CHINJA ATTACKS MALAYSIA OVER MISSING PLANE

 TRAGECTORY OF MISSING PLANE BEFORE IT DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR

Malaysia drew a fresh round of scathing criticism from China today over conflicting information on missing flight MH370, with state media and social media users voicing increasing scepticism as the search enters its 10th day.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Saturday announced that the Malaysia Airlines flight's disappearance may have been "deliberate" and that the aeroplane flew for several hours after leaving its intended flight path.

In an editorial, the China Daily newspaper questioned why the announcement from Kuala Lumpur came more than a week after the flight vanished and wondered whether Malaysia was sharing all of the information it had gathered.

"The contradictory and piecemeal information Malaysia Airlines and its government have provided has made search efforts difficult and the entire incident even more mysterious," it said.

"What else is known that has not been shared with the world?"

Two-thirds of the passengers on board the flight were Chinese, and Beijing has been critical of Malaysia's sharing of information – a concern reiterated today as fears mounted that the plane might have been hijacked.

"It is of the utmost importance that any loopholes that might have been exploited by hijackers or terrorists be identified as soon as possible because we need counter-measures to plug them," the China Daily said.

Yao Shujie, the head of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham, wrote in an op-ed in China's state-run Global Times newspaper that Malaysia "has lost authority and credibility" because of its chaotic response.

"The lack of national strength and experience in dealing with incidents has left the Malaysian government helpless and exhausted by denying all kinds of rumours," Yao said.

He added: "If the search continues to be fruitless even following the new information, Malaysia would be better off handing over its command in the international rescue operation."

The plane's disappearance remained the most hotly debated topic on China's popular social networks, with many users of Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter, echoing concerns over the Malaysian government's release of information.

"Why is it only now that they've confirmed it may have been hijacked?" one Sina Weibo user wrote this morning in response to the latest revelations by Kuala Lumpur.

"Malaysia, what else are you hiding?"

Another posted: "I'm really getting more and more disappointed in Malaysia and their unreliable government. I'm not planning on travelling there any time in the future."

Last week, one of the most widely forwarded messages was a posting that read: "Vietnam keeps discovering. Malaysia Airlines keeps denying. China keeps sending rescue teams."

Today, the meme had taken a new twist.

"Malaysia has been telling a week's worth of lies. Vietnam has fished out a week's worth of rubbish. China has forwarded a week's worth of news," read the latest viral message. – AFP

FBI Examining Malaysia Airlines Pilot's Flight Simulator

Mike Levine 

Pictured is Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

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The FBI is examining the home made flight simulator that belonged to the captain of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight and a key question will be trying to determine what the captain deleted and whether it's key to the investigation.

The simulator's hard drive and data were taken from the home of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah this week as part of investigators' efforts to determine whether the crew of the plane could have been complicit in whatever happened to the flight and the 239 people on board. Authorities are baffled about the plane's disappearance, but have determined that it was a "deliberate act."

Scenes of Grief, Anger in Search for MH370

An initial review of the simulator, which the captain had boasted on YouTube of building himself, found nothing suspicious and no indications of plotting the plane's disappearance, but the FBI will scour the hard drive.

The FBI's role in examining the simulator was confirmed to ABC News by a U.S. official hours after Malaysian officials told a news conference that the veteran pilot had deleted files from the simulator and investigators were trying to determine what had been erased.

The Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

Some of the files were deleted on Feb. 3, Malaysian Police Chief Khalid Abu said at a news conference today. The family of the pilot is cooperating with the investigation, officials said.

After the simulator was confiscated earlier this week, ABC News aviation expert John Nance said that officials would be looking through the simulator data to see if the captain practiced maneuvers similar to those done by MH370 after it disappeared from radar.

They will also look for "Any indication that the simulator could practice anything untoward like practicing landing on small islands in the ocean," Nance said.

Despite the focus on the flight simulator, Malaysian officials said they are not ruling out any possibilities.

