WOW Nigerian Government to cut fuel subsidy by half in 2015

The Federal Government has said it plans to cut subsidies on petroleum products by half next year after sharp falls in global crude prices, spurred a reversal of its 2015 budget downwards.
President Goodluck Jonathan submitted the revised budget figures to lawmakers last week, proposing to spend 458.68 billion naira ($2.59 bln) on petrol subsidy in 2015, down from 971.14 billion naira presented for 2014.
It also assumed further cuts to petrol subsidies in 2016 to 408.68 billion naira and 371.18 billion naira for 2017.
The Minister of finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has proposed lowering the assumed benchmark oil price for the 2015 budget to $73 per barrel from the $78 proposed in September, after global crude prices collapsed.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters last week that declines in the price of oil, which has lost almost 30 percent since July, would impact the economy, requiring the government to cut non-essential spending and raise more revenues.
Recall that the FG tried to end subsidy in 2012 in efforts to cut government spending and encourage badly needed investment in local refining, doubling the price of a litre of petrol overnight to about 150 naira ($0.93) from about 65 naira
The budget proposals assumed an exchange rate of 162 naira to the U.S. dollar for 2015, weaker than 160 naira assumed for 2014. It expects the naira to weaken further to 163.50 in 2016, reaching 165 in 2017.

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3 priests, teacher arrested in sex abuse case

By Al Goodman, CNN
UPDATED: NOV 24, 2014 17:27 GMT
It might all have remained a dark secret, if a young man who was an alleged victim of sexual abuse hadn't written a letter to the Vatican. And then gotten a surprise phone call from Pope Francis, according to a Spanish digital newspaper.
On Monday, Spanish police arrested three Catholic priests and a religion teacher on suspicion of abusing a minor, Spain's interior minister announced.
A court statement from Granada confirmed the arrests of four people "for a case of sexual abuse," and said it would hear initial charges before a judge within three days. The investigation is under seal.
The arrests came a day after the Archbishop of Granada and other clerics took the unusual step of prostrating themselves in the cathedral during Sunday Mass, "asking forgiveness for the sins of Church, for all of the scandals that have, or might have, occurred among us," the Granada Archdiocese website reported.
The archbishop usually does that once a year, on Good Friday, but he lay on the floor of the cathedral Sunday due to the seriousness of the allegations, a Granada Archdiocese spokeswoman said. The archbishop earlier had removed an unspecified number of priests from their duties, pending an investigation, she said.
The arrests of three priests in a single day over sexual abuse allegations is the biggest case of its kind in Spain, said a spokesman in Madrid for the Spanish church leadership, known as the Episcopal Conference.
Since 1997, 10 priests have been convicted of sexual abuse, in individual cases, most recently in 2010, the spokesman said.
But this latest case caught the attention of the Vatican and the Pope, thanks to a man, reportedly now 24, who wrote to the Vatican to say he was sexually abused when he was underage by church figures in Granada.
The Spanish online journal Religion Digital published what it said was a conversation between Pope Francis and the alleged victim from August 10, with the Pope asking for forgiveness in the name of the church.
The alleged victim was cited with a fictitious name, Daniel, Religion Digital reported, adding that 12 people, 10 of them priests, were under investigation.
The Pope has called for "zero tolerance" of sexual abuse by clerics and has said Catholic bishops "will be held accountable" for failing to protect children from such abuse.

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US defence Secretary to step down from post

Chuck Hagel has resigned as US defence secretary after less than two years in the top military post.

President Barack Obama confirmed his resignation and paid tribute to his "class and integrity".
Mr Hagel, 68, a Vietnam war veteran and former Republican senator, said it had been his life's "greatest privilege".
Last month, it was reported that he was sharply critical of the US strategy against Islamic State and in relation to the Syria regime.
He will stay on as secretary until his successor is confirmed.
An unnamed official told the Associated Press news agency that Mr Hagel and Mr Obama both "determined that it was time for new leadership in the Pentagon" and had been discussing the move for weeks.
Mr Obama said Mr Hagel had come to him to discuss the "appropriate time to complete his service".
The US president said he was "extraordinary lucky" to have Mr Hagel by his side as defence secretary and praised him for forging a strong bond with US troops.
Mr Hagel is the first enlisted combat veteran to serve in the role.
In a brief statement, Mr Hagel said it had been the "great privilege of my life to lead and most importantly to serve the men and women of the defence department".


