There are only 20 countries in the world where it is harder to do business than in Nigeria

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has long been touted as one of the continent’s most promising business hubs.

In the first quarter of 2015, foreign direct investment inflow surpassed $700 million and even though investor confidence is shaky given the uncertainty during and since the 2015 elections, things are expected to pick up once a clear economic direction is put in place by President Buhari.

But despite offering so many opportunities, Nigeria remains one of the worst countries to do business, as data from the World Bank Doing Business report (pdf) shows. The report ranks Nigeria 169 out of the 189 in consideration—essentially unmoved from last year’s 170 rank. Nigeria ranked 39th among the listed African countries.

The report measures the ease of doing business along various parameters such as paying taxes, ease of obtaining construction permits, getting electricity, enforcing contracts, registering property, trading across borders and getting credit.

While Nigeria has strengthened minority investor protection, where it ranks 20 out of the 189 countries, it still has numerous problems to contend with. Starting a business is a cumbersome process with inefficient business registration processes and new businesses are often tied up in layers of government bureaucracy with many resorting to third party agents to help facilitate the process of registering a business.

Accessing credit and getting electricity also remain low-scoring parameters in the World Bank report and it does not much better in Africa’s other top economies.

Africa’s top ten economies for ease of doing business

Country                 Global ranking
Nigeria                        169
South Africa                 73
Egypt                          131
Algeria                        163
Angola                        181
Morocco                       75
Libya                          188
Sudan                          159
Kenya                         108
Ethiopia                      146 Data: World Bank 

Overall, Mauritius, which is often promoted as a tax haven, is the highest ranked African nation (32) with good ratings on enforcing contracts and paying taxes.

Highest ranked African countries for ease of doing business

Country                  Global ranking
Mauritius                     32
Rwanda                        62
Botswana                     72
South Africa                 73
Tunisia                         74
Morocco                       75
Seychelles                     95
Zambia                          97
Namibia                       101
Swaziland                    105
Data: World Bank
http://qz.com/536823/there-are-only-20-countries-in-the-world-where-it-is-harder-to-do-business-than-in-nigeria/?utm_source=YPL

INAUGURADO NOVO POSTO DE CONTROLO SANITÁRIA INTERNACIONAL NO AEROPORTO OSVALDO VIEIRA

O Aeroporto Internacional "Osvaldo Vieira" conta, a partir de hoje, com um novo Posto de Controlo Sanitário Internacional.

Na cerimónia de inauguração, o Primeiro-ministro, Carlos Correia explicou que a iniciativa se enquadra nas acções de prevenção contra as enfermidades que assolam o mundo actualmente.

O Chefe do executivo prometeu que da parte do governo o referido posto terá todo o apoio para que possa funcionar de maneira eficaz combatendo as epidemias.

Para a Ministra da Saúde Pública, Cadi Seidi, a saúde é um direito fundamental pelo que,  o dever de qualquer Estado, é garantir que toda a população a tenha.

Nigéria: Exército publica fotos dos 100 membros mais procurados do Boko Haram

Cartazes com fotografias dos cem membros mais procurados do Boko Haram foram esta semana publicados pelo exército nigeriano, reporta a AFP.

Com o acto, o exército pretende chamar o público a fornecer qualquer informação que pode ajudar na captura dos terroristas.
Nos cartazes, a foto do líder do Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, aparece duas.

A AFP acrescenta que os cartazes apareceram na quarta-feira na cidade de Maiduguri, reduto histórico do Boko Haram no nordeste da Nigéria, e trazem uma foto dos suspeitos  acompanhado de três números de emergência.

Nos cartazes, a foto do líder do Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, aparece duas vezes.
Os cartazes  estão em inglês, hausa e kanuri.
http://www.voaportugues.com/content/nigeria-exercito-publica-fotos-dos-100-membros-mais-procurados-do-boko-haram/3029469.html

THE LUCKY JOKE: YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE

This is a joke that should bring you luck.

An elderly woman walked into the Bank of Canada one morning with a purse full of money. She wanted to open a savings account and insisted on talking to the president of the Bank because, she said, she had a lot of money.
After many lengthy discussions (after all, the client is always right), an employee took the elderly woman to the president's office.

The president of the Bank asked her how much she wanted to deposit. She placed her purse on his desk and replied, "$165,000". The president curious and asked her how she had been able to save so much money.
The elderly woman replied that she made bets.
The president was surprised and asked, "What kind of bets?"
The elderly woman replied, "Well, I bet you $25,000 that your testicles are square."
The president started to laugh and told the woman that it was impossible to win a bet like that.
The woman never batted an eye. She just looked at the president and said, "Would you like to take my bet?"
"Certainly", replied the president. "I bet you $25,000 that my testicles are not square." 
"Done", the elderly woman answered.
"But given the amount of money involved, if you don't mind I would like to come back at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning with my lawyer as a witness."
"No problem", said the president of the Bank confidently.