"I would like to take this opportunity to state that the passengers, the pilot and the crew remain innocent until proven otherwise," Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today.

Today's daily news conference was marked by angry relatives of passengers who shouted insults at Malaysian authorities and held up a banner in protest. A chaotic scene ensued in the Sama Sama Hotel in Kuala Lumpur as police tried to escort the relatives out of the area. The families were first escorted into a holding room, but when police emerged from the room and tried to move them out of the area pushing and shouting erupted as camera crews tried to get near the families.

The families, devastated by the plane's disappearance, have become frustrated by the lack of information.

"It's really too much. I don't know why it is taking so long for so many people to find the plane. It's 12 days," Subaramaniam Gurusamy, 60, said in an interview from his home on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. His son, Pushpanathan Subramaniam, 34, was on the flight heading to Beijing for a work trip.

"He's the one son I have," Subaramaniam said.

As the frustrations mount, the plane's path and final position remain a mystery. Officials today rejected suggestions that islanders in the Maldives, an island chain in the southern Indian Ocean, saw the jetliner flying low in the sky.

Search crews from 26 countries are searching for the plane.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Nescafé brings to life the dreams of West African youth with the “Dream Truck” Tour

 

NESCAFÉ is launching today a youth entrepreneurship support initiative across the Central and West Africa Region.

NESCAFÉ is a brand associated with alertness, youthfulness and vitality. Young people are rich with ideas and prospects for socio-economic transformation. They are changing the status quo, overturning conventions and bustling with creativity and youthful exuberance.

Through a tour which has been named the “#GetstartedAfrica” Tour, the dreams and aspirations of young people will be collected. NESCAFÉ will help these youngsters to get started to set things into motion through this social media- driven brand marketing initiative. One dream with the “most likes” will be shortlisted by consumers through a survey on the NESCAFÉ Facebook page.

Engaging Young People through Social Media for Social Transformation and Development

The project is targeting young people aged 18-28 years old. The truck will travel across main cities in the region and will collect the dreams/projects and aspirations of the youth.

NESCAFÉ will post online the collected projects during the initiative and will, at the end of the tour, invite fans to vote for the dream project they would like to make come true. With designated bus stops, fans on Facebook can direct the truck movement with their likes and comments so as to create engagement towards a worthy cause of unearthing dreams and aspirations. The Total Travel distance is 7,672 Km (+/- 300 Km) for the whole Central & West Africa Region.

Ghana leads the way in the tour towards unearthing dreams

Ghana is the first country in the region to start the tour today 18th March 2014. With an event to mark the official rolling of the truck wheels for NESCAFÉ goodness, NESCAFÉ Breakfast in cold and hot cups will be served on the campus of the University of Ghana. A similar programme will be held on major campuses throughout Ghana and in other tertiary institutions across the Central & West Africa Region.

Abba Moro must go

protests against the Nigerian Immigration services and its supervising ministry in Lagos as civil society coalition asks for the removal of Nigeria's Internal Affairs Minister,Abba Moro

Nigerian Hospital makes landmark medical breakthrough

By Abdulmumini Adeku.

A Nigerian private Hospital,Olotu Hospital in Ilorin,Kwara state recently made a major breakthrough in spinal cord surgery.

In an exclusive chart with Paedia Express Multimedia in Lagos,Nigeria ,a source  who was the patient operated upon but who does not want his name in the print said that he was relieved that his medical nightmares has finally come to an end.

He explained he was at a marketing communications forum with some of his colleagues when one of the equipments they were using suddenly gave way and he rushed to try to stop it from been destroyed and his back caved-in in the process.

According to him it was at this moment that he started to experience sever pains as it was a major shift along the vertebral column that formed the spinal cord.

