Obama authorises air strikes on Iraq

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US President Barack Obama says he has authorised air strikes against Islamic militants in northern Iraq but will not send US troops back to the country.

He said Islamic State (IS) fighters would be targeted to prevent the slaughter of religious minorities or if they threaten US interests.

No strikes have been made yet but the US has made humanitarian air drops to Iraqis under threat from the militants.

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Unspoken Story of US Downing Iran Air Flight 655

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Well-known US author and journalist Fred Kaplan in his artiсle "America's Flight 17" for Slate Magazine calls readers not to jump to conclusions on the Malaysian Boeing tragedy. Before accusing self-defence forces in Ukraine’s South-east of the Malaysia Flight MH17 downing, the international community has to recall one of the Pentagon's most inexcusable disgraces - shooting down the passenger aircraft Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes, he writes. Whoever brought down the Malaysian airliner should be held accountable, stresses the journalist, just as the White House and the crew of the Vincennes should have been.
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AIR CRASH AVERTED: 464 Pilgrims Escape Demise At Sokoto Airport

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AIR CRASH AVERTED: 464 Pilgrims Escape Death At Sokoto Airport; Aircraft Makes Emergency Landing Yesterday Morning.

An accident was averted on [Nov. 10] at the Sultan Abubakar International Airport, Sokoto, as a Max Airline aircraft was forced to make a crisis emergency landing about 2:40am.

LG introduces new anti-mosquito air conditioner in Nigeria

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LG Electronics (LG) recently announced that its latest residential air conditioning model, the Mosquito Away, will be released in Nigeria. Created specifically and built for the area market, the new product incorporates an impressive function that uses ultrasonic waves to combat mosquitoes. Like its predecessor, the successful Anti Mosquito, the Mosquito Away comes with the benefits of LG's advanced air con technologies, such as powerful cooling and dependable operation in extreme temperatures
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Suntai goes to Church, marks one-year air crash survival.

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Recuperating Governor of Taraba State, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai caused an emotional scene when he stormed the Unity Chapel Church (UCC) in Government House, Jalingo for thanks giving at the weekend.
Suntai was pronounced dead when an aircraft he piloted crashed near Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on Thursday, October 25 last year.

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Aviation loopholes: Nigerians Scared Of Flying, boycott Domestic Air Travel

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The crises in the aviation industry have taken a toll on activities at the domestic terminals of the Lagos airport, with airline officials lamenting low patronage in the past few days.
                                        
Some airline officials told Punch correspondent in confidence on Monday, that the passengers seemed to have developed apathy towards air travel, stressing that they might have become scared of flying following recent developments in the industry.

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Obama turns US Air Force into Al Qaeda’s Air Force - expert

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The US President Barack Obama is in for a difficult week, one that should clarify the situation around the planned military operation against Syria. According to some US newspapers, this week will prove, perhaps, the most difficult period of time during Obama’s tenure. This week will show just how the Nobel Peace Prize winner will go to war against Syria with or without congressional support.

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Romania's King Laid To Rest In 'Air Conditioned' Coffin (PHOTOS)

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King Florin Cioaba died of a heart attack while on holiday in Turkey last week. His body was carried in an air-conditioned glass covered coffin down a four mile route in Sibiu, Transylvania.

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TRAGEDY: Arik Air London Passenger Slumps And Die At MMIA Lagos Airport

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A transit passenger on Arik Air flight en-route London-Lagos-Owerri yesterday slumped and died at the remodelled domestic Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

The passenger, believed to have hailed from the Southeast, it was learnt slumped at the entrance of the departure hall. He was with his wife and brother at the time of the incident.  According to sources, immediately the passenger slumped, he was rushed to the Aviation Clinic , where he was confirmed dead.

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Woman Falls To Her Death While Performing Acrobatics In The Air

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A dancer plummeted to her death in the middle of a Cirque du Soleil performance in Las Vegas — the first such casualty in the acrobatic show's 30-year history.

Sarah Guyard-Guillot, a dancer in the Cirque production of “Ka” at the MGM Grand, died Saturday night after a gruesome fall from the production’s stage, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

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Nigerian cook survives two days under sea in shipwreck air bubble

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After two days trapped in freezing cold water and breathing from an air bubble in a upturned tugboat underneath the ocean, Harrison Okene was sure he would die. A torch light pierced the darkness.

Ship's cook Okene, 29, was aboard the Jascon-4 tugboat when it capsized on May 26 because of heavy Atlantic ocean swells around 30 km (20 miles) off the coast of Nigeria, while stabilizing a fat tanker replenishing at a Chevron platform.

