Nicola Sturgeon was pictured writing the letter requesting a second Scottish referendum (Picture: Scottish Government)Nicola Sturgeon has written a letter to Theresa May formally requesting a second Scottish Independence referendum.
The First Minister was pictured sat on the sofa at her Bute House
residence as she completed the Section 30 letter on Thursday evening.
It comes after Scottish MSPs voted by 69 to 598 in favour of seeking
permission for an independence referendum to take place between autumn
2018 and spring 2019.
The Scottish leader said the mandate for another vote was now ‘beyond
question’ and said it would be ‘democratically indefensible and utterly
unsustainable’ to stand in the way.
However, Scottish Secretary David Mundell has said the UK Government would decline the request.
The Scottish Government tweeted out the picture of the First Minister earlier today.
Brazilian
players celebrate at the end of their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier
football match against Paraguay in Sao Paulo, Brazil on March 28,
2017. NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP
Brazil became the first country to qualify for next year’s World Cup
in Russia thanks to some help from fellow South Americans Peru.
Neymar starred with his 52nd international goal as high-flying Brazil
overcame Paraguay 3-0 on Tuesday but the CONMEBOL leaders still needed a
favourable result in Peru.
And Tite’s men – amid a nine-game winning streak since last year’s
Copa America Centenario – benefited from Peru’s 2-1 win at home to
struggling Uruguay as the five-time world champions are assured of at
least a fourth-place finish, officially stamping their ticket to Russia
2018.
Peru’s victory, while keeping their own qualification hopes alive, left third-placed Uruguay 10 points adrift.
With four rounds remaining, Brazil are 11 points clear of Argentina –
who are fifth and occupy the play-off spot and will face Uruguay in
August.
Brazil are back in qualifying action against Ecuador in the same month.
www.Soccerway.com in Guardian
Aurora Genai Sheffel was killed while at the beach with friends (Picture: Facebook)A high school cheerleader died while taking selfies when the
log she was standing on rolled over and trapped her underneath the
water.
Aurora Genai Sheffel, 14, from Oregon, was posing with her friends at the South Jetty Park Beach on spring break.
But the timber began to move in the surf and the teenager became
stuck while her two friends managed to leap to safety, according to
authorities.
She was eventually freed from the heavy piece of wood and given CPR but died later in hospital, reports Register Guard.
Aurora’s stepfather, David Wederquist, said she had just become a
cheerleader for North Eugene High School and was out celebrating on
Saturday.
She was out celebrating becoming a cheerleader at her high school (Picture: Facebook)
‘She was just a great kid; you couldn’t ask for one better. She was
really mostly a nerd, straight As. But she thought she’d give
cheerleading a try,’ he said.
Sgt Kyle Hove of the Oregon State Police said Aurora and her friends were just ‘taking pictures and posing’ at the time.
‘The tide was receding
heavily. Bystanders were able to pull her out from under the log and
call for help about 4pm Saturday,’ he said.
‘A Bandon police officer
administered CPR, and paramedics attempted lifesaving measures, but
Sheffel died at Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center in Bandon soon
afterward.’
Her stepfather described her as a ‘great kid’ (Picture: GoFundMe)
He added that timber can become so waterlogged over time making it heavier and unstable in the tide.
The North Eugene Cheerleading have called her death a ‘terrible and unexpected tragedy.’
A statement read: ‘She was only a freshman
but was already such an amazing person and cheerleader. Aurora was a
happy person and her excitement for life was truly contagious. You
couldn’t help but smile when you were around her. She was a great big
sister and she loved loved loved her little ones.’
A GoFundMe page was set up by Aurora’s aunt, Kayli Keyes, and has already raised more than $9,000 (£7,200) to help cover funeral costs.
Kayli wrote: ‘Thank you so much for your
generosity in our family’s time of need. My brother and sister-in-law
are grieving so deeply and not having to worry about final expenses
during this time is truly a blessing.’
