How To Stop Unwanted Adverts Messages On Etisalat

 

I’m writing now basically on Etisalat.

Etisalat also allows Mobile adverts on its network which is highly hated in Nigeria. As directed by NCC, telecommunication networks should provide a means of opting out of this annoying text messages.

To Stop this Adverts on your Etisalat Sim card, text “STOP” without quotes to 224

Reps halt N309bn electricity bond

Abuja — The House of Representatives, yesterday, halted plans to raise a Federal Government secured bond of N309 billion to finance the “outrageous shortfalls” in the Nigerian electricity market.

The House also called on the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) to immediately halt the move to raise the bond.

This followed a motion by Rep. Edward Pwajok (Plateau-PDP), which was unanimously adopted by members through a voice vote.

Moving the motion, Pwajok expressed concern that the planned massive borrowing was in spite of intervention by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in March 25, 2015, through the grant of a bailout.

According to him, the bailout is to the tune of N213 billion through the Nigerian Electricity Sector Intervention (NESI) facility.

“In spite of that intervention, the shortfall, instead of being wiped out, has continued to escalate at the rate of about N15 billion per month (equivalent to N500 million daily).

“It rose to a total-market shortfall of N400 billion as at Dec. 31, 2015.

“A continuing incidence of market shortfall is a distinctive action for new investors to venture into the Nigerian electricity market.”

EFCC detains bank MD over alleged Diezani’s $115 m cash

Managing Director of a leading Nigerian commercial bank has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly helping former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke to launder $115 million cash.


 

The bank chief executive was taken into EFCC custody three days ago for presiding over the receipt of such huge cash and helping to distribute it to beneficiaries two days to the last general elections.

The bank CEO is said to have violated extant law by not reporting the receipt and warehousing of the cash to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, as required by law.

Diezani is said to have summoned the bank chief to her Abuja home and told him to prepare to receive foreign currency running into billions of Naira from four companies and to convert it to Naira and pay them to designated beneficiaries on her behalf.

A day after the instruction from her, four companies stormed the bank with various amounts of cash and were promptly received by the bank.

A breakdown of the funds given by the EFCC shows that Actus Integrated paid in $17,884, Northern Base Gas Company, $60m; Midwestern Oil and Gas, $9.5m; and Laitan Adesanya, $1.35million.

Diezani on her part, allegedly lodged $26 million cash into the same account same day.

It was learned that shortly after paying in the cash, Diezani’s son, Ugonna, approached the detained MD and furnished him with the list of beneficiaries of the cash as instructed by his mother.

Vanguard was told that although the detained bank chief complained that he would not have enough time to cash in Naira to effect the immediate distribution of the money as instructed by the then minister, she asked him to use every available cash to pay the beneficiaries and use the Dollar as collateral.

A top official of the commission confirmed to Vanguard last night that the man had made useful confessions to operatives.

The source did not, however, say when the bank official would be charged to court or if he would refund the money to the government.

Diezani could not be reached for comments last night.

CCT chairman dismisses Saraki’s application

The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Dan Ladi Umar, has dismissed in its entirety the application of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, seeking his disqualification from further trial of the case.


Saraki, on Wednesday filed  an application to disqualify Umar, from continuing to preside over his trial.

Ajibola Oluyede, a counsel to Saraki, who is being tried for alleged false and anticipatory assets declaration, filed the application shortly after the trial resumed yesterday. He said the tribunal chairman still had a serious corruption case against him with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and premised his application on Section 36(1) of the constitution, which addressed the issue of biases and the rules of natural justice.

Oluyede had unsuccessfully moved a similar application last week, which resulted in a heated exchange between him and Umar. After reading his motion, Oluyede called the attention of the court to a letter written to the Attorney-General by the EFCC chairman in February 2015, which was part of his exhibits against Umar.

Oluyede read out paragraph four of the letter: “There are indications that the tribunal chairman might have demanded and collected money from the complainant through his said personal assistant. “However, efforts made to recover the telephone handset used by Justice Umar proved abortive, as he claimed that he had lost the telephone in 2012. “This has made it impossible to subject it to independent scientific analysis, with a view to corroborating the allegation.

In the same vein, the complainant could also not make available his telephone set for analysis on the grounds that he had lost it. “Justice Umar also admitted that he met privately with the complainant in his chamber at the tribunal. This is a most unethical and highly suspicious conduct on his part.” Justice Umar had initially declined to entertain the motion, but prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, urged him to admit the application so that it can be argued.

