Nigerian Times

20 Aug 2008 15:42 Africa/Lagos Is McCain or Obama the Strongest Leader for U.S. President? Top Leadership Development Firm Asks Public to Rate Leadership Traits of the Candidates at NextNationalCEO.com MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- With the presidential election just a few months away, Personnel Decisions International (PDI), a global leadership consulting firm with decades of experience working with CEOs, developed NextNationalCEO.com, a website where visitors can rate the leadership traits of the candidates. When the vice presidential candidates are announced, the site will also allow users to rate the leadership traits of the running mates. The site lets users rate the presidential candidates on ten characteristics that PDI consultants use to assess CEOs at today's top companies. Currently, in order of importance, the ten traits are vision, insightful judgment, trustworthiness, gets things done, inspires others, good judge of people, influences others, courage, con...

Mikhail Gorbachev to Receive 2008 Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center WHO: Mikhail Gorbachev WHAT: Will receive the 2008 Liberty Medal in an outdoor ceremony at the National Constitution Center in Historic Philadelphia. WHEN: Thursday, September 18 Media Check-In: 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. Press Q&A with President Gorbachev: 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. Ceremony: 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. WHERE: National Constitution Center Front Lawn 525 Arch Street Independence Mall Philadelphia, PA 19106 DETAILS: The National Constitution Center's 2008 Liberty Medal will be awarded to former Soviet leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev for his courageous role in ending the dangerous, decades-long Cold War and in giving hope and freedom to millions who lived behind the Iron Curtain. The public ceremony will set the stage for international commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 2009. A special press Q&A opportunity with President Gorbachev will take p...

16 Aug 2008 15:06 Africa/Lagos Radio Address of President Bush to the Nation WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of the weekly radio address by President Bush: THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. For more than a week, the people of the nation of Georgia have withstood assault from the Russian military. The world has watched with alarm as Russia invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatened a democratic government elected by its people. This act is completely unacceptable to the free nations of the world. The United States and our allies stand with the people of Georgia and their democratically elected government. We insist that Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity be respected. And Moscow must honor its pledge to withdraw its invading forces from all Georgian territory. Earlier this week I directed a series of steps to demonstrate America's solidarity with the Georgian people and to help bring about a peaceful resolutio...

Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies and Barack's 'Honest Tea' Welcome Democratic National Convention Guests at the Denver Marriott City Center

In the August 18-25 double issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, August 11): "What Bush Got Right." Fareed Zakaria assesses what President Bush has done right in American foreign policy that his successors might choose to emulate or continue. Plus: the jingoism of Chinese who return to the homeland after living overseas; Fannie, Freddie and the subprime mess that might have been avoided; an interview with T. Boone Pickens; and videogame players no longer on the margins of the industry. (PRNewsFoto/NEWSWEEK) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 08/10/2008 10 Aug 2008 16:05 Africa/Lagos NEWSWEEK Cover: What Bush Got Right Fareed Zakaria Looks At President Bush's Successes In American Foreign Policy; 'Blanket Criticism Of Bush Misses An Important Reality' The Foreign Policies In Place Now 'Are More Sensible, Moderate And Mainstream. In Many Cases The Next President Should Follow Rather Than Reverse Them' NEW YORK, Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A broad shift in America...

Artists underneath movable boxes perform during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) 27. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. ~ Matthew 23:27 (King James Version) Yes, it was definitely the most spectacular opening ceremony so far in the history of the Olympic games and China surpassed the expectations of the rest of the world with the grandiose panorama of Chinese Arts and Culture in an awesome opera in the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing , People's Republic of China . I saw the colourful faces of the people in the stadium beaming in ecstasy, but thousands of prisoners of conscience were languishing in Chinese jails while the rest of the world were dazed and fazed by the dazzling three-hour razzmatazz of the openi...

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of Nigeria has condemned the coup in Mauritania. Read the full details on Nigerian Report

Reporters Without Borders BEIJING GAMES 2008 Come and demonstrate outside Chinese embassies and online on 8 August Reporters Without Borders is calling for demonstrations outside China's embassies in London, Madrid, Berlin, Paris, Washington and Stockholm on 8 August, when the Olympic Games opening ceremony will be taking place in Beijing. Two demonstrations will be organised on 7 August in Rome and Ottawa. A rally is also planned outside the Olympic Museum in the Swiss city of Lausanne. In Paris, those wanting to take part should meet at 1 p.m. at the corner of Avenue George V and Rue de la Trémoille in Paris' 8th district. Reporters Without Borders will distribute "Beijing 2008" T-shirts to participants, as well other material for a peaceful demonstration. Here are the times and venues of the demonstrations in the other cities: - Berlin: in front of the Chinese embassy (Jannowitzbrücke) from 1 p.m. onwards on 8 August. - Washington: near the Chinese embassy (2300 Co...

As AIDS Conference Opens, amfAR Releases Report Exposing Global Failure to Address HIV Among MSM

1 Aug 2008 14:21 Africa/Lagos Addax Petroleum Announces Federal Government Approval of Nigeria Gas Utilisation Initiative CALGARY, Canada, August 1/PRNewswire/ -- - International Consortium Formed for Investment in Gas Development - Including the Potential Monetization of OML137 Gas Addax Petroleum Corporation (TSX: AXC and LSE: AXC) ("Addax Petroleum" or the "Corporation"), together with its partners Chrome Oil Services Limited ("Chrome") and Korea Gas Corporation ("KOGAS"), announces today that it has received the approval from the Federal Government of Nigeria, for its proposed implementation of an integrated gas utilization project in Nigeria. Addax Petroleum has also entered into a heads of agreement with Chrome, a leading Nigerian oil and gas company, and KOGAS, South Korea's national gas company, forming an international consortium (the "Consortium") which, upon finalization of the necessary project development agreemen...

