Image copyrightEPAImage caption Mr Putin said the US was trying to hurt Russia ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the US of inventing doping allegations against Russian athletes in an attempt to influence next year’s presidential election.
He was referring to life bans imposed by Olympic officials on four Russian cross-country skiers on Thursday.
Mr Putin said the move was a US response to “imaginary interference in their election”.
US officials are probing alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 poll.
US intelligence agencies said earlier this year the Russian government had sought to help Donald Trump win the election.
An investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into any links between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Mr Putin has not yet said whether he will stand for re-election. However, he is widely expected to stand and win.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption Maxim Vylegzhanin (left) won three silver medals at the Sochi winter games in 2014
The Russian president suggested the timing of the Russian election, in March 2018, meant that a doping scandal coinciding with the run-up to next February’s Winter Olympics in South Korea could be used to sow disaffection among sportspeople.
The US was home to “the main companies that order and pay for television rights, the main sponsors and advertisers”, he said.
“In response to our imaginary interference in their election, [the US] wants to create problems in the Russian presidential election,” he added.
Remains of Late Fatima Yelwa Goje shortly before burial
By Ahmad Umar
Gombe (Nigeria) — The remains of Fatima Yelwa, wife of former Gombe State Governor and Senator representing Gombe Central District, Mohammad Danjuma Goje, has been laid to rest in Gombe.
Aged 55, the news of the death of Fatima filtered into the country on Monday 30th October 2017 from the United States where she was receiving treatment.
Her corpse arrived Gombe Thursday at about 11:00am, local time, and was later buried according to Islamic injunctions.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Gov. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State, as well as FCT Minister, and Minister of State for Power, were among personalities that attended the burial.
A resident of Gombe, Ibrahim Gurama, expressed sadness over her demise. In a chat with our Correspondent Gurama said, “When we heard , the news really shocked us and we are saddened by her exit. Though no one can question Allah for her demise because He gives and He takes. We pray for the repose of her soul and for Allah to reward her with Aljannatul Firdausi”.
Explaining how Fatima had impacted on their lives he said, “no Sallah passes by without her sending different foodstuff comprising no fewer than 20 bags of rice to all disabled groups in the State, sugar, seasonings, spaghetti among others and not just on festive occasions alone”.
‘She identified with us to the extent that when one of us was getting married recently, she hired and was present with us at the Jewel Suites up to the end of the occasion. She has, at several times, assisted us with wrappers to give to our wives. When her father died, we had to hire a bus and filled it to capacity and travelled to Kashere to condole her. She made us feel part of the society,” Mallam Ibrahim said.
Late Fatima Yelwa is survived by her husband, Senator Danjuma Goje and six children.
From left is Sen. Muhammad Danjuma Goje and the senate president Dr. Bukola Saraki arrive at the Emir’s Palace Gombe for the funeral prayers of late Haj. Fatima Yelwa Goje.
Sympathisers at the funeral prayers of late Hajiya Fatima Yelwa Goje., wife of Sen. Muhammad Danjuma Goje
Gombe (Nigeria) — Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has commenced a two day training on nutrition advocacy and coalition building for some key nutrition stakeholders in Gombe, north east of the country.
The training is aimed at having a country where every citizen has food and nutrition secured .
Communication Officer of the CS-SUNN, Lilian Ajah-mon said the training organized by the NGO in collaboration with United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) drew 20 stakeholders from the Media and Civil Societies to work together to scale up nutrition in the state
“CS-SUNN is a non-governmental organisation making coalition of organizations with shared vision to transform Nigeria into a country where every citizen has food and nutrition is secured. SC-SUNN pursues this lofty goals by engaging and mobilizing government and non-state actors to advocate relevant policy implementation, raise awareness, generate evidence build capacity and stimulate communities to scale up nutrition in Nigeria”, she said.
Lilian who described malnutrition as a major problem in developing countries, explained that the problem of malnutrition especially in the rural areas is not that of extreme poverty but that of lack of adequate education or enlightenment.
According to her, most people in the villages suffer in the midst of plenty because they lack awareness of the best ways of feeding and healthy living.
