The Lower Chamber of the National Assembly summons Alison-Madueke over $8 billion Crude Oil Swap Deal

The joint committees on petroleum resources (downstream & upstream) and judiciary have summoned Diezani Alison-Madueke, minister of petroleum resources, over alleged under delivery of petroleum products worth $8 billion under the crude oil swap arrangement. Other corporate bodies expected to testify at the ongoing hearing are the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Ontario, Aiteco, Vitol, PPPRA, Mercuria Energy and Eterna Oil and Gas. Muraina Ajibola, chairman, House committee on petroleum (upstream), issued the directive on Wednesday. According to Ajibola, “I have not heard anything from her (minister). We will give her a date to appear before us and that will be the last.”

Lagos State expects 263 days of Heavy downpour

Lagos State government, yesterday, declared that the state is expecting 263 days of rainfall this year and this may be accompanied with strong winds, lightning and thunderstorms. It added that rainstorms would be common over the coastal cities areas with occasional flash flood and ocean surges that would greatly affect persons living along the flood plains but the magnitude of devastation shall depend on the activities of the people. It would be recalled that the state government last year, announced rainfall of between 249 and 275 days with intermittent stoppages. The state Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, stated this at the presentation of year 2014 annual seasonal rainfall prediction and socio- economic implication for the state as earlier predicted by Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, held at Ministry’s office, Alausa, Ikeja. “The Seasonal Rainfall Prediction, SRP, rainfall onset date for this year began in the first week of March in the southernmost part of the country and late June in the far northern parts. However, rainfall onset in Lagos Stare has since commenced from 14 March, 2014 in Ikeja, with a three days marginal error was given. “The strong winds, lighting and thunderstorms which are regular phenomena during the onset and cessation of rainfall was also predicted to occur in stronger magnitude during this year’s raining period,” he stated.

Valdes collapses

Barcelona now have the destiny of the title in their own hands as they host Atletico on the final day of the season. However, their joy was tempered by Valdes' injury that will keep him out of the World Cup for Spain. Valdes collapsed to the ground holding his right knee whilst making a routine save and was in tears as he was stretchered from the field. "Victor Valdes has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will require surgery," the club confirmed via its official Twitter account. "It is very bad luck and a very costly injury, too much for a game that means just three points," Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta told Barca TV. And midfielder Andres Iniesta admitted it was difficult for the Barca players to concentrate on the game after the injury. "It was an uncomfortable situation on the pitch. The players weren't the same, the fans weren't the same. Everything seemed a bit strange. "The important thing now is that he recovers well." Neymar had already put the hosts in front before Valdes' injury as he tapped home Alexis Sanchez's cross. Lionel Messi continued his fine run of form to make it 2-0 from a wonderful Iniesta pass on the half hour before Neymar rounded off the scoring 23 minutes from time. It was a quieter evening at the Vicente Calderon as Atletico continued to demonstrate their title credentials with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Granada. In a game short on clear-cut chances, it was once again Diego Costa who made the difference for Diego Simeone's men as he headed home Jose Sosa's corner 27 minutes from time to register his 32nd goal of the season.