Around
5.8million people could now have to graft until they are at least 68 -
while those aged 30 and younger could be 70 before they draw their
pension
Recommendation to withdraw the triple lock in 2020, will be a blow to existing and future pensioners (Photo: Getty)
Millions of workers face slogging for an extra year under plans to bring forward a hike in the retirement age.
A Government-commissioned review
also recommends axing the “triple lock” which sees pensions rise by
either inflation, average earnings or 2.5%, whichever is highest.
Ministers were going to lift the age at which people can receive the state pension from 67 to 68 April 2046.
But the report by ex-business chief John Cridland recommends introducing the overhaul in 2037 - nine years earlier.
The
move would delay retirement for millions of employees and see them
forced to graft for an extra 12 months before they can claim state
pension.
Millions of workers face working for much longer (Photo: Getty) The independent report, which is being considered by
ministers, also crushes the hopes of manual workers that they would be
able to receive their pensions before their white-collar equivalents in
middle-class jobs.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady
said: “Hiking up the state pension age will hit low paid workers the
hardest, and it will punish those who become too sick to work.
“Ending
the triple lock while driving up state pension age would be a stealth
cut to the future incomes of workers who are today in their 30s and 40s.
“There
is a 20-year gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and
poorest. These changes risk only the wealthy enjoying a decent
retirement.”
People face working for an extra nine years (Photo: Getty) Pensions Secretary Damian Green
said: “Reviewing the State Pension age during each Parliament is part
of our commitment to creating a fairer society, helping to ensure that
it is sustainable for future generations.
“As Government goes
about making its decision on the future State Pension age in May of this
year these contributions and recommendations will provide important
insight.”
The report also recommends a mid-life ‘MOT’ for people
to take stock of their lives and a drive for older workers to become
apprenticeship mentors and trainers.
If the government takes up the recommendations, people in their 40s face their state pension age being pushed back a year.
Those in their 30s and younger may eventually face the possibility of drawing their pension at 70.
Frances O'Grady has slammed the plans (Photo: Daily Mirror) The state pension age is already due to go up in stages, with a rise to 67 by 2028.
The next increase to 68 had not been due to happen until between 2044 and 2046.
But the latest report recommends this happening earlier to ensure pensions can remain financially sustainable.
The government will use the report to inform its review of the pension age in May.
The
Government Actuary’s Department has been asked to consider two
alternative scenarios for the state pension age, reflecting someone
spending either 32% or 33.3% of their projected adult life in
retirement.
Under a 32% scenario, it found the state pension age
could rise to 69 between 2040 and 2042. Under a 33.3% scenario the state
pension age could rise to 69 between 2053 and 2055.
Mr Cridland’s report said the state pension is a “pay as you go” system - meaning today’s workers pay for today’s pensioners.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Damian Green (Photo: Rex) Today, there are 305 pensioners for every thousand people
of working age. By the time people approach retirement nearing 2050,
there will be 357 pensioners for every thousand people of working age.
Nearly £100 billion per year is currently spent by the Government on the state pension and pensioner benefits.
Projections
suggest an additional 1% of GDP will need to be spent on the state
pension by 2036-37. The report said if the same rise in spending was
faced today, this would be equivalent to a rise in taxation of £725 per
household per year.
Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at
Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “This report is going to be particularly
unwelcome for anyone in their early 40s, as they’re now likely to see
their state pension age pushed back another year.
“For those in
their 30s and younger, it reinforces the expectation of a state pension
from age 70, which means an extra two years of work. This report also
looks like the death-knell for the state pension triple lock.”
Says upper chamber’s position on acting EFCC chairman vindicated
Damilola Oyedele
The Senate said saturday that its
rejection of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission had been further justified by a leaked
report of the Department of State Services, which indicted Magu for
criminal and unprofessional conducts.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (Niger North),
stated this, in the upper chamber’s first formal reaction to Friday’s
leakage of a DSS report on Magu that had been sent to the Attorney
General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami.
