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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Palestinian Government and India on Tuesday discussed the stalled Middle East peace process even as the two sides signed pacts to boost bilateral ties. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held delegation-level talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which Modi said “must be addressed through sustained political dialogue and peaceful means”. “India hopes for early resumption of talks between Palestinian and Israeli sides to move toward finding a comprehensive resolution,” Modi said alongside Abbas. Five agreements covering agricultural cooperation, information technology and electronics, health and youth affairs and sports were signed after the talks. Abbas’ visit is a diplomatic balancing act for India. Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has been pushing for stronger ties with Israel, which could ha...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Lagos – Mr Andreas Blom, a Task Team Leader with the World Bank Academic Centre of Excellence, says Nigeria has strong Universities that do not enjoy international recognition. Blom disclosed this at the Opening of the 7th Regional Project Workshop of Excellence (ACE) on Tuesday in Lagos. The two-day workshop opened on May 16, to end on May 18. ACE is a World Bank Project for African Universities with a focus on Agriculture, Health, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. According to Blom, the project is meant to give the nation’s tertiary institutions a facelift, so that they could become internationally-recognised. “Nigeria is the biggest country in African and has ten centres out of the twenty-two centres in Africa. “The country has strong universities but they are not well-recognised internationally. “So the quality needs to be raised with the assistance of the ongoing programme,’’ he said. Blom noted that Nigerians spent huge funds on educa...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday restated that Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) had no business staying on Lagos roads. “Let me reiterate that vehicle inspection officers have been asked to stay off our roads permanently,’’ he affirmed. Ambode also warned operatives of the Federal Road Safety Commission to henceforth, stay only on fringes of highways, rather than on main Lagos streets. “It has become evident that these agencies contribute to the traffic challenges on our roads,’’ the governor announced at a ceremony to inaugurate pedestrian bridges, lay-bys and slip roads at Ojodu-Berger, near Lagos. “We will employ technology to track and monitor vehicle registration and Ministry of Transport (MOT) certifications,” he restated. The pedestrian bridge inaugurated by the governor is 98 metres long with 150 metres of lay-bys on both sides of the expressway. The bridge on Ogunnusi Road has two multi-bay bus parks with public toilets. According ...

http://ift.tt/2pC3uyh Former Adamawa governor, Murtala Nyako The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday adjourned until May 17, the ongoing trial of former Adamawa governor, Murtala Nyako to enable the prosecution serve the defence some documents. The documents in question are payment vouchers , between 2008 to 2014, which the prosecution applied to tender in evidence through Mr Adamu Digil, the 10th prosecution witness. While leading the witness in evidence, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), sought to tender the vouchers as exhibits, but the defence team objected on the grounds that they needed time to study the documents. Counsel to Nyako, Mr Kanu Agabi (SAN), said that the documents were too voluminous and it would only be in the interest of justice to allow all the defence counsel to peruse the documents before tendering them. The judge, Justice Okon Abang, adjourned the matter until May 17 to enable the prosecution serve the defence and for the continuati...