Photo: Israeli-American girl, 13, fatally stabbed

A 13-year-old Israeli-American girl was stabbed to death in her bedroom Thursday morning in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said.

Hallel Yaffa Ariel was sleeping when a Palestinian teenager entered the house in the settlement near Hebron and killed her, authorities said.

"Just like any teenager on summer holiday, my daughter was asleep, calm, relaxed. A terrorist murderer came and murdered her in her bed," her mother, Rena Ariel, told Israel's Channel 2.

Security guards on the settlement entered the home and found the suspect still inside, the IDF said. During a fight, one security guard was stabbed, and the intruder was shot and killed.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the attacker as Mohammed Tarayra, 17, from Bani Naim, a village east of Hebron.

The girl was a dual national of Israel and the United States. May her soul rest in peace, Amen.

Bill Gates, Zuckerberg lose $3.4 billion to Brexit

Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, and Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook have lost 3.4 billion dollars to the decision of the UK voters to leave the European Union. According to Bloomberg Billionaires ranking, both men were the worst-hit billionaires in the U.S., losing 1.8 billion dollars and 1.6 billion dollars respectively. In context, the amount lost by Gates is more than the entire wealth of Nigeria’s richest woman, Folorunsho Alakija, who – according to Forbes – is worth 1.73 billion dollars. Global markets erased another 69.2 billion dollars from the combined net worth of the world’s 400 richest people on the first trading day of the week after the Brexit vote, bringing total loss to 196.2 billion dollars in 48 hours.

The pain on Monday was felt most by Europe’s wealthiest, as 92 billionaires lost 29.4 billion dollars, bringing their two-day decline to 81.7 billion dollars. These 150 billionaires from the U.S. and Canada lost 26.7 billion dollars on Monday, and recorded a two-day total of 62.5 billion dollars. China’s 26 billionaires lost one billion dollars on Monday, bringing their two-day total loss to $5 billion, with a 7.4 per cent (18.7 billion dollars) decline in 2016.

Georg Schaeffler, Germany’s third-richest person, fared the worst on the index with 1.9 billion dollars trimmed from his net worth. Amancio Ortega, a Spanish retailer, who is Europe’s richest person, lost 1.5 billion dollars. While others lost, there were 69 billionaires on the index who added to their fortunes after the Brexit vote. Takemitsu Takizaki, founder of Osaka-based Keyence, a maker of electronic sensors, led the gainers with an increase of 579.3 million dollars. Tadashi Yanai, Japanese retailer and chairman of Tokyo-based Fast Retailing Co., was behind him with a 552 million-dollar rise. Nineteen billionaires on the index added more than 100 million dollars on Monday.

Breaking News: Presidential body guard with link to Boko Haram arrested

The presidency could not be reached to confirm the arrest of a Body Guard to President Mohammadu Buhari, Coporal Hassan Aminu, who is alleged to have a link with Boko Haram sect.

There are reports that Aminu had been taken into custody by security operatives for interrogation. Several calls and SMS sent to the presidential media Aide, Mr. Femi Adesina and Mallam Garba Shehu were not answered or replied even as at 8:35 pm yesterday.

Culled from Vanguard

Literary icon, Elechi Amadi, is dead

Popular Nigerian author, Capt. Elechi Amadi, has died aged 82.

Amadi, who wrote famous books like The Concubine, Isiburu, Sunset in Biafra, andPeppersoup and The Road to Ibadan, died at about 3:15pm on Wednesday, about a week after he became ill.

May his soul rest in peace, Amen.

God's Word For Today: Overcoming the ‘I Can’t’ Mentality

‘We saw the giants … and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight.’ - Numbers 13:33

Wherever you go, you take your mentality with you. After four hundred years as captives in Egypt, the Israelites needed to adjust to their new freedom and learn to step into unfamiliar situations. They functioned best when other people told them what to do. Consequently when they approached the Promised Land and their leader sent twelve spies in to check it out, ten came back saying, ‘The inhabitants of the land are giants. We are like grasshoppers compared to them.’ But two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, knew God was with them so they reported, ‘The inhabitants of the land are like grasshoppers to us. We are well able to overcome them’ (see v. 30).

Joshua and Caleb developed the capacity to see things from God’s vantage point. It spelled the difference between success and failure - and this one secret will change your world. You learn to ‘mount up with wings’ like an eagle (Isaiah 40:31 KJV) and see every situation from a higher viewpoint: through God’s eyes! You stop looking at the devil’s picture of defeat and focus on God’s portrait of success. This is your ticket to the Promised Land! Start speaking what you desire - not what you dread (see Psalm 107:2). Speak your expectations - not your fears. This isn’t mind-over-matter or pop psychology. It’s standing on God’s Word declaring, ‘I am what God says I am…I have what God says I have…and I can do what God says I can do!’ (see Philippians 4:13).