Abdullahi said in a statement yesterday that the report had proved that
the Senate was right in its decision not to confirm Magu’s appointment
as chairman of EFCC by President Muhammadu Buhari. The senate spokesman
stated that while the initial report of the DSS, dated October 3, 2016,
which was sent to the Senate, tried to give Magu a soft landing, the
fresh report, dated December 19, 2016, that was disclosed to the media
on Friday by an unnamed source, was more damaging.
Abdullahi stated, “Following several
calls made to me today by journalists seeking my comments on the leaked
report on Mr. Ibrahim Magu, which was more damning than the one
submitted to us, I can only say that I and my colleagues have been
vindicated.
“From that report, which is now public,
it is obvious the director-general of SSS (State Security Service) even
tried to give Magu soft landing in the report that was sent to the
Senate. The recent report is messier and shows that our decision not to
confirm his nomination was right. We, therefore, call on all Nigerians
to continue to have full confidence and trust on the Nigerian Senate, as
it discharges its responsibilities according to the letter and spirit
of the Nigerian constitution.”
Magu, the fourth chief executive of
EFCC, assumed office on November 9 last year as acting chairman of the
agency following his appointed two days earlier by Buhari to succeed
Ibrahim Lamorde. But the Senate declined to confirm Magu as substantive
chairman of EFCC on December 15 last year based on an incriminating
report by the DSS. However, he was presented again to the upper chamber
in January after an alleged executive inquest absolved him of
wrongdoing. Magu was rejected for the second time by the Senate on March
15 during its confirmation hearing, with some senators alleging that he
cannot be considered again by the upper chamber, going by its rules.
The latest report, signed by one
Folashade Bello on behalf of the director-general of DSS, Mr. Lawal
Daura, portrayed Magu as tainted and unfit to head the anti-graft body.
It referred to indictments of the EFCC boss by disciplinary authorities
and his alleged illegal sharing of classified materials. One of the key
references was with regard to minutes of the 20th plenary meeting of the
Police Service Commission on December20, 2010, chaired by Mr. Parry
Osayande, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, who was then
chairman of the commission. “The minutes indicate that Magu was indicted
after a disciplinary process and awarded Severe Reprimand for, ‘Action
prejudicial to state security, withholding of EFFC files, sabotage,
unauthorised removal of EFCC files, and acts unbecoming of a police
officer,’” the report noted, adding, “It is worthy to note here that
Severe Reprimand is the second highest punishment to be given to an
erring officer, other than compulsory retirement or dismissal from
service.”
The report also made reference to a
confessional statement by Air Commodore Mohammmed Umar (rtd), who is
being prosecuted by EFCC for alleged corrupt practices, which “affirms
his ownership of Valcour S.A Nigeria Limited, a company awarded the
contract of securing and furnishing an official residence for Ibrahim
Magu by the FCTA. Investigation revealed that this was facilitated after
Magu was earlier shown the residence by one Uche Aleka, a close
business associate of Umar, who was introduced to Magu by the former.”
The DSS report mentioned an alleged
forged memo that supposedly originated from the vice president’s office
and addressed to the president, which was recovered from Umar’s private
residence during a search. The document requested approval to commence
further investigation into the financial activities of the Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu.
Other incriminating revelations in the DSS report include, “A copy of
progress report with reference number SH/ COS/ 24/ A/ 7277 dated 25th
May, 2016 on NNPC/ NLG Brass Investment Accounts in Nigerian commercial
banks from Chief of Staff to Mr. President, Abba Kyari to the acting
EFCC chairman. The letter is an official/classified document of the
EFCC, which was duly received by the commission as indicated by the
stamp on the document. However, it was recovered at Umar’s residence.
“Photocopies of managers’ cheques of
First Bank PLC and Zenith Bank PLC, issued in favour of EFCC Recovery
Funds Account on 13/05/2016 and 16/65/2016, respectively. These are all
sensitive official documents of the EFCC found in Umar’s residence
during the search.
