Titanic Tourist Submersible Goes Missing With Limited Breathable Air

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June 21, 2023

A massive search and rescue operation is underway in the mid-Atlantic after a tourist submarine went missing during a dive to Titanic’s wreck on Sunday.

Contact with the small sub was lost an hour and 45 minutes into its dive, the US Coast Guard said.

Tour firm OceanGate said all options were being explored to rescue the five people onboard.

Tickets cost $250,000 (£195,000) for an eight-day trip including dives to the wreck at a depth of 3,800m (12,500ft)

Officials said, Government agencies, the US and Canadian navies and commercial deep-sea firms are helping the rescue operation.

Titanic’s wreck lies some 435 miles (700km) south of St John’s, Newfoundland, though the rescue mission is being run from Boston, Massachusetts.

The missing craft is believed to be OceanGate’s Titan submersible, a truck-sized sub that holds five people and usually dives with a four-day emergency supply of oxygen.

As of Monday afternoon, Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard told a news conference: “We anticipate there is somewhere between 70 and the full 96 hours available at this point.”

He also said that two aircraft, a submarine and sonar buoys were involved in the search for the vessel but noted the area in which the search is taking place was “remote”, making operations difficult.

Rear Adm Mauger said the rescue teams were “taking this personally” and were doing everything they could to bring those on board home safely.

Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old British billionaire businessman and explorer, is among those on the missing submarine.

Over the weekend, Harding posted on social media that he was proud to finally announce that he would be aboard the mission to the wreck of the Titanic – but added that because of the “worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023”.

He later wrote: “A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.”

OceanGate said its “entire focus [was] on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families”.

“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible,” it added.

The company billed the eight-day trip on its carbon-fibre submersible as a “chance to step outside of everyday life and discover something truly extraordinary”.

The submersible usually carries a pilot, three paying guests, and what the company calls a “content expert”.

According to its website, two more have been planned for June 2024.

TINUBU, SHETTIMA, Judges, Elected Politicians To Get 114% Salary Raise

By

faith Jegede

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June 21, 2023

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Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Muhammad Shehu, says the salaries of politicians, judicial and public office holders will be increased by 114%.

Shehu spoke while presenting the reports of the reviewed remuneration package to Nasir Idris, governor of Kebbi.

The RMAFC chairman, represented by Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, federal commissioner, said the implementation of the reviewed remuneration packages was effective from January 1, 2023.

He said the move was in accordance with the provision of paragraph 32(d) of part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 constitution of the federal government (as amended).

He asked the House of assembly to move quickly on the amendment of relevant laws to pave the way for upward review of income packages for political, judicial and public officers.

He said the last remuneration review was conducted in 2007, adding that it culminated in the “certain political, public and judicial office holders (salaries and allowances, etc) (Amendment) Act, 2008”.

According to Shehu “It empowers the revenue mobilization, allocation and fiscal commission to determine the remuneration appropriate for political office holders, including the president, vice-president, governors, deputy governors, ministers, commissioners, special advisers, legislators and the holders of the offices mentioned in sections 84 and 124 of the constitution of the federal government,”

“Sixteen years after the last review, it is imperative that the remuneration packages for the categories of the office holders mentioned in relevant sections of the 1999 constitution (as amended) should be reviewed.

“Pursuant to the above, your excellency may please recall that on Wednesday, 1st February 2023, the commission held a one-day zonal public hearing on the review of the remuneration package simultaneously in all the six (6) geo-political zones of the country.

“The aim of the exercise was to harvest inputs/ideas from a broad spectrum of stakeholders.”

He said the commission has objectively and subjectively reviewed the salary packages in the reports, adding that it adheres to the rules of equity and fairness, risk and responsibilities, and national order of precedence among others.

Al Ittihad Signs N’Golo Kante From Chelsea

By

Emenike Agu

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June 21, 2023

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France’s World Cup-winning midfielder N’Golo Kante has joined Saudi Arabian champions Al Ittihad, the club said in a statement, joining up with compatriot Karim Benzema.

“Kante is an Ittihad player now!” the club said in a statement on Twitter, while chairman Anmar al-Hailee tweeted: “Welcome to our new tiger Kante,” a reference to the team’s nickname.

The industrious midfielder, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, becomes the latest in a line of European stars choosing to ply their trade in Saudi Arabia.

His club career also glitters. He won the Champions League and World Club Cup with Chelsea, as well as back-to-back Premier League titles with Leicester City and Chelsea.