Looming strike in varsities, as ASUU accuses FG of allocation shortfall

University lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), Benin zone, have threatened to embark on industrial action over shortfall in university allocation.

     

The lecturers accused the Federal Government of stoking the embers of crisis when the university system was yet to fully recover from the damaging effects of a prolonged strike in 2013.

The union said it was an unfortunate and sad development that the federal government was contributing to the threat to peace in the Nigerian university system by not sending enough money to pay salaries.

Zonal Co-ordinator, ASUU, Benin Zone, Prof. Anthony Monye-Emina in a statement made available to journalists in Benin City, said the use of co-operative, welfare savings and union dues to make up for the shortfalls and the ridiculous handouts in whatever guise in place of salary was unacceptable.

Prof. Monye-Emina said the union should not be held liable for any crisis in the Nigerian university system.

He noted that most universities were under the burden of severe financial crisis, stressing that government was yet to proffer an explanation on when it would end.

Emu a said: “In universities where full salary is seemingly paid, deductions for co-operative societies, welfare associations, union dues and so on, come in arrears. This implies that such deductions are accumulated to be able to make full payment of salary in subsequent months after which remittance is made.”

“In essence, university staff savings is what is used to augment the shortfall. It is important to note that this accumulation of deductions/remittances is exclusive of tax deductions. This implies that tax deductions are remitted as at when due to the same government that does not feel obliged to avail the universities the full complement of their allocations. This development is in addition to shortfall in running, operational, logistics and other costs.”

Police dismisses rumours of herdsmen invasion of Enugu community

The Enugu State Police Command on Thursday dismissed as false and unfounded rumours of alleged invasion of Umuchigbo Abakpa Nike community by herdsmen.

This is contained in a press statement signed by the commands spokesman, Mr Ebere Amarizu and made available to newsmen in Enugu.

It said that the rumours were engineered by those wishing to cause disaffection in the state.

“The attention of the Enugu State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to the rumours making the round that some violent herdsmen have invaded Umuchigbo Abakpa Nike.

“The rumour has it that the community and others closed to it have been deserted, but the command wishes to make it clear that this is not only false but baseless and unfounded.”

It advised “members of the public particularly residents and people of the state to go about their normal pursuits without fear while rumour peddlers are warned to desist forthwith.”

The statement stressed that the command in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies had fortified security along Umuchigbo axis to prevent any breach of the peace.

The rumours had it that Umuchigbo Abakpa Nike community had allegedly received threats of invasion from suspected herdsmen two days after the invasion of Nimbo community.

The residents were said to be agitated, after similar threat by suspected herdsmen manifested in an attack on Nimbo community on April 23 which left scores dead and several people injured.

I’m fit for Eagles friendlies – Omeruo

Chelsea loanee Kenneth Omeruo has dismissed rumours he will not be fit for next month’s Super Eagles friendlies against Mali and Luxembourg.

It was reported by a section of the local press that Omeruo, who is on loan to Turkish club Kasimpasa, is currently nursing a groin injury.

He missed last month’s AFCON qualifiers against Egypt on account of injury, but he has since recovered fully.

 

“I am happy that I have been called up for the friendly games against Mali and Luxembourg. I am looking forward to putting on the green and white of Nigeria again and giving my 100% to the team,” he told Super Eagles media officer Toyin Ibitoye.

“I am very fit and hope to stay this way for my club and country.

“There is no truth in the reports that I am currently sidelined by groin injury.”

Omeruo was only advised by his club doctor to rest in the summer and not feature at the Rio Olympics. “I regret my inability to be part of the Olympic team but as a professional player one has to be guided by the recommendations of experts,” he said.

“My doctors advised that it is best I have a good rest during the off season and they felt participating at the Olympics won’t guarantee that so I had to pull out.

“In my absence I believe in the abilities of the national U23 team coaches and the players to do the nation proud in Rio.”

S. Africa’s economy must not be skewed along racial lines- Zuma

Johannesburg – South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday called for economic transformation, pledging to continue implementing Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and affirmative action programmes.

He spoke at a rally in Giyani, Limpopo Province, to mark the Freedom Day, which falls on April 27 in memory of the first all-race elections that toppled the apartheid government in 1994.

“For freedom to be complete, the economy of our country must not be skewed along racial lines.

“We must give practical meaning to the demand of the Freedom Charter that all shall share in the country’s wealth.

“To achieve this goal, the government has introduced new programmes such as the promotion of black participation in the manufacturing sector actively as industrialists,’’ Zuma said.

