Mercyvill

“ To whom much is given, much is required… ” While 2014 was a extremely challenging year for the continent with some unprecedented lows; the seemingly unrelenting Ebola outbreak in the Western African countries of Liberia , Guinea , and Sierra Leone ; the horrific Hoko Haram kidnapping of nearly 300 school girls in the middle of the night in Nigeria; growing political unrest and strife in South Sudan, Central African Republic (CAR) and other parts of the continent, Africa’s top heavy hitters remained resolute and relentless in their mission to leave an indelible mark while making a difference in the daily lives of people on the continent and in the diaspora.

The Obama Administration is proposing that the United States spend about a billion dollars per week in the fiscal year beginning October 1 to defend Afghanistan, Iraq and other nations against various threats they face.  That’s how much money is in the Pentagon’s request for “overseas contingency operations.” So guess how much money the administration is seeking to defend America’s homeland against an attack from Russia using nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.  Russia has about 1,600 missile warheads capable of reaching U.S. territory, and if even a small fraction were launched, they could wipe out our electric grid, our financial networks, and quite possibly the whole U.S. economy.

PEOPLE’S Democratic Party (PDP) advocacy group, PDP Integrity Vanguard, yesterday raised the alarm over the confusion that might arise from the use of card reader during the general elections. A press statement issued by the group’s co-ordinator and pioneer publicity scribe of the PDP, Aniete Okon, said INEC’s insistence on using the card reader ‎was‎ “ a resolve to unduly disenfranchise Nigerians.” The group said the plan to use the card reader to pose some basic questions that were yet to be answered by INEC. According to the group, the introduction of “Incident Form” to compliment the card reader has even created more doubts in the minds of the public regarding the preparedness of INEC.

“ Xinhua News Agency “. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Chinese state media turned to Yiddish on Saturday in the war of words over territorial disputes, criticising the United States as a “kibitzer” for what it called meddling in the South China Sea issue. A commentary published in English by the official Xinhua news agency was headlined “America the Kibitzer” — which refers to an onlooker who gives unwanted advice — in this case regarding the South China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a position that conflicts with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as with Taiwan.

Friday marks the third annual International Day of Happiness . It's a global initiative started by the United Nations that focuses on happiness as a sign of progress in countries in addition to economic growth. Not feeling very happy? You may want to plan a visit to Denmark. It's the happiest country in the world, according to the most recent World Happiness Report prepared for the U.N. by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network , an organization of global researchers.

AUSTIN–During a panel this week at South by Southwest Interactive 2015, authors Peter Singer and August Cole discussed their collaboration on  Ghost Fleet , a novel about the next great superpower conflict. Part of the reason they wrote the book is to be able to paint a picture, in fiction, of how big future wars might be fought — and it can be pretty scary to think about. First, a bit of background: Peter Singer is a former Brookings Institution Fellow now with think tank NewAmerica.org, and consults to both government security agencies and the private sector. August Cole is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and has covered defense issues and the defense industry for both The Wall Street Journal and Marketwatch.com. Dave Anthony, the director and producer of the Call of Duty video game franchise, moderated the panel.

From Premier League giants, Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel to Stoke City’s Osaze Odemwingie and West Bromich Albion’s record signing, Brown Ideye – these Nigerian Football professionals take home mouth watering sums. JOHN OBI MIKEL, CHELSEA FC (ENGLAND) £75,000 per week Born John Michael Obinna on April 22, 1987, but known popularly as John Obi Mikel, the Jos-born Chelsea midfielder is one of the highest-earning footballers in Africa. In 2006, after an impressive showing at the World Youth Championship in Holland, where he finished second best behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi, he was embroiled in a fierce transfer battle between joining European heavyweights, Manchester United and Chelsea.

The United States and the UAE have agreed to work toward greater civil and national security space cooperation after officials from the two countries met in Washington this week, the US State Department has announced. Initial discussions focused on space policy and regulatory developments, long term sustainability of space activities, space security, space exploration, bilateral space science cooperation, weather monitoring, the use of satellite-based applications, and exchanges of best practices, a statement said.

