Tag Archives: NEW YORK

All-clear after Lufthansa flight diverted to New York after threat.

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U.S. authorities gave the all-clear on Tuesday after a Lufthansa flight from Houston, Texas, to the German city of Frankfurt was diverted to New York’s John Kennedy airport after a telephoned threat.

 

“Authorities cleared a Lufthansa plane, diverted to JFK tonight after a threat. Passengers deplaned and a search of aircraft was negative,’’ New York’s Port Authority said.

 

A spokesperson for Lufthansa said some 500 passengers and the cabin crew had exited the plane safely and were staying in nearby hotels.

 

The spokesperson further said that the flight would continue its journey to Frankfurt, but without passengers on board, meanwhile, other flights were not affected by the incident.

Japan’s Abe heads for New York for first talks with Trump

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Japan’s premier Shinzo Abe headed to New York Thursday for talks with Donald Trump, the first leader to meet with the president-elect whose campaign pledges provoked anxiety over US foreign policy.

The brash billionaire is set to receive Abe at his Trump Tower headquarters on Thursday evening, in an encounter that will be closely watched for hints on long-standing security pacts that he has called into question.

“I’m honoured to meet with President-elect Trump ahead of other world leaders,” Abe told reporters. “I’d like to discuss with President Trump our dreams for the future.”

Trump’s blithe comment during the campaign that the US might be “better off” with nuclear-armed Asian allies has thrown into question the US security umbrella over Japan and South Korea.

His later disavowal of the remarks has done little to restore confidence in Washington as the lone superpower ready to face down a rising China and a capricious North Korea.

Trump has also talked about yanking thousands of troops from the region unless Tokyo and Seoul pay more of their hosting costs, despite the opportunity that would present to China and its ambitions for regional supremacy.

“The Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone of Japan’s diplomacy and security,” Abe said before departing. “The alliance works only when there is trust.”

“I’d like to build trust with Mr Trump and work together hand in hand for the peace and prosperity of the world.”

– Scramble for access –

Dozens of leaders including China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have spoken with Trump by phone since his shock November 8 election victory.

The New York Times said offices of foreign leaders were blindly dialling in to Trump Tower as they scrambled to get the future president on the phone, prompting a denial and an insistence the transition is proceeding smoothly.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was only the second to get through, in a call set up by sports legend Greg Norman who is golfing buddies with Trump, it emerged Thursday.

The unconventional candidate has also stoked concerns in Europe — where the NATO alliance underwrites regional security — by warmly embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And he has also vowed to block the vast Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal, which has been championed by Abe and US President Barack Obama.

“I hope to share the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” Abe said before departing for the US ahead of the APEC summit of 21 Pacific Rim economies in Peru, where leaders will defend the tenets of free trade.

The 12-nation TPP has been a key component of Obama’s “pivot to Asia” and envisaged as a counterweight to China’s expanding economic influence.

Abe told parliament this week that a collapse of the pact could shift momentum toward a rival trade deal promoted by China.

Despite the faultlines, the Trump camp made positive noises ahead of the meeting with Abe.

It “shows Mr Trump’s commitment to the relationship” with Japan, Republican Devin Nunes, a member of the presidential transition team, told reporters after talks with an Abe aide in Washington to prepare for the meeting.

Nunes called Japan “one of our most important, longest allies”, Kyodo News reported.

Amid fears of heightened racism & hate crimes, New Yorkers are volunteering to escort fearful commuters

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After President-elect Donald Trump’s election win, and amid fears of heightened bigotry and hate crimes, a Brooklyn woman has set up an online form where citizens can volunteer to accompany vulnerable commuters who are worried about being harassed on their way to school or work.

