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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power landed in Conakry, Guinea, on Sunday to see first-hand how the global response is failing to stop the deadly spread of Ebola in West Africa. Power, who will also visit Liberia and Sierra Leone, said she hopes to gain a better understanding of which resources are missing so she can push other countries to offer more help. The three West African countries are bearing the brunt of the worst outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever on record that the World Health Organization (WHO) says has killed nearly 5,000 people. A small number of cases have also been reported in Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain and the United States. Ebola Cases and Deaths in West Africa as of October 19, 2014 She told reporters on Saturday that the benefits of having first-hand knowledge of what is going on there far outweigh what she calls the "almost nonexistent risk." A small number of cases have also been reported in Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sp...

ManU defenders in training yesterday   (Courtesy:premierleague.com) Manchester United will have to produce their best performance of the campaign so far if they are to overcome Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea in Sunday's eagerly anticipated match at Old Trafford, according to former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. United, under the guidance of new manager Louis van Gaal, have made a steady opening to the new campaign and have won three of their last five fixtures to boost their chances of returning to the top four. But at the weekend they will come up against a side that has made a superb start to the season, dropping only two points from their opening eight matches to lead second-placed Manchester City by five points. "But they are capable because they have got some special players, like Angel Di Maria, Juan Mata, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao, and they are capable of producing some fantastic moments. If they can defend well...

Dr. Craig Spencer, 33, is in isolation at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He arrived back from Guinea on October 17 and had limited his public interactions but did not eliminate them, according to officials. His ordeal appears to be reducing judging by latest events. Ebola survivor Nancy Writebol donated plasma to Spencer, said the charity SIM. Writebol, a nurse, was one of the first two Americans diagnosed with the Ebola virus. She was successfully treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta in August. Spencer’s fiancee, Morgan Dixon, had been under quarantine at Bellevue, but was cleared and has no symptoms, according to Jean Weinberg, a city health department spokeswoman. On Saturday night, Dixon returned home to the hazmat-cleaned apartment she shares with Spencer in Manhattan. Dixon’s family members have not been in physical contact with her or Spencer since his return from West Africa, according to a family statement. Two friends of Spencer are under quaranti...

AHEAD of the scheduled meeting between officials of the Federal Government and the Boko Haram sect in Chad Republic tomorrow, many experts have expressed doubts on the fruitfulness of such negotiations with the sect, saying Boko Haram has become a franchise for all sort of criminals, citing disharmony, lack of organisation and clear-cut leadership on the part of the deadly sect. One of the experts, Richard Downie, deputy director and fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Africa Programme, who was engaged by the WorldPost, a media partnership of Huffington Post and Berggruen Institute of Governance, said the ubiquitous nature of Boko Haram and lack of clear-cut leadership structure in the sect would render the peace talks meaningless. According to Downie, “Boko Haram harbours many factions, and it is unclear who represents the group.” He explained further that it was even improper to call Abubakar Shekau its leader. Downie, in the interview with WorldP...

A governorship aspirant on the platform of Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Leke Pitan, has appealed to all his counterparts on the party’s platform to desist from acts that may arm the party’s chances as it looks forward to pick its standard-bearer for the 2015 Governorship Election. “We hope all those things are curtailed and we strongly appeal that we should conduct ourselves in a way not to arm the party. We know how best practices are done in the party,” he charged. The aspirant, who was former commissioner for health in the state, said this while speaking with Sunday Tribune on phone when his reaction was sought on a report published in our sister paper, Saturday Tribune. The paper had reported that some of his co-aspirants, who appear to be aggrieved on plans to impose Mr Akin Ambode as the party’s candidate by the leadership were already holding secret meetings with their counterparts in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in what can ...

Rice stakeholders in Ekiti State have charged Governor Ayo Fayose to look in their direction as he begins the quest to restructure the economy of the state with his new government. Rice processors, millers and traders in the state, as well as growers in the rural communities said they were ready to partner Governor Fayose and his administration in his bid to bring about a turnaround in the economic fortunes of the people of the state. President of the Association of Rice Processors, Millers and Traders in the state, Mr. Moses Adekola, told Sunday Tribune in Ado Ekiti at the weekend that “all of us are in support of Governor Fayose’s plan to rejuvenate the economy of the state through the empowerment of the people, a concept he has tagged ‘stomach infrastructure’.” Adekola said the concept would encourage local industries, saying “rice processors, millers and traders in Ekiti State have already positioned themselves to partner the state government in ensuring the success of...