“Kante has signed a three-year contract with the club,” the Jeddah-based team said in a statement that offered no details on the contract’s monetary value.

“Kante’s addition to Al-Ittihad is considered one of the most high-profile and impactful signings in the club’s history. It is part of the club’s efforts to establish itself as a top choice for world-class players in the Saudi Professional League.”

The 32-year-old’s arrival follows that of former Real Madrid star Benzema, who joined Al-Ittihad earlier this month.

The kingdom’s league had already signed up Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in January.

His fellow Portuguese international Ruben Neves, formerly of Wolves, is reportedly set to join Al Hilal.

With its oil riches, Saudi Arabia, the conservative Gulf monarchy frequently targeted over its human rights record, has swiftly achieved a prominent role in world sports, dishing out billions of dollars in the process.

In football, the presumed goal is hosting the World Cup, which is intended to lift Saudi Arabia’s profile and prestige as it tries to diversify its oil-reliant economy by attracting tourists and investors.

In the coming years, Saudi Arabia will organise the men’s Asian Cup football, the Olympic-style Asian Games and even the Asian Winter Games in 2029.

Naira Plunges To New Low On Investors And Exporters Window

By

Elizabeth Williams

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June 21, 2023

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Nigeria’s Local currency The Naira, on the start of the week plunged to its lowest rate ever against the United States dollar on the Investors and Exporters (I&E) to trade at N770.38 per dollar after gaining ground last Friday.

The decline happened less than 24 hours after Nigeria’s Central Bank announced the removal of cash deposit limitations on domiciliary accounts, granting account holders the liberty to withdraw up to $10,000 per day.

Data posted on the FMDQ securities exchange window where forex is officially traded showed that the naira commenced the day’s trading at N703.50, hitting an intraday low of N799.00 and a high of N461.00 before it eventually closed at N770.38 per $1.

On Monday, $78.03 million was recorded as foreign exchange supplied within the trading period.

This represents a N107.34 or 16.20 per cent decline from N663.04 per dollar; the domestic unit exchanged on the I & E window in the previous session last Friday.

However, the naira traded at a stronger rate on the parallel market as against the official window on Monday.

The naira was exchanged within the range of N751.00 and N752.00 per dollar at the parallel market on Monday, currency dealers said.

This development leaves the spread between the official and unofficial markets at 2.52per cent on Monday with a margin of N18.38/N19.38.

Chelsea Sign £63m Nkunku From Leipzig

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Emenike Agu

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June 21, 2023

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Chelsea sealed their swoop for France forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig in a deal worth a reported £63 million ($80 million).

Nkunku had already agreed a pre-contract with the Premier League club in December and has now rubber-stamped his move to Stamford Bridge.

The 25-year-old has put pen to paper on a lucrative six-year contract with the Blues, who are embarking on a close-season overhaul as they look to bounce back from a dismal campaign.

“Chelsea is delighted to announce Christopher Nkunku will join the club from RB Leipzig ahead of the 2023/24 season,” a statement on the Blues’ website said.

Nkunku is one of the rising stars of European football and scored 23 goals in 36 games for Leipzig last season.

He is the first major signing since Mauricio Pochettino was confirmed as Chelsea’s new manager at the end of May.

“I am incredibly happy to be joining Chelsea. A big effort was made to bring me to the club,” Nkunku said.

“I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and team-mates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch.”

Nkunku, a graduate of the famed French national football academy at Clairefontaine, spent four years at Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Leipzig in 2019.

He made his name with the German club and was voted Bundesliga player of the season in 2021-22 after scoring 20 goals and providing 15 assists in the league.

The versatile forward bagged a further 23 goals this season to help Leipzig secure a third-place finish in the Bundesliga and scored in their German Cup final win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Williams Gets to play at Wimbledon 2023

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Emenike Agu

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June 21, 2023

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Venus Williams is set to make her 24th appearance in the singles draw at Wimbledon after the 43-year-old American was given a wild-card entry on Wednesday.

Williams is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and was a finalist at the grass-court major in 2017, two decades after her debut at the All England Club.

Ranked 697th, Williams beat 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) on Monday at the Birmingham Classic. It was her first victory over a player in the top 50 in nearly four years.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion next plays Jelena Ostapenko at the Wimbledon warm-up event.

Williams’ younger sister Serena is a seven-time Wimbledon champion. Serena Williams lost in the first round at last year’s tournament and soon after announced her decision to step away from tennis.

Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina and British players Heather Watson and Katie Boulter were also given wild cards for the women’s draw. David Goffin, a Belgian who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2019 and 2022, was among of the men given wild cards.

Wimbledon begins on July 3.

Lionel Messi to make Inter Miami Debut In July

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Emenike Agu

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June 21, 2023

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Lionel Messi is expected to make his Major League Soccer debut with Inter Miami at a July 21 home game.

Owner Jorge Mas told selected outlets on Monday that his club and Messi have agreed to terms and are finalizing paperwork and a visa. The team confirmed certain details Tuesday to The Associated Press, including that Messi will be signing a contract through the end of the 2025 season with an option for 2026.

Messi’s contract will be worth $50 million to $60 million per year, the team said Tuesday. He cannot sign until sometime in July, after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires.

Messi, 35, announced on June 7 that he was joining Miami. The Argentinian great’s first game in Fort Lauderdale would be against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.

The team also confirmed Tuesday that it is increasing capacity at DRV PNK Stadium by 3,000 to 3,200 seats in the next four weeks by filling in the corners, raising capacity to about 22,000.

Miami also is finalizing a contract with midfielder Sergio Busquets, Messi’s former Barcelona teammate, the Herald said, citing a league source.

Mas also said he hopes to start construction during the next two weeks on Miami Freedom Park, the team’s long-term home near Miami International Airport, and is targeting to have the venue open in the summer or fall of 2025, the Herald reported.

Miami plans to enhance security, bussing players into the stadium for games, Mas said.

Paris 2024 Olympics Marred by Corruption scandal

By

Emenike Agu

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June 21, 2023

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French police searched the Paris Olympic organizers’ headquarters on Tuesday as part of corruption investigations into contracts linked to the Games, according to prosecutors, the third straight time graft allegations have dogged a Summer Olympics.

The Paris organizing committee said in a statement that a search was carried out at its headquarters in the suburb of Saint-Denis and it was cooperating with investigators. It defended what it called “stringent procedures” around several hundred contracts it has awarded for the Games.

Tuesday’s search and other related raids were linked to two preliminary investigations of the Paris Olympics, according to an official with the financial prosecutor’s office, who was not authorized to be publicly named according to office policy. One probe was opened in 2017 — the year Paris was picked by the International Olympic Committee as the 2024 host — and the other began last year.

Corruption allegations have hung over the world’s biggest sporting event many times — from accusations surrounding how the Games were awarded to how contracts for construction, sponsorship and team services were handed out.

Accusations of vote buying linked to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the Tokyo Games in 2021 led to the removal of several members of the IOC. Scandals around the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games led to reforms that limited IOC members’ contact with candidate countries, though did not entirely remove the scope for corruption.

But Paris 2024 had gone to lengths to prove it would be different. The biggest event France is hosting in decades, the Games are being billed as a celebration of openness after two Olympics closed off by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as an example of democratic celebration after two World Cups tainted by human rights concerns in Qatar and Russia.

The organizers and Paris city hall have stressed a spirit of transparency and social justice — including planning an opening ceremony outdoors along the Seine River that will be free for up to half a million people. The Games are scheduled for July 26-Aug. 11, 2024.

IMF Backs Global Central Bank-backed Digital Currency Network

By

faith Jegede

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June 21, 2023

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is actively developing a global platform for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are digital currencies controlled by central banks.

During a conference attended by African central banks in Rabat, Morocco, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva emphasized the need for interoperability between countries stating that CBDCs should transcend national boundaries and not remain fragmented propositions within individual countries.

To achieve this, she said that the IMF has been working towards a common regulatory framework that will enable seamless global interoperability for CBDCs. Failure to establish such a platform could create a void that cryptocurrencies will likely fill, she added.

Georgieva highlighted that 114 central banks worldwide are already exploring CBDCs, with approximately 10 having made substantial progress in their implementation.

She also stressed that the potential of CBDCs would be underutilized if they were solely developed for domestic use. By connecting countries and facilitating cross-border transactions, she claimed that CBDCs could enhance financial inclusion and reduce the costs of remittances.

Currently, the average cost of money transfers amounts to 6.3 per cent, equivalent to $44 billion annually.

Bragging about their progress, the rise in CBDC exploration has gone from 35 countries in May of 2020 to 114 countries—representing over 95 per cent of global GDP—actively considering or advancing CBDC projects.