Amen!.

UN releases N3.7bn to displaced persons in Northeast

The United Nations Humanitarian Chief, Mr. Stephen O’Brien, has released about N3.7bn ($13m) as life-saving support to the 250,000 Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who announced this in a statement, said that the money was released the by the Central Emergency Response Fund.

“The destruction of crops and looting of livestock have left many people unable to support their families.

“More than 50,000 people need seeds and tools for the upcoming planting season. Women, girls, men and boys have suffered or witnessed terrible abuses.

“CERF funds will enable humanitarian partners to provide critical psycho- social support and protection services. CERF funding will help them to rebuild their livelihoods,” it said.

Banks May Face Challenge Servicing Dollar Obligations

Following recent depreciation of the naira exchange rate that came with the new forex policy, Nigerian banks are likely going to face challenges servicing their US dollar obligations, a report has stated.

Lagos-based investment and research firm, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, which stated this in a report titled: "Banks and FX Devaluation," held the view that given very limited international dollar credit to Nigeria, banks may either resort to supranational lenders and development banks, or else buy US dollars at costly rates to meet their obligations.

"Borrowings in US dollars are problematic under a devaluation scenario. Banks need to have performing US dollar assets in order to receive dollars with which to service their own US dollar borrowings. The worse these US dollar assets perform in cash terms (for example, re-scheduled US dollar loans to the oil & gas sector, with grace periods during which banks do not receive cash) the more banks have to find other sources of US dollars with which to service their own borrowings.

"An extreme case of this would be a bank simply purchasing US dollars with Naira at unfavourable rates in order to service a US dollar obligation. Note that it has become quite difficult for most banks to refinance US dollar loans with international banks, though we assume that most have access to the supranational lenders, and to development banks, for re-financing," it added.

It also anticipated that cost of risk (CoR) would "rise as a result of devaluation, though much of the economy has been working with the parallel naira/dollar rate for over a year."

The report explained: "Devaluation, in theory, challenges capital adequacy ratios (CAR) because the naira-equivalent value of risk-weighted assets (RWA) rises as these include foreign currency loans. "However, the weight of foreign currency loans in RWAs is for the most part moderate (34%-44%), and banks will likely make windfall gains from net long FX positions which in turn boost capital.

We see moderate erosion of CAR overall, and note that the CBN has postponed hiking the minimum total CAR from 15 per cent to 16 per cent."

The report assessed the likely impact of notional 50 per cent naira devaluation on the top-five listed Nigerian banks.

The banks are FBN Holdings, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) and Access Bank Plc.

It expressed optimism that banks will retain comfortable capital levels, adding that although devaluation "would probably bring some liquidity challenges, but since the biggest challenges are faced by the strongest banks (notably Zenith Bank), we believe these can be overcome."

Half Of Recovered Loot Should Be Shared Equally Among States – Akinola

Hon Gboyega Akinola is a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and one-time secretary of the party in Ekiti State. In an interview with Independent Newspaper corespondent, Yaqoub Popoola in Ado- Ekiti, Akinola said half of recovered loot should be shared equally to states in Nigeria.

Read the full interview on Independent Newspaper website.

Culled.

Death of Kano Student In India: the Untold Aspects of the Story

By Salihu Tanko Yakasai

It is often difficult to put forward facts and figures or advance reasons when emotions are high. This is even more so when a serious and solemn event like death is being used to appeal to sentiments and achieve a aim. That was the situation we found ourselves in Kano with the death in India of a Kano State student, Jibril Abubakar Jibril.

Jibril was until his death studying Pharmacy at the Bapuji Pharmacy College in India, on Kano State government scholarship.

While it was indeed painful to see tempers whipped up high by some people whose aims were actually not to commiserate with the deceased’s family or even sympathise with the suffering of the late student prior to his death but rather to use the unfortunate incidence for certain ends, one still felt the need for restraint to allow tempers calm before setting the record straight.

The most important information on the travails of the deceased student that was conveniently ignored by hate mongers was that the late Jibril was actually involved in a fatal road accident in India while travelling very late at night on April 4, 2016. It involved not only him, but also a fellow student, Usman Safiyanu Jaafar.

However, while Usman Jaafar sustained mainly bruises that were treated and he was discharged from the hospital almost immediately, Jibril was not as lucky. He sustained serious neck injuries that required surgery. And because of the cordial relationship between the school and the Kano State government, the Bapuji Pharmacy College did not waste time in taking care of him while they contacted the government.

