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Tag: US

  • US seizes Libya oil tanker

    US seizes Libya oil tanker

    UNITED States Navy SEALs hascaptured an oil tanker that had loaded crude at a rebel-held port in eastern Libya and escaped to sea, the Pentagon said.

    The weak Tripoli government’s failure to halt the tanker had plunged the country into one of its biggest crises since Moamer Kadhafi was toppled by a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, with parliament ousting Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who fled the country.

    No one was hurt when US forces, at the request of both Libya and Cyprus, “boarded and took control of the commercial tanker Morning Glory, a stateless vessel seized earlier this month by three armed Libyans,” Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

    The operation was approved by President Barack Obama and was conducted in the early hours of Monday (just after 0200 GMT) in international waters southeast of Cyprus.

    The naval commandos operated from the USS Roosevelt, a guided missile destroyer which provided helicopter support, while sailors from another destroyer, the USS Stout, boarded the tanker and prepared to sail it to an unnamed port in Libya, Kirby said in a statement.

    The Morning Glory last week slipped through a Libyan naval blockade of the eastern port of Al-Sidra – controlled by rebels seeking autonomy from Tripoli – after reportedly being loaded with some 234,000 barrels of crude.

    Libya’s interim government confirmed the takeover of the ship and thanked the United States and Cyprus.

    It said in a statement the tanker was on its way to Libya and that crew members “will be treated in accordance with national and international laws.”

    “Oil is the lifeblood of the national economy and any attack on the treasures of the Libyan people is unacceptable and cannot go without a response,” it added.

    Cyprus said its vessels had deployed to monitor the tanker’s course as it made its way near the Mediterranean island, remaining in international waters and eventually stopping 18 nautical miles south of the southern port city of Limassol.

    The tanker did not ask for authorisation to moor in a Cypriot port, and early Monday Cypriot officials were notified that the tanker “was placed under the control of the US Navy and is being escorted by US Navy vessels on a westerly course.”

    In a related development, reports in the Cypriot media said two Israelis and a Senegalese national were questioned by police in Cyprus on Saturday on suspicion of negotiating to buy crude from the tanker.

    A Cyprus court declined to issue arrest warrants as authorities had no evidence that the alleged offence was committed within the island’s territorial waters.

    Local media said the three flew in to Larnaca on a private jet late Friday, hired a boat and went out to the tanker to negotiate with the crew.

    Police monitored their movements and the boat was intercepted once they were back in Cyprus waters. The trio flew out to Tel Aviv on Sunday night.

    The oil tanker’s escape after Libyan authorities had repeatedly vowed to take all measures to stop it dramatically underscored the weakness of the central government, which has struggled to rein in heavily-armed former rebels from the 2011 revolt.

    Rebels pressing for autonomy for Libya’s eastern Cyrenaica region — epicentre of the revolt against Gadahafi – have been blockading the country’s eastern oil terminals since July, leading to a decline in exports from 1.5 million barrels a day to just 250,000.

    But the Morning Glory incident marked a major escalation in the struggle and triggered the ouster Tuesday of the liberal-backed Zeidan, whose inability to bring law and order to Libya was highlighted by his own brief abduction by armed men last year.

    The Morning Glory originally was a North Korean-flagged ship, but Pyongyang on Wednesday “cancelled and deleted” its registry on grounds it was carrying contraband material.

    The United States has viewed the chaos in Libya with growing alarm since an attack on its mission in the eastern city of Benghazi on September 11, 2012, in which US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

    On Monday, a car bomb targeting a military academy in Benghazi killed at least seven people and wounded another 12, leaving a one-metre (three-feet) deep crater and torn fragments of bloody military uniforms strewn across the ground.

     

  • EU, US impose sanctions over Crimea

    EU, US impose sanctions over Crimea

    The EU and US have announced travel bans and asset freezes against a number of officials from Russia and Ukraine.

    The moves follow Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, in which officials say 97% of voters backed breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia.

    The individuals targeted by the sanctions are seen as having played a key role in the referendum, which Kiev, the US and EU deem illegal.

