Southwest cuts 2,300 flights, schedule in sustained chaos

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December 29, 2022

Southwest Airlines continued to extract itself from sustained scheduling chaos Thursday, cancelling another 2,350 flights after a winter storm overwhelmed its operations days ago.

The Dallas carrier acknowledged it has inadequate and outdated operations technology that can leave flight crews out of position when adverse weather strikes.

Southwest was the only airline unable to recover from storm-related delays that began over the weekend when snow, ice and high winds raked portions of the country.

As has been the case every day this week, the vast majority of flight cancellations nationwide, are Southwest flights.

There were 2,451 flights cancelled before noon Thursday in the U.S., and 2,357 were Southwest routes, or about 58% of its entire schedule, according to the FlightAware tracking service.

The airline has warned that cancellations will continue for days.

The federal government is investigating what happened at Southwest with total cancellations soaring past 10,000 early in the week.

Southwest added a page to their website specifically for travelers who were stranded, but thousands of customers remain unable to reach the airline.

Russia hits key infrastructure with missiles across Ukraine

By

Henry Williams

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December 29, 2022

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Russian missiles hit Ukraine Thursday in the biggest wave of strikes in weeks, damaging power stations and other critical infrastructure during freezing winter weather.

Russia fired 69 missiles at energy facilities and Ukrainian forces shot down 54, Ukrainian military chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said. Local officials said attacks killed at least two people around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. The strikes also wounded at least six people across the country, although the toll of the attacks was growing as officials assessed the day’s events.

Russia dispatched explosive drones to selected regions overnight before broadening the barrage with air and sea-based missiles, the Ukrainian air force said. Air-raid sirens rang out across the country, and the military activated air-defense systems in Kyiv, the regional administration said.

Russia has attacked Ukrainian power and water supplies almost weekly since October while its ground forces struggle to hold ground and advance. Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned of power outages in the capital, asking people to stockpile water and to charge their electronic devices.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the attacks“senseless barbarism.”

Throwback Thursday: History Of Christmas Crackers

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 29, 2022

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Christmas crackers are a traditional Christmas favorite in the UK. They were first made in about 1845-1850 by a London sweet maker called Tom Smith. He had seen the French ‘bon bon’ sweets (almonds wrapped in pretty paper) on a visit to Paris in 1840.

He came back to London and tried selling sweets like that in England and also included a small motto or riddle in with the sweet. But they didn’t sell very well.

In 1861 Tom Smith launched his new range of what he called ‘Bangs of Expectation’!

Legend says that, one night, while he was sitting in front of his log fire, he became very interested by the sparks and cracks coming from the fire. Suddenly, he thought what a fun idea it would be, if his sweets and toys could be opened with a crack when their fancy wrappers were pulled in half.

However, looking into the history of the Tom Smith company, it’s thought that Tom actually bought the recipe for the small cracks and bangs in crackers from a fireworks company called Brock’s Fireworks. The story of him sitting by the fire was probably added to help sell his new items.

Crackers were also nicknamed called ‘cosaques’ and were thought to be named after the ‘Cossack’ soldiers who had a reputation for riding on their horses and firing guns into the air.

When Tom died, his expanding cracker business was taken over by his three sons, Tom, Walter and Henry. Walter introduced the hats into crackers and he also traveled around the world looking for new ideas for gifts to put in the crackers.

The crowns might have been inspired from Epiphany cakes from Europe which are often decorated with a paper crown on the top.

The company built up a big range of ‘themed’ crackers. There were ones for bachelors and spinsters (single men and women), where the gifts were things like false teeth and wedding rings!

There were also crackers for Suffragettes (women who campaigned to get women the vote), war heroes and even Charlie Chaplain!

Crackers were also made for special occasions like Coronations. The British Royal Family still has special crackers made for them today!

Very expensive crackers were made such as the ‘Millionaire’s Crackers’ which contained a solid silver box with a piece of gold and silver jewerly inside it!

Cracker manufacturers also made large displays, such as horse drawn carriages and sleighs, for the big shops in London.

The Christmas Crackers that are used today are short cardboard tubes wrapped in colorful paper. There is normally a Cracker next to each plate on the Christmas dinner table.

When the crackers are pulled – with a bang! – a colorful party hat, a toy or gift and a festive joke falls out! The party hats look like crowns and it is thought that they symbolise the crowns that might have been worn by the Wise Men.

Crackers are famous for their very bad Christmas jokes! Here are some bad Christmas themed Cracker jokes!

