be most beneficial to the patient.”

    The mother, Mrs Sade Balogun,  a civil servant and a widow, appealed to Nigerians to assist her daughter in prayers and cash donations.

    “Yomade wants to live. She still has dreams and believes so much in what the future holds,  and if God has kept her till now,  then there is more to her life,” she said.

    Mrs Balogun, along with friends and well-wishers who initiated #Saveyomadeagain, gave her account details as Balogun Yomade, Diamond Bank: 0053729632 (Naira account); Balogun Yomade Diamond Bank: 0051136447 (Dollar account).

    For further enquiries, interested donors can contact the family on these phone numbers: 08130733723, 0816 170 4065 and 07036345534.

  • Natural disasters affect 41 million people in Bangladesh, India, Nepal

    Natural disasters affect 41 million people in Bangladesh, India, Nepal

    The UN on Thursday said at least 41 million people in Bangladesh, India and Nepal have been directly affected by flooding and landslides from the monsoon rains that begun in June.

    The monsoon, according to the UN, might continue until October.

    It said that over 1,700 people have died in catastrophic floods in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan as torrential rains pound swathes of South Asia during its worst monsoon season in more than a decade.

    Estimates from the National Disaster Management Authority ( NDMA ) and reports showed that more than 1,300 people, mostly villagers died since the beginning of the rainy season in India alone.

    The eastern Indian state of Bihar is the worst-affected with more than 500 deaths, as major rivers in spate caused large-scale inundation affecting hundreds of villages across 21 districts.

    The country’s financial capital, Mumbai was slashed by heavy rains on Tuesday that claimed over 30 lives, including several from a building collapse on Thursday which officials said was caused by the intense downpour.

    “In neighbouring Pakistan, heavy rains caused a massive deluge in the port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing at least a dozen people.

    “The overall death toll for the season stood at more than 100, Nepal was also experiencing heavy floods which have claimed 159 lives so far,’’ NDMA said.

    The country’s eastern hills and plains along the border with India were severely affected.

    In Bangladesh, 141 people have died after floodwaters from upstream rivers from Indian hills swelled Bangladeshi river systems.

    “Tens of thousands of homes, as well as schools and hospitals, have been destroyed leaving people displaced and homeless,’’ the UN said.

    According to Jagan Chapagain, Undersecretary General for Programmes and Operations at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said “this is the worst flooding that parts of South Asia have seen in decades.

    “Entire communities have been cut off, and the only way to get aid to some of these villages is by boat and many are running out of food.”

    Floodwaters also become a breeding ground for diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria, aid agencies have warned.

    The death toll across the region could rise as conditions could deteriorate in the coming days with more rain forecast.

  • Natural disasters affect 41 million people in Bangladesh, India, Nepal

    Natural disasters affect 41 million people in Bangladesh, India, Nepal

    The UN on Thursday said at least 41 million people in Bangladesh, India and Nepal have been directly affected by flooding and landslides from the monsoon rains that begun in June.

    The monsoon, according to the UN, might continue until October.

    It said that over 1,700 people have died in catastrophic floods in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan as torrential rains pound swathes of South Asia during its worst monsoon season in more than a decade.

    Estimates from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and reports showed that more than 1,300 people, mostly villagers died since the beginning of the rainy season in India alone.

    The eastern Indian state of Bihar is the worst-affected with more than 500 deaths, as major rivers in spate caused large-scale inundation affecting hundreds of villages across 21 districts.

    The country’s financial capital, Mumbai was slashed by heavy rains on Tuesday that claimed over 30 lives, including several from a building collapse on Thursday which officials said was caused by the intense downpour.

    “In neighbouring Pakistan, heavy rains caused a massive deluge in the port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing at least a dozen people.

    “The overall death toll for the season stood at more than 100, Nepal was also experiencing heavy floods which have claimed 159 lives so far,’’ NDMA said.

    The country’s eastern hills and plains along the border with India were severely affected.

    In Bangladesh, 141 people have died after floodwaters from upstream rivers from Indian hills swelled Bangladeshi river systems.

    “Tens of thousands of homes, as well as schools and hospitals, have been destroyed leaving people displaced and homeless,’’ the UN said.

