TODAY NEWS

Fashola makes case for physically-challenged

Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos has appealed to state governors to enact laws that would help make life easier for the people living with disability in their states.Fashola said this when he chaired the wedding reception of Abdul Al-Makura, son of the Nasarawa State governor, who had hearing challenges.He said people with disabilities were special and should be encouraged to reach their full potential.“I appeal to all to be sensitive to the plight of those with disabilities. They are special people and all we need do is facilitate their special needs in and out of government.“I appeal to those who haven’t enacted a law on people with their disabilities to do so in their respective domains,’’ Fashola said.He called the reception, an international and inter-party event, and prayed that the lives of the couple would get better, and better like his since he got married to Mrs Abimbola Fashola, the first lady of Lagos State.While supervising the cutting of the cake, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, urged the groom to “respect, love and believe in your wife if you want your love to last forever.“To you my daughter, submit, obey, support and respect your husband. Do not involve third party into your home and do not report your husband to your mother or to his mother,’’ she said.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the groom, who lost his hearing at the age of four to Lassa fever, met his wife, Anisa, who is also hard of hearing, at the Galodet University where they both study.NAN reports that the governors of Kogi, Katsina, Gombe, Niger, Imo, Bauchi, and the bride’s family from Pakistan, were also at the event. (NAN)

Iran warns of ‘harsh consequences’ if US acts on Syria

Erupted Sunday over Syria as Washington said it is ready to take action over chemical weapons attacks and Tehran warned US intervention would carry “harsh consequences”.
Pressure mounted on Damascus to allow a UN probe of chemical attacks, with French President Francois Hollande saying evidence indicated the regime in war-ravaged Syria was to blame and Israel demanding action against its neighbour.
The Al-Nusra Front, a fierce Al-Qaeda-linked group fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad, vowed revenge against villages of the Syrian president’s minority Alawite community.

Doctors Without Borders said 355 people died this week of “neurotoxic” symptoms, after Syria’s opposition claimed regime forces unleashed chemicals east and southwest of Damascus on Wednesday causing more than 1,300 deaths.
If confirmed, it would be the deadliest use of chemical agents since late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein gassed Iranian troops and Kurdish rebels in the 1980s.

US President Barack Obama said a year ago that the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s forces was a “red line” that could trigger Western intervention.
On Sunday a strident warning came from Washington’s archfoe Iran.
“If the United States crosses this red line, there will be harsh consequences for the White House,” armed forces deputy chief of staff Massoud Jazayeri said.
His comments come a day after Obama held a rare meeting with his top aides and discussed Syria by phone with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Cameron’s office said they two leaders agreed the use of chemical weapons would “merit a serious response” — echoing French calls.

On Sunday Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the US military was “prepared to exercise whatever option” against Syria but intelligence was still being evaluated.
Syria denies it used chemical weapons and has reportedly said it will work with UN inspectors who have been on the ground for a week to probe three other suspect sites.
“The Syrian government will cooperate with the United Nations mission now in Syria to create the conditions for a visit to zones where terrorist groups have carried out attacks with chemical weapons,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
He said Muallem gave him the pledge during a phone conversation but there was no independent confirmation.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told Muallem this week that if Syria has “nothing to hide” it should let the UN experts inspect the site before evidence is destroyed.
On a visit to Malaysia, Hagel said the US defence department had prepared “options for all contingencies” at Obama’s request.
“Again, we are prepared to exercise whatever option, if he decides to employ one of those options,” he added.
Obama and Cameron “are both gravely concerned by… increasing signs that this was a significant chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime against its own people,” the British leader’s office said.
Several world leaders have said they believe Syria’s regime is behind the chemical attacks and are demanding it gives the inspectors unfettered access.
Hollande said there was “a body of evidence indicating that the August 21 attack was chemical in nature, and that everything led to the belief that the Syrian regime was responsible for this unspeakable act”.
UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane was tasked by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with establishing the terms of an inquiry.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said about 3,600 patients displaying “neurotoxic symptoms” had flooded into three Syrian hospitals on the day of the alleged attacks, and 355 of them died.
“Medical staff working in these facilities provided detailed information to MSF doctors regarding large numbers of patients arriving with symptoms including convulsions, excess saliva, pinpoint pupils, blurred vision and respiratory distress,” said MSF operations director Bart Janssens.
MSF president Mego Terzian told AFP that “scientific” proof is still lacking.
“Syrian doctors we work with have no scientific proof. They must take hair samples, for example, and send them to a specialist laboratory,” to carry out conclusive tests, he said.
In Israel, President Shimon Peres called for international efforts to “take out” chemical weapons in Syria as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will pull the “trigger” if needed to protect its people.
As Syria and its opponents traded accusations on who used chemicals, the radical Al-Nusra Front vowed punitive action.
“The Alawite villages will pay the price for each chemical rocket that struck our people in Damascus,” the group’s leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani said in an audio message posted online.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad’s rule flared in March 2011, the UN says.
AFP.

