The Nation Newspaper

Tag: U.K.

  • Suntai returns from U.K.

    Suntai returns from U.K.

    Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai is back in the country after months of medical trip to the United Kingdom.

    He returned to Abuja on Saturday night after which he spoke to reporters at Gen. Theophilus Danjuma’ s guest house in Asokoro in the Federal Capital Territory.

    He said: “I just arrived in Nigeria after my treatment abroad at Whalton Hospital in London.

    “I thank God l’m getting better. l am happy to be back home and you all are here to receive me. Thank you all for your prayers and support.’’

    Sources said acting Governor Garba Umar was prevented from seeing Suntai.

    Suntai was received by Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs Darius Ishaku, who hails from the state, former Governor Rev. Jolly Nyame and Senator Emmanuel Bwacha Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, among others.

    Ishaku told reporters that the governor was in good health, adding that he could now take over the responsibility of governing the state.

    “Taraba State will heave a sigh of relief following the return of the governor.

    “I am excited; he just addressed us and expressed his joy to be back home. I will like to add that his health is a miracle,’’ Ishaku said.

    Nyame said Suntai’s mental alertness indicated that he was capable of taking over the affairs of the state.

    “It is obvious that the governor can recognise everyone here, which shows that he is mentally alert and lucid.

    “He just addressed the press, but the last time he didn’t, which shows that he can take over as the governor,’’ Nyame said.

    The plane Suntai piloted crashed on October 25, 2012 near Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

    He was transferred from a hospital in Yola to the National Hospital, Abuja, on October 26, 2012, and later flown to Germany and the United States for treatment.

    He returned to the country on August 23, 2013 after 10 months of medical treatment overseas.

    After some controversies on the status of his health, he was flown to London for further medical treatment.

    President Goodluck Jonathan visited him about one hour after the governor was admitted into the intensive care unit of the National Hospital.

    Jonathan had said that Suntai’s condition was stable, and urged Nigerians to pray for his speedy recovery.

    His return is already causing ripples in the political set-up of the state.

    Last week, the state executive council meeting presided over by acting Governor Garba Umar, voted to authorise the House of Assembly to raise a medical team that would include Suntai’s doctors to medically examine him and declare his true state of health.

    This is with a view to determining whether he is fit to return to office.

    While the move has been applauded by Umar’s supporters, the governor’s supporters see it as a way to get rid of him so that Umar could become the substantive governor and thereby influence the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to his advantage.

  • Monster waves slam into UK

    Monster waves slam into UK

    Waves up to 27 feet (8.2 meters) high slammed into Britain’s southwestern coast yesterday, as lashing winds and heavy rain battered parts of the U.K. and coastal residents braced for another round of flooding.

    The monster waves were recorded at Land’s End, the southwestern tip of the U.K.

    In Aberystwyth in Wales, seafront homes, businesses and student residence halls were evacuated as high tides hit the Welsh coast.

    The Met Office, Britain’s weather forecasting body, warned of wind gusts up to 70 mph (113 kph) and exceptionally large waves along the coasts of Wales, southwest England and Northern Ireland.

    At least seven people have died in a wave of stormy weather that has battered Britain since December, including a man killed when his mobility scooter fell into a river in Oxford, southern England.

    The Environment Agency issued three severe flood warnings yesterday – meaning there is a threat to life and property – for the county of Dorset in southwestern England, as well as more than 300 less serious flood alerts.

     

  • U.K. banks must meet Basel rule five years ahead of schedule

    The largest U.K. banks will have to comply with tougher capital rules five years ahead of an international timetable as the Bank of England seeks to bolster lenders’ resilience to crises.

    U.K. banks and building societies including Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc will have to meet capital requirements of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision by Jan. 1, 2014, the Prudential Regulation Authority said in a statement today. The requirements include a debt limit, known as a leverage ratio, that forces lenders to have equity equal to 3 percent of their assets.

    Enlarge image Bank of England in London

    The largest U.K. banks and building societies will have to meet capital requirements set by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision by Jan. 1, 2014, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the arm of the British central bank that supervises the largest finance firms, said in a statement today. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

    “These decisions will enhance the stability of the financial sector and strengthen the capital regime in the U.K.,” the regulator, a unit of the British central bank, said.

    Lenders that will have to comply with the faster timetable also include Banco Santander SA’s U.K. unit, LLoyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY), Co-operative Bank Plc, Nationwide Building Society, and Standard Chartered Plc, the PRA said.

    The largest global banks cut the shortfall in the reserves they’ll need to meet Basel capital rules by 82.9 billion euros ($113 billion) in the second half of 2012, leaving a gap of 115 billion euros, according to Basel committee data published in September. The biggest lenders in Europe accounted for 70.4 billion euros of the remaining shortfall.

    Culled from Bloomberg