His Words:”initially I did not want to go for the surgery as usually it is less than 20 percent success rate since it is known to be a difficult surgery, not to talk of when you do it in Nigeria”

“after consultations with my father in Ilorin he asked his friend ,Dr Olotu of his professional opinions and it was agreed I go for the surgery”

“The surgery lasted for about four to five  hours  and after that I was told that I should be okay in six months ,because of that operation now I cannot seat in a particular location for an hour continuously so I  make up for this anomaly by pacing up and down “

He added that he can however sleep and do any other thing that interests him and assured that as at press time he had gone for four months on his treatment schedules and should soon be declared fully fit by doctors.

Malaysian leader: Plane's disappearance deliberate,As Murdoch Tweets cause rumpus

Malaysian Prime Minister ,Mr Najib Razaq     amidst other senior officials in Kuala Lumpur insists on sabotage as cause of missing plane

By IAN MADER and EILEEN NG

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The missing Malaysian jetliner was deliberately diverted and continued flying for more than six hours after losing contact with the ground, meaning it could have gone as far northwest as Kazakhstan or into the Indian Ocean's southern reaches, Malaysia's leader said Saturday.

Prime Minister Najib Razak's statement confirmed days of mounting speculation that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to Beijing more than a week ago was not accidental. It refocused the investigation into the flight's crew and passengers and underlined the massive task for searchers who already have been scouring vast areas of ocean.

"Clearly the search for MH370 has entered a new phase," Najib said at a televised news conference.

Najib stressed that investigators were looking into all possibilities as to why the Boeing 777 deviated so drastically from its original flight path, saying authorities could not confirm whether it was a hijacking. Earlier Saturday, a Malaysian official said the plane had been hijacked, though he added that no motive had been established and no demands had been made known.

"In view of this latest development, the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board," Najib told reporters, reading from a written statement but not taking any questions.

Police on Saturday drove into the residential compound where the missing plane's pilot lives in Kuala Lumpur, according a guard and several local reporters who were barred from entering the complex. Authorities have said they will investigate the pilots as part of their probe, but have released no information about how they are progressing.

Experts have previously said that whoever disabled the plane's communication systems and then flew the jet must have had a high degree of technical knowledge and flying experience. One possibility they have raised was that one of the pilots wanted to commit suicide.

The plane was carrying 239 people when it departed for an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing at 12:40 a.m. on March 8. Its communications with civilian air controllers were severed at about 1:20 a.m., and the jet went missing — heralding one of the most puzzling mysteries in modern aviation history.
Investigators now have a high degree of certainty that one of the plane's communications systems — the Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System — was disabled before the aircraft reached the east coast of Malaysia, Najib said. Shortly afterward, someone on board then switched off the aircraft's transponder, which communicates with civilian air traffic controllers.
Najib then confirmed that Malaysian air force defense radar picked up traces of the plane turning back westward, crossing over Peninsular Malaysia into the northern stretches of the Strait of Malacca. Authorities previously had said this radar data could not be verified.
"These movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane," Najib said.
Although the aircraft was flying virtually blind to air traffic controllers at this point, onboard equipment continued to send pings to satellites.
The prime minister said the last confirmed signal between the plane and a satellite came at 8:11 a.m. — 7 hours and 31 minutes after takeoff. This was more than five hours later than the previous time given by Malaysian authorities as the possible last contact.
Airline officials have said the plane had enough fuel to fly for up to about eight hours.
"The investigations team is making further calculations which will indicate how far the aircraft may have flown after this last point of contact," Najib said.
He said authorities had determined that the plane's last communication with a satellite was in one of two possible "corridors" — a northern one from northern Thailand through to the border of the Central Asian countries Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and a southern one from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

A man walks out of a room reserved for relatives of Chinese passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airli …

Searching in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact, has ended, Najib said.
Two-thirds of the plane's 227 passengers were Chinese, and China's government has been under pressure to give relatives firm news of the plane's fate.
In a stinging commentary, the Chinese government's Xinhua News Agency accused Malaysia of dragging its feet in releasing information. Information released by the Malaysian leader is "painfully belated," the commentary said. It said delays had resulted in wasted efforts and strained the nerves of relatives.

