Colombia landslide kills dozens in Antioquia province

More than 50 people have been killed in a landslide in Antioquia province in north-west Colombia, officials say.

President Juan Manuel Santos said the authorities do not know how many people are still missing.

Heavy rains caused the river Liboriana, in the town of Salgar, to burst its banks, triggering the landslide.

Much of the village of Santa Margarita, south-west of the provincial capital, Medellin, was swept away when the disaster hit early on Monday.

Rescue teams and residents have got together to dig through rouble in the hope of finding survivors.

After visiting the scene of the disaster, Mr Santos declared a state of emergency and promised to rebuild the houses.

'Courage and fortitude'

"We cannot bring the dead back, which we regret deeply, and we will support the families (of the victims)," said Mr Santos earlier.

"But we have to move on from this tragedy, and look ahead with courage and fortitude."

 

Drinking too much water can cause severe health risk

Water is an essential element of life, it's the story of our lives.

But contrary to popular belief, there can be such a thing as drinking too much water which can prove detrimental and even fatal as in the case of athletes.

Over hydration, much like dehydration can be a major problem causing the brain to swell if left unchecked for a long period of time.

This is according to Andy Blow, co-founder and Sports Scientist at Precision Hydration and a Red Bull High Performance partner.

Blow says over hydration "can be especially problematic if athletes drink excessive amounts of low sodium fluids over several hours, usually immediately before and during an event and end up diluting the levels of sodium in their blood"

He further adds that "if it goes unchecked, this can result in hyponatremia, a potentially deadly condition where the brain swells due to having to absorb excess fluid from the blood."

Generally, hyponatremia (also called water intoxication) doesn’t usually happen to healthy young people, but athletes taking in a lot of water in a short period of time run a high risk.

According to MSN Health&Fitness, athletes competing for hours at a time, especially in the summer heat tend to drink way more than they need, throwing their sodium levels off and creating a big problem.

Without enough sodium to regulate fluid levels, the excess water seeps into the cells and causes swelling. When that swelling gets to your brain you need to seek immediate medical help, doctors can reduce swelling using salt water.

So how can athletes avoid getting into this bind? According to Blow, the best way to avoid this, is simply to drink when you’re thirsty.

If you're getting ready for a fitness event or an intense training session you can increase your fluid intake slightly and start the day before.

Namadi Sambo takes after Jonathan's lead, asks Nigerians for pardoning

VP Namadi Sambo has taken after President Goodluck Jonathan's lead by asking Nigerians for absolution.

Sambo and his wife, Amina made the request on Monday, May 18, 2015, to anybody they may have irritated amid their residency.

The VP and his wife talked in Abuja amid a valedictory meeting with their supporting staff, at Aguda House.

"Whether in government or outside government, we will keep on contributing towards the advancement of the nation. Furthermore, we have delighted in cooperating and we have turn into one family with our staff and we guarantee them that we should dependably be there for them," Sambo said.

"Likewise, we implore that every one of those that we have affronted amid this period, we ask for their pardoning and we excuse each one of those that have done anything incorrectly to us," he included.

Jonathan had, on Sunday, May 17, encouraged anybody he may have insulted to excuse him saying himself and his assistants did things they shouldn't have done.

VISION 202020; Experts harp on Establishment of National productivity measurement system (PMS)

Federal government has been advised to establish a nationally coordinated productivity measurement system (PMS)for the country that will consists of National Productivity Centre(NPC) as the coordinating agency , National Bureau of statistics as Data gathering agency, Nigeria institute of social and economic research (NISER) as policy based research institute while the central bank of Nigeria will be the funding agency.

   Experts at the may 2015 NISER research seminar series (NRSS)  made the recommendation at NISER headquarters in Ibadan.

The theme of the seminar ‘computing productivity in the Nigerian economy’; issues and challenges. A presentation of  Alhaji Jibril Musa Yelwa , director ,productivity  measurement and statistics, National Productivity Centre(NPC) Abuja.