US says ready to act over Syria chemical claims

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the US military was ready to take action against the Syrian regime if ordered, but stressed Washington was still evaluating claims that Syrian forces had unleashed a chemical weapons attack near Damascus.

KUALA LUMPUR: Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Sunday the US military was ready to take action against the Syrian regime if ordered, but stressed that Washington was still evaluating claims of a chemical weapons attack."President Obama has asked the Defence Department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that," Hagel told reporters in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur."Again, we are prepared to exercise whatever option, if he decides to employ one of those options."He said the US and its allies were assessing intelligence on allegations that President Bashar al-Assad's forces unleashed chemical weapons in an attack near Damascus last week as he battles an uprising that began in March 2011."I wouldn't go further than that, until we have more intelligence based on facts," Hagel said.Hagel spoke after a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart, Hishammuddin Hussein, as he started a week-long South-east Asia tour to stress Washington's much-touted renewed focus on the Asia-Pacific region.But his attention has been diverted by crises in Syria and Egypt, where security forces have cracked down on supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.Hagel phoned Egypt's army chief from Kuala Lumpur to appeal for a peaceful resolution of political conflicts there, and has been in touch with top US national security advisers in Syria.Hagel reiterated the US military had presented a range of military options to President Barack Obama over the apparent chemical attack that has sparked international revulsion.On his flight to Malaysia from Hawaii, he told reporters the American military was moving forces into place as needed, amid speculation Washington might opt for cruise missile strikes to punish Assad's regime.Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron appeared to move closer to pinning blame on Assad's forces.A Downing Street statement said the US and British leaders "are both gravely concerned by... increasing signs that this was a significant chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime against its own people".The Syrian government and rebel forces have accused each other of using chemical weapons.Doctors Without Borders said 355 people had died of "neurotoxic" symptoms stemming from Wednesday's incident.The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in the Syrian uprising.Hagel was set to give a speech later on Sunday underlining a concerted effort by Washington to rebalance America's strategic focus towards the Asia-Pacific.The tilt to Asia is seen as based in part on the region's growing economic importance and to counterbalance China's expanding military might.Hagel said he and his Malaysian counterpart agreed to bolster military cooperation in a "productive" session.Amid tense territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the Pentagon is offering help to South-east Asian states in the form of material and training as they try to better monitor their waters.A senior defence official, briefing reporters travelling with Hagel, rejected the "myth" that budget cuts hitting the Pentagon would spell an end to the Asia "pivot"."We have adequate means to support this strategy and to do so for the foreseeable future," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The United States was increasing the number of naval ships in the Asia-Pacific and pursuing agreements with a number of countries to allow ships, aircraft and troops to rotate through key ports and airfields, while avoiding permanent American bases, the official said.After his two-day stop in Malaysia, Hagel heads to Indonesia and then Brunei for a gathering of defence ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations and other regional players including China and India.