    Pro-Russian forces have been in control of Crimea since late February.

    Moscow says the troops are pro-Russian self-defence forces and not under its direct control.

    US President Barack Obama said in a press conference that Washington stood “ready to impose further sanctions” depending on whether Russia escalated or de-escalated the situation in Ukraine.

    If Moscow continued to intervene in Ukraine, he warned, it would “achieve nothing except to further isolate Russia and diminish its place in the world”.

    The EU published a list of sanctions against 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. The list includes the acting prime minister of Crimea, the speaker of Crimea’s parliament, three senior Russian commanders and several senior Russian parliamentary officials.

    “We regret that Russia has so far not engaged in negotiations with Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said after the sanctions were announced.

    UK Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters the list was not “set in stone”.

    He said this depends on “how Russia reacts to the referendum in Crimea which has been a mockery of any real democracy, and how they are reacting to the possibility of discussions and direct negotiations with Ukraine over the coming days”.

    The US said it had targeted seven top Russian government officials and lawmakers and four Crimea-based separatist leaders with financial sanctions for undermining “democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine”.

    The US list included Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian deputy prime minister, Valentina Matviyenko, head of the upper house of the Russian parliament and the ousted Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovych.

    “Today’s actions send a strong message to the Russian government that there are consequences for their actions that violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including their actions supporting the illegal referendum for Crimean separation,” the White House said in a statement.

    The EU has also shown its support for Ukraine by announcing it will temporarily remove customs duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU.

    Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander Turchinov said Kiev was ready for negotiations with Russia, but it would never accept the annexation of Crimea.

  • Putin warns West against sanctions

    Putin warns West against sanctions

    Vladimir Putin has warned the U.S. and the EU of “consequences’’ if they impose sanctions on Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine.

    “What could trigger the possible use of force? It’s only in an extreme case,’’ he said in Moscow on Tuesday, hours after ordering that military exercises near the border with Ukraine end on Friday.

    “As you know, the legitimate president, requested Russia to use military force to save lives and protect the welfare of the local population,’’ Putin added.

    Western powers have upped pressure on the Kremlin over Russia’s bloodless takeover of Crimea, which Ukraine’s new leaders want back.

    Putin said Russia had no partners in Ukraine until new elections were held, describing Yanukovych’s toppling as “unconstitutional’’.

    “Those who are going to introduce sanctions against Russia should think about their consequences, as damage will be mutual,’’ Putin was quoted as saying.

    Sources say that his decision to end military drills this week appeared to be designed to allay fears of war in the region that Russia seized after Ukrainian protesters toppled Yanukovych and installed pro-Western interim leaders.

    The announcement pushed share prices higher on the Moscow stock exchange.

    About 150,000 soldiers taking part in the drills involving airplanes, tanks and ships will return to their bases on March 7, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, said.

    Ukraine’s new leaders said Russia’s takeover of Crimea, where the Russian army has bases, is an act of war.

    Putin said Russia intervened in the Black Sea peninsula, with its Russian-speaking majority, for “humanitarian reasons’’.

    The crisis in Ukraine erupted in November after Yanukovych walked away from a trade agreement with the EU and sought closer ties with Moscow.

    U.S. President Barack Obama said his administration was considering diplomatic and economic measures to isolate Russia. The EU threatened to suspend visa liberalisation talks with Russia.

    NATO ambassadors were meeting Tuesday for the second time in three days to discuss the crisis.

    Poland requested the talks under Article 4 of the military alliance’s charter, which a member state can invoke if it feels threatened.

    Ukraine’s interim rulers and their Western backers want Russia to withdraw the approximately 16,000 soldiers it deployed in Crimea.

    Sources say, however, that there are no signs that Russia will heed the call.

    Putin said Yanukovych, who fled to Russia after he was removed from office, had no political future.

    He also said that opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was “welcome’’ to visit Moscow if she wanted to.

    Under tough questioning from reporters on his changing stance about the use of force in Ukraine, Putin wagged his finger at the media and said: “Listen to me closely, I want you to understand, if we make this decision, we will make it to protect the people of Ukraine’’.

