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http://ift.tt/2rXLETi British Prime Minister Theresa May/ AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS Theresa May British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to name the rest of her cabinet on Saturday after a crushing election setback, just days before Brexit talks begin. Members of her Conservative party have warned May her days are numbered after calling Thursday’s vote three years early, only to lose her parliamentary majority. But senior figures also cautioned against an immediate leadership election, as the government prepares to start talks on leaving the European Union around June 19. May announced Friday she would seek to form a minority government with the help of a small Northern Irish party, the pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). She failed to express contrition for her gamble that spectacularly backfired, but newspaper headlines reflected the sense that she has been deeply wounded. “May fights to remain PM,” headlined the Conservative-supporting Daily Telegra...

http://ift.tt/2rXLETi British Prime Minister Theresa May/ AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS Theresa May British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to name the rest of her cabinet on Saturday after a crushing election setback, just days before Brexit talks begin. Members of her Conservative party have warned May her days are numbered after calling Thursday’s vote three years early, only to lose her parliamentary majority. But senior figures also cautioned against an immediate leadership election, as the government prepares to start talks on leaving the European Union around June 19. May announced Friday she would seek to form a minority government with the help of a small Northern Irish party, the pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). She failed to express contrition for her gamble that spectacularly backfired, but newspaper headlines reflected the sense that she has been deeply wounded. “May fights to remain PM,” headlined the Conservative-supporting Daily Telegra...

http://ift.tt/2qPBNig The oil and gas sector, which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, is dominated by multinational companies. The sector has contributed to the influx of foreign nationals over the years, who are required to provide special skills for the development of businesses. Wholly-owned Nigerian companies also require specialised skills from expatriates to support their investments. The skill sets provided by the expatriates are not usually available locally, and where they are, they are not adequate. One major area of concern for expatriates coming to Nigeria is how to be compliant with regulatory requirements when in the country. In most cases, the company bringing in the expatriates may not understand their responsibilities and the potential risk of employing such expatriates. In recent times, there have been several state tax investigations giving rise to humongous additional tax liabilities due to improper alignment of visa types with the required tax trea...

http://ift.tt/2qPwSxv PHOTO:AFP China has expressed “firm opposition” to remarks made by US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis during a regional defence summit over the weekend, after he criticised Beijing’s “militarisation” of the South China Sea. Washington has repeatedly expressed concerns that China’s development of artificial islands in the region poses a threat to freedom of navigation through its waters, a major artery for international trade. Competing claims to the sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits, have for decades made it one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints. “The scope and effect of China’s construction activities in the South China Sea differ from other countries in several key ways,” Mattis noted, saying Beijing’s “militarisation” and “disregard for international law” showed its “contempt” for other nations’ interests. In a statement late Sunday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called Mattis’s comments “irresponsibl...

http://ift.tt/2qPBNig The oil and gas sector, which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, is dominated by multinational companies. The sector has contributed to the influx of foreign nationals over the years, who are required to provide special skills for the development of businesses. Wholly-owned Nigerian companies also require specialised skills from expatriates to support their investments. The skill sets provided by the expatriates are not usually available locally, and where they are, they are not adequate. One major area of concern for expatriates coming to Nigeria is how to be compliant with regulatory requirements when in the country. In most cases, the company bringing in the expatriates may not understand their responsibilities and the potential risk of employing such expatriates. In recent times, there have been several state tax investigations giving rise to humongous additional tax liabilities due to improper alignment of visa types with the required tax trea...

http://ift.tt/2qPwSxv PHOTO:AFP China has expressed “firm opposition” to remarks made by US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis during a regional defence summit over the weekend, after he criticised Beijing’s “militarisation” of the South China Sea. Washington has repeatedly expressed concerns that China’s development of artificial islands in the region poses a threat to freedom of navigation through its waters, a major artery for international trade. Competing claims to the sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits, have for decades made it one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints. “The scope and effect of China’s construction activities in the South China Sea differ from other countries in several key ways,” Mattis noted, saying Beijing’s “militarisation” and “disregard for international law” showed its “contempt” for other nations’ interests. In a statement late Sunday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called Mattis’s comments “irresponsibl...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Favour Nnabugwu Federal government has approved the procurement of 12 intervention vessels and 3 helicopters for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to fight piracy and other illegal activities on the country’s territorial waters. The Director General of NIMASA. Dr. Dakuku Peterside made this known in a statement to Vanguard in Abuja Thursday, stating that the Federal Government is leaving no stone unturned in tackling the menace of piracy and other illicit crimes on the nation’s territorial waterways. This he said was demonstrated by the Federal Government’s recent approval for the procurement of three (3) helicopters and twelve (12) fast intervention vessels to ensure coastal and aerial surveillance and patrol of the Nigerian maritime environment by the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA. According to him, “As part of efforts by the Federal Government of Nigeria in demonstrating its commitment to fighting piracy and other maritime crimes...

http://ift.tt/2pVwjB2 A photo taken on April 26, 2017 shows a view of the empty Tinapa commercial zone in Calabar, Cross River State. With its futuristic film studios, luxury shops and elevated light railway, Tinapa should be a showcase of Nigerian dynamism, a commercial hub for West Africa raking in millions of dollars. But 10 years after it opened, the resort in southeast Nigeria is a ghost town and has become a symbol of monumental waste. / AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS With its futuristic film studios, luxury shops and elevated light railway, Tinapa should be a showcase of Nigerian dynamism, a commercial hub for West Africa raking in millions of dollars. But 10 years after it opened, the resort in southeast Nigeria is a ghost town and has become a symbol of monumental waste. Its majestic contours and avant-garde domes rise defiantly out of the bush and palm trees. At the entrance, a giant signboard proclaims: “Tinapa back on track!” But the few visitors who venture inside a...

http://ift.tt/2pIeHtb Gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on construction workers, killing 10 in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said Saturday. Mineral-rich Balochistan has been plagued for decades by a separatist insurgency and sectarian killings and gunmen have previously targeted labourers seen as outsiders in the region. “Two gunmen riding on motorbikes opened fire on a group of construction workers in Peshukan Ganz neighbourhood of Gwadar,” local administration official Munir Zamari told AFP. “One worker sustained injuries and he is being treated at a local hospital,” he added. The incident was confirmed by another administration official Naeem Bazai, who said that all the workers were from Sindh province. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Balochistan is the largest of Pakistan’s four provinces, but its roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral ...

http://ift.tt/2qzxF9r Members of the planning committee and Journalists at the media briefing All is set for the maiden edition of the Nigerian Dance Festival slated for Lagos, PortHarcourt and Abuja in June this year. The festival, which is the brainchild of Dance and Art Alive in collaboration with Dance Guild of Nigeria (GONG) would be unveiled on World Dance day, today at the National Theatre, Lagos. The guidelines of the festival aimed at reviving the Nigerian heritage in dance, education, entertainment, create awareness of pressing issues in the country and unite dancers across all genres of dance existing in Nigeria was disclosed yesterday at the National Troup of Nigeria (NTN) camp yesterday by the organisers . According to the Managing Director Dance and Art Alive, Buddy Agedah, the high impact project will educate and empower over 10,000 Nigerian youths as well as promote tourism, awareness of the opportunities in dance as a career and adequate source of income. “...