Baby Rescued From Taiwan Earthquake Rubble

A six-month-old baby girl has been rescued from the rubble of an apartment building that collapsed after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan.

Rescue teams are continuing their efforts to find the more than 100 people who remain unaccounted for following the collapse of the 17-storey block in the southern city of Tainan.

The baby girl was rescued after more than 30 hours under the ruins of the building and was taken to hospital.

At least 23 people are known to have died in the quake, which struck at around 4am local time on Saturday.

Sixteen of those killed were in the collapsed Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building.

Around 120 people are still under the rubble of the residential block, with most of them trapped deep in the wreckage, the government said.

Taiwanese media say bodies continue to be found, including those of two sisters aged 18 and 23.

Tainan Mayor William Lai said: "Right now we are in the midst of trying to rescue over ten people.

"At the moment, the rescue force consists of special search teams from various counties and cities across Taiwan who have come to provide assistance."

The building's lower floors collapsed on top of each other in the earthquake and then the whole structure toppled, raising questions about the quality of the materials and workmanship used in its construction in the 1990s.

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Can Nigeria replicate same? As Tunisia builds anti-terror barrier

The barrier is designed to be impassable by vehicles

Tunisia says it has completed the first part of a 200km (125-mile) barrier along its border with Libya, designed to deter terrorism.

The barrier is made of sand banks and water trenches.

It was announced last summer after 38 people were killed on a beach by a gunman said to have trained in Libya.

Tunisia's defence minister said the second phase of the project would involve installing electronic equipment with the help of Germany and the US.

Security forces said the defences - which aim to make the border impassable by vehicles - had already helped to reduce smuggling.

The barrier is made out of water trenches and sand banks

"Today we finished closing it off, and this will help us protect our border, and stop the threat," said Defence Minister Farhat Horchani on Saturday.

More than 3,000 Tunisians have left to fight with the Islamic State (IS) group and other Islamist militants in Syria and Iraq but Mr Horchani said many had since returned to join the group in Libya.

Libya has been beset by instability since the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and currently has two rival governments.

IS took control of Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, last year.

The barrier came about with assistance from the US and Germany

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Reds' Coach Lijnders: Walkout Didn't Affect Us

Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders said a supporter protest did not contribute to the team's late collapse against Sunderland at Anfield on Saturday.

The home side were 2-0 up through goals from Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana when a significant number of fans carried out a plan to walk out in the 77th minute in a protest at next season's ticket prices.

Sunderland went on to score twice in the final eight minutes and deny Liverpool a first win in four games in the absence of their unwell manager Jurgen Klopp.

But Lijnders denied that the mass exit made a difference and claimed the result did not reflect the Reds' performance.

"I don't think so," he said. "That's my personal opinion. We have one of the best supporter groups in the world, so if they want to make a statement they have the right to make a statement.

"That didn't influence at all our confidence or our way of playing.

"[The result is] disappointing but there's a big 'but'. The scoreboard never lies, but today it did a little bit because we dominated the game.

"We played for 82 minutes good and we became better throughout the game. It's difficult straight after to make an evaluation, but in my opinion what we did for 82 minutes was excellent."

Sunderland's first goal was an Adam Johnson free-kick that squirmed through Simon Mignolet's attempted save after Alberto Moreno had fouled Wahbi Khazri.

Lijnders disputed the award and cleared Mignolet of blame, saying: "It's never easy when the ball goes really down and bounces before the line."

And he gave an update on Klopp's condition, saying: "He's doing well. He couldn't be here today but it was a relief we knew he was okay."

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Grumbling in the military!

Some military officers are grumbling over alleged alteration of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) contained in the Armed Forces Act, according to Sunday Vanguard.

Some of the aggrieved professionals in the military said that several medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants and architects had allegedly resigned from the three services: Army, Navy and Air Force. 

The officers, who did not want their names published for fear of being punished, said,  because of the bad impression some people had about the military in the past, coupled with alleged poor remuneration, the Armed Forces Council, drawing its powers under the Armed Forces Act, authored a document known as the Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) to attract graduates to the force. “The HTACOS reorganized the ranks of the Armed Forces and drew up clear equivalents among the rank and file in the three services (the superior officer ranks were never an issue)”, the officers said in a document, Sunday Vanguard reported. 

“Importantly, the HTACOS introduced incentives to lure the professional class into the Armed Forces. Before then, the three services had their individual arrangements: the Army Council, the Navy Council and the Air Council were each responsible for the administration of their respective spheres of influence. 

“However, these were haphazard and proved to be of doubtful efficiency. Then the Armed Forces Council decided that it was better to have uniformity and thus took out time to thrash out policies and regulations that apply to all the services in equal force; hence, the coming of the Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service.

“The HTACOS set out some incentives to make a career in the Armed Forces an attractive prospect for professionals.” The aggrieved military officers further explained, “Whenever the Armed Forces advertise vacancies and request applications from the public, they dangle carrots before prospective applicants who are professionals. 

“This they do by stipulating a higher age limit at which medical doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, architects and holders of doctorate degrees in fields relevant to individual services can enter any of the services through the Direct Short Service Commission.

“While the age limit is 27 years for ordinary graduates, it is 30 years for professionals. This is obviously in recognition of the fact that professionals spend more years to qualify to practice their disciplines than their ordinary-graduate colleagues. 

“By Chapter 5, Article 3 of the HTACOS, professionals joining any of the services through the Direct Short Service Commission will be commissioned in the same rank with their colleagues who are ordinary graduates. 

“However, the former will enjoy two years’ seniority over the latter. This balances out what would have amounted to a Greek gift under the higher age limit entry. How? Every rank in the services has a run-out date, the maximum date at which its holder must retire if he is not promoted.