Real Madrid losing the Title Race

Madrid (AFP) - Real Madrid suffered a huge blow to their La Liga title hopes as a 2-1 win for Sevilla sent them crashing to a second defeat in four days on Wednesday. Colombian striker Carlos Bacca struck twice to give the hosts a sixth consecutive league win after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring. League leaders Atletico Madrid now lead Real by three points and have a better head-to-head record against Los Blancos as they beat Granada 1-0. Barcelona moved into second place, a point behind Atletico, with a 3-0 win over Celta Vigo at the Camp Nou thanks to a double from Neymar. But it was a bittersweet night for the Catalans as goalkeeper Victor Valdes may have played his last game for the club after suffering cruciate ligament damage that will rule him out of the World Cup. Real were looking to react from a first defeat in 32 games on Sunday as they lost a thrilling El Clasico 4-3 to Barcelona and they started brightly with Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema going close inside the first 10 minutes. Ronaldo did open the scoring 14 minutes in as his free-kick cannoned off Ivan Rakitic to leave Sevilla goalkeeper Beto helpless. The lead lasted only four minutes as Bacca finished off a fine move by converting Jose Antonio Reyes' pass from close range. Reyes could then have put his side in front as Bacca returned the favour, but the former Arsenal man dragged his shot just wide. However, Sevilla were grateful to Beto six minutes before the break as he brilliantly turned Ronaldo's piledriver over the bar. Ronaldo was somehow denied his second of the night moments later as this time he lifted the ball over Beto, but the ball struck the inside of the post and rolled across the line before being cleared by a Sevilla defender. Madrid continued to press after the break, but were struck on the counter-attack 18 minutes from time when wonderful play by Rakitic took him past Pepe and the Croatian played in Bacca to fire home his second of the night. Beto was called into action once more to deny Ronaldo moments later, but for all their possession Madrid failed to carve out another clear opening and their hopes of salvaging anything from the game disappeared when Bale's free-kick flew over in the final minute. And Real boss Carlo Ancelotti lamented his side's inability to deal with Sevilla on the counter-attack. "In one sense the defeat could be deserved because we didn't prepare well for the counter-attack which Sevilla had and they scored two goals," he said. "We conceded two goals in the same way on the counter-attack when we needed more balance." However, the Italian still believes his side have a chance to redeem themselves in the final eight games of the season. "We need to concentrate on our own games, it is true we have lost two games in a row and that is not good at this point in the season. "We need to believe that we can win it still. We are three points behind Atletico and two behind Barcelona, everything is still possible."

Djokovic beats Murray in the quarter finals of Sony Open

Novak Djokovic benefited from an erroneous call and claimed he didn't realize he had broken the rules. When Andy Murray walked to the net and challenged him about it, Djokovic responded with a shrug and a sheepish smile. Murray lost the dispute, and the match. The pivotal ruling against the defending champion helped Djokovic win 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open. The point that aggravated Murray occurred at the start of the 12th game, when he was serving at 5-6. Djokovic charged forward to volley a short ball and hit it for a winner. Murray argued — and TV replays confirmed — he should have be awarded the point because Djokovic's racket was on the far side of the net when he hit the ball. Chair umpire Damian Steiner declined to change his call, and such rulings can't be appealed for video review.Murray briefly discussed the matter with Djokovic. "I went and asked Novak, and he told me he was over the net," Murray said. "Look, it might be my mistake," Djokovic said. "I think I crossed the net with the racket. I didn't touch the net. Maybe the rule is that you are not allowed to pass on his side with the racket. I'm not sure. You tell me." That is indeed the rule. Djokovic said that if he had understood it correctly, he would have conceded the point. A flustered Murray committed unforced backhand errors on the next three points to lose the game and the set. "Obviously, that distracted him mentally, and after that he gave the set away," Djokovic said. Murray took a lead in the second set but lost the final four games and the last 12 points. Afterward, he downplayed the bad call. "I'm not angry," he said. "It may be I had a slight bearing on that game, but I was still up a break in the second set." Djokovic's next opponent, Nishikori, will be playing in only his second ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, and his first in 2½ years. He advanced by breaking Federer five times, including in the final game. "I thought I really played well, especially in the third set," Nishikori said. "I was hitting balls deep and striking well. Everything was going well." Federer was the runner-up to Djokovic at Indian Wells two weeks ago, and said he's pleased with his start to the year despite the latest loss. "I just couldn't find my rhythm on the serve today, which was surprising," Federer said. "It's a bit frustrating, but Kei did well to stay with me. He was more consistent in the second and third, and in the end it's to his credit." Li Na became the first Chinese woman to reach the Key Biscayne semifinals when she beat Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 7-5. Li's opponent Thursday night will be Dominika Cibulkova, who erased three match points in the second set — one when a call was overturned via replay — and beat Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Six-time champion Serena Williams will play five-time runner-up Maria Sharapova in the other women's semifinal. Williams has beaten Sharapova 14 consecutive times. Murray won the Key Biscayne title in 2009 and 2013 but wasn't at his best against Djokovic. The Scotsman committed five double-faults and 32 unforced errors, including a flurry down the stretch. He took a 3-2 lead in the second set with his only service break, then double-faulted twice to give it right back. But it all might have been different if not for the call that made one point stand out from the other 125. Djokovic had won praise for his sportsmanship when he conceded a point following an erroneous call in his match Tuesday, but against good friend Murray, he left the verdict to the umpire. A sideline reporter told Murray that TV replays showed he was correct about the call, and during the ensuing changeover he questioned Steiner. "His racket was over the net," Murray said. "It's quite clear. You can see it on the replay." "I have to make a decision at the moment," Steiner replied. Any hard feelings on Murray's part didn't carry over after the match, when he shook hands with Djokovic and Steiner. "It's a hard one for the umpire to call," Murray said. "Just frustrating." And Djokovic said the call was the umpire's to make. "It's not my fault," he said. "I mean, I was never lying on the court. I always try to be fair to whoever I play against."