The State government’s link man in India, a consultant also serving like the guide of all the Kano students there, immediately sent an email to the Scholarships Board and other government figures. He broke the sad news and informed the authorities that a relative of Jibril also on scholarship in the same institution had signed a consent form for an immediate surgery. The consultant equally sent through another form to Jibril’s father back in Kano to sign for further surgery to continue.

The uncle of the student was then called to the Scholarships Board where he was briefed on the sad development and the consent form was presented to him. The duly signed form was then posted back to India.

However, because of the medical report the government received and the critical nature of the student’s condition, and after Governor Abdulllahi Umar Ganduje was briefed about the situation, the state government promptly sponsored two members of his family – his mother and a brother – to travel to Bangalore to look after him.

The state government also requested that Jibril be given the best care he could get, and that was how he was transferred to the best hospital in Bangalore despite the doctors saying his survival chance was just about 10 percent.

The governor directed the Executive Secretary of the Scholarships Board to keep a tab on developments around the patient and also keep him abreast of the situation as it unfolded. As such, the Scholarship Board was on daily contact with the doctors in India, the college’s principal, Jibril’s mother and the consultant who was monitoring him. On days his condition allowed it, officials of the Board even got to speak to Jibril himself.

When the student eventually died, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology immediately facilitated the transportation of his remains, alongside his mother and brother back to Nigeria. This was done as urgently as possible, and in line with the Islamic injunctions on funeral and the need for the deceased student to be given a befitting burial as ordained by Islam.

The foregoing has shown the level of concern and commitment the Kano State Government has shown on this unfortunate incident, contrary to the falsehood peddled since the death of Jibril. Indeed, no one can rescue a soul whose time is up but, for sure, the government did its very best to help Jibril and his family in their hours of need.

The Kano State Government has so far paid a total sum of $27,474 (Twenty seven thousand, four hundred and seventy four dollars) to settle the medical bills of late Jibril and other related expenses. His school was up to its responsibility by paying up the initial bills for emergency care before contacting the government. Immediately the government came into the picture, it refunded the bills accrued by the school in giving the early care and continued from there till the end.

With all the efforts of the government, one wonders why anyone would go about circulating conjectures on the neglect of the deceased by the administration in Kano State. Nothing could be more appalling than seizing on the grief of a family and turning it into political mischief, which is what has happened so far.

May the soul of Jibril find repose and the Almighty Allah grant him Al Jannah Firdaus. May his family equally find comfort in this difficult period. Ameen.‎

Salihu Tanko Yakasai is DG, Media and Communications to the Governor of Kano State‎. 

Culled from Premium Times

Bad Romance? Lady Gaga angers her Chinese fans with Dalai Lama meeting

Has Lady Gaga become the latest Western celebrity to upset Beijing?

The singer has angered her legions of Chinese fans after meeting with Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.

Thousands of Chinese Internet users flooded Lady Gaga's Instagram account with angry comments after she posted photos of the meeting. Others voiced their outrage on Chinese social media.

"It's all over for Lady Gaga, a nation trumps an idol," went one widely shared comment on Weibo -- China's equivalent of Twitter.

Another Weibo user said: "I used to like Lady Gaga so much, but not a fan anymore!"

The pop star and the Dalai Lama appeared together at a conference in the U.S. on Sunday to talk about the benefits of compassion.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei declined to comment on reports that Beijing had placed a ban on her music, which is hugely popular in China.

But he noted the strong public reaction to the news online and said the international community is "well aware of what kind of person the Dalai Lama truly is."

Forced into exile after a failed uprising against Beijing's rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama -- a Nobel peace laureate -- is despised by China's Communist leadership as a separatist who is trying to split Tibet from China.

So far, Lady Gaga's hit music and videos can still be accessed online in China but if she does end up on a blacklist, she'll be in good company.

Video: 13-year-old slams Donald Trump

13-year-old comedian Lori Mae Hernandez roasted Donald Trump during her stand-up routine on NBC's talent show, "America's Got Talent."

Mother, triplets detained in hospital over N35,000 bill

Googled photo

Seven weeks after she delivered a set of triplets, a housewife, Gloria Okore, has been detained by the management of a private hospital in Lagos over her inability to settle outstanding medical bills of N35,000 out of N120,000 incurred at the hospital.

Mrs Okore, who delivered two girls and a boy on May 10 in Bessylva Hospital and Maternity Home, located at 60, Surulere Street, Dopemu-Agege, Lagos State, has been begging for help to raise the balance and cater for the children. Vanguard learned that the babies were delivered preterm (seven months), and one of the triplets, a female, died two weeks ago as there was no incubator to use for the babies. Gloria Okore told Vanguard that due to the hash economic situation in the country, the family needed the goodwill of Nigerians to take care of the babies. When Vanguard visited the hospital, the nursing mother, who was looking pale and unable to breastfeed the babies, was using an unkempt ward inside the hospital with no medical facilities.