“For instance, the run-out date for a Lieutenant in the Army is 39. If he is not promoted to Captain by that age, he will be compulsorily retired. Thus, the higher age limit entry level for professionals brings an officer closer to his run-out date and exposes him to the risk of premature retirement. 

“An officer who joins the service at the age of 30 has only nine years to make the rank of Lieutenant while his ordinary-graduate colleague has twelve. Thus, the two years’ seniority given to the professional class extends their run-out date to eleven years and accordingly cushions the negative effect of entering the services at a higher age limit. 

“A lot of professionals poured into the armed forces as a result of these incentives, and have since moved through the ranks. However, the policy is not without its critics. 

“The critics mostly comprise officers already in service who feel miffed that the two years’ seniority given to their juniors propels the former to become their mates, sometimes even their seniors. It is possible that it is these same persons who have inspired this about-face by the leadership of the armed forces.

“The HTACOS, currently in force, is the 2012 (Revised Edition). Recently, the three services wrote letters to their officers enjoying the two years’ seniority in which they notified the officers that their seniority had been withdrawn.

“They also published their respective seniority lists reflecting the said withdrawal of seniority. Curiously, this action is not backed by any law. The new policy clearly flouts the HTACOS which is an instrument authored by the Armed Forces Council under the power of delegated legislation.

“The Armed Forces Council is established by Section 4 of the Armed Forces Act with no less a personality than the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces as its Chairman. 

“The Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and Chief of Air Staff are members. The HTACOS, being a delegated legislation, has the force of law and cannot be departed from at will. Interestingly, Paragraph 1 of the certification page states as follows: ‘This HTACOS Officers 2012 (Revised) has been reviewed to ensure uniform implementation and it supersedes the previous HTACOS (2007). The contents are to be strictly observed on all occasions and interpreted reasonably and intelligently, with due regard to the interest of the services . . .’“The proper thing for the management of the Armed Forces to do is to review the HTACOS to remove the two years’ seniority for professionals joining the services. But even then, it cannot affect officers who are already enjoying the privilege.

“This is because the HTACOS cannot be made to apply retroactively. As Section 6(i) (b) and (c) of the Interpretation Act, stipulates: ‘The repeal of an enactment shall not – (b) affect the previous operation of the enactment or anything duly done or suffered under the enactment;   (c) affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability accrued or incurred under the enactment.” 

Faulting the action of the three services, the officers said, “By their action, the leadership of the Armed Forces has unlawfully pushed officers closer to their run-out dates. And by reducing their seniority, a lot of officers are now on ‘borrowed’ ranks.  “This is because without the two years’ seniority factored in, many of them would not be due for promotion to their current ranks. What this means is the absurdity that an officer, say a Lieutenant Colonel, affected by this action, is, in reality, a Major. 

“Disincentivised and demoralized, several officers in the three services have since resigned so that the services run the real risk of eventually starving themselves of the services of these professionals that they had paid odds over for.

“The policy somersault or policy reversal is not only illogical and ill-timed but also without any legal foundation. At a time the country is reeling from the violent work of insurgents, the action couldn’t come at a worse time.  “The officers and men of our armed forces have an onerous task on their hands waging the war on terror. They surely do not need the distraction of having their ranks tampered with. It is an irresponsible thing for anyone to contemplate, let alone do.  

“The Armed Forces are created by law and must operate in conformity with the law. The HTACOS is the only document that regulates the command, retirement, payment of retirement benefits, promotion and discipline of officers and men of the three services of the Armed Forces. It is a sacred document indeed and ought to be treated as such.

“Unfortunately, the authorities of the Armed Forces are not doing this at the moment. What this means is that it is at the mercy of the whims and caprices and can be violated any day the authorities feel so inclined.

“A serviceman could get his rank yanked off with no justification, have his benefits halved or quartered or be thrust into some other unsavoury situation that he never signed up for. “This will not only threaten but effectively jeopardize the livelihood and careers of tens of thousands of our servicemen and their dependants who put their lives on the line everyday in defence of our nation.   “It is a scary thought, and one that continues to send shivers down the spines of not just officers but also the rank and file of the armed services. The HTACOS is essentially a contract between the armed forces and its officers.  “It is inconceivable that anybody will deign to conduct the affairs of the Armed Forces in flagrant violation of its clear and elaborate provisions.”

China to invest $60bn in Nigeria

The People’s Republic of China has said it will invest $60bn in Nigeria.

Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Qin Jian, who said this in a statement commemorating the 45th anniversary of its diplomatic activities in Nigeria, described economic cooperation between both countries as fruitful, The Punch reported.

Qin said China was willing to integrate its development with independent and sustainable development of Nigeria and other African countries, so as achieve common development.

He noted that at the “successful and historic” second edition of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed five major pillars for China-Africa relations.

According to the Chinese envoy, China and Africa should seek equality and mutual trust in politics, cooperation in economy, mutual learning in civilisation, mutual assistance in security and unity and coordination in international affairs.

Qin said, “(China’s) 10 key cooperation plans with Africa in the fields of industrialisation, agriculture modernisation, infrastructure, etc. will serve as an all-around blueprint for China’s cooperation with Africa in a period to come and symbolise that China-Africa relations will take a big stride and enter a new era.

“To fulfil the 10 plans, China has pledged 60 billion US dollars in development funding to Africa. When carrying out cooperation with Africa, China sticks to the principle of ‘Four noes and three priorities.’

“These include attaching no political conditions, interfering in no African country’s internal affairs, raising no demanding requirements and making no empty promises.”

Among the listed priorities of the Asian nation were Africa’s demands, improvement of African people’s livelihood and enhancement of Africa’s capacity for independent development.