That night, the president became very nervous about the bet and spent a long time in front of the mirror examining his testicles, turning them this way and that, checking them over again and again until he was positive that no one could consider his testicles as square and reassuring himself that there was no way he could lose the bet.
The next morning at exactly 10 o'clock the elderly woman arrived at the president's office with her lawyer and acknowledged the $25,000 bet made the day before that the president's testicles were square.
The president confirmed that the bet was the same as the one made the day before.
Then the elderly woman asked him to drop his pants so that she and her lawyer could see clearly.
The president was happy to oblige. The elderly woman came closer so she could see better and asked the president if she could touch them.
"Of course", said the president. "Given the amount of money involved, you should be 100% sure."
The elderly woman did so with a little smile.
Suddenly the president noticed that the lawyer was banging his head against the wall. He asked the elderly woman why he was doing that and she replied,
"Oh, it's probably because I bet him $100,000 that around 10 o'clock in the morning I would be holding the balls of the
President of the Bank of Canada!"

HOW TO IMPRESS A WOMAN & HOW TO IMPRESS A MAN

HOW TO IMPRESS A WOMAN

* Wine her,  * Dine her,  * Call her,  * Hug her,  * Support her,  * Hold her,  * Surprise her,  * Compliment her, * Smile at her,  * Listen to her,  * Laugh with her,  * Cry with her,  * Romance her,  * Encourage her, * Believe in her,  * Pray with her,  * Pray for her,  * Cuddle with her,  * Shop with her,  * Give her jewelry, * Buy her flowers,  * Hold her hand,  * Write love letters to her,  * Go to the end of the Earth and back again for her.

HOW TO IMPRESS A MAN

* Show up naked ...
* Bring food ...
* Don't block the TV

HYPOCRISY - TRUE OR FALSE???

40 African leaders just made a fashion statement by donning Narendra Modi's signature look

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (centre) with the African leaders during a dinner hosted on the sidelines of the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit, in New Delhi.

Since being elected to office last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sharp dressing and flamboyant wardrobe have consistently made headlines both in India and abroad. Yesterday, his government took his sartorial diplomacy a step further when over 40 African heads of state donned traditional Indian attire at a dinner held on the sidelines of the 3rd India-Africa Summit in New Delhi.
The African leaders were dressed in raw silk kurtas, “Modi jackets” and safas (Indian headgear), a look frequently sported by Modi. The only exceptions to the dress code were the presidents of Zimbabwe and South Africa, Robert Mugabe and Jacob Zuma. The summit is being held between Oct. 26 and 29, to boost economic ties between India and African countries.

President of Guine Bissau and Kenya

A sleeveless waist coast, the “Modi jacket” is a more colourful variant of the iconic “Nehru jacket” worn by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. For the India-Africa summit, the Indian government had specially commissioned the Indian fashion label Biba to design bespoke jackets and kurtas in various colours for each leader. Last year, the Indian PM had also gifted a “Modi jacket” to Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to India.
In interviews, Modi has described his flair for “mixing and matching colours” as a gift from god. His attention to clothes is said to extend to designer glasses, pens and watches. Most of his clothes are made by his long-time Ahmedabad-based tailor Jade Blue, who even sells a trademarked "Modi kurta", the short-sleeved cotton tunic associated with the PM.
In January, Narendra Modi wore a dark pinstriped suit with his name monogrammed in dull gold stripes during a reception for U.S.

The most famous instance Modi’s sartorial flamboyance is the pinstripe bandhgala (an Indian suit) worn by him during US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in January. Its navy-blue fabric had his full name monogrammed in tiny letters into the golden pinstripe. Following public debates about the value of the suit, which allegedly cost around 1 million rupees or $15300, it was finally sold at a charity auction for approximately 43.1 million rupees or $693,000.

Narendra Modi greeting US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on their arrival in New Delhi in January

During the same visit by Obama in January, Modi came under the Indian media’s scanner for changing his clothes thrice in a single day, even overtaking the American First Lady Michelle Obama. This record was surpassed during Modi’s recent visit to the US in September, when he donned four different outfits in a day, between visits to Tesla Motors, meetings with CEOs such as Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, a Facebook town hall with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and a reception by the Indian community.

Narendra Modi wearing a colourful Rajasthani turban at the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, on Jan. 26, 2015

He has also been in the news for adopting the colourful headgear of different Indian states during his visits.
http://mashable.com/2015/10/29/india-africa-summit-narendra-modi-jacket/#GWoV9Ya_gGqj