Kayla Santosuosso, the deputy director of the Arab American Association of New York, created the online signup sheet on Thursday evening, after being contacted about a Muslim woman in Harlem who, in the two days since the election, had twice been harassed and threatened on her train journey to college.
“I got a direct message from someone in my network asking me if I knew somebody who could help accompany her,” Santosuosso said.
“She had notified the police but she was still facing the prospect of having to go to school in the morning on her own and she was scared.”
Santosuosso immediately wrote a public Facebook post to see if anyone was available to help.
“We ended up finding someone within five minutes to accompany her,” she said.
But the offers of assistance kept flooding in.
“I had 25 people, mostly who I know, emailing me or direct messaging me on Facebook and being like, oh hey, if her ride falls through then please put me on the list as a backup,” she said.
To keep track of them all, Santosuosso, 26, decided to create a public Google doc for potential volunteers.
“This is for New Yorkers who are willing to accompany their neighbors on their commute in light of recent harassment and threats toward people of color, LGBTQ folks and Muslims,” reads the form, before asking users to fill in simple details about their neighborhood and commute start and end point.
“I created it, posted it on Facebook, closed my computer and went to sleep,” Santosuosso said.
“I woke up the following morning and it had gotten up to 50 people. And I was like, oh, a little bigger than I thought. I head into work, where I sat in a meeting dealing with a lot of these questions related to Trump’s proposed policies, especially around things like immigration or Muslim registries. Then, at 12:30 p.m., I sat at my desk, opened up the form and it had already gone up to 1,200 responses. And it kept growing.”
At the time this story was written, 5,600 people had volunteered to accompany vulnerable commuters. And word was spreading across state lines.
“I’ve had about 200 emails at this point from California, Washington state, Oregon, Boston, D.C., New Orleans, you name it. People have been reaching out to me from all throughout the country,” said Santosuosso, a registered Democrat who voted for Hillary Clinton.
The overwhelming interest speaks, she theorized, to the extent to which “people are feeling personally responsible for the results of this election.”
“This is clearly an illustration that there is a massive amount of energy and motivation, post the election. Folks are ready to show up for their neighbor in ways that are potentially harmful to themselves. They may be putting their bodies on the line by offering to accompany somebody who may be harassed,” Santosuosso said.
“The feedback has been overwhelming in the sense that it’s been many people saying thank you. Thank you for helping me do something. Thank you for the opportunity,” she added.

New York Orders Trump Foundation to Stop Fundraising

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US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suffered a punishing new setback on Monday as authorities clamped down on his charitable foundation, while his opponent Hillary Clinton seized the opportunity to brand the property tycoon an unscrupulous businessman.

With just five weeks to go before the November 8 election, the billionaire Trump is struggling to regain his footing against a surging Clinton and climb out of one of the darkest periods of his campaign.

Already weakened by damaging revelations about his taxes, Trump was hit with an order by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that the Donald J Trump foundation must “cease and desist from soliciting contributions” in New York.

The notice informed the charity that it had engaged in fundraising activities that were not legal because it had not been registered with state authorities.

With Team Trump on the defensive after leaked documents suggested that he may have paid no income tax for two decades, Democratic party candidate Clinton rounded on him as a bully who cares little for his fellow countrymen.

“While millions of American families, including mine and yours, were working hard paying our fair share, it seems he was contributing nothing to our nation. Imagine that,” a fired up Clinton said in Toledo, Ohio.

“He has been ‘dissing’ America in this whole campaign,” she charged, riding high on a surge in polling after a bruising first presidential debate.

The pair face off in their second showdown on Sunday.

Vice presidential nominees Mike Pence, the Republican governor of Indiana, and Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia take the stage on Tuesday for their only debate of the campaign cycle.

Personal attacks

Trump used an appearance before military veterans in Virginia to pound former Secretary of State Clinton again for handling classified information via a “basement” private email server.

But he appeared to stumble when he addressed mental health issues facing army personnel and suggested some were returning from battle ill-equipped to cope with debilitating conditions.

“When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over, and you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it,” Trump said.

Retired Lieutenant-General Michael Flynn, a Trump adviser, said the candidate was merely “highlighting the challenges veterans face when returning home after serving their country.”

In recent days, Trump’s strongest line of attack has been seen as personal, and of a rare brutality even for this bare-knuckles campaign: he mocked Clinton over the weekend for coming down with pneumonia and even questioned her fidelity to her husband.

“Hillary Clinton’s only loyalty is to her financial contributors and to herself,” he said.

“I don’t even think she’s loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth. And really, folks, really, why should she be, right?” he said, having already revived talk of former President Bill Clinton’s past infidelities after a lacklustre debate performance.