Of the 12 people aboard, divers recovered 10 dead bodies while a remaining crew member has not been found. Somehow Okene survived, breathing in a very four foot high bubble of air as it shrunk in the waters slowly rising from the ceiling of the tiny toilet and adjoining bedroom where he sought refuge, until two South African divers eventually rescued him.

Two Pilots Killed As Nigerian Air Force Plane Crashes In Niamey

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A Nigerian Air Force Alpha jet crashed on Monday at Dargol, near Niamey, killing the two pilots, according to a Defence Headquarters statement issued in Abuja.

The statement signed by Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, Director Defence Information, said the aircraft was on a non-combat mission when it crashed. It said the Alpha jet was one of the four based in Niamey as part of the African-led Support Mission in Mali. It stated that an investigation had begun “to unravel the circumstances that led to the accident”, adding that details would be made known as soon as the families of the pilots had been informed.

Customs intercept air gun, pellets at Lagos airport

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Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command in Lagos on Thursday have intercepted an air soft gun otherwise known as Zinc Alloy Shell G15 pistol and five sachets of pellets from a passenger at the premier airport.

The items were found on the passenger, identified as Mr. Ukeje Joseph, with passport number A04206153, during the inward clearance of Kenya Airways flight KQ532 from Johannesburg in South Africa.

The event occurred during routine examination by the Customs and other relevant agencies at the Lagos Airport on passengers’ luggage.

Sacked Air Nigeria Workers May not Get their Pension

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Chinedu Eze

There are indications that the over 700 workers of the now-rested Air Nigeria who were sacked last year may not secure the 25 per cent of their pension deposits.

This is because they were not issued with disengagement letters and the company which relieved them of their jobs did not communicate to the Pension Commission (PENCOM) that they have been sacked, THISDAY has learnt.

The workers are eligible to receive 25 per cent of their contributions to the scheme after they have remained unemployed six months after their sack, but that hope seems to have been dashed as the workers who lost their jobs when the company closed on September 10, 2012 may not receive the contributions, unless the Chairman of the company, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, intervenes.

Dana Air To Resume Operations

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The Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah on Monday said that the suspension place on Dana airline operation has been lifted and that the company can resume flights immediately.

In a statement released by her Special Assistant on Media, Joe Obi, the Minister said the decision to lift the suspension of Dana operation was taken after a meeting between the management of the airline and federal aviation authority.

How Gov. Peter Odili Stole ₦100 Billion Naira Of Rivers State Money and Put It In Arik Air, Thisday

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Ọmọ Oódua has obtained detailed draft charges that never made it to the courts regarding the brazen looting of Rivers State treasury by the state’s former governor, Peter Odili. The documents show how Mr. Odili used a combination of government officials and personal companies disguised as fronts to fleece Rivers State to the tune of N100 billion between 2004 and 2007.

Ọmọ Oódua analysis of the draft charges, which were prepared by well-known Nigerian lawyer Festus Keyamo on behalf of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under the chairmanship of Mrs. Farida Waziri, reveal that, between December 2004 and September 2006, Emmanuel Nkatah, a personal staff of the governor operating at the Rivers State liaison office in Abuja, alone withdrew over N4 billion naira from Zenith Bank account No. 6010916567 which belonged to Rivers State Government House.

Jonathan, wife celebrate victory mid-air

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President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, on Wednesday celebrated Super Eagles’ semi-final victory over Mali aboard a presidential aircraft. Jonathan and members of his delegation were aboard presidential jet, NAF 1, on his way from Cairo, Egypt to London when the Eagles beat their Malian counterparts 4-1 to proceed to the final of the tournament.

In a message on Twitter, presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, said the NAF 1 relayed the details of the match when the President was airborne.He quoted Jonathan as asking the Super Eagles to work hard to ensure they bring the trophy to Nigeria.

74 passengers escape air crash, after Abuja-bound plane develops fault 15 minutes after take-off

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What would have been another air disaster was on Sunday, averted by whiskers as an Abuja-bound aircraft made a dramatic return to Lagos when one of its engines developed a mechanical fault mid-air.

On board the aircraft which belongs to Med-View Airline were 73 passengers including Mr. Donald Ojogo, the newly appointed Politics Editor, Abuja, of the Independent Newspapers Limited, publishers of Daily Independent, Saturday Independent and Sunday Independent.

Air Mishap Averted On Ilorin-Lagos Route

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Smarting from the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of former Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, former National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi, and four others last Saturday in Bayelsa State, the nation would have witnessed yet another disaster but for providence, as an Overland Airways flight from Ilorin to Lagos suffered technical problems on take-off. A source told Vanguard that the flight, OJ 1188, had difficulties stabilising in the air as the landing gear failed to retract after take-off from Ilorin Airport, Sunday.