Nigeria: Country May Soon Ban Fish Importation - Minister

Akinwumi Adesina

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina, said on Tuesday that the Federal Government may soon place a total ban on the importation of fish and other aquatic consumables.

Mr. Adesina said this in Ado-Ekiti at the launch of the Special Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme for Fisheries and Aquaculture value chain.

He, however, said that the ban would be imposed, only if arrangements being put in place by the government to that effect worked as planned.

The minister, represented at the occasion by the Federal Director of Fisheries, Foluke Areola, stressed that Nigeria had no business importing fish given its huge natural and renewable resources.

He said it was in view of this that the ministry was promoting increased fish production through the Aquaculture Value Chain.

This is in pursuance of the goal of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), he said.

"The Value Chains are to create an enabling environment for increased and sustainable production of over one million tonnes of fish within the next four years, generate employment and pursue gradual reduction of fish imports," he said.

Mr. Adesina said the Aquaculture Value Chain, under the four- year implementation plan, would increase the annual production of fingerlings in the country by 1.25 billion tonnes.

He said it would also produce 400,000 tonnes of fish feed, generate additional 250,000 tonnes of table fish and 100,000 tonnes of Value Added fish products.

"Fish farming is a business venture with lots of potential investment opportunities and a veritable tool for increased fish production, poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods," the minister said.

The minister noted that the Aquaculture Value Chain had already been included in the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme for 2013.

Under the scheme, inputs such as fish and other sea foods would be distributed to many Nigerian fish farmers, he said.

The minister commended President Goodluck Jonathan's initiative in transforming agriculture into a serious business venture as well as in ensuring adequate food security for Nigerians.

He announced that in an effort by government to protect local fish farmers operating in the country, measures had been put in place to curb illegal importation of fish.

Mr. Adesina said that the ministry was collaborating with officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service in this regard, adding that the Federal Department of Fisheries had also been directed to ensure the stoppage of importation of the banned fish inputs.

In his speech, Governor Kayode Fayemi, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Ganiyu Owolabi, thanked the Federal Government for its benevolence.

He said the state government would support its policies and programmes on agriculture.

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Oil-Fueled Kazakhstan Sees Fast Growth in Mid-Term

ASTANA — Kazakhstan's oil-driven economy is forecast to grow by between 6 and 7.1 percent in 2014-18 when the Kashagan oilfield is expected to come onstream, Kazakh Economy and Budget Planning Minister Yerbolat Dosayev said Wednesday.

The vast Central Asian nation of 17 million, which holds 3 percent of the world's recoverable oil reserves and is the second largest post-Soviet oil producer after Russia, forecasts its gross domestic product to expand by 6 percent this year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 5 percent last year from 7.5 percent in 2011.
"Mid-term economic growth will be supported by rising investment in industrial innovation projects and infrastructure, as well as the start of oil production at the Kashagan deposit and rising internal consumption," Dosayev told a government meeting. He did not elaborate on the innovation projects.
Kashagan, which lies in the Caspian Sea off western Kazakhstan, is the world's largest oil find in more than four decades. It is expected to produce its first oil by October.

Kazakhstan, the world's ninth largest country by area, is also a major producer and exporter of grain, industrial metals and uranium.

Dosayev said higher oil output was expected to offset sluggish demand for other Kazakh commodities in the mid-term.

Kazakhstan's oil output is forecast to increase to 83 million tons in 2014 from 82 million tonnes this year and is set to reach 110 million tonnes in 2018, he said.

"This year's tempo of GDP and industrial output growth have so far been in line with all our plans," Dosayev said. He said industrial output growth was forecast to edge down to 3.4 percent in 2014 from this year's 3.8 percent.

Kazakhstan's National Fund, replenished by windfall oil revenues, is forecast to increase from $93.9 billion in 2014 to $122.1 billion by 2016, Dosayev said.

Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy, sees its nominal GDP rising from 38.6 trillion tenge ($253 billion) next year to 65.9 trillion tenge in 2018. GDP stood at $200 billion in 2012 and will reach $226 billion this year, official data showed.

Per capita GDP is forecast to rise from $14,600 in 2014 to $24,000 by 2018.

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/oil-fueled-kazakhstan-sees-fast-growth-in-mid-term/485188.html#ixzz2dHoYX584
The Moscow Times

Did Kremlin Arrange Snowden's Trip to Russia?