    According to Jagan Chapagain, Undersecretary General for Programmes and Operations at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said “this is the worst flooding that parts of South Asia have seen in decades.

    “Entire communities have been cut off, and the only way to get aid to some of these villages is by boat and many are running out of food.”

    Floodwaters also become a breeding ground for diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria, aid agencies have warned.

    The death toll across the region could rise as conditions could deteriorate in the coming days with more rain forecast.

  • Ethiopian refurbishes B767-300 fleet

    Ethiopian Airlines Group, Africa’s largest airline, has announced that it has fully refurbished its Boeing 767-300 ER fleet and availed for service on its India, Middle East and Africa destinations.

    The newly refurbished airplane is fitted with brand new full flat-bed seats in Cloud Nine, modern IFE with high resolution 17 inches screen and in-seat power outlets (in-flight entertainment), lighting and other modern cabin products.

    Customers in the main cabin will also enjoy new seats, multiple channels of in-flight audio and video entertainments accessible with their own mobile devices /tablets.

    Ethiopian Airlines boss, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said: “As a customer focused and market driven airline, we are always committed to avail unmatched travel experience for our customers.

    “We have invested more than USD 6 million to retrofit our B-767-300 ER fleet, which will surely provide more choice and greater comfort to our customers. By December 2017, all our B767 fleet will be fitted with flat-bed seats in Cloud Nine with access to a range of video programming available for wireless streaming in all cabins.

    “I would like to congratulate our engineering and maintenance team at Ethiopian MRO for the job well done and wish to pledge to our customers that we shall always strive to ensure their extra comfort every time they fly with us.”

     

     

  • NNPC seeks deeper collaboration on health care development with India

    NNPC seeks deeper collaboration on health care development with India

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru has called for a deeper collaboration with India to revitalize  the corporation’s 52 clinics across the country.

    A statement by NNPC Spokesperson, Mr Ndu Ughamadu said Baru made the call on Thursday in Abuja, when he received the Indian High Commissioner, Mr Nagabushana Reddy.

    He said that the call was part of NNPC’s efforts to kick-start its diversification into the health care business.

    Baru said the corporation would reduce the trend of medical tourism from Nigeria to various countries.

    The NNPC boss said the corporation was already discussing with some Indian health care providers to come into the Nigeria and help grow the capacities of its medical staff.

    This, he said, was aimed at putting in place world class health care facilities in the country.

    He urged the high commissioner to encourage Indian oil and gas companies to participate in the forthcoming marginal fields bid round, adding that their participation would further deepen the bilateral relations between Nigeria and India.

    According to him, there is a symbiotic commercial relationship between the Nigeria and India, which has led to the increase of daily crude oil supply to India to 30,000 barrels per day in 2017.

    “We recognise that India is one of the highest off-takers of Nigeria’s crude oil and we are ready to ensure that this harmonious economic relationship is sustained,” Baru said.

    Responding, Reddy said India and Nigeria had high bilateral relations, adding that India was ready to further expand the collaboration in economic, trade, commerce and security.

    He said that India was one of the highest importers of Nigeria’s crude oil.

    He commended the NNPC for keeping to the terms of the contracts with three of its indigenous companies, adding that his visit was to further consolidate the gains of previous engagements.

  • Don’t shut them up

    Don’t shut them up

    We say children are the future, our hope for tomorrow, for a better country and for a better life. All we do is say, we don’t try to make these feasible.

    There are a lot of children (especially the precocious ones) out there who are so eager to let out their opinions about a few issues affecting the country, but due to some cultural conditioning and so called advices they receive, they are being asked to keep mute all in the name of “waiting for their time”, so that their views don’t stand against them. They are asked to leave things the way they met them and asked to go through circumstances their predecessors underwent.

    We should try to create a society that is conducive for the children to air out their own opinion. We should not make them grow with the mentality of always leaving things the way they are. A music icon Michael Jackson in one of his song said “We are the world” and “We are the children”. This was a message to the world to allow children express their vision for change in the world.

    My dear, don’t shut them up.  It is true that young people have crazy ideas, however, it is sometimes best we “guild” their suggestions which needs the monitoring and mentoring of the elders to shape these children to adults with great values.