He said, “You can imagine a local woman who may have plenty of chicken but would only sell them to solve some other problems while the family eats poorly”.
The Communication Officer said the group would do all within its limits to ensure that people are well mobilized on the issue and that programmes that will improve the nutritional needs of children are implemented in the State.
When Alyssa Stringfellow from Arkansas, US, tried to get insured on her grandmother’s car it seems she got a bit mixed up by the details requested.
Instead of sending pictures of her car, Alyssa sent the insurers side and front photos of herself.
The 25-year-old teacher was left red-faced when the insurer contacted her by email to point out the mistake. “I am going to need pictures like you just took, except it needs to be of your vehicle,” it read.
Instead of trying to forget the awkward blunder, Alyssa was good natured about it all and decided to share the photos on social media.
“I have been debating on whether or not to post this all day because it is PRETTY embarrassing to admit, but I have decided to go ahead and share my really, really…REALLY blonde moment with you guys.” She posted on Facebook.
Alyssa then described how the mix-up unfolded when her grandmother told her about the details the insurers had requested.
“She said he would need my driver’s license number, my date of birth, and a picture straight on and a picture taken from each side. She gave me his email address and I emailed the information along with the pictures that night,” She explained.
Image copyrightAlyssa Stringfellow
“The crazy thing is, I asked my mom to take the pictures after I got off work, and we discussed why in the world he would need pictures of me, never once considering it was supposed to be of my car.
“But, you know what they say, you either have book smarts or street smarts, and I definitely do not have the latter,” she joked.
Alyssa’s embarrassing admission has been shared more than 20,000 times since being posted of Facebook last week, with users of the social media continuing to post their reactions.
One Facebook user commented: “I read this last night and laughed sooooooo hard! So funny! And I see where the confusion came from.”
While hundreds of other people admitted they would probably have made exactly the same mistake: “I would do something like that too,” posted another Facebook user. “Don’t feel bad! We all have those moments. All we can do is shake our heads and say God, what was I thinking!”
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It seems Alyssa’s mistake is not so unique. The car insurance photo gaffe has happened at least once before.
Last year Miranda Santos tweeted about the time her mum thought side and front pictures had been requested of her personally by her car insurers.
Miranda posted the pictures in a Tweet in 2016 which was shared more than 19,000 times and liked more than 29,000 times.
Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said that the country’s first and only Prime Minister, late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa has remained a political colossus in Nigeria’s history, 50 years after his death.
The Speaker said this Wednesday, after he was conferred with the award of the “Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. for the Advancement of Constitutional Democracy in Nigeria” by the Faculty of Law, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, north central Nigeria.
He noted that although some people have been making comparison of him and the late Prime Minister, he is no where close to what the former Nigerian leader was.
“When I am often compared to him in the sense of attributes, I do not consider myself as having thus accomplished, rather I accept such prayers that I should so accomplish. The bar set by people like Sir Tafawa Balewa is so high that people like me can only attempt to scale at our peril.”
Hon. Dogara, who stressed the importance of education in the society, reveals that he accepted the honour “primarily not for the award but to stand as a testimony of what education means to me so that the Students here don’t take education for granted.”
He argued that the award rejuvenates in him very strong sentiments and sense of nostalgia for two reasons saying, “if the man after whom this award is named, the Rt Hon (Sir) Abubakar Tafawa Balewa were to be alive today, he will be my constituent”.
“Again nearly 50 years after the tragic events that claimed his life, my elevation to the office of the Speaker House of Representatives became the first position of prominence the constituency would rise to in the government of Nigeria.”
“Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa remains a political colossus in our nation’s history and one of the most respected Nigerian political leaders internationally”.
“His (Tafawa Balewa ) exceeding humility, managerial finesse and forthrightness were infectious.”
“His excellent reputation manifested even greater in death as evidenced by: the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos; the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi; his Tomb in Bauchi which is a national monument and his portrait which adorns the 5 Naira note of our currency, among many others.”
“Although these are not the reason for which we celebrate him today, they bear eloquent testimony to the accomplishment of a most distinguished personality whose words continue to resonate as if they were spoken just yesterday and would continue to inspire generations after us.”