June 21 was the hottest day of the year in Hong Kong: a sweltering 34 degrees Celsius. But it was also a hot day for Edward Snowden, the leaker of U.S. secrets, hiding out in China's special administrative region.

On that day in Washington, U.S. federal prosecutors officially brought charges against Snowden for unauthorized communication of classified and national defense information, both of which fell under the U.S. Espionage Act.

On that day in Hong Kong, Snowden received a one-way ticket to Moscow on Aeroflot, Russia's state-controlled flag carrier. As Kommersant reported Monday, citing Russian sources, Snowden also celebrated his 30th birthday in the safety of his new refuge, the Russian consulate in Hong Kong.

Located on the 21st floor of a steel and glass skyscraper, the Russian consulate offered more than a stunning view of Victoria Harbor. It also offered Snowden refuge from a U.S. arrest warrant.

For two days, Snowden stayed at the 17-room Russian consulate before being whisked away by car in the early morning hours June 23 for the 10-hour Aeroflot flight to Moscow.

From the start of Snowden's saga, Russian officials have always claimed that they were surprised by Snowden's arrival June 23 at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.

"It is true that Mr. Snowden arrived in Moscow, and it really came as a surprise to us," President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Finland on June 25. "Any accusations against Russia [of aiding him] are rubbish." Later, Putin called Snowden "an unwanted Christmas present."

Sources in Moscow differ on how Snowden ended up in Russia's care. Some say the Chinese wanted to get rid of him and suggested that he turn to the Russian consulate. Others say Russian officials themselves contacted Snowden at The Mira, the luxury hotel where he was staying in Hong Kong. Another version is that Snowden went to the consulate on his own.

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, said June 24 that WikiLeaks paid Snowden's hotel bill in Hong Kong and bought the Aeroflot ticket for him with a Hong Kong-Moscow-Havana itinerary.

Assange has a special relationship with RT, the Kremlin-funded television channel. Last year, RT hired Assange to host a political talk show. The channel gives heavy and generously favorable coverage to Assange, Snowden and the other U.S. leaker in the news, Bradley Manning.

Kommersant and other Russian media dwelled on why Snowden never used the second half of his Aeroflot ticket, from Moscow to Havana. The Russian media said Moscow got stuck with Snowden because Washington pressured Havana to refuse him.

To be sure, Havana has been conspicuously quiet on the Snowden affair. Soviet-generation Russians remember Cuba as the nation that gave refuge to hijackers of U.S. airlines well into the 1980s.

But change comes even to Cuba, ruled for the last half century by the Castro brothers. In June, President Raul Castro turned 82. Apparently, Cuba's new generation wants a fresh start with Washington. For Havana, giving refuge to the United States' most-wanted man is a throwback to the 1960s.

Snowden spent almost six weeks in Sheremetyevo, Moscow's busiest international airport, reportedly in the transit area. Snowden's stay there was handled very professionally. There were no leaks, no e-mails to reporters and no late-night telephone calls to his parents or his girlfriend in Hawaii. About 3.5 million passengers flowed in and out of the airport during that time, and, amazingly, there were no credible Snowden sightings.

His legal limbo apparently dragged on because Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service, hinted to Washington that a spy trade might be possible..

The only time Snowden was sighted was July 12 during a carefully choreographed meeting with directors of several nongovernmental organizations, a few lawyers and pro-Kremlin politicians. Reporters were not invited.

Anatoly Kucherena was one of the lawyers invited to the meeting. Several days later, Kucherena announced that he was selected by Snowden to become his lawyer and spokesman. Kucherena advised Snowden to drop his 20 or so asylum requests to other countries and focus on Russia.

Kucherena has an interesting background. Two years ago, Putin picked Kucherena to serve on the Public Chamber, a pro-Kremlin government oversight body. Putin also chose Kucherena to serve on a board that oversees the FSB.

On the Snowden case, Kucherena's legal advice proved solid. On Aug. 1, Snowden was granted a year's temporary asylum in Russia. That day, he and Sarah Harrison, his WikiLeaks traveling companion, left the airport and have not  been seen in public since.

Within hours after Snowden's departure, WikiLeaks issued a statement thanking the Russian government. Assange added: "This is another victory in the fight against Obama's war on whistleblowers. This battle has been won, but the war continues."