    History was made in Kenya the year 2014, when the first national children government was established. This was with the help of UNICEF to create a united and empowered collective voice for children.

    Nigeria, being the giant of Africa is one of the pioneers of the children parliament, however, that arm has become more ceremonial than effective – a show and a bauble.

    My dear, don’t shut them up. Gani Fawehini, Martin Luther King jnr., Mahatma Gandhi of India and many more people are now referenced by the society because they used their boundless energies to tenaciously and uncompromisingly pursue and crusade their beliefs, principles and ideas and today they are still respected.

    If our children decide to be critics in government affairs, Kudos! We could even begin to have courses like “government criticism, economic criticism and so on” in schools and they will end up being government and economic critics.

    Don’t teach them to only see the good things or things we delude ourselves with; let them also see things that are wrong so that their quest for finding a solution would be preeminent.

    Don’t try to shape their mentality and attitude to be the one that only seeks to please people. If we raise them like that, trust me we will have bunch of sycophants and docile individuals.

    We have to let them speak even if what they are saying does not seem to make sense to us. We should not teach them to be “sitting ducks”, instead let us teach them to be alert and responsive, to be unafraid when saying or doing what is right.

    With this, we would have a country filled with thinking minds; with people who are ready to be opposed and are also ready to defend themselves and also be corrected.

    Let us not shut them up for they are our future.

  • India key partner for U.S. in modernising Afghanistan – Tillerson

    India key partner for U.S. in modernising Afghanistan – Tillerson

    India will be a key partner for the U.S. that can help modernise Afghanistan both politically and economically, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.

    Tillerson made this known in a statement after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

    “India will be an important partner in the effort to ensure peace and stability in the region, and we welcome its role in supporting Afghanistan’s political and economic modernization,” Tillerson said.

    Earlier President Donald Trump unveiled the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan which included expanded authorities to target terrorists.

    However, Trump said that the United States would not reveal troop numbers or plans going forward.

    Reacting, New Delhi welcomed the announcement of a new strategy of U.S. President Donald Trump for Afghanistan, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

    “We welcome President Trump’s determination to enhance efforts to overcome the challenges facing Afghanistan and confronting issues of safe havens and other forms of cross-border support enjoyed by terrorists.

    “India shares these concerns and objectives,” the statement said.

    The Indian ministry also reaffirmed its commitment to support the Afghan government’s efforts aimed at ensuring peace and security in the country.

    “We are committed to supporting the Government and the people of Afghanistan in their efforts to bring peace, security, stability and prosperity in their country.

    “We have been steadfast in extending reconstruction and development assistance to Afghanistan in keeping with our traditional friendship with its people.

    “We will continue these efforts, including in partnership with other countries,” the ministry stressed.

    Afghanistan has long been suffering from unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Taliban and the Islamic State terrorist groups.

    The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces supported by the U.S.-led coalition are currently conducting joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country.

  • Suspected Nigerian drug trafficker jumps to death in India

    Suspected Nigerian drug trafficker jumps to death in India

    A suspected Nigerian drug trafficker jumped to his death off the fourth floor of a building in southern New Delhi,India Friday while trying to escape police arrest.

    Forty-year-old Cyprian Ama Ogbonnaya had been trailed to the building by the police after receiving a tip off that drug would be supplied in the area.

    A senior police officer confirmed that a team of Special Cell sleuths of south range raided the house in Chhattarpur Enclave area.

    The team was questioning some locals, when Ogbonnaya suspecting police presence in the building jumped from its fourth floor flat through a window, which was witnessed by many people who were present in the building premises.

    “He was rushed to AIIMS trauma Centre where he was declared dead by the doctors,” the police officer said, adding that an inquest had been ordered into his death and a medical report by the doctors to ascertain the exact cause of death was awaited.

    He said that two Nigerian women, who were also present in the flat, from where Ogbonnaya jumped off, were being questioned by the Special Cell.

    During the raid, 25 kg of Ketamine was recovered.

    Ketamine is sold popularly as Ketalar for anaesthetic purposes is also consumed by drug users for its trance inducing effect.