The vest directs the visually impaired with voice commands and vibration. Abdel Rahman al-Barmeel (left), student at Polytechnic University in Hebron and co-designer of Smart Assist System for Blind People. Photo by Reut

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is known to be a fan of boxing but chose football as a  A video has been released that appears to show the England captain, Wayne Rooney, being knocked out cold by his former team-mate Phil Bardsley in a sparring session in the Manchester United player’s kitchen. The Sun claims the footage was shot on 22 February – the day after Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat by Swansea City . In the video, the two former team-mates pull on boxing gloves and trade blows as they spar in Rooney’s Cheshire mansion. Stoke City’s Bardsley then catches Rooney square in the face with a left jab, sending the United captain plummeting to the floor. Rooney lays prostrate and the video comes to an abrupt end. Rooney is due to lead out United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon for their Premier League match against Tottenham . The club refused to comment on the video and Rooney’s representative did not return calls.

Not minding allegations that some pastors in the country collected N7 billion to support President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential ambition, at least 6,000 pastors in the Southwest are mobilising for the emergence of Major General Muhammadu Buhari as president and have declared seven days praying and fasting for God to grant him victory at next week’s poll. The pastors under the aegis of Christians for Governance, Pastors For Change, held a news conference in Ikeja, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, where they openly endorsed the candidacy of Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who is a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Microsoft is continuing its push into the low-end smartphone market today with the launch of the Lumia 430. At just $70 before taxes, Microsoft labels it the "most affordable Lumia to-date," and its basic specifications clearly help achieve that impressive price point. For the money you’ll get a 4-inch WVGA display, 8GB of storage (with a microSD slot), and 1GB of RAM. This is all powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, and a relatively small 1500 mAh battery. To put this all into perspective, you could buy nine of these Lumia 430 phones for the price of a single iPhone 6. You obviously won't get the same experience, but it shows just how cheap modern smartphones are getting.

File photo of Bell Helicopter manufactured Cobra attack helicopters Last summer the United States thwarted the sale of used Cobra helicopters by Israel to Nigeria, Israeli media has reported. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the US blocked the deal "due to fears that civilians would be harmed during the use of the helicopters in Nigeria." In 2013, the Israeli Air Force took US Cobra aircrafts out of active service after they had been used for 30 years. "Since the Cobras were retired and the helicopter squadron shut down, the Israeli Ministry of Defence has been looking to sell the helicopters," Haaretz added.

1  I recently laid out the year’s most oddball interview questions . The Glassdoor list included queries from companies like Google GOOG +1.53% , Bain & Co., and Amazon, which are notorious for their perplexing and unusual job interview questions. In 2012, the search giant asked a candidate, “How many cows are in Canada?” while Bain challenged an interviewee to estimate the number of windows in New York. Amazon asked a candidate, “If Jeff Bezos walked into your office and offered you a million dollars to launch your best entrepreneurial idea, what would it be?” The moral of the story was that job seekers need to anticipate less conventional interview questions, and that they should think of oddball queries as an opportunity to demonstrate their thought process, to communicate their values and char

James Clapper, Director of US National Intelligence An annual security report submitted recently to the US Senate by James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, removed both Iran and Hezbollah from the list of terrorism threats to the United States for the first time in years. The unclassified version of the "Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Communities" dated 26 February, noted Iran's efforts to fight "Sunni extremists", including elements affiliated with the Islamic State group who were perceived to constitute the "preeminent terrorist threat to American interests worldwide". Last year's report described the global terrorist activity of Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah group to have increased in recent years to "a level we have not seen since the 1990s", however this year's report mentioned the group only once saying it faces a threat from ISIS and Al-Nusra Front near Lebanon's orders. Me

You successfully made it past the HR screening. Now it’s time to meet with the person who will ultimately decide if you’re the right candidate for the job—the hiring manager. When going into an interview, it’s important to know what questions to expect and how to approach them. Preparation is key, which is why, as a career coach, I provide mock interviews and guidance for those looking to successfully navigate these crucial career moments. Below are five common questions asked by hiring managers and how to prepare for them.

Starting a business can be exciting, gratifying and absolutely terrifying—all at the same time. Just ask Claudia Chan. After a nine-year stint at the helm of entertainment company Shecky’s, Chan launched  S.H.E. Globl Media , an education platform designed to help empower women leaders. She also organizes the  S.H.E. Summit , an annual conference where big-name speakers like Chelsea Clinton and Sallie Krawcheck share advice on everything from managing money to balancing careers with motherhood.