Report says these new programmes will reinforce the BEE and affirmative action programmes.

“In partnership with the private sector, government will continue to work towards economic transformation so that we can expand our economy and create much needed jobs.

“Let me also take this opportunity to welcome the continuing cooperation between government and the private sector,’’ Zuma said.

According to the president, consultations with business are ongoing to find ways of igniting economic growth and create jobs, to mitigate the punishing global economic climate.

“We will also continue to engage labour.
“Together we recently resolved a critical matter relating to workers’ pensions, which was of concern to the labour movement, especially COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions),’’ he said.

Speaking of the great achievements that have been made since 1994, Zuma reiterated that South Africa is a great success story.

He said that South Africa has its challenges, adding that the positive attributes of the country far outweigh those challenges.

“Let us point out the challenges so that we can be able to fix them. But in doing so, let us not lose sight of the achievements that we have all scored, working together under difficult conditions.

“Let us not allow those who have decided to ignore the achievements of our beautiful country to make us think we are a failure as a nation, a country and a people,’’ he said.

Diamond Bank declares N217bn gross earnings in 2015, profit dips

Diamond Bank has declared gross earnings of N217.09 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2015 against N208.40 billion achieved in 2014.

The financials are contained in the company’s audited result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday in Lagos.

The gross earnings represented a growth of 4.17 per cent over the figure in 2014.

The bank’s profit before tax, however, dropped to N7.1 billion from N28.10 billion in 2014. a decrease of 74.8 per cent.

Its profit after tax also stood at N5.66 billion, down from N25.49 billion achieved in 2014, a decline of 77.8 per cent.

The bank’s net operating income stood at N104.64 billion compared with N127.38 billion in 2014.
Its impairment charge stood at N55.17 billion against N44.18 billion recorded in 2014.

According to the report, the bank’s non-performing loans stood at 6.9 per cent from 5.1 per cent posted in 2014.

NAN reports that its capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.3 per cent in contrast to 17. 5 per cent recorded in 2014, while net interest margin dropped to 6.1 per cent from 6.6 per cent in 2014.

NAN reports that the bank had earlier issued profit guidance after prudent provisioning of N55.2 billion impairment charge and the installation of mitigating actions to address the impact of current economic headwinds.

Commenting on the performance, the bank’s Chief Executive, Mr Uzoma Dozie, explained that the bank was currently undergoing a transformation exercise.

Dozie said that the bank had embarked on strategies that would deliver improved earnings and lower operating costs in 2016 and years ahead.

He said that the bank had set forth a clear and realisable business road map that would promote stronger and sustainable growth in 2016 and the years ahead.

Dozie expressed optimism that the bank’s reliance on innovation, technology and lifestyle priorities would drive banking in the future.

He also expressed optimism about the growth and value to shareholders and restated his commitment to overseeing full implementation of the bank’s digital-led retail strategy.

Dozie said that the bank had taken a number of mitigating actions to address and drastically reduce its challenges.

“2015 was undoubtedly a challenging year for us owing to a mixture of external factors not limited to regulatory headwinds and a difficult macroeconomic environment.

“Whilst this led to additional impairment charges following a prudent review, we have further tightened the criteria for loan origination in order to better align our loan portfolio with the macroeconomic conditions,’’ he said.

Chinese consul seeks closer ties with Edo

As a follow-up to President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to China, the Chinese Consul-General in Nigeria, Mr. Liu Khan, has visited Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State to explore the investment potentials in the state and locate more Chinese industries in the state.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole has strengthened diplomatic relations with China with a view to deepening investment ties with the people and government of China.
Receiving the Chinese Consul-General in his office, Governor Oshiomhole thanked him for leading a delegation of investors to his office.

He said “Let me thank you, Mr. Khan, for leading a delegation to pay us a visit. They, along with other Chinese companies, have set up various factories in Edo State. I have visited their factories and I was very impressed by what I saw, the quality of products they are producing whether the ceramic tiles and iron rods which we badly need for our construction industry. They shared with me their plans to even further expand their operations.

I have had conversations with them about the possibility of new investments in Edo State because we have so much natural endowment, natural resources besides oil and gas which we have in sufficient quantity. Edo State actually has the highest deposit in the volume of gas deposit. And so, with such a huge gas reserve, this State will continue to play a very important role in the economy of our country.

