Qatar to award contract for World Cup stadia in November

QATAR will award a management contract next month to oversee construction projects for the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament, an industry source said.

More than six companies are vying for the contract, expected to be awarded in November, including British construction consultants Arup, Mace and Turner International, a construction industry source in Doha said. “It is a lump sum contract for 13 years, and will be awarded to one team comprised of about 50 people. A lot of firms have teamed up with each other, to make sure they have the best quality resources,” the source said. “It is a big deal, so the usual suspects are pitching for it.” Britain’s Mace separately confirmed in an interview that it was in the running for the Qatar soccer project and expected a decision before December. The Gulf Arab country last December won the bid to host the 2022 soccer tournament, and is preparing to build housing, infrastructure, transport and sport facilities for the event. Industry commentators say the programme management contract would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, with the winning group to oversee the construction of the stadia as well as awarding contracts to builders. “The (programme manager) will coordinate with all government agencies on the large projects. We want to make sure that close coordination is done early on and that systems are in place, so we do not have to go back and make changes later,” 2022 Supreme Committee Spokesman Nasser Al-Khater said last month. The programme manager will also bring on board consultants, contractors and suppliers, he said. Qatar will spend $4 billion to host the event, including the cost of constructing stadia, the committee has said. Stadia are estimated to cost between $200 million and $400 million each to build. The country will build nine new stadia and renovate three existing facilities. 2022 Supreme Committee secretary general said in June that the country planned to complete construction of the first stadium for the 2022 soccer World Cup by 2015.

Mayor of London urges Nigerians in Diaspora on role in Nation's development

MAYOR of London, Boris Johnson has said that Nigerians living in the United Kingdom (UK) have all it takes to assist Nigeria in the country’s development.

Johnson, who was represented by Colin Bloom, Member of Parliament, spoke at the recently concluded Nigerian carnival organised by the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (CANUK), urging them to brace up to change the country. Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Patience, at the event said Nigeria needs peace for sustainable development, just as she urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to join hands with the government. Represented by the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Zainab Maina, Patience said, “It is through peace and harmony that the nation can grow. We should articulate our grievances with a view to resolving them, rather than take to violence, maiming and killings.” The Mayor said Nigerians are very energetic, hardworking and progressive people worldwide, stressing, “Nigeria is a beautiful country for beautiful people. Your carnival is very important and it serves as a tool to unite Nigerian people living in the UK.“ She called on the over 2,000 Nigerians who came from different parts of the UK to use their diverse cultures to project the image of the nation. Speaking in the same vein, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK, Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida said the Mission had been repositioned to better serve the interest and welfare of the community, while promoting a sense of belonging, unity and amity among Nigerians in the UK. He appealed to all Nigerians in the UK to “join us in the pursuit of the transformation agenda of the Federal Government by making their modest contributions in every way possible.” Dalhatu stated that this year’s event unlike last year’s was slightly different, noting that it was the first time the organisers will be collaborating with CANUK to hold the occasion.

Police arrests 6 The Nation Newspaper reporters over story

The Nigerian Police raided The Nation newspaper office in Abuja on Wednesday after detectives arrested four reporters over a publication purporting that former head of state instructed Goodluck Jonathan to sack some government officials.

When police arrived at its premises, some reporters working there fled onto nearby streets. The police were apparently searching for material to identify the source who gave the newspaper the alleged letter from former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan. "The police invasion, apparently meant to decapitate the paper's leadership and disrupt production of the Wednesday edition, paralyzed work at the newspaper house for many hours and unsettled staff," read the statement from Kunle Fagbemi, one of those supposedly wanted by the police. Detectives had earlier arrested four editors from the newspaper on Tuesday after failing to find the publication's senior leadership at its Lagos office, a statement from its general editor said. The police later arrested two reporters who accompanied the editors to a police station, as well as the newspaper's chief of security, said Victor Ifijeh, the publication's managing director and editor in chief. The private daily newspaper, one of many publishing in Nigeria's outspoken free press, blamed the harassment on an October 4 front page story about the letter. The newspaper alleged the letter outlined Obasanjo's desire for Jonathan to replace the leaders of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund and four other agencies with his own candidates. The letter has hit a nerve in Nigerian politics, as it recommends replacing leaders from the Muslim north as opposed to the country's Christian south, where Jonathan and Obasanjo both come from. Some also view Jonathan as beholden to Obasanjo's interests, so the letter raises new concerns about Jonathan's independence as a leader. Obasanjo denied the authenticity of the letter and threatened legal action, but the newspaper said it stood by its story. Federal police spokesperson Olusola Amore confirmed the arrests on Wednesday, saying officials in Abuja received a letter of complaint from Obasanjo alleging someone forged his signature on the letter. Ifijeh criticized the arrests, saying officers randomly arrested editors after finding the official they wanted was on vacation outside of the country. "Obasanjo is not bigger than the law," the editor said. "He should learn to do things in the proper way, follow the due process not intimidate the president and the police to take the law into their own hands."

'Underwear bomber' pleads guilty to US airline attack

DETROIT, Michigan- Nigerian man also called the "underwear bomber" pleaded guilty on Wednesday to trying to blow up a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009, saying he had explored to payback the killing of innocent Muslims.

