Several Thousands Gather in Louisville to Pay Final Respects to Ali

Thousands of people gathered today in Louisville, Kentucky, to pay their respects to Muhammad Ali, chanting the boxing legend's name as a funeral procession drove through his Kentucky hometown.

Family, friends and fans mingled under a clear, sunny sky, celebrating both Ali's career as an athlete and his status as a civil rights icon. Flowers and wreaths were laid at the site of his childhood home, and participants described the mood of the affair as warm and jovial, rather than somber.

Fifteen thousand people are expected to attend an interfaith service that will be held at the KFC Yum! Center at 2 p.m. Former President Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal. Bryant Gumbel, and Ali's wife, Lonnie, will give eulogies. Also expected to speak is Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch. The service is open to the public.

Will Smith. who portrayed the boxing legend in the movie "Ali," along with former heavyweight champions Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, will be pallbearers. Three family members will also carry Ali's casket.

Poetry will be read by Attallah Shabazz, Malcolm X's  eldest daughter, while Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama, will give a statement. Other guests of note include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and King Abdullah II, of Jordan.

The service will be led by an imam and will include clerics from multiple religions. After the service, a private reception for friends and guests is scheduled at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.

Ali will be buried at the Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville. Colonel Harlan Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, is also buried there.

Ali was pronounced dead at the age of 74 late Friday night after arriving at a Phoenix hospital to be treated for a respiratory issue days before. His cause of death was "septic shock due to unspecified natural causes," family spokesman Bob Gunnell said. He was surrounded by family when he died.

Muhammad Ali to be buried after final journey through hometown

A funeral procession for Muhammad Ali will travel through his hometown, passing by his childhood home to the first boxing gym where he trained -- the places where the legendary boxer spent his early, formative years.

After the morning procession, The Greatest will be laid to rest Friday.

Throngs of supporters are expected to line the streets of his final journey, including Muhammad Ali Boulevard, as the procession starts at 9 a.m. ET through Louisville. The 16 to 18 car procession is scheduled to pass the Ali Center, go by his childhood home, weave past Central High where he graduated and then continue to the Columbia Gym where he first trained.

The 90-minute procession will end at the Cave Hill Cemetery, where he will be buried in a private ceremony.

Tutu’s daughter ‘sad’ to leave priesthood after gay marriage

The daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said she felt part of her had been “stripped away” when she had to relinquish the Anglican priesthood after marrying her female partner in December.
Mpho Tutu van Furth has been speaking to the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko about falling in love, and the pain of leaving the church.

Woman Dies in Parking Lot After Dentist Pulls 16 Teeth

She was sick with several chronic conditions, but 46-year-old Michigan woman April Walters had been cleared to have 18 teeth pulled last week, and now her family wants answers after she died in the parking lot of the dentist's office following the procedure
Walters suffered from sarcoidosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high blood pressure, and diabetes, and she was on oxygen, but her doctor wanted many of her teeth pulled due to an infection, reports. Before her Friday procedure Walters was reportedly anxious, having been turned away in the past due to an elevated heart rate. 
The family has passed its $2,000 GoFundMe goal to cover funeral costs. 

O.A.U ILE-IFE SSANU AND NASU ON RAMPAGE KICKS AGAINST THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW VC AND ALLEGE FORMER VC PROF TALE OMOLE OF FINANCIAL MIS-APROPRIATION

As some industrial unions, including the non -teaching staff of the Obafemi  Awolowo University are kicking against the appointment of the institution’s new Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami, the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU) yesterday described the process producing him as free, fair and transparent.
‎The ASUU disagreed with Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU.)

‎
At an interactive session at the OAU ASUU’s secretariat, its chairman Dr. Caleb Aborisade, disclosed that there was a signed agreement in 2009 between the Federal Government and the ASUU on the appointment of the universities’ Vice-Chancellors.
‎Speaking particularly on OAU, he further disclosed that he appointment of the Vice-Chancellor was advertised and published in major national dailies, where according to him, the selection process was clearly stated.‎
Aborisade said that the university’s Governing Council and the Senate with the committee set up for the new appointment of the Vice-Chancellor was also stated in accordance with the selection procedure that the contestants must be a professor for at least 10 years.
the contestants must be a professor for at least 10 years.
‎He averred that unions’ role in the appointment of new Vice-Chancellor was clear enough, saying that it was discussed by the congress that the current university autonomy does not factor a direct role for ASUU in the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor.‎
“I don’t know why  Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU)‎ are faulting the process and procedure for the appointment of the new VC,” he wondered.
Meanwhile, the non-teaching staff of the university, including  SSANU and NASU had kicked against the procedure for the selection and appointment of the new VC.
The protesters on Tuesday shut the gate of the institution following the announcement of the appointment of the new VC, thereby paralysing academic activities on campus.
They alleged that the new VC was sponsored to replace the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, to cover his misdeeds in office.
The workers further alleged that Prof. Omole has mismanaged the university’s funds and call for immediate investigation and inference of the EFCC (Unedited. from one of Nigerian Dailies)

THE LIST OF 47 AMBASADORS DESIGNATED SUBMITTED BY PRESIDENT BUHARI

The following in the list of the 47 names of Nigeria Ambssador designated submitted to the Senate b President Buhari of Nigeria along their resume screening and ratification.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that nominees included- Obinna Chukwuemeka, Salisu Umoru, Iyang Udoh, Okeke Vivian, Liman Munir, Edem Jane, Mohammed Hassan, Martin Cobham, Janet Molegbo, Itegbuoye Sunday, Olatunde Adesesan and Lilian Onu.