“And under the power arrangement, I also know that this State is meant to be one of the major hubs for power supply and distribution. Recently, a private company, Azura Power Plant has commenced the process of laying about 450 megawatts of power which will be completed within the next one or two years, and the construction is still on.

And there are other various power plants that are already in existence. And so, in the very near future, we will have enough power supply coming from Edo State. I know that from my conversation with some Chinese companies here, they told me that with power, they have so much more they can do.

“Right now, we have a minister who I personally believe has the leadership ability that is required to deal with the challenges of power supply. They are already doing something. So, hopefully in the very near future, the problem of power supply will be substantially addressed.

“have taken time to take some of the Chinese to some sites where we have various solid minerals, precious stones because I believe that we have enough limestone and other precious metals which can be developed, and these things can easily produce granite, marble, and in addition to other manufacturing plastics, glass, etcetera.

I think so much is possible. So, I think that the real benefit we are expecting from the visit of Mr. President to China and the very cordial relationship that now exists that translate politics to economy and diplomacy is that we need more Chinese factories and less finished Chinese goods so that our trade balance can be addressed.

We have a very young population in this State, and I am sure our Chinese brothers who are here will tell you how resourceful the workers have been. I also want to assure you that compared to other parts of the country, we have a more secured environment and businesses require security, security of personnel, security of investments and every other thing that the state will provide.

“So, I will want us to deepen our relationship and I want to have a further conversation.”

Speaking earlier, the Chinese Consulate General, Mr. Khan said, “I sincerely hope that Your Excellency and all the distinguished guests will continue to share and support the development of the Chinese companies and the Chinese that work and live in your state.

I want to do my best to promote friendly and cooperative relations between China and Edo State. As you know, President Muhammadu Buhari had a very successful and fruitful visit to China. During his visit our two countries signed an agreement involving infrastructure, industrialization, agriculture, financial and so on.

“So I think this is the best time to foster development friendly and cooperative relations between our two countries.”

Tiwa Savage’s husband, Tee Billz deletes controversial posts on Instagram

Tiwa Savage’s husband, Tunji Balogun, aka Tee Billz, has finally deleted all the rants on his Instagram account following the drama the posts ensued on Social media.

Recall,we reported him posting messages about his marriage coming to an end with Tiwa Savage , suicidal thoughts and more.

Upon going back to his Instagram page some minutes ago, we noticed he has deleted all the message posted earlier.

Saraki Trial: CCT resumes sitting

The trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has resumed at at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, following the arrival of the chairman, Danladi Umar.

Recalled that it was earlier reported that the sitting failed to commence at 10:00am due to the absence of the chairman.

He is expected to rule on the application by Saraki that he(Umar) should disqualify himself from further hearing of the case.

Fulani Herdsmen Killings: Soyinka slams Buhari

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, yesterday, slammed President Muhammadu Buhari, over what he described as his government’s seeming inability to contain the violent activities of herdsmen across the country.

 

In his address to the National Conference on Culture and Tourism, Soyinka said the President Buhari-led government was yet to come up with an articulate solution to tackle the menace, reports Premium Times.

This came as Fulani herdsmen on Monday unleashed terror on Ukpabi Nimbo, a community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, killing dozens of people.

The attack came weeks after a similar wave of violence by herdsmen in Agatu in Benue State.

Soyinka said: “I have yet to hear this government articulate a firm policy of non-tolerance for the serial massacres that have become the nation’s identification stamp.”

“I have not heard an order given that any cattle herders caught with sophisticated firearms be instantly disarmed, arrested, placed on trial, and his cattle confiscated. The nation is treated to an eighteen-month optimistic plan which, to make matters worse, smacks of abject appeasement and encouragement of violence on innocents.

“Let me repeat, and of course I only ask to be corrected if wrong: I have yet to encounter a terse, rigorous, soldierly and uncompromising language from this leadership, one that threatens a response to this unconscionable blood-letting that would make even Boko Haram repudiate its founding clerics.‎

“When I read a short while ago, the Presidential assurance to this nation that the current homicidal escalation between the cattle prowlers and farming communities would soon be over, I felt mortified.

“He had the solution, he said. Cattle ranches were being set up, and in another 18 months, rustlings, destruction of livelihood and killings from herdsmen would be ‘a thing of the past’. 18 months, he assured the nation. I believe his Minister of Agriculture echoed that later, but with a less dispiriting time schema.

