We've Driven Boko Haram into Fall-Back Positions - President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said Monday in Abu Dhabi that Nigeria has made very significant progress towards ending the Boko Haram insurgency since his assumption of office on May 29 last year.

Speaking at a meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon on the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit, President Buhari said that in collaboration with the Multinational Joint Task Force, the Nigerian Armed Forces have driven the terrorist group from Nigerian territory into "fall-back positions".

"They are currently not holding any territory today as we speak, " the President told Mr. Ban Ki Moon.

President Buhari also told the United Nations Secretary-General that Nigeria will persistently pursue global action to reverse the drying up of Lake Chad and save the lives of those who depend on it for survival.

"With all due respect to our neighbours, Nigeria has been worst hit by the drying up of the Lake Chad and we are hoping that the global community will support the process of halting the drying up of the lake, " President Buhari said.

Mr. Ban Ki Moon commended the President for his courage in fighting terrorism and corruption.

The Secretary-General said that Nigeria has made amazing progress against terrorism since President Buhari assumed office, while the President's war against corruption has boosted global confidence in the Nigerian economy.

He urged President Buhari to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into Nigeria's economic and environmental vision.

Nigeria Signs Agreement With UAE On Recovery Of Stolen Funds

The signing of the agreements on trade, finance and judicial matters was witnessed by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, according to Channel Television.

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and the UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Obaid Attayar, signed the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement, while the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah signed the Agreement on Trade Promotion and Protection with the UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs.

The Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, Sultan Bin Saeed Albadi signed the Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters, which includes the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth, Channel reported .

At a reception after the signing of the agreements, President Buhari reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption and restoring Nigeria’s dignity in the comity of nations.

The President also urged all Islamic countries to support the fight against terrorism in Nigeria and described the atrocities of Boko Haram as un-Islamic and against the teachings of the Holy Prophet.

In his remarks, Crown Prince Zayed Al Nahyan said that the relationship between Nigeria and the UAE would be strengthened by President Buhari’s visit and the signing of the agreements.

British minister furious after discovering porn movie filmed on church grounds

                                         CATERS NEWS AGENCY

A British minister has slammed a porn company who filmed an explicit movie on the grounds of his church.

Rev. Paul Tullett was outraged after discovering website PornXN had filmed on church grounds without permission.

Tullett, vicar at St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Water Orton in Warwickshire, England, said a local had alerted him to the shocking video, according to Mirror Online.

The X-rated movie shows porn star Lyen Parker dancing in front of the church sign, before crouching down and urinating on the ground near graves.

"The church is visited on a regular basis by mums and dads who've lost their children — and to think this sacred space, so treasured and valued, has been abused and used for something so inappropriate is shameful and upsetting,” said Rev. Tullett.

"It's a public space, so I don't think they've broken any rules or laws by filming on the grounds — although I think her acts were certainly illegal, her presence wasn't."

Rev. Tullett said the production crew had gained access as there was no way to secure the grounds of the 137-year-old church, and that he was disgusted by their behavior.

In the film, the narrator explains, "At the moment we are in this churchyard, which is pretty naughty. There's people going past. We'll quickly run away before we get any vicars running after us, trying to shout at us."


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Academy Awards: President announces 'dramatic steps' to membership in wake of Oscars diversity scandal

PHIL MCCARTEN/REUTERS

Isaacs said in her statement that she was "heartbroken and frustrated" about the lack of diversity reflected among the 2016 Oscar nominees.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has issued a statement for the second time in two years promising to address the lack of diversity among the major Oscar nominees.

"I’d like to acknowledge the wonderful work of this year’s nominees. While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion,” she said in statement issued Monday evening.

“This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes.The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. 

In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond."

"As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years,” she continued. “But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly."

In her statement, Boone also noted that this push for diversity "isn’t unprecedented for the Academy.”

"In the ‘60s and ‘70s it was about recruiting younger members to stay vital and relevant. In 2016, the mandate is inclusion in all of its facets: gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

“We recognize the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together."

Isaace’s statement comes just one year after she addressed the lack of diversity among the major nominees, with the lack of nods for "Selma" director Ava DuVernay and lead actor David Oyelowo despite the film's Best Picture nomination receiving particular ire.

In response to the firestorm, Isaac said at the time that the Academy was"committed to seeking out diversity of voice and opinion" among its' nearly 7,000 members.

Yet the promised changes didn't come soon enough. Soon after the 2016 Academy Award nominations were announced Jan. 14, the #OscarsSoWhitehashtag, which was created last year in response to the non-diverse nominations, trended again on social media.

The growing backlash has also led Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee to announce they are boycotting the Feb. 28 ceremony, with this year's host, Chris Rock, also facing pressure to bow out of emceeing the Oscars as part of the boycott.


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The Eagles' Glenn Frey dead at 67

Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey, a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, has died at 67, a publicist for the band has confirmed.

"Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia," reads a post on the band's official website.

Frey had been suffering from intestinal issues, which caused the postponement of the band's inclusion in the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors.

Frey and the other original members of the Eagles — Don Henley, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon -- came together to form singer Linda Ronstadt's backup band in the early 1970s.

They were all experienced musicians who forged a laid-back, country-tinged sound that the Eagles would eventually make famous.

"We are all in a state of shock, disbelief and profound sorrow," Henley said in a statement Monday. "I'm not sure I believe in fate, but I know that crossing paths with Glenn Lewis Frey in 1970 changed my life forever, and it eventually had an impact on the lives of millions of other people all over the planet.

"It will be very strange going forward in a world without him in it," Henley added. "But, I will be grateful, every day, that he was in my life. Rest in peace, my brother. You did what you set out to do, and then some."

Throughout the early- to mid-1970s, Frey and the band released hit after hit, leading a renaissance of mellow California singer-songwriters with such artists as Ronstadt and Jackson Browne.

Frey and Henley co-wrote many of the band's biggest songs, including "Best of My Love," "Lyin' Eyes," "One of These Nights" and "Hotel California." Frey also famously helped Browne finish writing the Eagles' first hit, "Take It Easy," contributing the catchy verse, "it's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford / slowing down to take a look at me."

Frey played guitar and keyboard and took lead vocal duties for the band on tunes like "Take it Easy" and "Tequila Sunrise."

With "Hotel California" in 1976, the band reached the pinnacle of its success, selling 16 million copies. They released four number one albums consecutively between 1975 and 1979: "One of These Nights," "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975," "Hotel California" and "The Long Run."

"Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975," was the first album certified platinum and has sold 29 million copies in the United States, second only to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," according to Rolling Stone.

The Eagles have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. But while public reception was warm, the band had a prickly relationship with many critics.

"Another thing that interests me about the Eagles is that I hate them," wrote rock critic Robert Christgau in 1972, when they first hit it big.

The band succumbed to internal squabbles and broke up in 1980. Frey, Henley and other band members were famously contentious.

With his pop sensibilities and gift for melody, Frey was an ideal songwriting counterbalance to Henley's seriousness and penchant for weighty social statements.

"He was like a brother to me," Henley went on to say Monday. "We were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction. But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved."

Frey saw solo success with the 1982 release "No Fun Aloud." He hit the top 40 with "The Heat Is On," "You Belong to the City," "True Love," and "Soul Searchin.'"

He also tried his hand at acting with a guest spot on "Miami Vice" and a small role in the 1996 film "Jerry Maguire," among other credits.

The Eagles reunited for 1994's Hell Freezes Over tour, which spawned an MTV special and a live album. They would continue to tour together over the years.

"Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us, his family, the music community & millions of fans worldwide," the band said on its website Monday.

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