A defiant Trump meanwhile dodged the swirling questions about his tax record.

Trump’s top allies praised their candidate’s business acumen following the bombshell revelation by The New York Times that he declared a loss of $916m on his 1995 tax return, enabling him to legally avoid paying taxes for up to 18 years.

If true, the report based on documents leaked to the Times is proof of the tycoon’s “absolute genius,” said former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump adviser.

Economic Recovery Key To Checking Human Trafficking – Buhari

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President Muhammadu Buhari has said the anti-corruption campaign of his administration and the economic programme of diversification will significantly address the lack of job opportunities and deprivation that make Nigerian youths vulnerable to recruitment by human traffickers.

The President said this in New York at the meeting on Modern Slavery hosted by the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Theresa May, on the margins of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA71), at the residence of the United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the UN.

“We are also investing more on infrastructure development, education and health for our people. When the results of our efforts become manifest, the attraction of seeking greener pastures abroad will lesson,” he declared.

A statement made available to Vanguard, by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, yesterday, said that Buhari commended the British Prime Minister for drawing the attention of the international community to such a serious matter, to coincide with a time the global focus was on migration and refugee crisis.

He, therefore ,called for practical and innovative measures “to address all modern day human tragedies.”

The President noted that “more worrisome is the fact that human trafficking and modern day slavery have created a dangerous political economy of their own. In consequence, this international criminality is defined by the activities of human traffickers that lure unsuspecting victims into forced labour, inhuman treatment, money laundering and prostitution.”

He said Nigeria “is ready and willing to partner with other countries and international organizations to confront this phenomenon. We have a strong commitment to combating the menace of modern slavery, and will redouble our efforts to prohibit human trafficking, while providing succour to its hapless victims.”

President Buhari assured his audience “to count on the support of Nigeria in dealing with this evil, which constitutes an unacceptable stain on human dignity and conscience in the 21st century.”

On measures taken by the country against the evil practice, he said the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, and the Nigeria Immigration Service had taken steps to establish a joint operational Working Group to combat human trafficking and smuggling of migrants from the country.

“We are aware of the challenge for Nigeria, but our resolve to combat it is strong and unshakable,” the President declared.

New York Bomb Suspect Charged By NYPD

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US federal prosecutors have charged an Afghan-American with detonating and planting bombs in New York and New Jersey that left at least 31 people wounded.

The prosecutors said on Tuesday that Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, carried out twin bombings on Saturday in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood and along the route of a US Marine Corps run in the New Jersey town of Seaside Park.

A criminal complaint was unsealed in Newark, New Jersey, shortly after a virtually identical filing was unsealed in New York.

The Afghanistan-born American restaurant worker, who lives in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was critically wounded in a police shootout on Monday.

Two officers were shot in the encounter, but suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Chris Bollwage, the mayor of Elizabeth, said Rahami had also sustained shots and had been taken away by  ambulance. Rahami underwent surgery on his wounds and remains in hospital.

Read More: aljazeera

New York, New Jersey Bomb Suspect Arrested After Shootout

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The Afghan-born American suspect wanted in connection with weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey was taken into custody on Monday after being wounded in a shootout with police, an official said.

Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, was shown stretchered into an ambulance, sporting a bloodied bandage on his right arm and moving his head from side to side with his eyes open in Linden, New Jersey, according to ABC footage.

Two Linden police officers were also shot and hurt in the exchange, said the mayor of the suspect’s neighboring hometown Elizabeth.

“Mr Rahami is currently under arrest. This occurred on Elizabeth Avenue in the city of Linden,” Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage told CNN.

“One police officer in the city of Linden was shot in the chest and one was shot in the hand. Mr. Rahami also sustained shots,” Bollwage added.

Contacted by AFP, police in Linden said they had no immediate comment.

Rahami is wanted in connection with Saturday bombings in New York’s Chelsea, which wounded 29 people, and a pipe bomb attack on the Jersey shore, which caused no injuries but forced the cancellation of a US Marine Corps race.