According to the 27-year-old Gloria, “I had the triplets through normal delivery, but the babies were born prematurely. We were charged N120,000. My husband hawks fairly-used clothes (okrika). It took him time to raise N85,000, which he paid in installments. “I am from Owerri in Imo State, while my husband is from Abia State. We got married three years ago. Before I had these triplets, I had twins who died immediately after birth. When I was pregnant for the triplets, I was very sick; I could not walk long distance because my belly was very big. “I want government to help pay the balance of the hospital bills and also help us with basic necessities for the babies. Right now I cannot work because the babies are still young.”

She gave their bank account details as UBA: 2043213179 (Umeh Okore).

Culled from Vanguard

FG to Domesticate 18 Weeks Maternity Leave

Minister of Labour and Productivity Dr Chris Ngige has said that he will liaise with his health counterpart Prof. Isaac Adewole to make the Federal Executive Council domesticate 18 weeks maternity leave in Nigeria. He stated this yesterday in Abuja during the launch of 2016 Lancet Series on Breast feeding, and high- level policy dialogue on promoting breast feeding in Nigeria.

Ngige said Nigeria presently has a policy of 16 weeks maternity leave that is 12 weeks after pregnancy (3 months) and the four weeks annual leave, negating Article 183 of the International Labour organization (ILO) which stipulates 18 weeks.

He added that Nigeria has not domesticated this stipulation and decried the inadequate and non-provision of maternity leave in public and private organizations.

Wife of the president, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, represented by wife of the Niger State governor Dr Amina Abello, said Nigeria is one of the worst breastfeeding countries in West Africa, adding that while 80 per cent of children in Nigeria are breastfed at least once in their lives, only 17 per cent of them are exclusively breastfed in the recommended first six months of life.

Graphic Photos: Stepmother who cut off baby’s penis remanded in prison

How can anybody do this to a child???!. Readers, pls be warned that there are extremely graphic photos at the end of this post.

As reported by Punch, a Niger State Magistrate Court sitting in Minna, the state capital on Monday arraigned a 22-year-old woman, Rabiu Bara’atu, for allegedly cutting off the penis of her rival’s one-month-old baby, Buhari.

Bara’atu allegedly cut off Buhari’s penis at their home in Kuta town, Shiroro Local Government Area of the state on June 21 after having been married to her husband, Mohammed Rabiu, for seven years, without a child. In her bid to punish her husband for marrying a second wife, she allegedly cut off the baby’s penis, the Punch reports.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in the state, Bala James, explained that the suspect wanted to kill the victim, adding that the child, who was named after President Muhammadu Buhari, survived the attack.

James said, “The woman used a sharp knife to cut through the genitals of the one-month-old baby. She had been married to her husband for seven years without any child.

“So, out of pressure, the man decided to marry a second wife. When the second wife had a baby, she became angry and frustrated. She thought the best thing to do was to kill the child.

“On June 21, around 10pm, she took the baby to the backyard of their house and used a sharp knife to cut off his penis, however, the cry of the baby attracted neighbours, who rushed to the place and found him in a pool of blood. “The suspect wanted to run away, but she was overpowered. She was handed over to the police, while the baby was taken to a hospital,” the PPRO added, noting that the baby had been taken to the Accident and Emergency Ward of the Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna.

According to the Head of Department, General Outpatient Ward of the hospital, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed, the boy might not use his penis again.

Mohammed said, “He is doing well – health-wise. He survived the attack. However, there is no assurance of the penis getting back because all the tissues were dead when he was brought into the hospital. We just had to conduct a surgery for him to be able to pass urine.

“Medically, for him to regain the use of his manhood will be difficult. If the team that was supposed to work on him had been around immediately, maybe the situation would have been different.

“For such a case, you need a general surgeon, a neurologist and a plastic surgeon. But these were not available. His future right now is in the hands of God.

“Another possibility is if there is artificial attachment. I really pity the boy’s condition. I cannot imagine that somebody will do this to a baby.

“It is better for the child to die than for him to be in this condition. Even if he survives, what purpose will he be living for?,” the doctor quizzed.

The suspect, was arraigned on one count of attempted homicide. The Chief Magistrate, Hassan Mohammed ordered that the accused be remanded in the Minna Medium Security Prison.

Nigeria Will Be Self-Sufficient in Rice Production in 18 Months - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja said his administration would make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production within 18 months.

The president, who was speaking at the Ramadan breaking of fast with members of the business community, said 13 states of the federation had been identified for the production of the crop. He said the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, had already been briefed on how best to achieve the target.

