Month: April 2018

President Emmanuel Macron reform drive is make-or-break for French unions

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Facing a wave of reforms by President Emmanuel Macron touching nearly every aspect of daily life, French unions kick off a wave of strikes Tuesday that analysts say will test how much weight they still carry. Workers at the state rail operator SNCF will start downing tools two days out of every five — a strategy aimed at limiting lost wages — but the disruptions are likely to spill over into non-strike days as well. They are demanding that they keep their right to a job for life and early…

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Gaza clashes: Pope urges ‘reconciliation for the Holy Land’

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Pope Francis used an Easter Sunday message to call for “reconciliation” between Palestinians and Israelis, after recent clashes in the Gaza Strip left more than a dozen people dead. The leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics celebrated Easter, the most important feast day in the Christian calendar, which recalls the resurrection of Christ, from a sunny St Peter’s Square in Rome. “We beseech fruits of reconciliation for the Holy Land, also experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenceless,” the pontiff said,…

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Can Tiger win one more Masters?

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Tiger Woods has spent half his life as a Masters champion, but the 42-year-old’s return to the tournament this week is accompanied by the kind of lofty expectations that followed the 14-time major winner in his prime. Woods was a 21-year-old, newly minted professional when he first rocketed to global stardom in 1997 at Augusta National Golf Club. The smiling Woods hit the Masters with a hurricane of hype and proceeded to flood the field, winning by 12 strokes and setting an 18-under-par tournament record. He won three more times…

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Bishop Kukah warns Buhari

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Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari to adjust his style of leadership. Kukah said this in his Easter message titled: ‘Easter Message to Mr. President And All Nigerians’. “Mr. President, you are too distant from your people. “There is a sad feeling that you do not share in the pain and suffering of your people. You must very quickly find a way of connecting with your people before the devil takes over the space,” the cleric said in the letter.…

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Jose Mourinho: Manchester United are worthy of second in Premier League

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hit back at his team’s critics, saying they are clearly best of the rest behind Manchester City. Premier League leaders City are 16 points clear at the top of the table but, after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat of Swansea, second-placed United are two points clear of Liverpool and have a game in hand. Mourinho’s men look certain to improve on last season’s sixth-place finish but the manager feels other sides are given more credit than his squad. “Manchester City is not important for me,” he…

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Buhari, Osinbajo, Tinubu, Ambode and the Presidential visit

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Fellow Nigerians, there is so much to write about today, but first, I must quickly apologise for my absence on this page last week. My itinerary has been very packed lately, and last week was particularly jammed. I had criss-crossed Africa, from West to East and East back to West. I travelled from Nigeria, to Rwanda and Nairobi and then back to Nigeria. I returned last week Friday, and I usually devote my Friday evenings to writing this column. I arrived in the early afternoon, because my flight from Kigali…

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