    He insisted that the gunmen who seized the government building in Crimea were “self defence troops’’ and not Russian soldiers, a claim dismissed by Ukraine and the West.

    “Anyone can buy uniforms,’’ he said.

    The EU will hold an extraordinary summit on the crisis on Thursday, which will be attended by Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

    German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned that unless Russia helped form a contact group of stakeholders by Thursday, then “sanctions will be decided’’ in Brussels.

    In another development, two Russian warships passed through the Bosporus and were on their way to the Black Sea, Turkish media reports said.

    The ships, identified as the Saratov and the Yamal, passed through the strait about 7.30 a.m. the report said.

    Both are classified as landing ships and form part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Crimea.

  • US guidelines on helicopter operation

    The United States’(US) Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has issued a final rule that requires helicopter operators, including air ambulances to adhere to stricter flight rules and procedures.

    The rule represents the most significant improvement to helicopter safety in decades and responds to government’s and industry’s concern over continued risk in helicopter operations.

    “This is a landmark rule for helicopter safety,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, said, adding: “These improvements will better prepare pilots and better equip helicopters, ensuring a higher level of safety for passengers and crew.”

    All U.S. helicopter operators, including air ambulances, are required to use stricter flying procedures in bad weather. This will provide a greater margin of safety by reducing the probability of collisions with obstacles or other aircraft.

    Within 60 days, operators will be required to use enhanced procedures for flying in challenging weather, at night, and when landing in remote locations. Within three years, helicopter air ambulances must use the latest on-board technology and equipment to avoid and obstacles, and within four years, they must be equipped with flight data monitoring systems.

    “This rule is a significant advancement in helicopter safety,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, adding: “This rule will help reduce risk and help pilots make good safety decisions through the use of better training, procedures, and equipment.”

    Since August 2004, the FAA has promoted initiatives to reduce risk for helicopter and air ambulance operations. While accidents did decline in the years following that effort, 2008 proved to be the deadliest year on record with five accidents that claimed 21 lives.

  • Abia thanks US for lifting travel ban

    Abia thanks US for lifting travel ban

    Abia State government has thanked the United States of America for lifting the travel ban restricting its citizens from visiting the state and some other states in the country. The ban was in force for about four years.

    The travel restriction came on the heels of frequent kidnapping in Abia and other states.

    It is believed that the lifting of the travel ban is a strong testimony of the security network set up by the Governor Theodore Orji administration during the period kidnappers nearly overran the state.

    Speaking with reporters in Umuahia, the state capital, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Charles Ajunwa recalled that the United States of America had asked its citizens not to travel to the state and some others in the country because of the prevailing kidnapping and other violent crimes at the time.

    Ajunwa said that with the lifting of the travel ban by, Americans will now join other foreign nationals who are eager to come to the state for investment opportunities, stressing that the government of the day is ever willing to protect both visitors and indigenes at any time.

    He said since 2010 when that country placed travel ban to Abia, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Edo states which was suspended last week by the United states Department of State, only Indians, Chinese and Italian nationals have dominated investments in the state, adding that with this development that there will be a healthy competition among other investors.

    The CPS expressed the gratitude of the Abia state government to the United States of Americafor including the state as one of those that is secured enough to attract the relaxation of the travel ban in the country and urged willing investors from America to feel free to come to the state.

    He noted that the last yuletide period attracted more Abians from other parts of the country and abroad to the state, adding that it was the most peaceful festive period with little or no crime recorded in the state.

    He said that many of the holidaymakers have been commending the government for making the state secure and peaceful, which made most of them, who had been unable to come home in the past for fear of insecurity to do so this time.

    Ajunwa explained that the state government it is not against criticism but frowned at those who use the media including the social media to attack the state first family without substantiating their allegations.

    He said that the state government has embarked on projects that should have been taken for granted, given the period the state was created, which include the state secretariat, Government House complex, International Conference Centre among others being built by the Orji administration.