  A 44% jump in the shares of auto parts maker Ningbo Tuopu Group to their upper price limit on its first day of trading today has turned chairman Wu Jianshu into China’s latest auto industry billionaire. Wu’s 73.7% stake was worth 7.8 billion yuan, or about $1.3 billion, after the stock’s climb at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Founded in 1983, Tuopu supplies vibration, acoustic and suspension products. Its major customers include Audi and BMW. The company’s revenue in 2014 was 2.7 billion yuan, or $437 million, up 18.5% from a year earlier. Net profit last year was 399 million yuan, or $64 million, an increase of 17.5% from 2013. China, home to the world’s largest auto market, has birthed several of industry’s newest billionaires in recent years. New auto-related members of the 2015 Forbes Billionaires List released this month that made their fortune in China include Chin Jong Hwa of Taiwan and Wang Jianfeng of the mainland. Wu, born in Ni

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, said on Tuesday that he expects an apology from US carriers after he proves his airline has received no subsidies from the Dubai government. Clark was one of a number of top aviation executives from the Gulf and the US who clashed in Washington over whether "open skies" deals are fair. US carriers claim the Gulf airlines are benefiting unfairly from government subsidies. A coalition of Delta Air Lines Inc, United Continental Holdings Inc, American Airlines Group Inc and their labour unions accused Gulf rivals of receiving more than $40 billion in government subsidies.

Tom Szaky talks 19 to the dozen. It's as if he doesn't want to waste a single minute of the hour-long interview I have with him. But then waste is a subject dear to his heart. He is the founder and chief executive of social enterprise TerraCycle, a company whose aim is eliminating waste. "It's a lofty ideal I know," he says, but so far so good. In 13 years, US-based TerraCycle has gone from the classic start-up run out of a basement to operating in 21 countries. Last year it had revenue worth $20m (£13m) and 115 employees.

A number of experts give their top tips for the dos and don’ts of negotiating a salary increase. Do check the market rate It’s important to know what your peers and counterparts in your industry are getting paid. If you are getting less than average it’s a good time to ask for a raise. Remember that it’s okay to quote an amount during the negotiation process. Aim high at first, and it will eventually lead to a mutually agreeable figure. Bayt.com’s salary search is a great tool to help you find out what a good starting point is. Other ways to find out the average salary in your industry are to ask people within your professional network and check online forums.

The Chinese regime’s plans to create a middle class of consumers is facing a bumpy road. Rather than spend their money on Chinese products, wealthy Chinese are traveling abroad to buy everything from baby formula to toilet seats. It was in November 2012 when the leader of the Chinese regime, Xi Jinping, first mentioned the “Chinese Dream.” Faced with a country riddled with corruption and a growing economic bubble, he grew this concept into a plan two years later to build a Chinese middle class that would become the cornerstone of society. The “Chinese Dream” proposed by Xi was later described by Cheng Li, director of research and a senior fellow at the John Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, as “a blueprint for an expanding middle class in China.”

In this March 1, 2015. file photo, a man at Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad walks past two ancient Assyrian human-headed winged bull statues. Islamic State militants "bulldozed" the renowned archaeological site of the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq on Thursday, March 5, 2015, using heavy military vehicles, the government said. Nimrud was the second capital of Assyria, an ancient kingdom that began in about 900 B.C., partially in present-day Iraq, and became a great regional power. The city, which was destroyed in 612 B.C., is located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by the Islamic State group in June(AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File) The ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud was essentially bulldozed and destroyed by ISIS this week. But it’s not the first time the city was razed to the ground. Nimrud is located north of Mosul, Iraq, on the mouth of the Tigris River in northern Mesopotam

DR. JONATHAN. Economic overview and performance With a population of about 160 million people, Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and accounts for 47% of West Africa’s population. It is also th.e biggest oil exporter in Africa, with the largest natural gas reserves in the continent. With these large reserves of human and natural resources, the country is poised to build a prosperous economy, significantly reduce poverty, and provide health, education and infrastructure services to meet its population needs. Since 1999, Nigeria embarked on an ambitious reform agenda. The most far reaching of those was to base the budget on a conservative reference price for oil, with excess saved in a special, Excess Crude Account (ECA). The economy responded with strong growth between 2003 and 2010 – averaging 7.6%. Nigeria was among the first countries to adopt and implement the Extractive Industries Transparency InitiativeBANK (EITI) to improve governance and oil sector. Th