“A classified letter from the Office of
the National Security Adviser to the EFCC chairman titled Re: Request to
Freeze Accounts Messers Bebey: Merchant Ltd and 20 others, dated 7th
March, 2016. This document was also duly received by EFCC but found in
Commodore Umar’s house during the search.
“A document which emanated from Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation and addressed to the EFCC chairman on
6th May, 2016 with the subject, Re: Stop Debit Order on all NNPC
Accounts and Subsidiaries- A case for Joint Venture and NNPC Pension
Funds Accounts. The document was recovered at Umar’s residence.
“NNPC letter, GED/ F86A/ 08.26, dated 5th May, 2016, addressed to the
EFCC chairman and titled Re: Stop Debit Order on all NNPC Accounts and
Subsidiaries. This was also discovered during the search of Umar’s
residence.
“A copy of NNPC correspondence with
reference number GED/ F86A/ 08.26 dated May 5th, 2016 and titled Re:
Stop Debit Order on all NNPC Accounts and Subsidiaries- Transfer of FCT
Balances to NNPC’s TSA Accounts, addressed to the EFCC chairman. The
document was found in Umar’s residence.
“A copy of an NNPC letter with reference number GED/ F&A/ 08.26
dated May 5th, 2016 and titled Re: Stop Debit on all NNPC Accounts and
Subsidiaries- Critical Accounts for immediate operations to the EFCC
chairman. The document was also recovered during the search of Umar’s
house.
“Copy of confessional statement by Umar
to the Service stating that his trip to Maiduguri for condolence visit
to Ibrahim Magu, sequel to the loss of a close relative, was made on
behalf of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Arms Purchase. Cross
examination of the chairman of the committee, AVM John Ode (rtd)
revealed that the committee did not send any of its members on such an
assignment. The visit of Umar to Magu is therefore assessed as an
expression of their close sinister relationship at the detriment of
national security interests.”
The DSS report concluded, “An officer appointed as acting chairman of
EFCC should by all means be one of impeccable credentials, with proven
integrity and capacity to lead the nation’s fight against graft in high
and low places. Thus far, it is evident from Magu’s antecedents that he
is by no means that kind of officer.
“His relationship with Umar Mohammed,
which involved disclosure of very sensitive and classified official
documents in his possession, shows lack of professionalism and assails
his integrity. More so, for an officer who was indicted and nearly
dismissed six years ago, to again be involved in similar circumstances,
it is clear that Magu is a perennial offender and cannot change.”
DSS also alleged, “Magu exhibited a total lack of judgment where it
matters most. He accepted to move into a tastily furnished accommodation
without any scrutiny of how it was furnished. This is curious and
speaks volumes about his personality.
“The recovery of sensitive and
classified documents from the residence of Umar further underlays his
close affinity to Magu and an apparent penchant for sabotaging official
processes and administrative protocols, just to further the latter’s
personal material and pecuniary agenda. Such mutually beneficial
relationships as with Umar, who by his confession, approaches ‘clients’
for possible exploitation, favours and associated returns is
unprecedented and very damning for an anti-graft top official. It has
exposed Magu as a fraudulent officer and betrays the high confidence
reposed in him by Mr. President.
“A further demonstration of Magu’s
questionable credibility as an untainted anti-corruption official is his
failed bid to settle personal scores with one Stanley Inye Lawson by
placing him on Security Watch Action. It was however discovered that
Lawson was actually working in the interest of the Federal Government
and the action was subsequently expunged.
“This reinforces the view that Magu may continue to exploit his official
position, if confirmed as EFCC chairman, and indulge in other
unprofessional and criminal conducts for personal aggrandisement
contrary to his oath of office.”
Efforts by THISDAY on Saturday to get
EFCC’s response to the leaked DSS report were futile as calls made to
the telephone line of the commission’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, did
not go through.
