In two months, Twitter suspends over 70 million accounts

Twitter Inc. suspended more than one million accounts in recent months to reduce the flow of misinformation on the platform. Twitter and other social media platforms such as Facebook Inc. have been under scrutiny by United States lawmakers and international regulators for doing too little to prevent the spread of false content.

The companies have been taking steps such as deleting user accounts, introducing updates and actively monitoring content to help users avoid being victims to fake content. Twitter suspended more than 70 million accounts in May and June, and the pace has continued in July, the media reported on Friday, citing data it obtained.

“It’s hard to believe that 70 million accounts were affected when Twitter has only 336 million monthly active users (MAU),” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said. Twitter’s MAU is expected to grow nearly three per cent to 337.06 in the second quarter, according to media.

If the 70 million were mostly active accounts, the affected accounts would have been “screaming bloody murder”, added the analyst.

Kogi PDP rejects Dino Melaye, says he will be a liability not an asset to the party

The Kogi West Elders Forum (KWEF) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  has rejected any attempt to impose Senator Dino Melaye as the sole senatorial candidate on the people of the Kogi West in 2019. The  elders made this known through its chairman, Hon. Shaibu Momoh, at a meeting held in Lokoja, today July 8th. This development comes amidst Dino's planned defection to the party aytime soon.

Momoh who spoke on behalf of the elders said Dino if allowed to contest in any free and fair election in the state now will be defeated. The elders said they will vehemently reject any attempt to make Dino an automatic senatorial candidiate

“He is seen as too controversial and his unacceptable behaviors are the serious negative views of the public against him. He can not win any election in a free and fair atmosphere and PDP should therefore not gamble with him as a candidate for now. He needs a serious reformation period which PDP Kogi state do not have the luxury of time to dispense. The leadership of PDP in the state under the apex leadership of two former governors of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, Captain Idris Wada, senator Tunde Ogbeha Alhaji Musa Ahmadu and host of other critical stakeholders have been struggling to rebrand a PDP that can recapture power from an aggressive none performing government of APC in the state.
They have reconcile several prominent strong men and women who came back to the party and their re-entrance back to PDP is without any condition or concession but genuine. Some restructuring on House of Representatives, Governorship and state Houses of Assembly are on-going and imposition of a Senatorial candidate will cause a major derailment and unimaginable crises that PDP may not be able to overcome before the general election. The critical leaders are on ground and they understand this great danger and trap, hence their rejection of this Dino imposition”, he lamented

Speaking further, Momoh said

 “Senator Dino Melaye is welcome to PDP as specified under the Constitution of the party. He is free to aspire to any position of his choice but must take cognisance of existing mutual arrangement. He will not be discriminated against in any form in the conduct of the affairs in the state. He should come into the party with genuine open mind and contribute meaningfully to growth of the PDP like any other senior members of the party”.

Ogun State Police command arrests Five currency hawkers, recover N1.5m

Five persons have been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly hawking naira notes in different parts of the state. They were Toyin Alegbe, Kehinde Akinbode, Shoneye Latifat, Kehinde Olanrewaju and Iyanuoluwa Shokunbi.

They were arrested in Ijebu Ode, Sagamu and Abeokuta during sting operations jointly carried out by the operatives of the command and officials of Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th of April 2018.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the operation was in line with the provisions of Section 21(1) of the CBN Act 2007 which made hawking, selling and abuse of naira a punishable offence.

He said various denominations of naira notes totalling N1,560,000 were recovered from the suspects who were publicly exhibiting their illicit trade. The suspects, he said, would be charged to court soon.

''Nigerian doctors are irresponsible, workers should be paid ‘very low’ minimum wage'' Governor Nasir El-Rufai

Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday attacked trade unions in Nigeria, accusing them of always pursuing their narrow minded selfish interest without thinking of the good of the country.

Governor Nasir who was speaking at the ‘Governance Matters’ roundtable organised by Development Alternative Incorporation, DAI in Abuja, accused trade unions of always dragging their state chapters into the unnecessary fights with the Federal government.

Governor El-Rufai berated Nigerian doctors for going on strike despite taking an oath to always save lives. He said it is only in Nigeria that doctors go on strike.
The governor in his speech advocated for a cut down in the National minimum wage.

 Trade Unions have never served the country well. They have been selfish and everything is about their narrow interests. In general, in Nigeria, trade unions have been a danger to our progress and I think they should be curtailed. The mistake we made as a country was placing trade unions in the Exclusive Legislative List. If the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has an issue with the Federal Government, then the state universities will go on strike too. In Kaduna, I warned the Kaduna State University, that if ‘you ever go on strike again because of somebody else, I will fire all of you. I think we need to do some things. First, take labour matters out of the Exclusive List because many of us are victims of agreements reached with ASUU by the Federal Government. The states were never part of such agreements.

Secondly, is the issue of minimum wage. Except we set a very low minimum wage, there will continue to be issues especially with states that do not have wide tax net. You cannot set the same minimum wage for Lagos and Jigawa. Also, we must apply the labour laws strictly. No work, no pay, because there has to be a trade dispute before anything strike. That is what the law says. I think the health unions have been the most irresponsible because only an irresponsible doctor will abandon his patients even after swearing to the Hippocratic Oath. I think Nigerian doctors are the only ones on the planet that go on strike.