West, Russia signal line drawn in Ukraine crisis

THE HAGUE/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and the West drew a tentative line under the Ukraine crisis on Tuesday after U.S. President Barack Obama and his allies agreed to hold off on more damaging economic sanctions unless Moscow goes beyond the seizure of Crimea. Describing Russia as a "regional power" and not the biggest national security threat to the United States, Obama said Russian forces would not be removed militarily from Crimea, but the annexation of the Black Sea region was not a "done deal" because the international community would not recognize it. "It is up to Russia to act responsibly and show itself once again to be willing to abide by international norms and ... if it fails to do so, there will be some costs," he told a news conference at the end of a nuclear security summit in The Hague. After scoffing at a decision by Obama and his Western allies to boycott a planned Group of Eight summit in Sochi in June and hold a G7 summit without Russia instead, the Kremlin said it was keen to maintain contact with G8 partners. "The Russian side continues to be ready to have such contacts at all levels, including the top level. We are interested in such contacts," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Interfax news agency. Obama said he was concerned at the possibility of further Russian "encroachment" into Ukraine and believed Putin was still "making a series of calculations". He insisted Russian speakers faced no threat in the country, contrary to Moscow's assertions. He urged Putin to let Ukrainians choose their own destiny free from intimidation, saying he was sure they would opt for good relations with both the European Union and Moscow rather than making a zero-sum choice for one against the other. "Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength but out of weakness," Obama said. "We (the United States) have considerable influence on our neighbors. We generally don't need to invade them in order to have a strong cooperative relationship with them." Asked what was to stop a further Russian "land grab", the U.S. president drew a distinction between an attack on members of NATO, covered by its Article V mutual defense clause, and on non-members where the West could apply international pressure, shine a spotlight on those states and provide economic support. A senior administration official told reporters traveling with Obama on Air Force One to Brussels that "there's no question that NATO is prepared to defend any ally against any aggression." The official said that in Obama's talks on Wednesday with NATO's secretary general, "we'll be discussing very specifically what more can be done in terms of signaling concrete reassurance to our Eastern European allies." Previewing Obama's speech in Brussels on Wednesday, the official said the president "will speak about the importance of European security and not just the danger to the people of Ukraine, but the danger to the international system that Europe and the United States have invested so much in that is a consequence of Russia's actions." The ruble firmed and Russian assets climbed on Tuesday after Obama and fellow G7 leaders held back from new sanctions and investors took the view that the crisis had been contained for now. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the United States and European Union allies were aligned in their response, contrary to media reports that Washington was pushing reluctant Europeans fearful for their economic interests to get tougher. Moscow made two conciliatory gestures on Monday after its deputy economy minister said up to $70 billion in capital may have fled his country in the first quarter of the year. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, for the first time, even though Russia does not recognize the Kiev government. Moscow also allowed monitors from the pan-European security watchdog OSCE to begin work in Ukraine after prolonged wrangling over their mandate, which Russia says excludes Crimea. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Deshchytsia protested at the annexation of Crimea. Lavrov said Russia did not intend to use force in eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, and "the two sides agreed not to fuel further escalation in the Crimea problem that could cause casualties", it said. Ukraine ordered its remaining forces in Crimea to withdraw for their own safety on Monday after Russian forces fired warning shots and used stun grenades when they stormed a marine base and a landing ship. There were no casualties. That order came too late to save the job of interim Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh, sacked by parliament on Tuesday over his handling of the crisis, after it emerged that fewer than a quarter of soldiers in Crimea plan to stay in the military. Lawmakers elected Mykhailo Koval, head of the Ukrainian border guard, to replace Tenyukh. In the Perevalnoye base, 25 km (15 miles) southeast of the capital, Simferopol, somber-looking Ukrainian troops loaded a freight truck with furniture, clothes and kitchen appliances. "We are not fleeing, but leaving to the mainland where we will continue to serve," said a soldier who identified himself only as Svyatoslav. "One cannot be a soldier without a country and we have to relocate," he said. But in the Belbek air base stormed four days ago, officers and soldiers refused to leave until the Russian military releases their commander, Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, who became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in Crimea. According to his aides, Mamchur is being held in the Russian Black Sea Fleet's home port of Sevastopol. IMF DEAL SOUGHT Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksander Shlapak said he was negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a loan package of $15 billion to $20 billion because the economy had been severely weakened by months of political turmoil and mismanagement. He forecast a 3 percent contraction in the economy this year. Obama also urged the IMF to reach agreement swiftly on a financial support package for Kiev, which would unlock additional aid from the European Union and Washington. Increasing the chances a Ukraine aid bill will get through the U.S. Congress, Senate Democrats agreed on Tuesday to drop language in their measure containing reforms to the IMF. There had been stiff opposition to the IMF measures in the Republican-led House of Representatives. The legislation backs a $1 billion loan guarantee for the government in Kiev, provides $150 million in aid for Ukraine and neighboring countries and requires sanctions on Russians and Ukrainians responsible for corruption, human rights abuses or undermining stability in Ukraine. The measure is now expected to pass through Congress relatively quickly and be sent to Obama to sign into law, as long as another dispute over whether to include increased natural gas exports in the bill does not hold it up again. Both the West and Russia sought to woo other key nations present in The Hague. Obama, who discussed the Ukraine crisis with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, met President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, which is part of a customs union with Russia but is also seeking to join the World Trade Organization. Nazarbayev, a ruling politburo member before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, expressed understanding for Russia's position in a telephone call with Putin on March 10. Lavrov sought support from foreign ministers of the BRICS grouping of emerging economic powers - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In a joint statement that did not mention Ukraine or take a position on the annexation of Crimea, they said: "The escalation of hostile language, sanctions and counter-sanctions, and force does not contribute to a sustainable and peaceful solution ..." European diplomats said tentative signs that Putin may have decided to go no farther than Crimea in his campaign to protect ethnic Russians in former Soviet republics may reflect concern about the mounting economic consequences. The crisis is also taking a toll in Western Europe. German business morale dropped for the first time in five months in March as firms in Europe's largest economy began to worry that a standoff with Russia and further sanctions over Ukraine would hurt them in a key market, the Munich-based Ifo institute said.