The world’s longest Christmas cracker measured 63.1m (207ft) long and 4m (13ft) in diameter and was made by the parents of children at Ley Hill School and Pre-School, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, UK on 20 December 2001. Now that would be one big bang!

The biggest Christmas cracker pull was done by 1,478 people at an event organised by Honda Japan at Tochigi Proving Ground, Tochigi, Japan, on 18 October 2009. Now that would be a lot of bangs!

Local raw materials sourcing hits five-year low on insecurity

By

Henry Williams

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December 29, 2022

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The rise in insecurity and limited investments for local raw materials production in Nigeria is taking a toll on the local sourcing of raw materials by manufacturers in the country, BusinessDay analysis has shown.

Data obtained from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) showed that local sourcing of raw materials in the first half of this year was 52 percent, the lowest in five years.

Between 2017 and 2021, local sourcing of raw materials hovered between 53 percent and 60.72 percent. During the period under review, foreign exchange shortage, naira devaluation as well as the disruptions in global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis forced many manufacturers to look inwards for production inputs.

MAN said in its latest half-year report that the sector is generally faced with limited investment in domestic production of raw materials for utilisation in most of the sub-sectors owing to limited funding and policy incentives in the country.

“The basic industrial chemical sub-sector faced severe inactivity in the first six months of 2022 due to lack of domestic production of basic chemicals,” it said.

BusinessDay had recently reported that Grif, makers of aluminium drums, and Federated Steel Mills, makers of iron rods, exited Nigeria because they could not get annealed cold-rolled steel, which was its key raw material, causing the country to lose vital investments.

Economic experts and manufacturers told BusinessDay that issues around rising insecurity, unavailability of some materials and low product quality constitute setbacks for the anticipated 100 percent local sourcing of raw materials through partnership with local producers and backward integration activities.

Since the security situation became intense a few years ago, agricultural activities from which most fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms benefit from have been greatly impacted as farmers had to abandon their farmlands because of kidnapping, banditry, herder-farmer conflicts, terrorism and other forms of insecurity in major crops-producing states.

Over the years, insecurity in the country has increased significantly, especially in the northern part of the country, with data from the Global Terrorism Index showing that Nigeria is the third most terrorised country in the world, after Afghanistan and Iraq, with record terror-related deaths estimated at 1,245 in 2019 and 1,606 in 2020.

Data from the 2021 Economic Value of Peace report by the Institute for Economics and Peace show that the cost of violence in Nigeria from 2007 to 2019 was $1.34 trillion.

Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, told BusinessDay that insecurity in some parts of the country is posing a major threat to fostering local sourcing of raw material as well as the backward integration plan of the federal government despite huge investments made and the commitments of companies.

How It Is Celebrated: Christmas In Jamaica

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 29, 2022

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Christmas is a very special time in Jamaica and like a lot of other countries, radio stations play carols all through the Christmas period.

Lots of people paint their houses and hang new curtains and decorations for Christmas. Most families spend Christmas Day at home with friends and family members.

In Jamaica, on Christmas Eve the ‘Grand Market’ happens. It is a really exciting time, especially for children.

In every town and city there is a cross between a festival and a market. During the day, people go shopping for Christmas foods, sweets and toys, etc.

You might also buy some new clothes ready for the celebrations in the evening. (But you don’t want to spend all your money during the day as there were lots of great things to buy in the evening as well!)

Around 6.00pm the evening part of Grand Market starts and it lasts until the morning! Everyone comes out on their new or best clothes, including children, to celebrate and party all night.

All the streets, shops and many houses are decorated with lights. There are normally street vendors selling food like jerk chicken, boiled corn, and sweets like candy canes and sugarcane.

Following the Grand Market, some people will go to a Midnight Mass Church Service and others will party all night. Many people will also go to a Church Service on Christmas Day morning before the end of Grand Market.

The Christmas day meal is usually prepared on Christmas Eve. The Christmas Day breakfast includes ackee and saltfish, breadfruit, fried plantains, boiled bananas, freshly squeezed fruit juice and tea.

Dinner is usually served in the late afternoon and this may include turkey, chicken, curry goat, stewed oxtail and very importantly rice and peas.

Jamaican red wine and rum fruitcake is traditional and is eaten in most homes.

The fruits in the cake are soaked in red wine and white rum for months before Christmas.