Read More:

http://guardian.ng/news/new-york-new-jersey-bomb-suspect-arrested-after-shootout/

18 Carat Gold Toilet Named “America” Available For Use In New York Museum

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The Guggenheim Museum in New York makes available for use a toilet made of solid gold. The 18-carat bathroom fixture is an artwork by Maurizio Cattelan, now available for public use in the Manhattan museum.

The Italian artist is known for his controversial installations and contempt for the art world. At his first solo exhibition, Cattelan closed the gallery and left a sign on the door that said “Back Soon.” In 2011, after hanging his remaining works in the atrium of the Guggenheim, the fifty-five-year-old artist announced his retirement.
But the gold toilet, entitled “America,” represents his comeback. Cattelan, like an aging action hero, returns to condemn the world.
“America” is inspired by Marcel Duchamp, who signed a urinal and presented it as an artwork at the Armory Show of 1917. Ninety-nine years later, Cattelan’s toilet seems to advertise the poverty of the artist’s imagination and the Biblical wealth that the museum commands.
Read More: CNN

Supermodel With Down’s Syndrome Returns To New York Fashion Week

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Down’s syndrome model Madeline Stuart has returned the catwalk at New York Fashion Week.

The 19-year-old made global headlines when she became only the second model with the disability to walk at NYFW in history.

Since then, she has gone from strength to strength and become a fixture in the fashion scene.


And last night Madeline, from Brisbane, Australia, once again walked at the prestigious event, this time for US House of Byfield at the Art Hearts Fashion show.


BBOG To Tackle Buhari At UN Meeting In New York Over Chibok Girls

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The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group has said it would protest against the failure of the Federal Government secure the release of the abducted Chibok girls at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City.

The group said it would demand the release of the Chibok girls through a letter it plans to submit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the meeting.

In a notice sent to supporters and journalists, the group said, “On Tuesday, September 13, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly commences in New York. World leaders, including Nigeria’s President Buhari, will be there to discuss various issues plaguing our world, including the global refugee crisis.

“If you are in New York, please join global citizens, as we stand in solidarity with 218#ChibokGirls and thousands more still in Boko Haram captivity on Wednesday, September 14, at 3 p.m., to deliver a letter to President Buhari, to remind him of his campaign promise to#BringBackOurGirls, who have now been in captivity for 882 days.

“Join us as we remind the United Nations and the world that the #ChibokGirls are never to be forgotten. #HopeEndures. Gathering Time: 3 p.m., Location: 828 Second Avenue (2nd and 44th), New York, New York 10017, PLEASE, WEAR RED!”

Credit:

http://leadership.ng/news/550554/bbog-to-tackle-pmb-at-un-meeting-in-new-york-over-chibok-girls

New York Attorney General Opens Probe Of Trump Foundation

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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Tuesday he had opened an inquiry into the Donald J. Trump Foundation to ensure the Republican presidential nominee’s charity was complying with state laws governing nonprofits.

Schneiderman, a supporter of Trump’s Democratic rival in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton, sued the real estate mogul and his now defunct Trump University for fraud in 2013, seeking $40 million in restitution plus penalties and other costs.

In a CNN interview on Tuesday, Schneiderman said his office had now brought Trump’s charitable
foundation under scrutiny.

“My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of nonprofits in New York state. And we have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view,” the elected Democratic official said.



He added: “We have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it’s complying with the laws that govern charities in New York.” He did not elaborate on what wrongdoing Trump’s nonprofit might have committed.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung dismissed Schneiderman’s assertions as entirely motivated by presidential politics, calling the attorney general a “partisan hack who has turned a blind eye to the Clinton Foundation for years.”

Cheung called Schneiderman’s comments “nothing more than another left-wing hit job designed to distract” attention from Clinton’s recent missteps on the campaign trail.

New York Attorney General to probe Trump Foundation

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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Tuesday he had opened an inquiry into the Donald J. Trump Foundation to ensure the Republican presidential nominee’s charity was complying with state laws governing nonprofits.

Schneiderman, a supporter of Trump’s Democratic rival in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton, sued the real estate mogul and his now defunct Trump University for fraud in 2013, seeking $40 million in restitution plus penalties and other costs.