During a six-minute speech to a shocked courtroom on the second day of his high profile-trial in Detroit, Michigan, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab insisted his actions were righteous and that the true crime was US foreign policy.
"I am guilty of this count in US law but not in the Koran," the 25-year-old Nigerian said as he confessed to trying to kill 289 people on a packed transatlantic airliner using explosives hidden in his underwear.
"The United States should be warned that if they continue and persist in promoting the blasphemy of Mohammed and the US continues to kill and support those who kill innocent Muslims then the US should await a great calamity through the hands of the Mujahedeen... or God."
The botched plot, which US officials say was the work of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, failed because the explosives did not fully detonate and instead caused a fireball.
Passengers and crew members were able to restrain Abdulmutallab and put out the fire as the Northwest flight from Amsterdam made an emergency landing in Detroit on December 25, 2009.
Since many of the counts Abdulmutallab pleaded guilty to carry mandatory minimum sentences of 30 years without parole which must be served consecutively, he is expected to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Abdulmutallab kept his description of how he carried out the plot to the absolute minimum required to satisfy the judge that he was indeed guilty of all charges.
Reading calmly from a prepared speech, he stood straight in a black skullcap, gold tunic and blazer.

Abdulmutallab said he "had an agreement with at least one person" to attack the US in retaliation for US support for Israel and in revenge for the killing of innocent Muslims in Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and beyond.
"I carried with me an explosive device onto Flight Northwest 253, again to avenge my fellow Muslims," said Abdulmutallab, who has confirmed that he traveled to Yemen for Al-Qaeda training prior to the attack.
"I attempted to use an explosive device, which under US law is called a weapon of mass destruction, which I call a blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims for the US used weapons of mass destruction on innocent Muslims," he told the court.
"If I said I did it, but the American people are guilty of the sin and (President Barack) Obama should pay for the crime the court would not accept that," he said.
"However, according to US law which is unjust... my actions make me guilty to a crime."
Abdulmutallab's calm and respectful demeanor on Wednesday was in sharp contrast to his disruptive behavior during jury selection.
This was marked by incendiary outbursts, including a pledge that militants will wipe out "the cancer US," and praise for radical Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi and former leader Osama bin Laden, both killed in US raids.
Abdulmutallab is to be sentenced on January 12.

South Africa starts nationwide census

Johannesburg South Africa began a nationwide census on Monday which will last three weeks and aims to count and categorize all people in the country. The first people being counted were the homeless and babies born after midnight, along with those staying at guest homes and hotels, according to national broadcaster SABC.

The government has been preparing the population for the count for months, with an advertising campaign under the slogan "you count," hoping to allay any fears people might have of letting the census workers into their homes. "It will help us to plan well to build a better life for all," said President Jacob Zuma. The census will include questions about income and access to services. This will be the third count of the nation since apartheid ended in 1994. The country is estimated to be home to about 50 million people.

Ex-Cape Verde leader Pires wins African governance prize

The former president of Cape Verde, Pedro Pires, on Monday won a lucrative prize for excellence in African leadership awarded by the business tycoon Mo Ibrahim's foundation. Pires, who led the former Portuguese colony off Africa's northwest coast for a decade until August, is the first winner of the award since 2008 because no suitable candidate could be found for the past two years. Cape Verde has been praised for its stable democracy and peaceful elections and in 2008 became only the second country after Botswana to be promoted by the United Nations out of the ranks of the 50 least developed countries. Salim Ahmed Salim, the Chair of the Prize Committee, told an audience in London: "President Pires's democratic credentials were further enhanced when he announced he was stepping down at the end of his second term. "Dismissing outright suggestions that the constitution could be altered to allow him to stand again, he said: 'This is a simple matter of faithfulness to the documents that guide a state of law'. "Throughout his long career, president Pires has been dedicated to the service of his people, including those in the diaspora, while retaining his humility and personal integrity." The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership carries a $5.0 million (3.7 million euro) prize paid over 10 years and $200,000 annually for life from then on. The last winner of the prize launched in 2006 by the

, was Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana, in 2008. The foundation also published this year's Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which ranks 53 countries according to 14 sub-categories, grouped under safety and the rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development. Mauritius stayed at the top of the index, With a score of 82 out of 100, ahead of Cape Verde (79), Botswana (76), Seychelles (73) and South Africa (71). Two countries whose leaders were overthrown in the Arab Spring, Tunisia and Egypt, were ranked ninth and tenth respectively. Somalia remained at the bottom with a score of eight, with Chad (31), Zimbabwe (31), Democratic Republic of Congo (32) and Central African Republic (33) ahead of the troubled state. Ibrahim said that imbalanced development in Africa could lead to more revolutions such as the uprisings seen in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. "If economic progress is not translated into better quality of life and respect for citizens' rights, we will witness more Tahrir Squares in Africa," he said. "What we see is stagnation, and in many countries reversal in human rights and participation. "That reversal in the rights of citizens must be stopped and African leaders must really pursue a balanced development agenda. "If you don't believe us, just look at Tahrir Square. When you look at the data which emerged, you see that development has to be equitable," he added, referring to the protest hub in Cairo. "Tunisia and Egypt were in the top 10 of the index. There is great progress in human development, a lot of young people well-educated, but terrible human rights, terrible democracy, lack of participation and no jobs for young people. "You end up with what happened in Tunis and Cairo. What we need is a balanced development across the board."

Odemwingie blames TB Joshua for Eagles ouster

Super Eagles and West Bromwich Albion midfielder Osaze

said the predictions of a leading faith healer had unnerved Nigeria ahead of a dramatic 2-2 draw with Guinea, who leveled at the death to top the table and rob Nigeria of a slot as one of the best runners-up. Controversial Pastor TB Joshua foresaw last weekend during a church service that the Super Eagles would not make the Cup of Nations for the first time since 1998, when they were suspended for failing to defend the title two years earlier because of political differences with South Africa. "The prediction of Prophet TB Joshua really affected us," admitted Odemwingie, who has lost his goal touch in the English Premier League and struggled against Guinea until being booed off the field when substituted. Speaking in the same vein, Turkey's Samsunspor striker Ehkigo Ehiosun said the players were not for missing out in the qualification for next year's African Cup of Nations