Speaking on constitutional democracy, Dogara, who is also a lawyer by profession, said the concept connotes that people are the real repository of government authority and they must be governed with their consent.
“It’s the citizens of a democracy that make democracy work. That’s why the work you do in studying, analysing laws and courts judgements and pointing out their weakness and inadequacies, is perhaps the most important work of democracy. This is because it’s the law that secures the order upon which our democracy is built and the deeper the laws the deeper our democracy”.
Media captionTrump spoke about North Korea and US-China trade
US President Donald Trump has lavished praise on Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a marked contrast to his previous criticism of China on the flashpoint issues of North Korea and trade.
But he also urged Mr Xi to “work very hard” on persuading North Korea to denuclearise.
On China’s trade surplus, Mr Trump surprised many when he said he did “not blame China” for “taking advantage”.
China has said it will lower market entry barriers to some sectors.
The US president was speaking in Beijing while on a state visit.
He is in the Chinese capital as part of his five-nation tour of Asia. The two leaders held talks earlier on Thursday after a grand welcome for Mr Trump.
China will further lower entry barriers in the banking, insurance, and finance sectors, and gradually reduce vehicle tariffs, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
Deals worth $250bn (£190bn) have also been announced, although it is unclear how much of that figure includes past deals or potential future deals.
But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told journalists the deals were “pretty small” in terms of tackling the trade imbalance.
Trump tried to cajole Xi on Pyongyang
Discussion on how to deal with North Korea’s threats to the region has dominated Mr Trump’s agenda, and China is Pyongyang’s main economic supporter.
Mr Trump said China could fix the problem of North Korea’s nuclear programme “easily and quickly”.
He added: “I am calling on [Mr Xi] to work very hard. I know one thing about your president. If he works on it hard, it’ll get done.”
Mr Xi, for his part, said both sides would “continue to work towards” fully implementing UN sanctions and “enduring peace” on the Korean peninsula.
Mr Trump has previously been more critical and tweeted in July that Beijing was doing “NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk”.
Just before his arrival in Beijing he urged China to sever ties with the North. Beijing has consistently said it is doing all it can.
He swerved away from blaming China for the trade deficit
“I don’t blame China – after all, who can blame a country for taking advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens… I give China great credit,” said Mr Trump while addressing a room of business leaders.
Instead, the US leader said previous US administrations were responsible for what he called “a very unfair and one-sided” trade relationship with China.
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Media captionWhy the US president keeps mentioning Indo-Pacific
Mr Trump has in the past accused China of stealing American jobs and threatened to label it a currency manipulator, though he has since rowed back on such rhetoric.
Mr Xi on Thursday promised “healthy” and “balanced” economic and trade relations.
The two leaders also said they would work together to tackle terrorism and drug trafficking. Mr Trump upheld the “one China” policy in his talks with Mr Xi, Xinhua state news agency reported.
He has poured praise on Xi
Since arriving in Beijing, Mr Trump has been fulsome in his praise for the Chinese leader, saying at one point: “You are a very special man.”
He has also enthusiastically thanked Mr Xi for his hospitality in several tweets.
Mr Trump flew into Beijing on Wednesday and was greeted with great pomp and ceremony, in what was billed as a “state visit-plus”.
He has tweeted several times since arriving in China – where Twitter is banned. But a White House official told reporters that he would “tweet whatever he wants”.
As part of his Asia trip Mr Trump has already visited South Korea and Japan, and will go on to Vietnam and the Philippines later in the week.
You’d be forgiven for forgetting that the two men at the centre of this blossoming bromance are meant to be strategic rivals.
Across the negotiating table, Mr Trump held Mr Xi’s gaze. “My feeling towards you is incredibly warm,” he said. It’s a statement that in many other circumstances might lead the recipient to glance nervously in the direction of the exit. Mr Xi just smiled and nodded.
At the ceremony where US and Chinese businesses signed a number of deals, the US president appeared to have dropped his old China-bashing ways completely.
His “I don’t blame China” declaration over the trade imbalance was met with an audible gasp.
Even here, one year on and 6,000 miles from the US presidential campaign trail, the audience couldn’t quite believe what they were hearing.