French Satellite Spots 122 Objects In Malaysia Jet Search

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A French satellite scanning the Indian Ocean for remnants of a missing jetliner found a possible plane debris field containing 122 objects, a top Malaysian official said Wednesday, calling it "the most credible lead that we have." Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein also expressed exasperation with the anger rising among missing passengers' relatives in China, who berated Malaysian government and airline officials earlier in the day in Beijing. About two-thirds of the missing are Chinese, but Hishammuddin pointedly said that Chinese families "must also understand that we in Malaysia also lost our loved ones" as did "so many other nations." Nineteen days into the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, the latest satellite images are the first to suggest that a debris field from the plane — rather than just a few objects — may be floating in the southern Indian Ocean, though no wreckage has been confirmed. Previously, an Australian satellite detected two large objects and a Chinese satellite detected one. All three finds were made in roughly the same area, far southwest of Australia, where a desperate, multinational hunt has been going on for days. Clouds obscured the latest satellite images, but dozens of objects could be seen in the gaps, ranging in length from one meter (yard) to 23 meters (25 yards). At a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Hishammuddin said some of them "appeared to be bright, possibly indicating solid materials." The images were taken Sunday and relayed by French-based Airbus Defence and Space, a division of Europe's Airbus Group; its businesses include the operation of satellites and satellite communications. The company said in a statement that it has mobilized five observation satellites, including two that can produce very high resolution images, to help locate the plane. Various floating objects have been spotted in the area by planes over the last week, including on Wednesday, when the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said three more objects were seen. The authority said two objects seen from a civil aircraft appeared to be rope, and that a New Zealand military plane spotted a blue object. None of the objects were seen on a second pass, a frustration that has been repeated several times in the hunt for Flight 370, missing since March 8 with 239 people aboard. Australian officials did not say whether they received the French imagery in time for search planes out at sea to look for the possible debris field, and did not return repeated phone messages seeking further comment. It remains uncertain whether any of the objects seen came from the plane; they could have come from a cargo ship or something else. The search resumed Wednesday after fierce winds and high waves forced crews to take a break Tuesday. A total of 12 planes and five ships from the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand were participating in the search, hoping to find even a single piece of the jet that could offer tangible evidence of a crash and provide clues to find the rest of the wreckage. Malaysia announced Monday that a mathematical analysis of the final known satellite signals from the plane showed that it had crashed in the sea, killing everyone on board. The new data greatly reduced the search zone, but it remains huge — an area estimated at 1.6 million square kilometers (622,000 square miles), about the size of Alaska. "We're throwing everything we have at this search," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Nine Network television on Wednesday. "This is about the most inaccessible spot imaginable. It's thousands of kilometers from anywhere," he later told Seven Network television. He vowed that "we will do what we can to solve this riddle." Malaysia has been criticized over its handling of the search, though it is one of the most perplexing mysteries in aviation history. Much of the most strident criticism has come from relatives of the 153 Chinese missing, some of whom expressed outrage that Malaysia essentially declared their loved ones dead without recovering a single piece of wreckage. At a hotel banquet room in Beijing on Wednesday, a delegation of Malaysian government and airline officials explained what they knew to relatives of those lost. They were met with skepticism and even ridicule by some of the roughly 100 people in audience, who