  • ‘Life in US as an immigrant’

    ‘Life in US as an immigrant’

    Deba Uwadie, a Nigerian journalist who relocated to the United States (US) through the Visa Lottery, shares his experience with Lekan Otufodunrin, Editor, online and offers tips on how a new and a potential immigrant can live and settle down in the United States in his new book titled; The Immigrant on Columbus Way.

    Why are you publishing the book and the choice of the title?

    The book is a guide to settling down in the United States of America as new and potential immigrants.It came out of our own experience and challenges of things we thought we knew and things we did not know. We did not have a documented guide as it is in the book but just worked along based on what we were told and advice from friends. But it would have been easier for us if we had a guide as it is in The Immigrant on Columbus Way.
    The choice of the title “The Immigrant on Columbus Way” is because virtually everything happened in Columbus, Ohio. There are certain things that are done differently in the different states of the United States of America but the principles are the same.

    What is the book about?

    The book is a non-fiction story written as a step-by-step guide on how a new and a potential immigrant can live and settle down in a typical city in the United States, with Columbus, Ohio being the model for the book. It takes a reader through the stages of what to do from the very first expectation in a narration that is real and practical with nothing to hide. These include when to apply for the social security number, the importance of the driver license, job, accommodation and school.

    Based on your experience and others what is the life of a typical immigrant in US?

    It is a humbling life because a typical immigrant is beginning again, as it were. Though many opportunities abound, but an immigrant must take his turn, at least learning and experiencing the basics. For me who is a journalist, I came in when many newspapers were closing down in the United States and the city, Columbus, Ohio which has about 1.5 million population and 3million in the metropolitan Columbus, has just one daily general interest newspaper, the Columbus Dispatch. The local degrees are first recognized before degrees from abroad as our own degrees are referred to. Therefore, do I need to wait until I am able to get into the Columbus Dispatch? Of course no. But I need to settle down. That is what the book is all about.

    How easy was it for you to settle down in US? What have you had to do to readjust to living in US?

    Honestly, settling down would have been earlier and easier for me than it took for if I had a guide like “The Immigrant on Columbus Way”. It took us up to 100days to settle down and that is from getting our social security number, a job and our apartment. I had to work other jobs apart from journalism to settle down. Where I first worked is contained in the book. But it was interesting and I enjoyed the humblying part of it.
    Your book is a step to step account for immigrants to settle down. What are the basic things potential immigrants should know?
    An immigrant to the United States of America should know that without the social security number he cannot get a job, and enjoy other basic benefits that come with it like education, state identification card or driver license, accommodation, banking and more.

    What is the prospect for Nigerians interested in relocating to US?

    The prospect is great, honestly. But the challenge now is that the process that brought us in which is the US Visa Lottery has removed Nigeria from the list. But the government is working hard with the congress to use other forms such as the highly skill. I give you an example, I went to school for a one year course and enjoyed the government grant and education loan. Even my form fee of $200 was built into the loan; I did not have to pay a dime to go to school. I just started repayment after six months of graduating from the school. I pay $75 a month. I am able to write this book here with the pleasure of all the accompanying supports such as electricity and instant access to information. Does it stop me from coming back home, of course not? But the abundance of opportunities to do what you know best abound.

    Any other thing you think Nigerians should know about America?

    It could be a land of opportunities and freedom but it definitely has its own challenges. One could be sucked in and forget other things, including where one is coming from and one could be focused working towards set out goals and operate at that level depending on one’s choice.

  • Anti-Gay law: US threatens to sanction Nigeria

    Anti-Gay law: US threatens to sanction Nigeria

    United States has threatened to withdraw HIV/AIDS and Anti-Malaria programmes in Nigeria over the outlawed homosexuality practice in the West African country.

    President Goodluck Jonathan had on January 7 this year signed into law the Same-Sex Prohibition Act.

    James Entwistle, US Ambassador to Nigeria reiterated the position of his country yesterday.

    US, according to Mr Entwistle is worried about “the implications of the anti-same sex marriage law which seems to restrict the fundamental rights of a section of the Nigerian population.”

    “The issue of same-sex marriage was very controversial all over the world, including within the United States where 17 states out of 50 had endorsed it, but others still reject its legality.