"Given today's technology, the delay smacks of either dereliction of duty or reluctance to share information in a full and timely manner," Xinhua said. "That would be intolerable."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China had urged Malaysia to release more details about the new search area.

The northern route described by Najib might have taken the plane through a region home to extremist Islamist groups and unstable governments, as well as remote, sparsely populated areas. But the region also hosts U.S. military bases with powerful surveillance capabilities.

Flying south would put the plane over the Indian Ocean, with an average depth of 3,890 meters (12,762 feet) and thousands of kilometers (miles) from the nearest land mass.
Malaysia has faced accusations that it isn't sharing all its information or suspicions about the plane's final movements, which have been the subject of constant media leaks both in Malaysia and the United States. Najib said that he understood the need for families to receive information, but that his government wanted to release only fully corroborated information.
He said that from Day One, the country had been sharing information with international investigators, even when it meant placing "national security concerns" second to the search, a likely reference to its release of military radar data. U.S., British and Malaysian air safety investigators have been on the ground in Malaysia to assist with the investigation.
In the Chinese capital, relatives of passengers who have anxiously awaited news at a hotel near Beijing's airport said they felt deceived at not being told earlier about the plane's last signal. "We are going through a roller coaster, and we feel helpless and powerless," said a woman, who declined to give her name.

At least one of the people waiting at the hotel saw a glimmer of hope in word that the plane's disappearance was a deliberate act, rather than a crash. "It's very good," said the woman, who gave only her surname, Wen.

Malaysian police have already said they are looking at the psychological state, family life and connections of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27. Both have been described as respectable, community-minded men.
Zaharie joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and had more than 18,000 hours of experience. His Facebook page showed an aviation enthusiast who flew remote-controlled aircraft, posting pictures of his collection, which included a lightweight twin-engine helicopter and an amphibious aircraft.
Fariq was contemplating marriage after having just graduated to the cockpit of a Boeing 777. He has drawn scrutiny after the revelation that in 2011, he and another pilot invited two women aboard their aircraft to sit in the cockpit for a flight from Phuket, Thailand, to Kuala Lumpur.

Fourteen countries are involved in the search, which is using 43 ships and 58 aircraft.

A U.S. P-8A Poseidon, the most advanced long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft in the world, was to arrive over the weekend and sweep parts of the Indian Ocean. It has a nine-member crew and has advanced surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement.

In a series of tweets following the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch expressed his own wildly unfounded theories surrounding the missing plane, which he says "confirms jihadists [are] turning to make trouble for China", and that the "US and China should be working more closely on Muslim extremist threat".

On March 9, the day after the Beijing-bound Malaysian airliner lost contact with the ground, Murdoch posted to his Twitter account: This morning, the media tycoon took to the platform again to revise one aspect of his previous post, saying that maybe plane hadn't crashed but was hijacked and "hidden" in Northern Pakistan:

The second set of tweets came hours before a press conference held by Malaysian PM Najib Razak this afternoon, in which he stated that actions on the missing Flight 370 were "deliberate". Razak also said there is a "high degree of certainty" that the data reporting system of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was disabled before the plane reached the east coast of Malaysia.
"These movements are consistent with the deliberate action by someone on the plane," Razak said.
He added that Malaysian authorities have refocused on the passengers and crew aboard the aircraft.
Although the PM did not confirm reports that surfaced earlier quoting an unnamed Malaysian official who said that the hijacking of MH370 was "conclusive", Razak said "we are still investigating all possibilities".
The last known communication with the satellite was at 8:11 a.m. MSIA time on Saturday, March 8 Razak said. Authorities believe the plane "was in one of two possible corridors": between the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Thailand or Indonesia to the S. Indian Ocean.
"Clearly the search for MH370 has entered a new phase," Razak said.

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Associated Press writers Chris Brummitt and Jim Gomez contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur. AP writer Didi Tang, video producer Aritz Parra and news assistant Henry Hou contributed from Beijing.

