Shell confirms sale of 16 assets worth $500m

ROYAL Dutch Shell, weekend, confirmed plans to sell over 16 assets each worth more than $500 million. 

Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo nominated for Ballon d’Or as first five names of 30-man shortlist is released

France Football today released the first ten names of its 30man nominees for the 2016 Ballon D'or award. Real Madrid/Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Wales/Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale are among the ten nominees first released.

France Football magazine, who presided over the award from 1956 to 2009 is releasing the list of nominees in bunches of fives. The other eight names in the list includes;
 

Gianluigi Buffon(Juventus/Italy), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City and Argentina) ,Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon), Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina/Juventus), Paulo Dybala (Juventus/ Argentina), Kevin De Bruyne (Man city/ Belgium), Antoinne Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/ France) and Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid/ Uruguay)

Ronaldo is the overwhelming favorite to win this year's award after winning the 2016 champions league and Euro 2016 with Real Madrid and Portugal respectively.

5 dead after plane carrying European Union officials crashes in Malta (Photos)

Five people have died after a plane believed to be carrying EU border officials crashed and exploded into a ball of flames in Malta. The light aircraft crashed shortly after taking-off from the runway at Malta Airport in Luqa at around 5.30am today, reports say. No one aboard the flight, heading for Misrata in Libya. is thought to have made it out alive. Emergency services are now on the scene searching the burning wreckage for any survivors

U.S. Poll: Clinton widens gap

Hillary Clinton has created a 12-point lead over Donald Trump and has reached 50% support nationally among likely voters, a new ABC News tracking poll shows. 

Pres. Buhari, APC govs in closed-door meeting

President Buhari is currently in a closed door meeting with APC governors. The meeting is being held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja. Amongst the governors in attendance are the chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, governors of Adamawa, Plateau, Kogi, Kaduna, Edo, Ogun, Kano, Kebbi and Benue States. Others are to join the meeting later. The reason for the meeting is yet to be disclosed.

Buhari’s response to Aisha not the reality of his opinion of women —Prof Akin Ibidapo-Obe, Professor of African Law

While Mr President’s response to his wife’s remark on his leadership style continues to stir the polity, many have argued that it is the total sum of his view of womenfolk. However, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Professor Akin Ibidapo-Obe, an expert in African Law, feels otherwise. He spoke with Woman’s Own.  

WHAT do you  make of Mr   President’s response to his wife’s interview with BBC Hausa which is already generating so much controversy? Buhari’s response was not right because, you know, in Concept of the African Woman, we do understand that the African woman is a strong voice that must be expressed. But people have the misconception that the African woman is a voice that must be suppressed. But that is not true. But was Aisha right to have chastised him in public on international media? There is nothing right or wrong about it. It’s left for us to make our conclusion but that should not be whether it’s right or wrong. Will it be better for her to bottle everything in and then explode at the wrong time or whatever? Let her express herself and let Buhari either take a cue from that and make whatever adjustment that he needs to make.

African tradition teaches us that a man and his wife should settle differences in the bedroom; in private. But Aisha did the opposite… We’re substituting our own view for the view of the Britons. There is nothing like ‘a woman cannot express herself’ in Africa. As a matter of fact, true African culture says the woman should express herself. My wife expresses herself and her feelings. Everybody has equal right of self-expression. Why do we always expect the woman to be the one to diminish her role to suit the male perspective or the male person? In your own view, would you say the place of the African woman is still in the kitchen and should any man be saying such in the 21st century? I told you the president only said that as a form of joke. The reality of the president’s attitude to women is the fact that Aisha has gone through the educational grooming and international exposure. That is the reality of Buhari’s perspective; not when he now cracks a joke and we say “haa, this is how it goes”. Anybody can say that! That’s not a matter of perception. The reality of what Aisha has gone through in terms of educational exposure, in my opinion, is the true view of Buhari’s perception of women. If you allow your wife to have education and exposure and then you just look at her and say her place is in the kitchen, even when it’s not as if she doesn’t fulfil those roles in the home, that cannot be taken as a serious comment. In fact, it is not derogatory because whether we like it or not, she is in charge of those duties in the home. We shouldn’t over-blow what Buhari said. Beyond his words in Germany, the President has expressed his opinion and view of womanhood by his action of allowing his wife to have proper exposure educationally and internationally. But this ‘true view about women’ which you argue about is not reflected in the proportion of women compared to men in his cabinet, which is in fact one of the lowest we’ve had in recent times… It is not the sole duty of the President to choose precisely who and who should be in his cabinet. Don’t forget that this is a collective government. If there are few women, then maybe that is what the political atmosphere, party nominations and some personal nominations provided for. You know, sometimes, when a President wants to appoint a representative from a state, he has to consult the people there to nominate somebody. We cannot put the low number of women in the cabinet solely on Buhari’s table.   If they ask Imo State for example to bring a nominee and they bring a man, do you expect Buhari to change it to a woman? We’re in a democracy and people should understand that. And what’s your response to men who are already saying they would send their wives packing the next day if she did that to them? I don’t think that is the correct thing to do. If you have a wife with whom you’re in good understanding, you must understand that she is frankly expressing herself and that it is in your best interest to consider her views.

'I will keep you in suspense'- Donald Trump says he won't commit to accepting election results

Republican Party U.S presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday, during the third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas said he won't commit to accepting the November 8 U.S presidential election results. Trump in the last one week has claimed that the election process was being rigged against him as even dead people's names had been brought up in the voter's register.
When asked by moderator Chris Wallace if he'll accept the election results, he said; 

“I will look at it at the time,” the Republican nominee said, referring to the election results.  When he was further pressed by Fox News moderator Chris Wallace to answer the question directly, Trump said, “I will keep you in suspense.”

But Donald Trump's position is different to that taken by his daughter Ivanka and his running mate Mike Pence. Asked on Wednesday whether her father would concede if he loses, Ivanka Trump said he would accept the outcome of the election.

Earlier this week, Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, said:

“We will absolutely accept the result of the election.”

Trump on Wednesday also said Hillary Clinton should not have been allowed to run for president. 

“In that respect I say that it’s rigged,” he said. “She should never have been allowed.”

Clinton responded, calling Trump’s comments “horrifying.” 

“I, for one, am appalled someone who is nominee of one of our major parties would question the integrity of our election process,” she said.