In a CNN interview on Tuesday, Schneiderman said his office had now brought Trump’s charitable foundation under scrutiny.

“My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of nonprofits in New York state. And we have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view,” the elected Democratic official said.

He added: “We have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it’s complying with the laws that govern charities in New York.” He did not elaborate on what wrongdoing Trump’s nonprofit might have committed.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung dismissed Schneiderman’s assertions as entirely motivated by presidential politics, calling the attorney general a “partisan hack who has turned a blind eye to the Clinton Foundation for years.”

Cheung called Schneiderman’s comments “nothing more than another left-wing hit job designed to distract” attention from Clinton’s recent missteps on the campaign trail, reports Reuters.

Trump has accused Clinton of being corrupted by donors to the Clinton Foundation global charity founded by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, while she was U.S. secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

Clinton has dismissed Trump’s allegation as a political smear. There has been no evidence that foreign donors to the foundation obtained favors from the State Department while Clinton headed the agency.

Schneiderman made his remarks when asked on CNN about calls from Democrats in Congress for a federal investigation of a $25,000 donation in 2013 from the Trump Foundation to a political committee supporting Florida’s Republican attorney general, Pam Bondi.

Democrats have cited an Associated Press report that Bondi solicited the donation personally, around the time her office was debating whether to join New York state’s investigation into Trump’s real estate training school in Florida.

According to the AP, Bondi, who was seeking re-election at the time, broke off the lawsuit deliberations after the check arrived.

Bondi, who has endorsed Trump, has called the AP report misleading.

Ambode, 4 Others Emerge Nigeria’s Top Performing Governors..To Be Honored In New York

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he Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode has emerged the winner in a keenly contested online poll conducted by the African Leadership Magazine UK. Mr. Ambode polled 37.2% of the total votes cast to emerge Nigeria’s best performing Governor.

Mr. Ambode is closely trailed by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike with 29%; while Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state secured 18% of total vote casts to maintain a spot in the third place.

In the fourth place is Delta State Governor, Patrick Okowa with 13%; and Governor Nasir El-Rufai
of Kaduna state sits in the fifth position with 5% of vote casts. The Good Governance Poll, which ended on Wednesday 3rd, 2016, by 2:pm, Nigerian time, was initiated by the African Leadership Magazine UK, in line with the magazine’s objective of providing credible information and support to leaders in Nigeria and Africa at large.

The Poll is part of the group’s strategic engagement tool designed to monitor performance, gauge the mood of the electorates, promote good governance, as well as engender peer review mechanisms amongst leaders in Nigeria and Africa at large. The Good Governance Poll is particularly important in Nigeria, following the country’s prevailing realities; while some Governors in the country have been unable to meet their obligation to the electorates, others have been ingenious in managing state resources and also making concerted efforts towards shoring up their IGR. These States Chief Executives deserve to be celebrated.

The Publisher, Dr. ken Giami , in announcing the winners of the Good Governance Poll, stated that “African Leadership Magazine leverages its robust offline and online engagements – with about 2.2 Million daily online post reaches and over 400,000 Monthly magazine circulation to promote purposeful leadership and actively engage leaders for the greater good of the citizenry.”

He also maintained that “Mr. Ambode’s emergence as the winner of the polls is a clear indication, that more Nigerians are increasingly becoming aware of his strides in Lagos State, which is quite commendable.” One of those polled noted that “Akinwunmi Ambode came to power with his blue-print for the greater development of Lagos State which he has since then pursued with precision. His pursuit of 24-hour economic mechanism, when attained, would propel revenue generation for Lagos State in ways unmatchable by any other state in Africa.”

The online poll which commenced on the 5th of July 2016 attracted Nigerians from all works of life voting to select the country’s top 5 Best Performing Governors in the country. The Winners of the Poll will be formally decorated with the prestigious African Leadership Excellence Award as Best Performing Governor, during the International Forum on African Leadership, billed to hold at the Waldorf Astoria, New York on the 22 September 20016, by 11.00am-3.00pm.