questioned some of the report's findings, including how investigators could have concluded the direction and speed of the plane. One man later said he wanted to pummel everyone in the Malaysian delegation. "Time will heal emotions that are running high. We fully understand," Hishammuddin said in Kuala Lumpur. "For the Chinese families, they must also understand that we in Malaysia also lost our loved ones. There are so many other nations that have lost their loved ones," Hishammuddin said. "I have seen some images coming from Australia, very rational. (They) understand that this is a global effort. Not blaming directly on Malaysia, because we are coordinating something that is unprecedented." But one of the main complaints from families — mixed messages from Malaysia — continued Wednesday. Two days after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said there were no survivors, Hishammuddin allowed for the possibility that some people aboard the plane might still be alive. "If (the debris) is confirmed to be from MH370, then we can move on to deep sea surveillance search and rescue, hopefully, hoping against hope," he said. China dispatched a special envoy to Kuala Lumpur, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, who met Najib and other top officials Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. China, which now has Chinese warships and an icebreaker in the search zone, has been intent on supporting the interests of the Chinese relatives of passengers, backing their demands for detailed information on how Malaysia concluded the jet went down — details Hishamuddin said Malaysia handed over on Wednesday. China's support for families is the likely reason why authorities there — normally extremely wary of any spontaneous demonstrations that could undermine social stability — permitted a rare protest Tuesday outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing, during which relatives chanted slogans, threw water bottles and briefly tussled with police who kept them separated from a swarm of journalists. Though officials believe they know roughly where the plane is, it remains unknown why it disappeared shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. Investigators have ruled out nothing — including mechanical or electrical failure, hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or someone else on board. The search for the wreckage and the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders will be a major challenge. It took two years to find the black box from Air France Flight 447, which went down in the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in 2009, and searchers knew within days where that crash site was. Wednesday's search focused on an 80,000 square kilometer (31,000 square mile) swath of ocean about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) southwest of Perth. There is a race to find Flight 370's black boxes, whose battery-powered "pinger" could stop sending signals within two weeks. On Wednesday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the southern search operation on Malaysia's behalf, said a U.S. Towed Pinger Locator arrived in Perth along with a Bluefin-21 underwater drone. The equipment will be fitted to the Australian naval ship the Ocean Shield, but AMSA could not say when they would be deployed. Kerry Sieh, the director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said the seafloor in the search area is relatively flat, with dips and crevices similar to the part of the Atlantic Ocean where the Air France wreckage was found. He believes any large pieces of the plane would likely stay put once they have completely sunk. But recovering any part of the plane will be tough because of ocean depths in the search area, which are mostly 3,000 to 4,500 meters (10,000 to 15,000 feet). Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas, publisher of Airlineratings.com, called the search "the most complex, the most difficult in aviation history." "The weather in this part of the world is far more difficult than that experienced in the search for (Air France) 447." He said huge swells were common, particularly during the southern hemisphere's upcoming winter. "There's a real urgency to find something as quickly as possible because through the winter months, they'll probably have to suspend the search." Australia's Bureau of Meteorology warned that the weather was expected to deteriorate again Thursday, with thunderstorms, low clouds and strong winds on the way.