Once Upon A Time – December 29 – 1860 – First British Seagoing Iron-Clad Warship, HMS Warrior Is Launched

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 29, 2022

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1835 Treaty of New Echota is signed between the US government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction to cede all lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States

1845 Texas admitted as 28th state of the Union

1903 French Equatorial Africa separates into Gabon, Chad and Ubangi-Shari

1911 Sun Yat-sen elected 1st President of the Republic of China

1997 Hong Kong begins slaughtering all its chickens to prevent bird flu

HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY EVENTS IN 2022

TODAY IN FILM & TV

1913 1st movie serial “Adventures of Kathlyn” premieres in Chicago

TODAY IN MUSIC

1902 Scot Joplin copyrights “The Entertainer” and several other piano rag compositions through the US Copyright Office

TODAY IN SPORT

1989 Wayne Gretzky and Martina Navratilova, named athletes of decade by the Associated Press

MORE FACTS…

1860 The first British seagoing iron-clad warship, HMS Warrior is launched

FAMOUS WEDDINGS

1941 Actress Maureen O’Hara (21) marries second husband director Will Price (28) (divorced 1953)

1954 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin (24) weds Joan Archer

1957 American singing duo Steve Lawrence (22) and Eydie Gormé (29) wed at the home of casino owner Beldon Katleman in Las Vegas

Inflationary environment is depriving investors of real returns

By

Henry Williams

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December 29, 2022

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Investors in the Nigerian equities market saw a roller coaster ride in 2022, with inflation taking the shine off their returns on their holdings.

Though the market looks set to close higher this year, considering its return of 16.36 percent as of December 23 compared to 6.7 percent in 2021, the country’s elevated inflationary environment is depriving investors of real returns.

The headline inflation rate quickened to a 17-year high of 21.47 percent in November from 15.63 percent at the end of last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Amid improved liquidity and new listings, the record gain in the stock market was driven majorly by domestic institutional and retail investors who reinforced the potential of Nigerian investors in stabilising and growing the market.

High inflation has historical correlation with lower returns on equities. While value stocks tend to perform better than growth stocks in high inflation periods, growth stocks tend to perform better during low inflation.

A combination of new listings and record rally in some stocks helped push the value of listed stocks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) up by N4.77 trillion in 2022 to N27.07 trillion. Listed stocks value had closed 2021 at N22.29 trillion.

The NGX All-Share Index rose to 49,706.09 basis points (bps) on December 23.

Notwithstanding the risks to equity market rally in 2022, Nigerian stocks are still attractive and should remain resilient in 2023, according to analysts.

President Buhari superintends over biggest debt accumulation in Nigeria’s history

By

Henry Williams

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December 29, 2022

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Nigeria’s public debt stock has soared again according to the latest official record that helps to take the debt burden to the top of the issues that will define the legacy of outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari who has superintended over the biggest debt accumulation in Nigeria’s history.

The Debt Management Office’s (DMO) latest quarterly data release on Nigeria’s debt stock shows that total public debt increased by around three percent q/q to NGN44.1trn or USD102bn as of September 2022. This does not include over N22trn in ways and means borrowing and which the government now seeks to convert to long-term bonds. The Senate has already rejected initial plans by the leadership of the upper house to stream roll this request.

The rising public debt stock continues to raise concerns about the nation’s debt sustainability, particularly in view of underperforming revenues.

The public debt burden of Africa’s most populous nation has been rising steadily, increasing by 16% on a y/y basis, government records indicate.

In terms of composition, the domestic and external debt components make up roughly 61% and 39% of the gross public debt respectively. This compares with the target split of 70% to 30% outlined in the DMO’s debt management strategy for 2020–2023.

A report by analysts at FBNQuest say based on 2021 GDP, the nation’s total debt stock has risen to around 25.4% of GDP compared with 24.7% as of Q2 ’22. Given the DMO’s public debt ceiling of 40%, the total public debt implies excess borrowing of NGN25.3trn above that limit.

The total public debt covers the external and domestic debt stock of the federal and state governments. In line with convention, it excludes sovereign debt owed by state-owned agencies like the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria and the FGN’s ways and means advances.

Negotiation: ASUU Accuses Gbajabiamila of Deceit

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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December 29, 2022

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The House of Representatives has berated the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, over his claim that the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, deceived the university lecturers into calling off their eight-month strike.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, stated that at no time did Gbajabiamila agree with ASUU that lecturers would be paid for the period they were on strike.

In the statement titled ‘House of Representatives response to Osodeke’s allegations of deception against Mr Speaker,’ Kalu pointed out that the Federal Government legitimately withheld the salaries for the period universities were shut down.