The winners would also be presented with endorsement from various US State’s and non-state actors, and hosted to Investment & Partnership discussions on the side-lines of the event. This is no doubt a further validation and commendation for the good work they have been doing in Nigeria and the continent and the hope they represent for the future of Nigeria – in spite of the monumental challenges being faced by the country today.

Donald Trump Wins New York GOP Primary

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Donald Trump has won the Republican primary in New York, a state that offers a sizable chunk of delegates – 95 – toward the front-runner’s goal of scooping up the 1,237 needed to secure the GOP nomination.

But rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich are looking to results from the state’s congressional districts, where they hope to take advantage of party rules and pick off individual delegates to prevent Trump from reaching the majority he’s aiming for.

Credit: Punch

Kourtney Kardashian & Kylie Jenner Hit New York

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The Kardashian sisters take New York fiercely. Kourtney Kardashian and little sister, Kylie Jenner, storm New York wearing furry coats and killer boots.

Now we have no idea what they are up to but bet we will find out soon. The sisters both shared these photos on their Instagram pages.

See photos below:

Abigail
Kourtney and Kylie Take New York

DJ Cuppy Plays For Cosmopolitan Magazine New York (PHOTOS)

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The rich kid who is also working extremely hard is blazing the trails of becoming an A class disc jockey.

Cuppy who marked her 21st birthday not long ago shares photos of her job with the Cosmopolitan magazine in New York. She stunned in a multi colored glittery dress.

See pics below:

https://instagram.com/p/-IawduLSmt/?taken-by=cuppymusic

https://instagram.com/p/-G9yzyLSjt/?taken-by=cuppymusic

Buhari’s Aide Departs New York With Ministerial List

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In his bid to fulfil the promise to make his ministers known by the end of September, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday handed over the list of his ministerial nominees to his special adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang.

A top Presidency source who is a member of the president’s entourage to the ongoing 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly reliably told our correspondent that the presidential aide departed J. F. Kennedy International Airport in New York last night so as to get to Nigeria and deliver the list to the National Assembly before the promised date.

The source said further that the president who is presently in New York had already briefed the Senate president, Senator Bukola Saraki, on the development, stressing that Ita Enang is expected to hand over the list to either the Senate president today at the resumption of the plenary or tomorrow depending on the mood of the upper legislative chamber.

Read More: leadership

Protest At Times Square As New York Authorities Move To Ban Posing Topless

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?Posing topless in Times Square in New York City has been legal since 1992, and Mayor De Blasio and Governor Cuomo are currently trying to ban it.

One of the topless women, Saira thinks the attempt to ban being topless is helping their cause. “[Mayor De Blasio] made it actually better, and letting people pick a side. Are you on our side or are you on their side? And we have a lot more people on our side than I think anyone expected.”

Read More: cosmopolitan

New York Protesters Demand $15 Minimum Wage

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Thousands of demonstrators, including many fast-food workers, protested in New York on Wednesday demanding a minimum wage of $15 an hour to escape poverty in America’s largest city.

Fast-food workers held strikes in more than 230 American cities, joined by airport, construction and child care staff, as well as people working in education, organizers said, calling it the largest mobilization of underpaid workers in the US.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 took part in the New York protest, they said.

Pedro Gamboa, 58, is a baggage handler at JFK airport who works 40 hours a week and wakes up at 3:00 am to do it — earning $10.10 an hour.

“It’s not enough. You have to be a magician to survive on that,” said the Guatemalan-born family man. “Once you pay your bills, there is nothing left in your pockets.”

In New York, a first protest began at around 6:00 am outside a McDonald’s outlet in Brooklyn.

In Manhattan, fast-food workers were joined by students and activists, spreading out on the sidewalk outside another McDonald’s to demand better salaries, an AFP photographer said.

They held up placards proclaiming: “Why poverty,” “Fight for 15? and “Because the rent won’t wait.”

Workers say they are fed up with pay that does not come close to keeping them out of poverty and the threat of retaliation from employers hostile to them joining or forming unions.

On April 1, McDonald’s said that it was raising hourly pay to $1 above the local official minimum wage for 90,000 employees in company-owned restaurants, and would offer them paid time off.

The increase, however, does not apply to 660,000 employees working for restaurants owned by franchises, which comprise 90 percent of the 14,000 McDonald’s outlets across the United States.