Marc Koska has had a shot at saving the world; a single shot that has taken him 31 years. Back in 1984 the Englishman, then a 23-year-old who spent much of his time yachting in the Caribbean, was horrified like many others by the dire prediction that the newly-identified HIV virus could claim as many as 60 million lives. Unlike many others, he decided to do something about it. Koska spent three years researching the issue, reading everything he could find about the transmission of the virus, finding out how drug addicts used syringes and travelling to immunisation camps in Africa and to Geneva to learn about public health policy. He concluded that the pressing need was an inexpensive, non-reusable syringe, immersed himself in the intricacies of syringe design and patents, toured syringe manufacturing plants and studied plastic injection moulding techniques.

Let’s summarize first: You’ve had an idea, sketched it out on paper, and created a testable wireframe prototype. Although it feels as if most of the work has already been done, the truth is that the actual process is just about to start! This infographic provides a nice overview of the development of an Android or iOS app.

That was quick. The ink had barely dried on the 2015 Forbes Billionaires List issue published this week when a 22% surge in the stock price a Chinese solar power firm yesterday led to a change at the top of our ranking of the country’s richest people. Shares in Hanergy Thin Film Power Group, China’s largest supplier of thin-film solar equipment and products, rose at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after the company unveiled an upbeat forecast of 2014 net profit and growth in transactions with third-party customers. After that big gain in the publicly traded company’s shares, Forbes now estimates that Li Hejun , the chairman of Hanergy’s parent company, holds a fortune worth $29.4 billion that makes him No. 1 among China’s richest.

Reigning African queen of the track, Blessing Okagbare has denounced the use of her image and footage by a body said to be working for President Goodluck Jonathan who is also the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, without seeking her consent.

Billions are even cooler when shared among buddies. Mark Zuckerberg Alfredo Estrella / Getty Images Dustin Moskovitz Getty Images Entertainment/Araya Davis Jan Koum Getty Images News/David Ramos When Facebook went public in 2012, pricing its IPO at $38 per share, it minted several young billionaires. As the stock climbed following a lull, the increasingly valuable currency let one youthful Midas cement oligarch status on another geek, Jan Koum, the founder of WhatsApp.

(Getty Images) Understanding the way diamonds are formed deep in the Earth could explain how life evolved on our planet. So a team in Germany are attempting to forge the gemstones themselves, from carbon dioxide – and peanut butter. David Robson reports. Every so often, Dan Frost hears a dull thud and his office floor vibrates. It can only mean one thing: one of his experiments has exploded again. Making his way downstairs to his lab, he finds the shock is written on the faces of his colleagues still in the lab. From where they were working, it felt like a small bomb had exploded, and their pupils are still dilated with fear. “It sounds horrific,” he says apologetically. “But it’s not dangerous – everything is protected.”

Gunmen in military uniforms stormed Tunisia's national museum, killing 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians on Wednesday in one of the worst militant attacks in a country that has largely escaped the region's "Arab Spring" turmoil. Visitors from Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain were among the dead in the noon assault on the Bardo museumnear parliament in central Tunis, Prime Minister Habib Essid said.

When Orji Uzor Kalu, jet-setting Nigerian businessman and controversial politician is in Abuja, he usually spends most of his time at his sprawling mansion which is located a few minutes’ drive away from the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the official residence of Nigeria’s President. It’s easily one of the most glamorous homes in Nigeria, and even comes with its own church. The house is a Mecca of sorts. Highflying politicians, senior executives at his conglomerate, diplomats, private bankers and hangers-on typically have to wait for hours to get an audience with the man. When I meet him on a crisp afternoon in May, he’s relaxing his frame on a couch in the dining room, chatting with senior executives from one of his companies.

Making smart food choices can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Don’t forget breakfast. Try fortified ready-to-eat or cooked breakfast cereals with fruit. Fortified cereals have added nutrients, like iron or calcium. If you are feeling sick, start with 100% whole-grain toast. Eat more food later in the morning. Eat foods with fiber. Vegetables and fruits, like green peas, spinach, pears, and bananas Whole grains, like brown rice and oatmeal Beans, like black beans and kidney beans.