Others are – Manaja Isa, Ngozi Ukeje, Bello Husseini, Enoch Ducci, Garba Baba, Usman Aliyu, Umar Salisu, Momoh Omeiza, Kadiri Audu, Balogun Hakeem, Nosa Ahmed, Ibrahim Isa, Bankole Adeoye and Ibidapo Obe.
Also listed are – Ogundaro Sakirat, Eric Belgam, Ateru Haliru, Ramota Bulima, Musa Mamman, Kabiru Bala, Adamu Shuaibu, D. A. Agiv, T.K. Gonglong, Ibrahim Hamza, K.C. Nwachukwu and Q.R. Wolu.
E.K. Oguntuwase, A.I. Paragauda, L.A. Gasharga, Olufemi Abikoye, Abubakar Ibrahim, Rabiu Kawu, Janet Bisong and Adekunbi Habeebat completed the list

NIGERIA NATIONAL PETROLEUM COORPORATION LOOSES 20 BILLION IN ONE MONTH OVER THE NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES OF THE MILITANT (NIGER-DELTA AVENGERS)

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has disclosed that it lost N20 billion in April due to attacks on Forcados Export Line by the Niger Delta Avengers.
In its Monthly Financial and Operations Report for April released in Abuja on Wednesday, NNPC said its revenue dipped in April by 4.99 per cent to N102.45 billion from N107. 83 billion recorded in March.

It states that the corporation’s expenses also dipped by 3.82 per cent to N121.88 billion compared to N126.72 billion spent in the preceding month.
It attributed the drop to pipeline vandalism which forced one of its subsidiaries, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), to undertake a production shut-in, which resulted in the loss of monthly crude oil revenue of N20 billion.
The report said “NPDC deficit and low revenue in the month of February to March 2016 and April 2016 was due to production shut–in, resulting to loss of entire NPDC’s revenue from crude oil sales of about N20 billion occasioned by vandalism of Forcados Export Line.”
It further blamed the poor performance on losses recorded in the operations of Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) from the fuel scarcity recorded during the period.
It said PPMC, being the sole supplier of last resort, in its drive to bridge the petroleum products supply gap, suffered losses.
It said shortage of products compelled PPMC to sometime engage in commercially unfavourable short term arrangements.
Another major contributor to the loss was high operation costs in the Corporate Headquarters, which included expenses related to the on-going restructuring programme at NNPC, the report said.
A breakdown of the financial performance shows that in spite the shut-in, NPDC recorded a profit of N2.25 billion but Integrated Data Services Limited posted a loss of N476.06 million.
“National Engineering Technical Company Limited recorded a deficit of N167.41 million and the Nigerian Gas Company posted a profit of N4.54 billion.
“The NNPC Retail and the PPMC posted profit of N718.15 million and a loss of N6.905 million respectively,” the report states.
It said that all the three refineries recorded poor financial performances.
It noted that the Kaduna, Port-Harcourt and the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Companies posted losses of N2.28 billion, N1.81 billion and N971.04 million respectively.
It further said that the Corporate Headquarters recorded a deficit of N13.047 billion, while Corporate Service Units posted a loss of N1.28 billion. (NAN)

LAGOS BASED LAWYER SUES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA OVER THE KILLINGS OF PRO-BIFRAN PROTESTERS

Lagos-based lawyer, Ebun-Olu  Adegboruwa, has urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to order the immediate release  of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra who are being allegedly detained unlawfully by the Federal Government.

In a suit he filed on Thursday, Adegboruwa accused the Federal Government of trampling on the constitutional rights of the pro-Biafran protesters to freedoms of expression, assembly and association.

He is urging the court to restrain the Federal Government and its agents from further interfering with activities of the pro-Biafran protesters and unleashing terror on them.

The lawyer wants the court to declare that the pro-Biafran protesters are “entitled to assemble together in any part of the country, for the purpose of demanding for self determination, without any permit or licence.”

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS VOW TO JOIN FORCES WITH CLINTON TO DEFEAT DONALD TRUMP

After meeting with President Obama in the white house on Thursday morning in a friendly meeting which lasted for over one hour according to white house source. Senator Snaders declares Donald Trump as United State President will definitely be a great disaster. He also thanks President Obama and VP Biden for their Game of Non Interference as they promised through out the period of the party primaries. Obama has also congratulated Senator Sanders for his dog headness fight and well landmark made in the History  of American politics.

'Take your border wall and shove it up your ass' Texas Democrats Tells Donald (Dumb) Trump

If it wasn't clear how Rep. Filemon Vela felt about Donald Trump before, it is now. The Texas Democrat sent an open letter to the presumptive Republican nominee telling him just where to put the border wall he's been calling for since the start of his campaign.

"Mr. Trump, you're a racist and you can take your border wall and shove it up your ass," wrote the second-term congressman. "I would like to end this letter in a more diplomatic fashion, but I think that you, of all people, understand why I cannot."

Spot the difference

The letter was first reported by the Texas Tribune.

Vela, who represents a border region of Texas, was responding to the latest controversy by Trump related to the Hispanic community -- pillorying Trump for his criticism of Gonzalo Curiel, the federal judge in Southern California overseeing the Trump University case. The Indiana-born Curiel has Mexican heritage, but Trump has said Curiel cannot be impartial because he is a "Mexican" and Trump wants to build a wall with along that country's border.

Vela did not mince words.

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"You have now descended to a new low in your racist attack of an American jurist, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, by calling him a 'Mexican' simply because he ruled against you," Vela wrote, warning Trump not to "dismiss me as just another 'Mexican.'"