Is President Trump softening China up for tougher action on the trade imbalance further down the line?
Maybe. But as the two men left the podium he had another gift for his Chinese host. Both men refused to take questions from the press. US presidents used to stand up for press freedom on visits to China.
But he also called on Pyongyang to “come to the table” for a disarmament deal.
He said Japan and South Korea will be buying US military equipment which could shoot down Pyongyang’s missiles – the two countries said they are considering it.
Two days ago Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the following.
“100 billion naira and $289 USD million was withdrawn in cash by President Goodluck Jonathan two weeks before the presidential election ostensibly for security. This was unprecedented stealing and it led to the economic recession that we are suffering today”.
Sadly the wild, baseless and frankly absurd allegations and willful and premeditated display of perfidy did not stop there.
A few weeks earlier Osinbajo had said the following:
“President Goodluck Jonathan did not put in place ANY infrastructural development in his last 5 years”.
This is yet another unmeritorious and unworthy clangger!
The truth is that I am fed up with this despicable little man’s horrendous lies. If he is not lecturing, talking down to or insulting the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Christian leaders or trying to convince the world that there is no islamisation agenda in Nigeria he is resorting to the most disgusting and shameful mendacities.
The truth is that there is nothing worse or more repugnant than a pernicious liar and a sanctimonious and self-serving dwarf that thrives in double standards and hypocrisy.
Osibanjo never saw fit to publicly condemn the stealing of the Ikoyi/Osbornegate billions, the SGF grass cutting stealing, the $26 billion USD NNPC contract scam or the Mainagate scandal.
Instead he always saves his perfidy and lies for President Jonathan and the leaders of the PDP.
He never condemned the slaughter of thousands of Christians (including clerics) and hundreds of Shiite Muslims in the north.
He never condemned the mass murder of IPOB and Biafran youths. He never condemned the obvious Islamisation and anti-Christian policy of the Buhari regime.
He never condemned the ethnic cleansing being carried out by the Fulani herdsmen.
He never condemned the relentless persecution and violation of human rights and civil liberties that the opposition have been subjected to for the last two and a half years.
He never condemned the northernisation of governance in Nigeria and the fact that his boss President Buhari had directed the World Bank to only develop the north and to ignore the south.
He never condemned the fact that southern Nigeria and the Midddle Belt are effectively under occupation.
He never condemned the fact that every single security agency in the country and every branch of the Armed Forces except for the Navy is headed by a northern Muslim.
He never condemned the fact that the army attacked Nnamdi Kanu’s home, murdered 26 people in cold blood, killed his dogs, burnt his cars and “disappeared” him.
He never condemned the fact that the wives and children of opposition members and perceived enemies of the government are being killed, detained, maimed, rounded up, tortured and harrased by Buhari’s goons and security agencies.
He never condemned the fact that his own colleague, a female pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), was murdered in cold blood by muslim fundamentalists in the north just over one year ago.
He never condemned the censorship of the press, the intimidation and blackmailing of newspaper publishers and editors and the threats issued against the owners of radio and television broadcasting stations.
He did not condemn the planned clampdown on the social media over the next few weeks and months.
He did not condemn the systematic and insidious adoption of a culture of fear and silence which is being foisted upon our people.
He did not condemn the bombing of predominantly Christian IDP camps by Muslim Air Force officers.
He did not condemn the wholesale slaughter of the innocent Christian indegenous populations, including women and children, in Plateau state, Benue state, Southern Kaduna, Kebbi state, Borno state, Adamawa state and elsewhere in the north by Janjaweed-like Fulani militants.
I could go on and on.
Osinbajo, our supposedly learned, God-fearing, pious, humble and righteous Pastor and Professor of Law, has not deemed it fit to condemn anything that is evil or reprehensible that goes on in our country!
All he did and has done was go around calling Buhari his father, running his mouth off against CAN, the Church and Christian leaders and insulting President Jonathan and other members of the resistance and the opposition.
The truth is that I have lost all respect for this man. That is a pity because I have known him for over thirty years and have always held him in high esteem.
Yet sadly that has all changed because I never knew that below the surface he was nothing more than a gutless coward and quisling who, like Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, had sold his soul to the devil for knowledge and power.