Royal Dutch Shell Plc: 2nd Quarter 2008 Unaudited Results

30 Jul 2008 20:00 Africa/Lagos World's Most Popular Evangelist Sues Bush, Rice, Prime Minister of India, Sonia Gandhi and Others Dr. K. A. Paul of Global Peace Initiative Brokers Peace to Save Orphans and Widows in War Torn Regions and has negotiated to stop Iraq War, Brokered Peace in Liberia but Bush Administration 'Stole Credit' and Silenced Dr. Paul and GPI WASHINGTON, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Global Peace Initiative: Press Conference Date: July 31, 2008 Place: National Press Club (Holeman Lounge) Time: 12:00 Noon On Thursday morning, July 31, 2008, Dr. K.A. Paul, an American resident born in India and the world's most popular Christian evangelist, will file a complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the President of the Congress Party, and the Prime Minister and a host of U.S. government agencies, including the Departmen...

28 Jul 2008 04:12 Africa/Lagos Session With Obama Closes UNITY '08 Conference CHICAGO, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sen. Barack Obama told an audience of more than 2,500 journalists of color that actions speak louder than words when it comes to addressing past mistreatment of communities of color in the United States. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080723/UNITYLOGO ) Obama was the closing speaker at UNITY '08, the five-day, quadrennial conference that brought together more than 7,000 members from the four largest ethnic journalism associations in the United States. "We were pleased to have Sen. Obama speak to our members," said UNITY President Karen Lincoln Michel. "It is important that the issues of diversity and fair and accurate coverage of communities of color be part of the discussion in choosing the next president of the United States." During the UNITY Presidential Candidate Forum that was sponsored by CNN and TIME Magazine,...

Pa Nelson Mandela Nigerian Times International wishes Nelson Mandela a happy birthday as he marks his 90th year on earth today. Madiba Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 ). The former President of South Africa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

The Islamophobic and racist cartoon I am not going to nominate Barry Blitt for the Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning and I am not going to join any mob to lynch him, but I must say the truth. His bizzare and offensive cartoon is a political lampoon to ridicule Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama. It is as Islamophobic and racist as the twelve editorial cartoons of prophet Muhammad published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005 . The New Yorker is accountable for this deliberate act of political provocation to aggravate the negative rumours of the Islamic backgrounds of Senator Barack Obama and his African American heritage. It is a libelous cartoon published for the defamation of the personality of an African American Senator and damage the prospects of his election as the first African American President of the United States . The New Yorker can fool the rest of America by making obnoxious and preposterous excuses for this derogat...

There is no sign or report of any violence on Bonny Island as the deadline given by the dreaded militants is today Wednesday July 16, 2008. I have spoken to my contact inside the Kingdom and she said there is no trouble in town and the Nigerian soldiers and mobile police officers are at their various posts from Finima to Bonny. I hope the militants will let Bonny Island be as peaceful as it is today. The enemies of the Niger Delta have left town and they are either in their safe comfort zones in Abuja or have fled to foreign countries where they believe they would be safer.

Pelosi Statement on Today's Record Drop in Oil Prices

Nigerian soldiers Many families are fleeing Bonny Island before tomorrow July 16, the deadline of the ultimatum militants gave foreigners and non-indigènes to leave before their attacks on the kingdom. The Nigerian soldiers are fully armed to confront them as I saw many soldiers guarding the Nigerian LNG Bonny Plant Complex and residential areas. I saw a tough looking soldier in combat mood with a machine gun behind a fortification of sandbags. They were frisking people on foot and searching vehicles. I was at the Guaranty Trust Bank on Bonny Island to deposit some dollars in a domiciliary account, but the bank could not receive such deposits, because it was not fully operational in fear of the looming hostilities and most banks have been shut on Bonny Island. I heard the bad news that some people fleeing Bonny Island drowned when their boat capsized in the Bonny river. I was sad, but I could not stop those I knew were fleeing in fear. I can only pray for their safety. I believe the ...

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday July 14, 2008, on charges of crimes against humanity. Sudan alerted the U.N. that the indictment could jeopardize the peace process on the resolution of the Darfur crisis. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague found President Bashir guilty of the murder and rape committed by the Sudanese government troops and their militias against the people of Darfur. The ICC sought for the warrant to arrest President Umar al-Bashir for trial. Related reports: 14 Jul 2008 15:16, USAID Memorial Ceremony Planned 12 Jul 2008 00:49 Embassy of Sudan: Ocampo's Political Pursuits Jeopardize Peace 11 Jul 2008 23:30 Ros-Lehtinen Condemns UN Failure to Pass Resolution on Zimbabwe 10 Jul 2008 20:27 Donation Helps Expand Water Well Work in Darfur 9 Jul 2008 21:52 USAID Memorial Ceremony Planned 09:56 National Elections Act: A Milestone Towards Peace And Democrac...

The sight of about a battalion of Nigerian soldiers in jeeps, armoured tanks and on foot is making the people of Bonny Island jittery. The deployment of the troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces to the Bonny Kingdom began a week ago after the brutal murder of some military officers by an unidentified group of the dreaded Niger Delta militants. The security of lives and properties is the top priority of the Nigerian government and in particular the security of the Nigeria LNG Bonny Plant Complex. The militants and allied gunmen have given an ultimatum to all foreigners and and non-indigènes to leave Bonny Island before July 16, 2008 , for their own good. They have threatened to besiege the kingdom and sack the multinational oil companies, banks and "saboteurs" they have accused of plundering the Niger Delta region for decades. After the daring attack on the Bonga field , the Nigerian government ordered the Nigerian Armed Forces to hunt and capture the Niger Delta militants respo...