Forbes Staff. Cao Renxian, chairman of China’s Sungrow Power Supply, has joined the ranks of the world’s renewable energy billionaires following record closing highs in the share price of his Shenzhen-listed company this week. Sungrow makes power supply equipment for the solar and wind power industries, mainly inverters and converters. Its revenue rose by 44% last year to 3 billion yuan, or $479 million. That helped to boost net profit to 291.7 million yuan, or $46.6 million, an increase of 61% from 2013.

The word "Black" can be disruptive, disarming and political. Here's what it really means when I choose to use it. Tamir Rice, Oprah Winfrey, Mike Brown, Barack Obama (Credit: AP/Reuters/Jordan Strauss/Saul Loeb) A new study from professor Erika Hall of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School suggests that white people have a far more negative view of the term “Black” than they do of the term “African-American.” For instance, study participants routinely concluded that a person had a higher level of education and job status, if that person was referred to as African-American rather than Black.  “Only 38.46% of participants in the Black racial label estimated that the target was in a managerial position, while 73% of the targets in the African-American racial label condition estimated that the target was in a managerial position.” When the study controlled for the alternate use of “white” versus “C

So you woke up in the middle of the night and had this great idea for an amazing app — you can picture it, you know it is useful, and you can imagine that many people would like it, too. If this is your first-ever app development attempt, here is a brief guide on how to get from A to Z and make the project a success!

None of us are lucky all of the time, but there’s not doubt that some people tend to be luckier than others. You might say, it’s not fair. Or you might take a look at how they look at life and ask yourself whether it’s the way they see the world that is helping them get luckier in it. The truth is that lucky people aren’t lucky by sheer accident. They’re lucky because of the mindset they bring to life. A mindset that accepts bad luck as inevitable but good luck as something we create by sheer hard work, bravery and optimism. As Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology once wrote, “Optimists endure the same storms in life as pessimists. But they weather them better and emerge from them better off.” And so it is with luck. You may not be able to control the economy, the weather, the stock market or the universe, but research shows that you can create your own good fortune. It’s a long game but with a strong pay off. Lucky people weather the storms of

“All disease begins in the gut,” said Hippocrates. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, was a wise man. Much of his wisdom, which is now over 2,000 years old, has stood the test of time. The quote above is one of them. Obviously, not  all  disease begins in the gut. For example, this does not apply to genetic diseases. However, there is evidence that many chronic metabolic diseases do, in fact, begin in the gut.

President Goodluck Jonathan . Hundreds of Arewa leaders who received Kano State Governor, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, in Lagos on Sunday, said they rejected hundreds of thousands of dollars which was offered to them by President Goodluck Jonathan when the President visited the state two weeks ago.

Patient who was flown to US after contracting disease in Sierra Leone is now in critical condition after initially being listed in serious condition A Unicef aid worker, right, visits a home that has been quarantined due to Ebola virus for 54 days in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Photograph: Michael Duff/AP An American healthcare worker who contracted Ebola while fighting the outbreak in Sierra Leone is now in a critical condition, doctors at the National Institutes of Health said on Monday.  10 clinicians to be evacuated to US after helping sick colleague The agency changed the woman’s status from “serious” to “critical” on Monday. The healthcare worker, who has not been identified, returned to the US on Friday and is receiving treatment at an NIH hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington DC. T

Ali-shah Jivraj Africa’s growing crop of young entrepreneurs will transform the continent and rewrite its future. And they are taking charge of that destiny now. Today, a growing number of Africans are building innovative technologies and businesses that are solving critical socio-economic problems, while creating job opportunities for Africans. It’s in entrepreneurial boom. The young folks are taking the lead – and are making fortunes for themselves in the process. As they should, because what good is entrepreneurship if it doesn’t create wealth? While there are only a tiny handful of under-30 entrepreneurs who have succeeded in building million-dollar businesses, there is a rising number of young Africans who are building fast-growing companies in food manufacturing, engineering, technology, hospitality, and any other industry you can think of. They are creating jobs, paying taxes, i

Working from home may seem the ideal solution to easing tension between your work and personal life. Flexible hours, no commute and more time with family sound like a dream come true. Maybe not. A recent study on teleworkers at a large computer company showed working from home exacerbated feelings of mental and physical fatigue among those who were already struggling to balance their work and personal responsibilities.

Move follows a warning citing information about threat to kidnap Western oil workers, including Americans, from oil fields in the kingdom’s eastern province.