In his presentation, Alhaji Jibril Musa Yelwa stated that productivity plays an invaluable role in the economic growth and development of any nation. He also stated that any country with high productivity tends to become a dominant in global market with their citizens enjoying a relatively higher quality of life. While those with low productivity output become increasingly marginalized with relatively low quality of life.

    According to him, should vision 2020 not be a mirage, Nigerians need to double their contributions towards the GDP in other to reach the expected level of productivity.

The special guest at the seminar, Paul M. Bdliya Director General,  National Productivity Centre Abuja emphasized that NPC was established by NPC Act (Ap270 of LFN 2004 specifically charged with the responsibility of stimulating productivity consciousness towards the attainment of higher levels of productivity in all sectors of the Nigerian economy and to promote international cooperation for the enhancement of national productivity and as well with vision to become a world class productivity institution and a key player in the realization of our nation’s overall growth with development objectives.

              Adding “my organization broad aim is to assess the performance of economic sector in the Nigerian economy through productivity indices in other to provide valuable information that will inform national policy directions.”

While pledging his organization deep relationship with NISER . Paul M.Bdliya optimistic that contributions at the seminar will move both organizations forward.

Earlier in his opening remarks, NISER director general, Pro. Olufemi Taiwo observed that since our nationlive in a competitive world which requires high  investment to get good productivity result and if really the objective target of Nigerians is to become one of the 20^th largest economy in the world by the year 2020. It is important to compute Nigeria’s productivity level in other to monitor the trend and determine the existing gap in the economy . All these according to the NISER DG will help  us in identifying the deficiencies or hindrances that may likely prevent the nation from achieving the set target.

Adding , ‘ without productivity, the country cannot move forward’.

Prof. Taiwo later confirmed that NISER now  have its own archive where researchers can go through any of there publications since 1960

In Ukraine Security chief accuses Russian soldiers of killing serviceman

Ukraine's state security chief on Monday accused two captured Russian servicemen of participating in the killing of a Ukrainian soldier and said they would be prosecuted for 'terrorist actions'.

Valentyn Nalivaychenko told journalists that the Russian soldiers, who were said to have been seized on Saturday near Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, were part of a Russian military group that acted "with terrorist aims and with a gun in their hands against our citizens".

Russia on Monday restated its position that there were no Russian troops in Ukraine.

"We're willing to merge with other parties" -PDP

Following its shocking loss in the 2015 general election, 'former' ruling camp, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has indicated the possibility of merging with other parties.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, May 17, the party publicly acknowledged its failures and wrong doings of the past, stressing the need to rebuild a new PDP that will be formidable even in the face of adversaries. 

For 16 years, PDP produced leaders who determined the fate of Nigeria and ruled in different capacities – Presidency, Senate, Governorship, House of Assemblies, Federal and State Parastatals, and at Local Government levels.

But the March 28 and April 11 general elections in Nigeria changed it all. PDP was shown the way out.

The outcome of the election dealt a deadly blow on the 'ousted' powerhouse party, as most of the key government offices, Federal and State, were won by the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

The effect of the unbelievable loss is the ongoing internal crisis in the party, with bickering and attacks renting the air of Nigeria's political space.

The party said it is ready to start afresh, open to new ideas and opinions – apparently PDP is regrouping ahead of the 2019 political dispensation.

Some the party’s tweets read, “We are willing to merge with other parties but we ruled out a change of name.

We are ready to listen to you &hear what you think. We require genuine & sincere advice from you because a one party system not an option.

We have tried our best as a political party but must be quick to point out that we were not perfect. We never claimed to be.

We want to run a new PDP that welcomes criticism & see it as a necessity to make amends."

Buhari, Osinbajo: See official portrait of President-elect and VP-elect

The media team of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari rtd.,  May 17, released his official portrait and that of his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

The two leaders are meant to assume office on May 29, 2015, when the handing over ceremony to usher in a new Nigerian government will be held.

Buhari, under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress, defeated incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in the March 28 Presidential election.

The landslide defeat, which was across board – State and Local Government levels, ended the 16-year rule of the PDP.