Bank Declares ₦107.09billion Profit Before Tax for FY 2013

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Foremost African Banking Group, Guaranty Trust Bank plc has announced its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges. A review of the results shows a strong and positive performance across all financial indices and also affirms the Bank’s position as one of the most profitable financial services provider in Nigeria. In terms of value creation, GTBank maintained its top position in the industry with pre-tax Return of Equity (ROE) of 34.9% and pre-tax Return on Asset (ROA) of 5.6%.

A glance through the numbers reveals an impressive 28.6% growth in loan book from ₦783.91bn in 2012 to ₦1.01tn in 2013 while customer’s deposits grew by a remarkable 24.3% from ₦1.15tn in 2012 to ₦1.43tn in 2013. Consequently, the group closed the 2013 financial year with a balance sheet size in excess of ₦2tn while shareholders’ equity increased by 17.9% from ₦281.83bn in 2012 to ₦332.35bn in the period under review. Risk management framework in the bank remains very strong as Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio decreased to 3.58% in 2013 from 3.75% in the comparative period of 2012.   

Commenting on the results, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Managing Director and CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc stated that “As a growing franchise and inspite of the regulatory headwinds, our Bank has posted respectable results that reaffirm our reputation as a market leader and a highly ethical financial institution. We have maintained our cost-leadership position as typified by the cost-to-income ratio (2013: 43.5%; 2012:43.1%) among peers year-on-year.

He further stated that “with this performance, we will maintain our commitment to maximizing shareholder value with a proposed dividend pay-out of ₦1.70 per share, an increase of 10% over the ₦1.55 paid in 2012 and a share price appreciation of 17% in 2013. Our acquisition of Fina Bank Limited, a Kenyan bank with significant business footprint in Rwanda and Uganda gives us the opportunity to commence business in three East African countries via the acquisition of one bank. This will give us great mileage and an opportunity to leverage our brand equity. We hope to further tap into the growth potentials of emerging African economies thus bringing us closer to our philosophy of being ‘A proudly African and truly international’ financial brand”.

Guaranty Trust Bank plc has experienced tremendous growth since its inception in Nigeria in 1990 and presently has growing operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and the United Kingdom due to its ability to exhibit an in-depth understanding of these markets.

                                                                                                                                              

     

                            

Fun, excitement and display of talents are some features football lovers can look forward to as Guaranty Trust Bank plc has announced that the District finals draw of the prestigious GTBank- Lagos State Principals Cup competition will take place on Thursday, 13^th March, 2014. The GTBank sponsored tournament is geared towards the development of grassroots football, the discovery of young football talents and fostering camaraderie amongst secondary school students.

The preliminary stage of the tournament kicked off with about 300 Schools from the 20 Education Zones of Lagos state after which they will proceed to the District Finals where 24 Male & 20 Female teams will be placed into 4 groups of 6 teams in the male category and 4 groups of 5 teams in the female category before proceeding to the state preliminaries.

The ultimate prize of N1million will be won by the winning male and female teams while the first, second and third runners up will receive N750,000, N500,000 and N250,000 respectively. Guaranty Trust Bank provides the sporting equipment such as balls, goal post nets and corner flags throughout the duration of the competition.

Commenting on the tournament, Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc; Mr. Segun Agbaje reiterated the Bank’s support towards the development of grassroots football in Lagos State. In his words, “At GTBank, we believe in the power of sports and for the fifth year running, we are proud to demonstrate our support for the game of football in the country. We would not relent in supporting sports competitions that Nigerians are passionate about.  This tournament has over the years helped these students work towards their dream of being world class footballers, it has helped them grow in personal confidence, become better team players and some of them are already making a career out of football”.

Guaranty Trust Bank plc is one of the few Nigerian financial institutions that have maintained a defined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy since its inception in 1990. The Bank actively supports numerous programmes across Africa that positively affect Infant and Maternal Healthcare, Education, the Art, Community Development and the Environment