Several days before Snowden arrived in Moscow, the South China Morning Post published an interview that had taken place earlier in Hong Kong. In the interview, Snowden said he joined Booz Allen Hamilton, the contractor with the National Security Agency, with the sole purpose of using his security clearance to steal the U.S. government's cyber spying secrets.

Now that Snowden and his four NSA laptop computers are in the safekeeping of the Kremlin, one question begs an answer: When exactly did the Kremlin enter Snowden's life?

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/did-kremlin-arrange-snowdens-trip-to-russia/485140.html#ixzz2dHn1PI8d
The Moscow Times

Asia Cup Hockey: Rupinderpal Singh, VR Raghunath score hat-tricks as India beat Bangladesh 9-1

Ipoh, Malaysia:  Penalty corner exponents Rupinderpal Singh and VR Raghunath slammed a hat-trick each as India mauled Bangladesh 9-1 to maintain their unbeaten run ahead of the semifinals in the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh on Wednesday.

The Indians, who were through to the semifinals even before the match, led 5-1 at the half-time and pumped in four more goals in the second session to stamp their authority over their lowly opponents.

Rupinderpal (4th, 19th, 27th, 61st minutes) scored four goals in the match, out of which three came via penalty corners, while Raghunath (29th, 52nd, 59th) converted short corners to emerge as the joint top-scorer of the tournament with Jang Jong Hyun of South Korea on six goals apiece.

Nikkin Thimmaiah (25th) and Mandeep Singh (47th) were the other goal-getters for India.

Bangladesh's lone goal came from the stick of their skipper Md Mamunur Rahman Chayan (35th minute).

By virtue of this win, the Indians finished on top of Pool B with nine points from three games. Defending champions South Korea are second in this pool with six points.

India will now face Pool A runners-up and hosts Malaysia in the second semifinal on Friday, while South Korea will be up against Pool A toppers Pakistan.

The match between India and Bangladesh started nearly 40 minutes late as the first game of the day between Korea and Oman was delayed due to heavy downpour in the evening.

Playing under persistent drizzle and damp conditions, the Indians meant business from the beginning. Such was their dominance that they earned as many as 10 penalty corners in the match, out of which they utilised six.

The Indians were under no pressure as they played free-flowing hockey to put the Bangladeshi defence under constant pressure.

For the sparse crowd present at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium, there was excitement from the very beginning as it rained goals in the match.

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Sri Lanka rupee depreciates to a 'lowest ever' against the dollar

The Sri Lanka rupee today depreciated to its lowest level ever, against the US Dollar.
Information from the Foreign Exchange Market reveals that the rupee depreciated to close Rs. 135 against the dollar.

The dollar which was valued at Rs.133 and 20 to 30 cents Wednesday morning, had increased in value to close to Rs.135 rupees by afternoon.

Information from the Forex market reveals that this is the biggest daily depreciation that the rupee has ever undergone.

Prior to this, in mid last year, the rupee depreciated to Rs.134 rupees and 70 cents against the US dollar.

Reuters news agency reports that the depreciation of the rupee is being attributed to increased importer demand for the US dollar, the sale of government bonds by foreign investors and exporters holding on to their dollars.

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Police dog wedding in Sri Lanka comes under heavy criticism

Police have come under severe criticism from cultural organizations as well as from the Minister of Culture and the Arts T. B. Ekanayake over a ceremony performed to wed police dogs.

The Police, as part of the Police Canine Breeding Program, held a wedding ceremony on a Poruwa, a structure used for traditional Sinhala weddings, yesterday at the Asgiriya Grounds in Kandy to wed pairs of police dogs belonging to the Asgiriya Police Kennels.

Nine pairs of dressed-up canines of different breeds were placed on the Poruwa and performed a ceremony after which the dogs were driven away for their `honeymoon` local media reported.

Veterinarians have presented `marriage certificates` to the dog couples certifying them suitable for breeding.

The Minister of Culture and the Arts, T.B. Ekanayake condemned the wedding ceremony as damaging to the country`s culture and requested the Inspector General of Police to conduct an immediate inquiry regarding the ceremony.

Several organizations including the Sihala Ravaya organization expressed condemnation saying that it was an insult to the culture of the country.

The Police Headquarters issuing a statement apologized for the event and said the Police Department had no intention of causing any insult to the Sri Lankan culture and expressed regret regarding any harm the activities of the inauguration ceremony of Police Canine Breeding Program may have caused to any cultural heritage or if it caused any person any discomfort.