    “The issue that we see and I am speaking as a friend of Nigeria is that as I read the bill, it looks to me that it puts significant restrictions on the freedoms of assembly and expression; in my opinion which applies especially in advanced democracies, once government begins to say something in these areas, freedom no longer applies. It seems to me that this is a very worrisome precedent.”

    Practice of homosexuality is now a criminal offence which attracts 14 years imprisonment.

     

     

  • Visa, MasterCard win $5.7b approval

    Visa, MasterCard win $5.7b approval

    Visa Incorporated and MasterCard Incorporated have won approval for a $5.7 billion settlement that ended years of litigation with United States (US) merchants over allegations that credit-card swipe fees are improperly fixed.

    US District Judge John Gleeson told Bloomberg he was satisfied with the settlement, which was estimated to be the largest-ever antitrust accord.

    “For the first time, merchants will be empowered to expose hidden bank fees to their customers, educate them about those fees and use that information to influence their customers’ choices of payment methods,” Gleeson wrote in his ruling in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

    Once owned by groups of major banks, Foster City, California-based Visa and Purchase, New York-based MasterCard have defended themselves for decades against legal claims that they operated price-fixing schemes. Swipe, or interchange, fees are set by Visa and MasterCard and paid by merchants when consumers use credit or debit cards.

    MasterCard and Visa separated from the banks through initial public offerings in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Merchants filed a class-action lawsuit against the companies and the biggest card-issuing banks in 2005. They later alleged that the payment networks continued to fix prices with the banks even after the IPOs.

     

    Lawyers representing merchants nationwide announced the settlement in July 2012. Once worth as much as $7.25 billion, the settlement was valued at about $5.7 billion as of August as a result of reductions for about 8,000 merchants that dropped out of the damages portion.

    Dozens of large retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Target Corporation, as well as major airlines, health insurers and other consumer businesses criticized the deal. Some said the amount should have been higher and that a legal release preventing future lawsuits was written too broadly.

    “We are reviewing the ruling and will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the rights of merchants and safeguard the pocketbooks of their customers,” Mallory Duncan, general counsel at the National Retail Federation, said in a statement. The group expects to appeal, he said.

  • US introduces new $100 bill to Nigerians

    US introduces new $100 bill to Nigerians

    The American government yesterday officially introduced the new American $100 bill to Nigeria.

    Speaking at the United States Consulate, Lagos, its acting Consul General, Dehab Ghebread said the new $100 came into use in the United Stares of America (USA) on October 8 but that it became necessary for users of the currency in the international community to be educated on its unique features.

    According to the US Federal Reserve, the redesigned $100 note incorporates new security features meant to deter counterfeiting and help businesses and consumers tell whether a note is genuine.

    “The new designed note incorporates security features that make it easy to authenticate, but harder to replicate,” said Federal Reserve Board Governor, Jerome H. Powell. “As the new note transitions into daily transactions, the user – friendly security features will allow the public to more easily verify its authenticity,” he added.

    Ghebread said the Federal Reserve, US Department of the Treasury, US Bureau of Engraving and Printing and US Secret Service partnered to redesign Federal Reserve notes to stay ahead of counterfeiting threats.

  • US varsity promotes Nigerian

    US varsity promotes Nigerian

    The President of the Faulkner University, Alabama, United States, Dr. Billy Hilyer has promoted Nigerian born scholar, Dr. Uduak Afangideh to full professor for the 2013/2014 academic session.

    In a letter to Dr. Afangideh, the university president commended her ‘effectiveness in her discipline, her commitment to scholarly pursuits and her dedication. The appointment takes effect from August 1, 2013.

    Dr. Afangideh, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, is among three that got full professorship. She joined Faulkner University in the Fall of 2008 having taught at the University of Calabar, since 1995. While at Faulkner, she has distinguished herself as a researcher and a scholar and was instrumental in the successful implementation of the university’s first research and creativity day, serving as the committee chairman for the event.

    Dr. Afangideh holds a Bachelor of Science from Freed Hardeman University, a Master of Science from Tennessee State University and a doctorate in Plant Breeding from the University of Calabar.