Mr. Buhari decried how the nation's scarce resources were wasted on the importation of food items by the previous regimes. He said the nation had no option than to concentrate more on agriculture and solid mineral activities.

The president also condemned "the ruthless devaluation of naira", saying he was yet to be convinced about the economic benefits of the exercise.

"How much benefits have derived from naira devaluation in the past?

"I don't like the returns I get from the CBN because that coupled with the demand that let us devalue the naira, in August 1985 when the naira was N1.3 to a dollar now you need N300 or N350 to a dollar.

God's Word For Today: Start a trend!

Jesus...laid aside His garments' - John 13:3-4

John records that: 'Jesus...rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself...poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, 'Lord, are You washing my feet? (Luke 13:3-6 NKJV).

Jesus didn't wait for His disciples to make the first move, He went first. He taught that in order to serve God you must be willing to lay aside your image, your comfort and your agenda. And He dramatised it in a way His disciples would never forget. By laying aside His garments He showed them God has no time for form or fashion.

Real ministry is not image conscious; it's done with a complete loss of distinction. God incarnate clothed Himself in humility. Amazing! But Peter didn't get it. He was embarrassed to think that His Lord would allow Himself to be seen in such demeaning light. So Jesus said, 'You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’...If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you...If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them' (John 13:13-17 NKJV).

If you want to be blessed, don't join the 'spiritual elitists' who are impressed by their own speeches and display their own accomplishments. Lay aside everything you privately glory in and pick up the towel of servanthood. And don't wait for others. Somebody at your table needs to start a trend.

Today let it be you!

Financial crisis hits Nigerian insurers

Nigerian insurers are being affected by the current financial crisis in the country as they are finding it difficult to pay reinsurance premium to their overseas reinsurers, reported THISDAY Live.

Foreign exchange scarcity is particularly hurting insurers. Up to 90% of the risks in the market are being ceded abroad, said an official at Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, adding that with no foreign exchange in the country, insurers "are actually sitting on a keg of gun powder that can explode anytime."

Group urges Nigeria's FG to publish names of looters

The Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged (CENTREP), has called on the Federal Government to publish the names of looters alongside the amount recovered from them. The Executive Director of the organization, Mr Oghenejabor Ikimi, made the call in a signed press statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Warri.

Ikimi said that the publication would not only engender transparency, it would also boost the confidence of the people in the anti-corruption policy of the government.

According to the Warri-based lawyer, the publication would also discourage others from indulging in corruption.

“Publishing names of looters side by side the various currencies of monies recovered from them will go a long way to deter other serving public office holders presently engaged in the social vice of looting our public treasury.

“CENTREP is of the view that non release of the names of looters side by side their loots will create the impression that the government has something to hide,’’ he said.

Ikimi, said that since the treasury looters were not being prosecuted in the Law Courts, it was expedient that their names and the amount stolen were published to strengthen the anti-corruption drive.

Breaking News: Ikpeazu files notice of appeal

Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, this morning filed notice of appeal and application for stay of execution at the Court of Appeal in Abuja against the ruling of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court.

More details shortly.

Congratulations!: Gbenro & Osas Ajibade are now parents!

Proud dad

And it's a baby girl!

The couple who got married in 2015 have just welcomed their first child together. Big congratulations to them!

Land for sale: Pay small small, become a Landlord

Any wise person knows real estate is one of the best and smartest investment, especially in Nigeria. An opportunity to become a land owner is here. You have the option of paying small small till you complete the payment. Very affordable installment payment plan. With everything going on in Nigeria, you need to secure a property you can call yours before the foreigners take everything. Available lands for sale include:

LAGOS:

Oakwood Gardens
Location: Lakowe, by Lakowe Lakes Golf & Country Estate
Plot Sizes: 675sqm - N13.5m/plot & 900sqm - N18m/plot
Title Doc: Governor's Consent, C of O
Installment Payment Plan for up to 30months available
Outright payment attracts 10% discount.

Oakwood Garden Phase 2
Location: Free Trade Zone
Plot Size: 600sqm - N5.4m/plot
Title Doc: Global C of O
Installment Payment Plan for up to 30months available

Lekki Villas Phase 1
Location: Bogije
Plot Size: 648sqm - N2.7m/plot
Title Doc: Gazette
Installment Payment Plan for up to 12months available

Lekki Villas Phase 2
Location: Ibeju-Lekki
Plot Size: 648sqm - N1.5m/plot
Title Doc: Gazette
Installment Payment Plan for up to 12months available
(Ongoing Promo - buy 5plots and get 1plot FREE)

OGUN STATE (Outskirts of Lagos):

Queens Court
Location: Ota
Plot Size: 648sqm - N540,000/plot
Title Doc: Excision
Installment Payment Plan for up to 12months available

For enquiries & inspection, Contact: 0708 607 8311/0809 606 4725

Fashion: Pregnancy & Baby Bump Outfits

Being pregnant doesn't mean you get to stop being stylish in your outfits. Even with the extra weight, the growing tummy and less interest in wanting to dress up, you can still rock your wardrobe stylishly. Whether it's a casual or an event outing, here a few pregnancy outfit ideas to try out:

Whether you're a new mum or not a first-timer, be sure to remain fashionable even while pregnant and rock that baby bump stylishly.