“Neither, however, could be considered a message of solace and reassurance for the ordinary Nigerian farmer and the lengthening cast of victims, much less to an intending tourist to the Forest Retreat of Tinana in the Rivers, the Ikogosi Springs or the moslem architectural heritage of the ancient city of Kano. In any case, the external tourists have less hazardous options.‎”

Recalling with nostalgia how he – in the company of the late Segun Olusola – journeyed across Nigeria in the pre-war 60’s, mostly out of curiosity, Soyinka said: “But now, would the young adventurous set out to visit the mystery caves of Anambra and its alleged curative pools from mere interest?

“They would think twice about it. It is not merely arbitrary violence that reigns across the nation but total, undisputed impunity. Impunity evolves and becomes integrated in conduct when crime occurs and no legal, logical and moral response is offered.‎”

Narrating his experience with cattle herders, right at his doorstep, recently, he said: “I returned from a trip outside the country about to find that my home ground had been invaded, and a brand-new ‘Appian way’ sliced through my sanctuary.

“That ‘motorable’ path was made by the hoofed invaders. Both the improvised entry and exit are now blocked, but interested journalists are invited to visit.

“In over two decades of living in that ecological preserve, no such intrusion had ever occurred. I have no idea whether they were Fulani or Futa Jalon herdsmen but, they were cattle herders, and they had cut a crude swathe through my private grounds.

“I made enquiries and sent alerts around, including through the Baale of our neighborhood village. There has been no repeat, and hopefully it will remain the first and last of such invasion. What it portends however is for all thinking citizens to reflect upon, and take concerted measures against.”

The Nobel laureate noted that herdsmen are among humanity’s earliest known tourists and must be taught a culture of settlement with their hosts.

His words: The leadership of any society cannot stand idly and offer solutions that implicitly deem the massacres of innocents mere incidents on the way to that learning school.

“For every crime, there is a punishment, for every violation, there must be restitution. The nomads of the world cannot place themselves above the law of settled humanity.”

Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe narrates her arrest ordeal

Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe on Thursday narrated her ordeal of alleged harassment by policemen in Osogbo, Osun state.

 

The Yoruba movie star who posted her views on her Instagram page said she the incident occurred while she was trying to take in the course of a movie she was shooting in the Osogbo.

Read her: ‘Morning Fam, it has come to my attention that news has been flying around that I was arrested by the police in Osogbo. ..For the records I was never ARRESTED! I was shooting a movie in osogbo and was going for a break with my PA and Driver when we saw a police van chasing us; they later double crossed us, came out of their van and started banging the bonnet of my car asking us to come down. I was shocked and scared because I didn’t know what was going on. I stepped out of the car to ask them what happened and why they double crossed us in that manner, the policemen started shouting and acting crazy pointing his gun at me.’

  

She furthers: ‘On seeing his behaviour, i took out my phone and started to record them, one of them forcefully collected my phone from me. My PA also started recording them with an ipad and the policeman slapped her and threw the iPad away. At this point a lot of crowd had already gathered when they saw me and what was happening and they started booing them, saying that is how osogbo policemen harass innocent citizens. When the policemen saw the large crowd supporting us and that they could be mobbed, they stylishly left only to call for reinforcement of other Police officers. Those ones came and started shooting sporadically into the air, everyone had to run for their lives.’

Pacquiao shocked as Islamic militants plan to kidnap him or his children

Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao expressed shock Thursday at President Benigno Aquino’s claim that Islamic militants planned to kidnap him, and said the alleged plot should not have been made public.

Aquino released a statement Wednesday saying Abu Sayyaf, a notorious kidnap-for-ransom gang that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and beheaded a Canadian hostage this week, had planned to abduct Pacquiao or his children.

   

“I was alarmed when he announced… the Abu Sayyaf wanted to kidnap me. I’m surprised because all Filipinos are my friends. I love them, especially the Muslims,” Pacquiao said at his residence in Manila.

Pacquiao said he had responded to Aquino’s statement by taking security measures to protect himself as well as his wife and five children, who are in his hometown of General Santos.

“We added security for my family and me,” he said.

General Santos is in the conflict-wracked southern Philippine region of Mindanao, where an array of Islamic militant groups are based and a separatist insurgency has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1970s.

The Abu Sayyaf’s main stronghold is about 400 kilometres (250 miles) away from General Santos.

Pacquiao was in Manila, more than 1,000 kilometres north of General Santos, as part of his campaign to win a Senate seat in next month’s national elections.

– Pacquiao bewildered –

Pacquiao said he was bewildered by Aquino’s statement, having not been informed before the president went public with the alleged plot.