“Rather than mollifying employees, the paltry pay move is attracting ridicule and inspiring even more workers to join the walkout,” strike organizers said.

The minimum wage in New York state is $8.75 an hour and due to rise to $9 in 2016.

There is a federal minimum wage of $7.25 but many US states have their own minimum wage.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a report on Tuesday that even when adjusted for cost of living, New York’s minimum wage is the lowest of any major US city.

Pay of $15 an hour would save taxpayers $200-$500 million a year in food stamps and Medicaid spending, his report said.

San Francisco and Seattle have both adopted minimum wages of $15.

In August 2013, fast-food workers launched their first national day-long labor strike, in 60 cities, and their outcry has increasingly resonated in national politics.

President Barack Obama has faced stiff Republican opposition in his push for an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 to lift hundreds of thousands of people above the poverty line.

Iyanya Leaks Nude Scenes of His New Video #PhotoNews

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Mr. Oreo shared some photos on his instagram that got us guessing it could be scenes from a video he is working on. The photos showed a nude lady in a bath tub with Iyanya sitting beside her, and he also captioned about the director of the video, which he did not mention a name but made it clear that the video is being shot in New York.

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More Ebola Cases in New York?

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Officials tried to tamp down New Yorkers’ fears Friday after a doctor was diagnosed with Ebola in a city where millions of people squeeze into crowded subways, buses and elevators every day.

 “We want to state at the outset that New Yorkers have no reason to be alarmed” by the doctor’s diagnosis Thursday, said Mayor Bill de Blasio, even as officials described Dr. Craig Spencer riding the subway, taking a cab and bowling since returning to New York from Guinea a week ago. “New Yorkers who have not been exposed are not at all at risk.”

Heath officials have repeatedly given assurances that the disease is spread only by direct contact with bodily fluids such as saliva, blood, vomit and feces, and that the virus survives on dry surfaces for only a matter of hours.

But some in the nation’s most populous city, with more than 8 million people, were not taking any chances.

According to a rough timeline provided by city officials, in the days before Spencer fell ill, he went on a 3-mile jog, went to the High Line park, rode the subway and, on Wednesday night, got a taxi to a Brooklyn bowling alley. He felt tired starting Tuesday, and felt worse on Thursday when he and his fiancee made a joint call to authorities to detail his symptoms and his travels. EMTs in full Ebola gear arrived and took him to Bellevue in an ambulance surrounded by police squad cars.

#BringBackOurGirls Protest in New York

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Alicia Keys held a protest in New York City on Tuesday to raise awareness about the 200-plus Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in April.

Tuesday marked six months since the girls were abducted. Keys kicked off a protest with 30 others at the consulate general of Nigeria, holding signs that read “We Are Here” and “Safe Schools Now!”

bbg PANews+BT_P-0d99ba63-4483-43e6-82b3-52203a2eab22_I1 628x471 people-alicia-keys

They chanted “Bring back our girls” and “When do we want them? Now! Now! Alive!” as New Yorkers walked up the street during lunch hour, while others stopped to capture photos and video.

Keys, who is pregnant, said in an interview that she felt touched to take action because she is a mother.

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U.S Forming “Core Coalition” to Fight I.S

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Isis fighters parade through Raqqa

The United States said on Friday it was forming a “core coalition” to battle Islamic State militants, calling for broad support from allies and partners but ruling out committing ground forces.

President Barack Obama sought to use a NATO summit in Wales to enlist allied support in fighting the Islamist militants, but it is unclear how many nations might join the United States in air strikes in Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told foreign and defense ministers from 10 nations on the sidelines of the summit on ways they can help. Kerry said, “We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own. Obviously I think that’s a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground.”

Hagel said, “This group here this morning is the core coalition,.. It is the core group that will form the larger and extended coalition that’s going to be required to deal with this challenge.”  And nations involved include, The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Poland and Denmark, whose Ministers have met to discuss a strategy for addressing the Sunni militant group.

Kerry also said he hoped the allies could develop a comprehensive plan fighting IS in time for this month’s annual U.N. General Assembly session in New York.