God's Word For Today: Start Now

‘An intelligent person aims at wise action … a fool starts off in many directions.’ - Proverbs 17:24

Successful people have one thing in common: they’ve developed the habit of doing what unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do.

We all want more money, but we don’t all want more work. We’d all like to be slim and trim, but we’re not all willing to eat properly and exercise daily.

The bookends of success are commitment and consistency. Without commitment you’ll never start, and without consistency you’ll never finish.

Getting started is the hardest part, because we come up with so many reasons not to. So:

1) Start small. Take the first step. You can’t take step two until you’ve taken step one. Taking the first step to prioritise your life will focus you in the right direction. But don’t expect to immediately understand all that’s required. ‘By faith Abraham … went out, not knowing’ (Hebrews 11:8 KJV). God guides you when you’re in motion, so ‘you’ll know as you go’.

2) Start with yourself. If you want others to respond to you differently, give them a different set of attitudes and actions to respond to.

3) Start early. Someone said, ‘Noah didn’t wait for his ship to come in - he built one.’ Hard work is an accumulation of the easy things you didn’t do when you should have. The truth is, the work doesn’t seem nearly so hard once you stop putting it off.

4) Start now. What are you waiting for? Until you finish school, get married, have kids, the kids leave home, you retire, or you die? If you wait long enough you’ll only have one regret - that you didn’t start now.

High Court orders Abia State Governor Ikpeazu to vacate office, Uche Ogah to take over

A Federal High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja on Monday ordered the Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, to vacate office immediately.

This order follows allegation that he submitted false information to his party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, for the party’s governorship primary in December 2014.

In his ruling, Justice Okon Abang ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately issue a certificate of return to the complainant, Uche Ogah.

Recall that Ogah polled the second highest number of votes in the primary election.

Bomb attacks hit Lebanon

Six people died and 19 others were wounded following a series of suicide attacks in a mainly Christian area of northern Lebanon, close to the border with Syria.

According to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), the first incident happened at around 4.20 a.m. (local time) Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a house in the village of Qaa, in the country's Beqaa valley.

Three other attackers -- with at least one wearing a explosive vest -- then detonated themselves as rescue teams and locals gathered at the scene, NNA said.

In a statement, the Lebanese Army said, "following investigations conducted by military experts at the sites of the bombings, it has been clarified that that the weight of each of the four suicide belts used by the terrorists contained 2 kg of explosives material and metal balls (ball bearings)." It is not yet clear who was behind the attacks or the motive.

A Lebanese government spokesperson refused to provide any further details when contacted by CNN.

Football: Is Lionel Messi retiring?

Visibly saddened after losing to Chile on penalties at the Copa America Final, Lionel Messi announcea hours later that he'll be retiring from international football.

Considered to be the best footballer in the world, Lionel mentioned four major competition finals he has played for Argentina, all of which he lost.

Messi's teammates also reacted to the news that the team's best player would step aside. Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero said that he thinks Messi may have been too hasty in announcing he would quit the team.

Other players, most notably Italy stalwart Andrea Pirlo and Portugual's Luis Figo, have announced their retirement from international football before reversing their decisions, so maybe Lionel Messi will do the same.

Even though Lionel Messi retires from the international scene, he will continue to play his club football for Spanish champions F.C. Barcelona.

Check out Kanye West's "Famous" video

Kanye West premiered his highly anticipated "Famous" music video last night on TIDAL and it definitely has people buzzing. The rapper used the likenesses of several celebrities including Taylor Swift, Donald Trump, Rihanna and Chris Brown, showing them laying naked in bed beside him.

The video starts with a shot of West sleeping next to his wife, Kim Kardashian. The camera then pans to show a topless Swift look-alike. In the song West raps, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that b**** famous," a possible reference to his interruption of the Grammy winner on stage at the 2009 MTV VMAs. West has been adamant Swift agreed to the lyric in advance, but she disputes that. The video also shows the likenesses of Caitlyn Jenner, Ray J, George W. Bush, Bill Cosby and "Vogue" editor, Anna Wintour.

It's unclear how many of West's famous "friends" agreed to their depictions in the video. The strange bed scene ends with West thanking each of them by name.