“If it came from an intelligence report, it should have been kept secret and need not be announced. And why just now? We have to study this,” said Pacquiao, whose unprecedented eight world titles have made him one of the Philippines’ richest men.

Aquino made the announcement after the severed head of Canadian John Ridsdel was dumped in the streets of Jolo island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold.

The group, which is believed to have only a few hundred armed followers, is believed to be holding more than 20 other foreigners captive, including 18 Indonesian and Malaysian sailors abducted over the past month.

Aquino also said the militants had threatened to kill him and planned to kidnap his sister, who is a popular television personality, in an effort to gain Islamic State favour and funding.

Pacquiao said he had good relations with Muslims in the southern Philippines, and did not know why he might be a target.

“I don’t believe our Muslim brothers (would) do that,” he said.

“We support them, we give them livelihood, so I don’t know where that came from.”

Pacquiao, an evangelical Christian, said he was not scared for his own safety and would continue hitting the campaign trail, where he attracts huge, chaotic crowds.

“I live my life like every day is the last so I have no fear. God is with me,” he said.

Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma declined to comment directly on Pacquiao’s complaints he had not been informed about the alleged kidnapping plot before Aquino’s public announcement.

“(The) government has taken, and continues to take, all necessary measures to ensure the safety of our citizens and thwart acts of terror, intimidation and destabilisation against them,” Coloma told AFP in a text message.

Japan wants foreign tourists to avoid ‘public flatulence’

A Japanese tourism board has called on foreign tourists to refrain from public “belching or flatulence” in an etiquette guide which was hastily rewritten, reportedly after complaints from a Chinese resident.

The Hokkaido Tourism Organization, which represents Japan’s northern-most island, published a downloadable brochure on its website, with polite instructions on everything from public bathing to using a Japanese toilet.

Helpfully, it even dedicated an entire section to protocol for avoiding bodily functions.

“Japanese etiquette is based on avoiding causing discomfort or nuisance to others,” the guide points out.

“Accordingly, Japanese will avoid bodily functions such as belching or flatulence in public entirely, or perform bodily functions as discreetly as possible.”

However, the Chinese-language guide — originally entitled “Common Sense When Travelling in Hokkaido” — upset a Chinese resident who angrily claimed the diagrams featuring examples of bad tourist behaviour were offensive, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.

The complaint prompted a new, foreigner-friendly version with softer explanations of Japanese customs.

In the updated guide available in Chinese and English, gone are the large ‘X’-marks next to cartoon illustrations of tourists committing, from a Japanese perspective, embarrassing gaffes, such as putting used toilet paper into the waste bin — the general custom in China — instead of flushing it away.

According to The Japan Times newspaper, the original booklet was first published last August and was targeted at Chinese tourists, including a reminder not to open products before buying them when shopping, a habit also seen in China.

China has said it will monitor the behaviour of unruly tourists abroad and punish them on their return home after being shamed by a string of well-publicised incidents in recent years.

Research by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch found that more than 100 million Chinese tourists went abroad in 2014, spending some $164 billion.

But reports of disruptive behaviour have tarnished their reputation, such as passengers scalding a flight attendant with hot water and noodles or a holidaymaker fined in Thailand for washing her feet in the wash basin of a public toilet.

Media in Japan have carried a spate of reports of alleged uncouth behaviour by Chinese visitors, though some local commentators have urged understanding, recalling that the emergence five decades ago of Japanese tourists as a force in global travel was often met with complaints about their behaviour.

Around 85,000 copies of the Hokkaido tourist brochure have reportedly been printed in Chinese and English, to be distributed to hotels and tourist attractions across the island.

White House race: Cruz battles Trump; names Carly Fiorina as running mate

White House hopeful Ted Cruz went all-in Wednesday as he sought to bar Donald Trump’s triumphant march to the Republican nomination, naming Carly Fiorina as his running mate as the primary race hits its final stretch.

The Texas senator made the surprise announcement a day after Trump clinched a knock-out series of wins in five states, putting him within striking distance of the nomination as all eyes turn to next week’s key vote in Indiana.

Cruz tapped the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Fiorina as his would be vice presidential pick, without waiting — as is customary — for the end of the primary campaign.

“Over and over again, Carly has shattered glass ceilings,” Cruz told a cheering crowd in Indianapolis as he welcomed her on stage.

Fiorina, 61, has been one of Cruz’s staunchest supporters since she abandoned her own White House bid early this year, not to mention an outspoken critic of both Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

In September she stole the show at an early presidential debate by landing stinging blows against Trump, and displaying steely confidence and command of foreign policy.