Police Spokesman SP Buddhika Siriwardena told the local media the event was held to commence the new program to breed police dogs within the country to save the cost of purchasing them from other countries.

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Saudi to turn to India and Sri Lanka for maids

Saudi Arabia is considering turning to India and Sri Lanka to meet soaring local demand for domestic workers following labour disputes with the Philippines and Indonesia and a decision to suspend hiring maids from Ethiopia.

Indonesia and the Philippines, among the largest maid supplier to the Middle East, have temporarily halted the travel of their domestic workers to Saudi Arabia following disputes over payment, mistreatment of maids by employers and other issues.

Several rounds of negotiations have so far failed to break the deadlock despite concessions by the Gulf Kingdom, including higher salaries for maids.

Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy and the world’s top oil exporter, banned the recruitment of Ethiopian housemaids last month following a series of deadly attacks by those maids on their employers.

One maid who killed a little Syrian girl told police she had committed the crime because she “was told so by an occult power.”

“There is a shortage of around 30 per cent in the supply of foreign domestic workers to Saudi Arabia because of the suspension of the recruitment of housemaids from Ethiopia and other countries,” said Mutlaq Al Hazmi, a member of the expatriate labour hiring committee at the Jeddah chamber of commerce and industry.

“There are plans to open the door for hiring domestic workers from India and Sri Lanka. I believe that this will make hiring maids from Indonesia unnecessary,” he was quoted as saying by Saudi newspapers on Wednesday.

Nearly two million housemaids from Asia and Africa work in Saudi Arabia, the largest base for expatriate domestic workers in the Middle East. (Source: Emirates 24/7)

Railway authorities re-number trains

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Railway authorities have re-numbered many trains aimed at optimum utilisation of rakes. The Chennai Egmore-Mangalore Central-Chennai Daily Express (Train Nos.16107/16108) will be re-numbered as Train nos. 16859/16860 with effect from October 1.

Also, the Karaikal-Ernakulam-Karaikal Daily Express (Train nos. 16865/16866) will be re-numbered as Train no. 16187/16188 with effect from October 1.

Likewise, the Puducherry-Mangalore Central Weekly Express (Train no. 12653) will be re-numbered as Train No. 16857 with effect from October 7 and Train No. 12654 Mangalore Central-Puducherry Express will be re-numbered as Train No. 16858 with effect from October 8. Train nos. 16857/16858 will run via Coimbatore Junction and will not stop at Podanur. Extension of these trains to Puducherry from and to Trichchirappally will be notified later.

The Happa-Tirunelveli-Happa Bi-Weekly Express (Train Nos. 12998/12997) will be re-numbered as Train Nos. 19578/19577 with effect from November 1 and November 4, respectively, informed Palakkad Railway Division authorities.

Meanwhile, authorities have also informed that consequent on yard remodelling work at Palakkad Town Railway Station, platform no 3 is to be extended to accommodate 26 coaches. The work will extend till August 31 and due to this, the Erode Junction-Palakkad Town-Erode Junction MEMU (Train nos. 66609/66608) services will be terminated at Palakkad Junction till August 31.

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Family donates eyes of two building collapse victims in Vadodara

VADODARA: Two victims of the building collapse in Vadodara couldn't see the dawn on Wednesday. But they gave hope of vision to others in their death. Eyes of two of the deceased identified as Mahadevan Nair, 42 and his 14-year-old son Vignesh Nair were donated by their family members. The duo got buried under debris of block number 11 in Madhavnagar locality in Atladara. The apartment collapsed at about 4.30 am killing eight persons and injuring three.

Mahadevan and Vignesh's bodies were recovered at 9 am, about four-and-half hours after the incident. They were rushed to Swaminarayan BAPS Hospital but were declared dead. Despite being in state of shock, Mahadevan's elder brother Mohan Nair thought of donating organs of the deceased duo. "I have been organizing blood donation camps regularly apart from spreading awareness about organ donation. When I learnt about my brother and nephew's death, I decided to donate their organs. It was painful moment for us but we had to take quick decision," Mohan told TOI.

"My brother and nephew won't come back but they can give hope of vision to some persons. The doctors decided that their eyes were fit for donation, so we gave go ahead. I hope that it changes lives of needy people," an emotional Mohan said.