Representatives for West and Swift were contacted. They were not immediately available for comment.

Petrol price to crash soon on forex policy – Marketers

Oil marketers have said that Nigerians will experience a further reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol from between N140 and N145 in the coming weeks as a result of the recently introduced foreign exchange policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, The Punch reports. The Corporate Affairs Manager, Nipco Plc, an oil marketing firm, Mr. Taofeeq Lawal, said that some marketers were able to assess forex at N250 to a dollar when the policy was initially introduced by the central bank, as against the N360 rate at the parallel market. He explained that at the new rate, which was less than the N288/dollar price as projected by the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), oil marketers had more chances to reduce the PMS price and still make a good profit.

Similarly, an executive member of the Reconciliation Committee of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Dibu Aderigbigbe, stated that some filling stations on the outskirts of Abuja were selling petrol below N140 per litre. He said, “With the new policy, instead of buying a dollar at the black market rate of N350, since it has come down to between N280 and N285 – a difference of almost N75 on a dollar – it will definitely have some impact on the landing cost of the PMS and we will begin to see the effect of this within the next two to three weeks.”

God Wants to Meet Your Financial Needs

When you give to fulfil the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth’ (Matthew 6:10 KJV), He will make sure you have everything you need when you need it. That’s His guarantee, and it should dispel your fears about giving. In fact, there’s really only one thing you should be concerned about when it comes to giving: holding back to the extent that God is no longer involved in your finances.

There’s nothing you can do to earn or deserve God’s love, but you must exercise faith and follow His instructions if you want to walk in His blessing.

So here’s the question you should ask yourself: ‘Who’s better able to meet my needs, God or me?’ If you’re generous with God, He’ll make sure you have more than enough so that you can continue to be generous. But first He wants to see you investing more in His kingdom - not in order to get what you want from Him, but because you value His eternal purposes more than your own interests. 2 Corinthians 9:11 says ‘You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.’

Are you prepared to step out in faith and take advantage of the law of the harvest by inviting God to get involved in your finances?

Money is often the last door we open to God because we think it represents our security. If you really want to become secure financially, get God involved in your finances as soon as possible. The sooner you start sowing seeds, the sooner you’ll begin reaping harvests. And when that happens, you’ll never go back to doing things the way you used to.

Pope says Christians should apologize to gay people

Pope Francis said Sunday that Christians owe apologies to gays and others who have been offended or exploited by the church, remarks that some Catholics hailed as a breakthrough in the church's tone toward homosexuality. "The Church must ask forgiveness for not behaving many times -- when I say the Church, I mean Christians! The Church is holy, we are sinners!" the Pope said.

The Pope's comments came in response to a question about a German Cardinal who said the Catholic Church should apologize for being "very negative" about gays.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic gay rights group, called the Pope's remarks "an immense blessing of healing."

On Brexit, the Pope said "For me, unity is always superior to conflict, but there are different forms of unity and also brotherhood. and here I come to the EU -- brotherhood is better than enmity or distance and bridges are better than walls."

Singapore Airlines plane catches fire after emergency landing

A Singapore Airlines plane burst into flames Monday after an emergency landing at the city-state's Changi Airport. Images posted to social media show flames leaping from the plane's wing.

Singapore Airlines plane in flames

Flight SQ368, a Boeing 777-300ER, took off from Changi Airport around 2:25am on June 27 carrying 222 passengers and 19 crew, Singapore Airlines said. The flight had been expected to arrive in Milan at 8:45 a.m. local time. Instead, just two hours into the flight, an engine oil warning message forced the pilot to turn back for an emergency landing. On arrival in Singapore, the plane's right engine burst into flames.

According to statements by Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport, the fire was extinguished within minutes and all passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the plane. The passengers would be transferred to another flight due to depart for Milan later on Monday.

Singapore Airlines said they will be cooperating with authorities in their investigations.

The pound is dropping again as Brexit impact sinks in

The British pound is sinking again as investors continue to digest the impact of the U.K.'s historic vote to leave the European Union. The pound sank more than 2% early Monday against the dollar before regaining some ground to trade near $1.34 as uncertainty swirls over the U.K. economy. Those levels are still above Friday's low of around $1.32, its weakest in decades, that it hit Friday as results from the U.K. referendum were coming in. The reaction from global stock markets, many of which had suffered heavy losses in the immediate aftermath of the vote, was less clear cut.

Major Asian markets closed the day a bit higher, after swinging throughout the day. British voters chose to leave the EU in a referendum on Thursday. The U.K.'s decision to become the first country to drop out of the 28-nation bloc rattled markets worldwide on Friday. Still, the vote has far-reaching economic and political implications. Several EU leaders called on the U.K. to start the withdrawal process as soon as possible, to limit the uncertainty. But the U.K. is likely to wait before triggering the process.