Hagel's 58-41 confirmation was the narrowest ever vote margin for a Pentagon nominee
Analysis, Jon Sopel, North America Editor
Chuck Hagel is a friendly, no-nonsense defence secretary. He was also the one Republican in the White House national security set-up.
But that may be of lesser importance than him being appointed to do one task in the Pentagon, only to find that the job description has changed fundamentally.
He was the man appointed to bring the troops home and pare back the huge defence budget. But then Islamic State came along and all the calculations changed, and Mr Obama and his defence chief found themselves at odds.
There was a lack of clear strategy, perhaps because Mr Obama and Mr Hagel didn't agree on what it should be. And after mid-term political defeats, the president needs a military win. So a change at the top will be an important symbol of that determination.
Which of course leaves the question, did he jump or was he pushed? Probably a bit of both.

Mr Hagel, who served as Republican senator for his home state of Nebraska for 12 years, became critical of US involvement in Iraq despite voting to authorise the war.
He replaced Leon Panetta as defence secretary in Mr Obama's second term, taking on the task of winding down the Afghanistan war and making a military shift towards Asia.
But the future of US military policy has changed amid air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria.
"The next couple of years will demand a different kind of focus," an unnamed White House official told the New York Times, which first broke the story.
US media report there was increasing tension between Mr Hagel and the administration over decisions in Syria and working styles, citing Hagel confidantes and senior defence officials

Republican Senator John McCain said he knew the defence secretary "was frustrated with aspects of the administration's national security policy and decision-making process".
Mr McCain said Mr Obama needed to realise "current failures on national security more often lie with his administration's misguided policies".
Mr Obama did not name a replacement for Mr Hagel on Monday. Once named, the nominee would have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Among those being considered as replacements for Mr Hagel is Michele Flournoy, the former Pentagon policy chief during Mr Obama's first term.
If nominated and confirmed Ms Flournoy would be the first female US defence secretary.

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Cleveland police shoot dead boy, 12, carrying fake gun

A 12-year-old boy has been shot dead by police in the US city of Cleveland, after brandishing what turned out to be a fake gun in a playground.
Police say an officer fired two shots at the boy after he failed to obey an order to raise his hands.
A caller reported the boy to police for scaring people with a gun but said that he did not know if it was real.
One of the officers was in his first year on the local force, the other had more than 10 years of experience.
'Airsoft'
The medical examiner for Cuyahoga County identified the boy as Tamir Rice.

An investigation is now under way into the shooting of Tamir Rice
Cleveland deputy police chief Ed Tomba said the boy was shot twice after pulling the gun from the waistband of his trousers. He died later in hospital.
The boy did not make any verbal threats nor point the gun towards the officers, Mr Tomba added.
Police said the weapon was an "airsoft" replica gun that resembled a semi-automatic pistol, adding that an orange safety indicator had been removed.
The caller said the boy was pulling the gun in and out of his trousers. "I don't know if it's real or not," the caller told police.
But Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland police association, said the two officers at the scene were not told about the caller's comments.
The BBC's David Willis in Washington says an investigation is under way and both officers have been placed on administrative leave.
He says there have already been calls for tighter controls on fake guns, with one local lawmaker - Alicia Reece - saying she intends to introduce legislation that would require fake guns sold in Ohio to be brightly coloured.
Cleveland's police force has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, most notably over a high-profile car chase in 2012 that ended with two deaths and officers firing 137 shots.
The US Justice Department is currently conducting an investigation of the force's pursuit and use-of-force practices.

Are you in Cleveland? Do you have any information you would like to share? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. If you are willing to talk to a BBC journalist, please leave a contact number.

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Messi breaks Spanish goals record

Lionel Messi broke the Spanish league's all-time scoring record after hitting a hat trick in Barcelona's 5-1 victory over Sevilla.
It has been a season of records for the Argentine international who, at just 27, already holds the record as Barcelona's highest ever scorer in European competition.
But all eyes were on the diminutive striker at the Camp Nou stadium to see whether he cold break Telmo Zarra's 59-year-old record of 251 Spanish league goals.
Typical Messi
In the end, Messi didn't just break the record: he equaled it, surpassed it and then extended it in typical fashion.
His first, which tied the record, was a sublime left foot free kick which he bent over the wall into the top left hand corner of the goal.
The second, which broke the record, was a surging run through the heart of Sevilla's defense that ended with Messi exchanging passes and sliding in to finish at the far post.
His Barcelona teammates celebrated with him on the pitch by picking him up and throwing him in the air.
But Messi wasn't finished there.
He scored another fantastic goal to extend the record with a left foot shot on the run into the bottom left hand corner of the goal.

"Brutal record"
"We are happy for everything. Obviously for Leo, it is an incredible, brutal record," Barcelona midfielder Xavi told AFP after the game.
"It is historic and I am very happy for him because he deserves it as a person and obviously as a player."
More importantly, however, the comprehensive victory allowed Barcelona to close the gap on Real Madrid at the top of the table who had beaten Eibar 4-0 earlier on Saturday.
There were signs too that Messi's record might not stand for almost six decades, as the previous one had.
Cristiano Ronaldo again scored twice, his 197th goal in just 177 matches.

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