“Tough fights don’t worry me a bit,” she told the raucous Cruz rally.

“I am prepared to stand by his side and give this everything I have, to restore the soul of our party, to defeat Donald Trump, to defeat Hillary Clinton, and to take our country back.”

– ‘Desperation’ –

Fiorina would be only the third woman on the ticket in a major US political party, after vice presidential nominees Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin in 2008.

But Cruz remains far from securing the party nomination.

He is mathematically eliminated from winning the 1,237 delegates needed to prevail outright, and acknowledges his only hope would be to make it to a contested Republican convention in July, and to get a sufficient number of delegates there to vote for him.

If the Fiorina announcement was an effort to shake up the race, the Trump camp was instantly dismissive.

“This is truly one of the greatest acts of desperation I have ever seen,” Trump’s son Eric posted on Twitter.

Trump meanwhile sought to convey an image of statesmanship following crushing victories in five northeastern states that helped him solidify his claim to be the party’s flagbearer.

The brash billionaire delivered a sober, scripted speech, short on specifics, in which he promised a top-to-bottom overhaul of US foreign policy to put “America First.”

His aim in part was to win over a skeptical establishment, following months of insulting language at campaign rallies that infuriated party grandees.

But Trump perhaps inadvertently highlighted contradictions in his policies, laying out a strategy of restoring US strength and crushing the Islamic State group while cutting allies loose.

“We will no longer surrender this country or its people to the false song of globalism,” Trump told about 150 foreign policy experts as he lashed out at the current US administration.

“We’re rebuilding other countries while weakening our own,” he said, decrying nation-building missions in the Middle East and the US trade deficit with China.

– Stubborn rivals –

Like Trump, Clinton looks virtually assured of the Democratic nomination after the former secretary of state crushed her rival Bernie Sanders on Tuesday — winning four out of five states.

Both frontrunning candidates have squarely turned their sights to November’s general election and Trump dismissed Clinton’s credentials in a frontal attack.

“Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she’d get five percent of the vote,” Trump told supporters. “The only thing she’s got going is the woman’s card.”

Clinton pushed back, saying: “If fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman’s card, then deal me in.”

Both candidates, meanwhile, must still contend with stubborn rivals intent on tripping them up before their parties’ nominating conventions in July.

Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist who has vowed to stay in the race until then, nonetheless announced Wednesday that he is cutting hundreds of campaign staffers across the country, US media reported.

With so many primaries now completed “we no longer require many of the loyal and dedicated state and national support staffers who helped us,” Sanders’ spokesman Michael Briggs said in a statement.

“We will continue to have a strong and dedicated staff of more than 300 workers who are going to help us win in California and other contests still to come,” Briggs added.

Meanwhile on the Republican front Cruz has teamed up with Ohio Governor John Kasich to try to block Trump’s path, and wrest the nomination from him at the Republican convention in Cleveland.

Indiana’s May 3 primary will be a key test of the “stop Trump” strategy.

Kasich has agreed not to campaign there, giving Cruz an opportunity to compete head to head with Trump for the state’s 57 delegates. Cruz has agreed not to compete with Kasich in New Mexico and Oregon.

Trump now stands at 991 delegates, according to CNN’s running estimate. Cruz was a distant second with 568, and Kasich at 154.

Toddler shoots mother dead

A toddler riding in the back of a car accidentally shot dead his mother with a gun that slid out from under the driver’s seat, US police said Wednesday.

The 26-year-old victim, Patrice Price, was pronounced dead at the scene following Tuesday’s incident in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the local sheriff’s office said.

The child, aged two and a half and identified by local media as a boy, fired the 40-caliber gun through the driver’s seat where his mother was at the wheel.

Local broadcaster WISN quoted the victim’s father as saying that she was a mother of three.

“This little girl right here meant everything in the world to me,” Andre Price told the station. “And I lost the other half of my heart.”

The weapon apparently belonged to the victim’s security guard boyfriend, with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper reporting that she was driving his car because hers had been stolen days earlier.

The sheriff’s office said that deputies found a security officer’s gun belt belonging to the boyfriend on the floor of the front passenger seat.

The firearm was recovered on the floor behind the driver’s seat. An investigation is under way.

Also in the vehicle was another of Price’s children, aged one, and the woman’s mother. Neither of the children was in a car seat.

Price’s mother told relatives that her daughter turned to her after a loud pop rang out and said: “Momma, don’t let me die,” WISN reported.