Prime Minister David Cameron quickly resigned, saying it would be up to the new leader to negotiate with the EU. But it will take months for the Conservative Party to elect a new leader. Meanwhile, the main opposition Labour Party also fell into chaos after the vote.

One of the biggest unknowns is whether the U.K.'s vote to leave the union will trigger demands to leave from other countries, setting off a wave of turmoil.

God's Word For Today: Building Real Relationships

‘He now showed them the full extent of his love.’ - John 13:1

People spend hours every day on social networks like Facebook - in many cases because they’re lonely.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with interacting with others this way. In fact, social media offers one of the greatest tools the Church has ever had for reaching the world with the gospel. But in a day when it’s getting easy to neglect real relationships, let’s remember why we’re connecting with others in the first place.

One author says: ‘Life is so much richer when we have friends with whom we can share our joys and troubles … Unfortunately loneliness remains a major problem and source of pain for many. But none of us need become resigned to loneliness; [it’s]…“treatable,” if not actually avoidable.’

Real relationships aren’t built by posting updates, or tweeting and re-tweeting the most thought-provoking quotes. It takes more time than that. The greatest social networking involves meeting someone’s needs in a way that never would’ve happened without a one-on-one connection.

That’s what Jesus did.

Most of Jesus Christ's public ministry was spent pouring Himself into twelve men who, in turn, went out in His name and poured themselves into others. The Bible says, ‘Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.’

The psalmist spelled out how many people today feel deep down: ‘No one is concerned for me … no one cares’ (Psalm 142:4 NIV 2011 Edition).

If you want to meet people’s needs you have to get ‘up close and personal’. That’s what Jesus did, and He’s your example.

God's Word For Today: Beauty Is, as Beauty Does

‘Be beautiful in your heart.’ - 1 Peter 3:4

Princess Diana was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world. Yet she disliked what she saw in the mirror. This led to an eating disorder known as bulimia, which is caused by self-loathing. And the ‘beauty cult’ has infected many of us with a similar sense of inadequacy and inferiority. The problem is - we’re looking in the wrong mirror.

It’s a good thing to stay physically fit and dress in a way that compliments you. But it’s a bad thing to base your worth on your physical appearance. Why? Because you are fighting a losing battle against Mother Nature and Father Time.

Here are three Scriptures you need to think about:

1) ‘A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout’ (Proverbs 11:22 NLT). That Scripture could be reduced to one sentence: ‘Beauty is, as beauty does.’

2) ‘Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the LORD deserves to be praised’ (Proverbs 31:30 CEV). That Scripture could be reduced to one sentence: ‘Beauty may attract attention, but only character will earn you respect.’

3) ‘Be beautiful in your heart … This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special’ (1 Peter 3:4 CEV). That Scripture could be reduced to one sentence: ‘God measures by a different yardstick; with Him, beauty is an inside job.’

And here is one more thought: people will treat you according to how you treat yourself. So as you begin to appreciate the ‘beauty’ God has placed within you, others will begin to appreciate it too.

EU referendum: What's next for Europe as divorce looms

The decision by the UK to go it alone leaves the jilted European Union with some tough soul searching of its own as it contemplates a new future. Sure, it's only losing one of its 28 member nations, but that departure could have huge consequences. Some warn it could lead to the eventual collapse of the world's biggest trading bloc as other countries follow suit. Seismic political changes could be on the horizon too.

Shellshocked by the landmark vote -- the first of its kind by an EU nation -- the remaining 27 countries were Friday trying to thrash out a strategy for dealing with it. Donald Tusk, the EU's president, called an informal meeting of European leaders, while warning against "hysterical reactions."

France's far-right Front National party was Friday calling for a similar vote, seizing on the UK's decision as an endorsement on its own anti-Europe and anti-immigration policies -- a Frexit to follow the Brexit.

The party's deputy leader, Florian Philippot, tweeted: "The freedom of the people always ends up winning! Bravo United Kingdom. Now it's our turn!"

In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party made his own call for a vote via Twitter: "Hurrah for the British! Now it is our turn. Time for a Dutch referendum!"

Italy's Five Star movement has also called for a vote, while the country's finance minister, Pier Carlo Padoan warned of a "domino effect."

British withdrawal from the European Union, often shortened to Brexit (a portmanteau of "British" or "Britain" and "exit"), is a political goal that was pursued by various individuals, advocacy groups, and political parties since the United Kingdom (UK) joined the precursor of the European Union (EU) in 1973. Withdrawal from the European Union is a right of EU member states under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.


Credit: CNN/Wikipedia