Mahadevan's employer also supported Mohan's decision. "I had a word with Mahadevan's elder brother Mohan about donating Mahadevan and Vignesh's organs. It was a noble gesture from the family," said Paramveer Chhabra, managing director of Healthcare Formulations Private Ltd (HFPL) where Mahadevan had worked as administration manager for 18 years.

BJP councillor, Dr Vijay Shah said that the deceased duo was shifted from Swaminarayan BAPS Hospital for SSG Hospital for further procedures. The doctors would recover eyes of the victims and then conduct post-mortem.

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Iran: University head announces full gender separation

Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran has announced that in the coming academic year, all classes at the undergraduate level will be held separately for male and female students.

University president Sadreddin Shariati added that only 2 percent of the classes are currently offered in the coed format due to the small number of students, but all graduate classes are being offered separately for males and females, and 98 percent of undergraduate classes are single gendered as well.

Shariati also claimed that the separation of males and females in university classes has led to a rise in student averages for both genders.

He stressed that female students have been very supportive of the single-gender classes.

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South Indian International Movie Awards 2013: Vijay's 'Thuppakki' Gets 10 Nominations

The South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) 2013 is all set to be held from 12-13 September at the Expo Centre Sharja, United Arab Emirates.

The awards ceremony will honour talented film personalities from the four south Indian cinema industries - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. This is the second successive year for SIIMA awards which debuted in 2012 in Dubai.

SIIMA 2013 will witness scintillating performances and breathtaking acts by some of the biggest stars of south Indian cinema. Celebrities including Shruti Haasan, Hansika Motwani, Shriya Saran, Usha Uthup, Richa Gangopadhyay, Pranitha, Anirudh, Andrea, Lakshmi Menon and Remya Nambeesan will perform at the event.

The two-day awards ceremony will be hosted by Shriya, Sonu Sood, Arya and Rana Daggubati.

The nominations have been announced under various categories from all four south Indian languages. In Tamil, Vijay's "Thuppakki" leads the nomination race with 10 nods, including best film, best actor (Vijay), best actress (Kajal Aggarwal), best director (AR Murugadoss) and best comedian (Jayaram).

Vijay has been pitted against Dhanush ("3"), Suriya ("Maattrraan"), Vijay Sethupathy ("Pizza") and Vishnu ("Neerparavai"). [For complete nomination list, click here]

In Telugu, Pawan Kalyan's "Gabbar Singh" dominates with 13 nominations which include  best actor male (Pawan), best actor female (Shruti Haasan), best director (Harish Shankar), best film and best music director (Devi Sri Prasad).

Mahesh Babu's "Businessman" has taken 11 nominations, whereas critically-acclaimed film "Eega" gets nine nods.

In Kannada, Darshan's "Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna" has received six nominations while Puneet Rajkumar's "Anna Bond" gets 10.

In Malayalam, Fahadh Faasil's "Diamond Necklace" has got eight nominations and Dulquer Salmaan's "Ustad Hotel" received seven. Mohanlal's "Spirit" is nominated in most of the popular categories.

The winners will be decided through public voting.

SA hotels on 'world's best service' list

Three Cape Town hotels have made it onto the "World's Best Service" list in the Africa and Middle East category in an international survey by the US edition of Travel and Leisure released in the magazine's June 2013 issue.

The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa took top spot, while the Cape Grace and the One & Only took second and fourth respectively.

The best service category of the magazine's annual "World Best Awards" survey aims to recognise the best hotels, resorts, airlines and cruise liners around the world as rated by its readers.

"Excellent service is a definitive factor in repeat visits by overseas travellers," Western Cape Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Minister Alan Winde said in a statement last week.

"I hope these awards serve as an inspiration to the Western Cape hospitality industry to consistently strive for the highest service levels. I am also confident these awards will encourage more international visitors to our world-class destination," Winde said.

Johannesburg's Saxon Boutique Hotel, Villas & Spa also featured on the best service list in the Africa and the Middle East category, scoring the same as the One & Only.

Singita Kruger National Park and Singita Sabi Sand also made their way onto the list, coming in at second and fifth respectively in the resorts and lodges category.

The overall results for best service were reached by surveying the general managers at the top 16 hotels in each region.

According to the results of this survey: 44% of general managers admit to using Google and Facebook to research guests prior to check-in; 31% ensure each guest is personally greeted by a manager upon arrival; 50% have a staff-to-guest ratio of at least 1.5 to 1; and 56% offer room service 24 hours a day.

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