Following the shooting, fellow motorists stopped and pushed the car out of traffic before police arrived and performed CPR on Price while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical personnel.

Tuesday’s shooting comes on the heels of a similar accident, though not fatal, in Florida last month.

In that instance, a four-year-old boy accidentally shot his mother in the back while she was at the wheel, leaving the passionately pro-gun woman badly wounded.

Jamie Gilt, who had boasted online about her toddler’s shooting prowess, was cruising down a major thoroughfare with her son in the back when he shot her on March 8. The bullet went through the seat cushion.

The mother and boy were on their way to pick up a horse, said police, who rushed to Gilt’s aid after an officer checked to see why the vehicle had stopped.

The weapon was a .45-caliber handgun the boy found on the floor of the pickup truck Gilt was driving. Police said she legally owned the weapon.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a group aimed at reducing US gun violence, there have been at least 77 shootings this year during which a child or adolescent aged 17 or under unintentionally fired a gun and killed or injured someone.

Firearms claim the lives of some 30,000 people in the United States each year.

Obama looking for laughs one last time

Once a year, the US president attends a party he can’t avoid and is asked to make Washington laugh.

When Barack Obama steps onto the stage of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, he will carry out that ritual for the eighth and final time.

The clips will be played again and again and endlessly dissected by pundits — so finding the right tone and jokes are key.

“This is one of the hardest speeches of the year,” said 35-year-old Cody Keenan, who leads a team of speechwriters at the White House.

“Other than the State of the Union address, this is probably the speech we start earliest, just because humor is so difficult,” he added.

“It’s also the biggest team working on any speech other than the State of the Union address.”

This year, the team member with “the pen” and tasked with making Obama funny is 34-year-old Tyler Lechtenberg.

“Jokes in general are some of the most nerve-racking parts of speeches,” he said. “With a joke, there is more vulnerability to it. If it flops, that is something that we can take personally too.”

One of the first steps in the writing process is developing a broad list of potential topics, which is circulated both inside and outside the White House.

Former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and David Axelrod are among those consulted this year.

Listening to other people “is a big part of the process” said Lechtenberg. “Every idea in the brain storming stage is a good idea.”

But then comes the tough task of whittling all those ideas down.

“We’ll probably have maybe 100 jokes total and bring them down to 20-25 by the end,” said Keenan. “You’ve got to have a thick skin because most of your jokes are going to get cut.”

Lechtenberg describes the process as having a “herding cats” feel.

– Self-deprecation is key –

There will be some digs at political opponents and some at his hosts and the journalists who cover the White House and have invited all the guests.

But the most important element might be self-deprecation.

“He will spend a good chunk of time making fun of himself,” said Keenan. “It’s critical.”

“You have to show that you are willing to poke fun of yourself to build a little credibility with the audience,” he added.

“If you just go out there and rip on everybody else, that’s not fun.”

One president who shone in that task was Bill Clinton, who in 1993, at the outset of his administration, was lying low in the polls.

“I don’t think I’m doing so bad. I mean, at this point in his administration, William Henry Harrison had been dead for 68 days!” he joked.

When it comes to roasting others, there is a fine line between humor and humiliation, especially when the person doing the roasting is the most powerful on the planet.

Obama takes a very hands-on role in crafting his speeches.

“If there was ever something in a speech that’s too hurtful, he would take it out,” said Keenan.

“We don’t want anyone to leave the dinner feeling hurt.”

– Taking on Trump –

But in 2011 Obama tested the boundaries of that dictum when he poked fun at Donald Trump, a man now vying to be his successor.

For months, the controversy courting businessman had fueled rumors that Obama, the first black American president, was not born in the United States.

At one point Obama even released his birth certificate, while admonishing theorists and the press: “We do not have time for this kind of silliness.”

A few days later, he took advantage of the presence of the extravagant billionaire at the dinner to let loose.

“Now, I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald,” Obama began.

“And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter –- like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”

The roast continued as Trump sat among a sea of laughing guests.

Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the race for the White House, has said he will not attend Saturday’s dinner, suggesting that the media would misreport his mood.

“I don’t think we have ever held back before so I would not expect anything radically different this time,” said Keenan in previewing this year’s speech.

What will be different is that it is both Obama’s and Keenan’s last.

“It’s very daunting to think about what I will do after this that has the same sense of purpose to it,” he said.

“The notion that I might have peaked at 35 is terrifying,” he said with a laugh, adding “it has been a blast.”