The imposition of financial sanctions on Russia has spurred countries to seek alternative payment systems that circumvent the dominance of the U.S. dollar.

However, the implementation of CBDC that transcend boundaries and bring about global interoperability will expose countries to international pressure and regulation.

One of the many concerns for the implementation of CBDCs is that they would undoubtedly lead to increased surveillance of financial transactions, which already raises privacy and security concerns. Additionally, the implementation of CBDCs would be costly and complex, with many risks associated with the integration of CBDCs into existing payment systems, especially with developing nations who are the target of this campaign.

Whoever controls the global financial system would have unfettered access to whatever data the central banks of nations collect.

With increasing security and privacy concerns, and increasing distrust across borders, many continue to wonder if global CBDCs are the way to go.

Exploring Nigeria’s Home Grown Coffee Culture

By

Zoe Maven

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June 21, 2023

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Africa’s Coffee culture is certainly growing and evolving from the place where coffee is merely used as a stimulant to keep awake to a place where coffee is skillfully brewed and savoured.

That’s why I was particularly excited when I got the privilege to speak with and spend some time with Princess Adeyinka Tekena, who is the founder of Happy Coffee, a Nigerian brand that promotes domestically grown coffee.

She is one of those who are passionate about growing and promoting Home-grown Coffee in Africa and specifically in Nigeria.

What is the future of Nigerian coffee and how quickly is Coffee culture evolving…?…

When it comes to drinking Coffee, Nigerians aren’t so much into it as as a hot beverage as they are in other parts of the world. We are mostly drinkers of Tea and Cocoa.

For the year 2023 it was forecasted that 40% of all Nigeria’s non-alcoholic drink expenditure will go towards both these products.

In contrast, coffee was to account for only 2.5%, even though the retail value of coffee has nearly tripled since 2010 to $28 million in 2019.

That being said, Instant Coffee products currently dominate the Nigerian market.

According to Industry analysts, about 75% of Nigerian coffee consumers drink Nescafé instant coffee amongst other less popular brands. This is often bought from roadside kiosks, or the supermarkets for home use.

But this too is gradually changing….

Our first stop was at the Happy Coffee Roastery where the Coffee Bean Magic happens. But first of all, we wanted to get to know Princess Adeyinka, Founder and CEO of Happy Coffee… what inspired her to take this route and how far she is taking this venture.

She recounted her experience and how she got started being vitally involved in the Homegrown Coffee value chain.

Nigeria has been ranked 98th within the group of 144 countries we follow in terms of interest rate on total coffee consumption.

Roughly 90% of Nigeria’s coffee is of the Robusta type which is also mostly grown in the Mambilla Plateau of Sardauna. Sadly it is not a main resource for Export and has also reduced drastically in recent time.

Prince Yinka says 20 states in Nigeria are currently growing coffee and many of the farms in these areas have combined their resources and work together in hopes of making a profit from a dying resource in their area.

That being said, there is a growing Nigerian demand for freshly brewed coffee, especially among the young middle class and the well-traveled.

Coffee consumption in Nigeria rose by more than 20% between 2010 and 2015. In 2020, Euromonitor predicted that Nigerians would drink more than 1,000 tons of coffee in 2020, about 23% higher than the previous year.

Next we spoke with Ifeoma Arua who is a Barrista and also Happy Coffee’s Consumer Experience and Retail Team Lead. She took the time to tell us and of course show us how exactly things work at the Rostery…the entire process…

Probably the most important tool within a coffee roastery is the roaster itself. These machines are designed to take the green coffee beans through the various stages of roasting, until they are ready to be packaged or ground. In many cases, roasteries are very small scale, located within a restaurant, coffee bar, or even the home as was in this case.

Having taken us through that process, Ifeoma then proceeded to brew us a hot cup of Coffee which we straight away began to savour…

The very next day we drove up the Happy Coffee experience Centre in Victoria Island Lagos…. This is where people would come to get and sometimes even brew by themselves a cup of hot steaming Coffee or Cocoa. I was already past noon, so there weren’t many people there.

Regardless, Ifeoma Arua, Happy Coffee’s Consumer Experience and Retail Team Lead was very welcoming as she showed us what happens there. She also answered all our questions…

Then it was time to say Goodbye… we had earned a lot, our perception on homegrown coffee had completely changed. We had more appreciation for the entire process and the Coffee production value Chain.

{Written By Zoe Okafor}