But Osodeke, in a recent interview insisted that ASUU called off its strike on October 14, 2022, due to a promissory letter signed by Gbajabiamila stating that a part of the union’s salary would be paid.

A copy of the promissory letter made available to and signed by Gbajabiamila, read partly, “After exhaustive deliberations, which necessitated several visits by Mr Speaker to the President, and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, the Honourable Speaker called for another meeting with officials of ASUU, on Monday, October 10, 2022.

“The meeting came to the following resolutions: the no-work-no-pay policy of the government remains a subsisting policy for all industrial actions, but the government will on the special ground concede ASUU to pay a part of its salaries during the strike period.”

In addition, Osodeke explained that the government made a special concession when they met with them, saying FG promised to pay part of our backlogs.

He added, “When Gbajabiamila wrote to us, he said the government would pay part of the money and it was based on the information that we called off the strike. And we have called off the strike for over two months now, yet, we have not received anything.

“How do you want our members to feel after we told them and showed them evidence that the Speaker promised to pay partly?’’

However, defending the speaker, Kalu faulted some of the claims made by the ASUU president in his recent media interview.

The statement read, “For the record, at no point did the Speaker of the House of Representatives commit to offset the arrears of salaries owed to union members for the time they were on strike.

“The House of Representatives helped resolve the strike by making commitments to improve the welfare package of university lecturers and revitalisation funds to improve the infrastructure and operations of federal universities.

“These commitments are reflected in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes N170,000,000,000.00) to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers and an additional N300,000,000,000.00 in revitalisation funds.”

Meanwhile, weighing in on the situation, the National Association of Nigerian Students Zone C has urged the Federal Government to honour its agreement with ASUU to prevent another industrial action.

The association also urged the government to place more emphasis on proper funding of the education sector.

It made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of its convention/election to elect new leadership that will spearhead its activities for one year, held at the College of Agriculture Science and Technology, Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The communique, which was signed by Kayode Adebayo and Muhammed Saba also urged federal and state governments to do more on funding security agencies to tackle security situations currently halting activities in the North Central and the nation at large.

Probiotics in Yoghurt may help curb bad breath – Study

By

Cleopatra Okohai

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December 29, 2022

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A new study by China-based researchers has indicated that probiotic bacteria in fermented foods like yoghurt and sourdough bread can help clear the plaque responsible for bad breath from the teeth and tongue.

Probiotics are healthy bacteria that live in the body, break down and absorb the nutrients from food and protect from harmful bacteria.

The researchers from Sichuan University in China, using meta-analysis of existing data, sought to establish if probiotics could expel proteins responsible for the foul odour like they do to bad bacteria.

According to a report, volatile sulphuric compounds are the major cause of persistent bad breath and occur when bacteria living on the tongue’s surface break down proteins too quickly and create a surplus of the smelly chemical.

The study involved 278 people in seven sub-study groups with some participants given probiotics while some were given a placebo as a treatment for bad breath.

The probiotics looked at for the study were: Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus reuteri, Streptococcus salivarius, and Weissella cibaria which were all in supplement forms.

“The number of participants in each study was small, ranging from 23 to 68, with an age range between 19 and 70. Monitoring periods spanned two to 12 weeks.

“Bad breath severity was determined by levels of the proteins responsible for it – volatile sulphuric compounds – detected in the mouth and on the tongue.

“The researchers also considered the plaque levels found on the tongue and teeth in certain studies, as this build-up is also responsible for bad breath,“.

From the study analysis published by BMJ Open – a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal, it was found that bad breath scores fell significantly in those given probiotics compared with those who were given a placebo.

“A similar result was observed for the levels of volatile sulphuric compounds detected, although these varied ‘substantially’ in the individual studies,” the analysis says.

It, however, noted that the effects were short-lived – up to four weeks – after which there was no noticeable difference, adding that “This means that a person must keep up with the supplements to maintain an odorless breath.”

Speaking, the author of the study, Dr. Longjiang Li, of Sichuan University in China, said, “Probiotics may inhibit the decomposition of amino acids and proteins by anaerobic bacteria in the mouth, thus curbing the production of smelly by-products.”

The researchers however acknowledged that the sample sizes of the study were small, adding that some of the data were incomplete to make conclusions.

To this, Dr. Li added that “more high-quality randomised clinical trials are required in the future to verify the results and to provide evidence for the efficacy of probiotics in the management of halitosis.”