The Nasarawa State Police Command yesterday paraded one Ikechukwu Desmond Okonkwo who has been having carnal knowledge of his three daughters. This revelation was made known to the police by his wife, Mrs Comfort Okonkwo of Ezeagwu Old Village, Ezia LGA of Enugu State. The victims corroborated her stories. Also arrested on suspicion of rape were eight other suspects while five armed robbery suspects were equally paraded. The police recovered one Ak 49 rifle and eight locally made pistols. Similarly, the police also arrested one Zakka Haruna, Friday Samuel and Kuje Anzaku, all of Panduro village in Kokona local government for allegedly drugging one 15-year-old girl (name withheld) and having carnal knowledge of her. The police said, “on September 26, 2014 at about 22hrs, a distress call was received from Onda Wayo village area of Nasarawa LGA, that armed robbers were robbing people but that one among the armed robbers, Usman Ibrahim, a 23-year-old Fulani of the same address ...

Dozens of gunmen, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram, yesterday reportedly took over Abadam, a border town between Nigeria and Niger Republic, in the northern fringes of Borno State, fleeing residents said. Sources said the insurgents had been in Abadam since last Thursday but finally hoisted their flags yesterday after killing many prominent people and forcing others to cross over to Niger Republic. The actual number of people killed is not yet clear as police and military authorities in Borno State are yet to comment on the latest seizure, even as some towns, including Gwoza, Bama, Mafa and Dikwa are still under the control of the Boko Haram, according to officials. Sunday Trust reliably gathered that   a traditional ruler, Ba Mallam Wasak, 75, an uncle  of the immediate past Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Goni Ali Modu, has been killed by the insurgents in Abadam. Goni Modu, a ranking member, represents Abadam Constituency in the state assembly...

For a while now, former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi has kept mum despite abuses heaped on him by his former party members over his defection to the PDP earlier in the month. Not until recently did the governor speak on this matter. Despite accusations that the former governor’s act was a show of betrayal to the late Biafran warlord, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Obi maintains that he remains loyal to his late mentor. It would be recalled that the governor shared a strong bond with the deceased. In fact, the father and son relationship that existed between them was enviable. Obi pledged an unwavering support to his late leader who intervened on many issues that affected the party. His authority was not questioned as he was almost seen as the successor to late Ojukwu. To say his abrupt defection was shocking is an understatement. All manner of reports were released to drag his name into the hall of shame, but somehow the politician did not lose sleep over it. Of all, the wife of th...

The late Igbo businessman, Chief Augustine Ilodibe must be turning in his grave now at the recent development in his business empire. His family and business have been embroiled in one problem to another since his death. First, it was the war among his wives over his will which favoured his second wife Ifeoma, from the prominent Ibeto family. Ifeoma was the only one who provided the transport magnate with a heir to his throne among the three wives.  The fight over his inheritance was a bloody mess and made headlines in the tabloids. Recently, the late business mogul’s house on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, was sealed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). It can be recalled that the deceased lived here with his wife Ifeoma during his lifetime. Even when he returned with his third wife Ngozi, she slyly reclaimed her husband’s place while the new wife was stationed in Onitsha.  AMCON was granted the order to seize all moveable and immovable assets of the deceased as a re...

Chibok girls The purported Secretary General of terrorist Boko Haram sect, Danladi Ahmadu, who represented the group and negotiated the recent ceasefire agreement with the Nigerian government, has affirmed that the abducted Chibok schoolgirls would be released soon to Chadian President, Idriss Derby, for onward presentation to the Nigerian government. Ahmadu, who spoke on the Hausa Service of the Voice of America on Friday, also stated that the ceasefire agreement with the federal government was still valid. In a swift reaction to the promise of freedom for the Chibok schoolgirls, the Principal Private Secretary to the President, Ambassador Hassan Tukur, who has been leading the federal government team for negotiation, simply said: "We will keep our fingers crossed". About 219 schoolgirls are still missing after the terrorists invaded Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April and abducted over 270 girls. Many had been worried when some members ...

Atiku More than 50 International and local policy experts will be attending the two-day session of the Policy Retreat Review by the former Vice President and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar at the Obasanjo Presidential Library. The retreat will provide the opportunity for the experts to make meaningful input into Atiku's  vision to make Nigeria great. THISDAY learnt that as part of the suprise packages at the policy  launch Atiku may be mulling the idea of accepting to earn a token salary of one Naira (N1) per annum.