We have submitted our report on true federalism and it will be taken to the National Assembly. We hope the National Assembly will stop dealing with inanities and deal with the real issues,” he said

Serena Williams to return to action next month

 

 

 

Tennis Champ,  Serena Williams will return to action next month in the United States' Fed Cup first round tie against the Netherlands.

The United States Tennis Association made the announcement on  Tuesday, adding that the 36-year-old American will be joined by older sister Venus and world number nine CoCo Vandeweghe with a fourth player to be announced next week for the Feb. 10-11 tie on an indoor hard court in Asheville, North Carolina.
Williams who has not played a WTA tournament since she won the Australian Open title last year and skipped this year's opening grand slam given concerns about her fitness four months after giving birth to her first child.
She has played once since picking up her Open-era record 23rd grand slam in Melbourne last year, losing to Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi last December.

Source: Eurosport.

China bans children from attending church services in the country

 

 

The Chinese Government has banned children from attending churches in the country in a bid to tighten their grip on religious activities.

The ban also prohibits children from attending religious sermons and other activities in several provinces across the country.
The ban comes after over one hundred churches in Wenzhou, China's Zhejiang province reportedly received a notice from government officials informing them that young people will be banned from entering churches.
According to UCA News, the ban also promises that officials will investigate government approved churches and underground congregations who operate outside the tightly controlled Beijing-run Catholic and Protestant Churches.
A researcher for Amnesty International, William Nee, who spoke to MailOnline UK, said, “At this point, it’s unclear how widespread the ban on children attending church services are in China, but these alarming reports seem to be coming in from fairly diverse areas throughout the country.”
Nee further said that the move reflects the tightening control of religion in “particular Islam and Christianity under the present administration” in the Asian country.
She added, “In an important speech on religion last year, the President, Xi Jinping, said that young people must study science, believe in science and develop a ‘correct’ worldview and set of values.
“It could be that the government is concerned that young people going to church or religious activities may challenge their monopoly on truth and the government’s ability to instill its own historical narratives and worldview through the public education system‎.”

Doctor says Conor McGregor suffered mild traumatic brain injury during TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather

Following the recent boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, Hall-of-Fame referee Robert Byrd came under fire for what appeared to be a premature stoppage, likely because a wobbly McGregor, despite taking heavy damage, was still on his feet when the bout was called.

However, according to former ringside physician Darragh O’Carroll he praised the referee for putting the brain before the brawn, 'Byrd's calculation to call a stoppage was likely not based on signs of fatigue, but rather signs of traumatic brain injury. Ataxia, or dizziness and loss of balance, is one of the hallmarks of concussion, a type of mild traumatic brain injury. Fatigue may cause sluggish and slow movements, but does not cause the imbalance and poor coordination exhibited by McGregor in the 10th round. Being wobbly, in the setting of pugilistic trauma, will always be treated as the result of head trauma and not as fatigue. To let a fighter continue on would be grossly negligent'.

Nigerians can live anywhere in the country without restrictions- President Buhari says

 

 

President Buhari says Nigerians have the constitutional right to live, work and raise their families anywhere in the country without restrictions. Receiving the Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Bello Aminu Masari, at his countryhome as part of the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations yesterday September 2nd, President Buhari reiterated that the Federal Government would guarantee the security of everyone in the country, and ensure protection of all Nigerians from harassments by reasons of their states of origin, tribes or ethnic backgrounds.

Assuring all Nigerians of their safety, the President said: “Every Nigerian has a right to live, work and thrive in every part of the country, irrespective of their backgrounds.’’
Speaking to newsmen after the visit, Governor Masari said President Buhari had brought so much honour and pride to his home state by living a life of integrity, fairness and kindness to all, a reflection of his fear of God.
He noted that the President’s leadership style had attracted positive global attention to the state, and the country, praying that God would continue to uphold him in good health.
The governor was accompanied on the visit by the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruk Umar Faruk and members of his cabinet.

Nine men kicked out of Ryanair flight 'after one jokingly shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’

 


Nine Belgian men were kicked out of a Ryanair flight to Madrid after one of them shouted “Allahu Akbar” and joked that there was a bomb on board to scare other passengers.
The flight, which was due to leave Zaventem airport in Brussels at 7am this morning, was delayed for several hours after the plane was evacuated because of the scare.
Police told the VTM NIEUWS channel that the men were getting on board the Ryanair flight when one of them was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” and indicating there was a bomb on board.
Peter De Waele of the federal police told the news channel: "The flight commander refused to take these nine people. One of them was a foolish joker and called 'Allahu Akbar'."
Ryanair told the Standard it had requested police assistance after a number of passengers became disruptive prior to the plane’s departure.
The plane was eventually allowed to leave at 9.25am after all the luggage was removed and checked. The bomb squad attended accompanied by sniffer dogs.
Police detained the men who could face prosecution as it is an offence to cause a false bomb scare.
Officers said the joke was not appreciated by the airline or passengers who were extremely alarmed by the incident.
According to VTM NIEUWS, a full investigation is being carried out and a preliminary report has been sent to the local prosecutor’s office
A Ryanair spokesman said: “The crew of this flight from Brussels to Madrid requested police assistance after a number of passengers became disruptive prior to departure.
“Police removed and detained the individuals before the aircraft departed to Madrid.
“We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."