I never knew that he was the sort of man that would sit by idly and quietly whilst his own southern people and members of his own Christian faith are being humiliated, cheated, persecuted, enslaved, marginalised, slaughtered and, in some cases, being subjected to ethnic cleansing.
As far as I am concerned Vice President Osinbajo is not just a deceitful, mendacious and poisonous dwarf but he is also a lying imp and devlish little midget who has been overwhelmed and possesed by a stunted, crude, cowardly and servile evil spirit.
The truth is that he would kill or sacrifice anyone, no matter how close they are to him, just to please his boss Buhari.
I stopped regarding him as a believer the minute he bowed his head and went on bended knee before Baal’s Prophet and the minute he opted to be the running mate to the greatest enemy of Christ’s Church in Nigeria.
The fact of the matter is that, in my view, the Vice President is not a Christian let alone a Pastor. He ceased being one long ago.
Like Judas Iscariot he has betrayed Jesus Christ in return for thirty pieces of silver and he has assisted those that have continuosly insulted and sought to undermine the Christian faith in Nigeria.
His is nothing less than a hideous, horrific and monuemental Shakesperean tragedy that shall not end well.
Permit me to close with the following.
The lack of sense that some commentators in Nigeria consistently display never ceases to amaze me. They claim that it is fair game for the likes of Osinbajo to keep calling Jonathan and opposition leaders looters and thieves but that it is wrong, disrespectful and unfair to call him a lying dwarf for saying so!
This is nonsense. And those that hold that view should mark this: the more bricks Osinbajo and his boss throw at us the more they will get in return.
We cannot be intimidated by them and we shall not be cowered into silenced.
Being a Vice President is one thing but allowing yourself to degenerate into a willing tool and servant of Baal and debasing yourself into what is nothing more than an unrepentant son of perdition is quite another.
I suggest that both Osinbajo and Buhari leave Jonathan and the PDP alone and clean up their own filthy mess! They have just over one year left to do so.
Actress Valentina Violo, who plays a secretary in Ridley Scott’s film, said she had met Spacey at a party held at the end of shooting this summer.
“He was very nice and kind and very human,” she told BBC News. “He was enjoying himself drinking, eating, speaking with people.”
Spacey’s career has nosedived since the first allegation of sexual advances were made by actor Anthony Rapp on 30 October.
US network Netflix has axed further production of Mr Spacey’s House of Cards drama, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced it would no longer give the actor a special Emmy award, and his agent and publicist dropped him as a client.
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Media caption‘To Kevin Spacey: Shame on you for what you did to my son’
Rapp accused Spacey of trying to seduce him when he was aged 14.
In response to Mr Rapp’s claims, Mr Spacey said he had no memory of the incident and offered an apology.
Since then several others have come forward accusing him of predatory behaviour, including a woman who said Spacey had sexually assaulted her 18-year-old son last year.
Spacey’s representatives say he is seeking unspecified treatment.
Analysis by Neil Smith, entertainment reporter
It is not uncommon for actors to have their roles recast or their performances adjusted in the case of death, illness and other unavoidable circumstances.
Nor it is rare for actors to be replaced before or during production, for a whole range of reasons.
Yet it is virtually unprecedented for a living performer to be removed from a completed film and have their character recreated by another actor.
It is even rarer for that decision to be made so close to a film’s release, or in a film whose trailer contains copious footage of the actor concerned.
Yes, Woody Allen once reshot an entire film – 1987’s September – with some recast actors.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption Woody Allen once reshot an entire film from scratch
But that was because he was dissatisfied with the first version and not all of the original cast were available for reshoots.
Spacey spent just two weeks working on All the Money in the World, so it is possible reshoots may be relatively straightforward.
Yet they are likely to be costly and include more than one actor. One scene in the trailer, for example, sees Spacey’s Getty striding away from a horde of news reporters.
With or without Spacey, Scott’s film has already achieved a notoriety that is sure to make it a constant source of fascination.
The fact that it already concerns a famous cause celebre – the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III – adds yet another twist to the tale.
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Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS
Image copyright EPA 
