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(Nigeria) Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State on Monday in Umuahia presented a budget of N149.6 billion for the 2014 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly for consideration. Orji made the presentation of the "budget of legacy consolidation" during the assembly's  plenary session. He said the budget was prepared in line with the International Public Sector Accounting Standard, IPSAS. According to him, it focuses on the completion of on-going projects and repositioning of Abia economy on the path of sustainable growth. The governor said that the ministries, departments and agencies of government would be made to implement the projects in compliance with the IPSAS system. Orji said that the objective of the budget was to effectively channel available resources in the state to projects that would engender wealth and stimulate investment. He said though the state looked up to accruals from the federation account, efforts would be made to boost internally

The Russian Navy's two nuclear-powered submarines, the Yuri Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky, arrived at the restricted-access administrative and territorial unit Gadzhiyevo (Murmansk Region) where the Northern Fleet, NF, submarine forces are based, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry's press-service and information department for the Navy told journalists on Monday. "On December 30, strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines, the Yuri Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky, of Design 955 Borei (Boreas) have arrived at the NF's basing point of Gadzhiyevo," the Navy official said. The submarines had left the OAO (public joint-stock company) Sevmash (in Severodvinsk) on December 28, reports ITAR-TASS. "It is planned that the missile-carrying strategic submarine cruiser Alexander Nevsky, which has been phased into service with the Navy, will soon begin to set about practicing course-unit missions in preparation to join permanent-readine

No fewer than 14 people were killed Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up on a packed trolleybus in Volgograd, raising new concerns about security at the Sochi Olympics a day after a deadly attack on the southern Russian city's train station. President Vladimir Putin, under pressure to show that Russia can assure the safety of tens of thousands of guests when the Winter Games open on February 7, ordered stepped-up security across the country. The twin suicide attacks on Volgograd, which until this year had no record of recent unrest, have stunned Russia and troubled the authorities as people prepare for mass New Year celebrations. At least 17 people died in Sunday's attack blamed on a suspected female suicide bomber. The force of Monday's blast destroyed the number 15A trolleybus, which was packed with early morning commuters and was turned into a tangle of wreckage with only its roof and front remaining. Health ministry spokesman Oleg Salagai told Rus

Lebanon's army used its anti-aircraft defence systems to fire at Syrian helicopters after they carried out a raid in Lebanese territory on Monday, a military source told AFP. It was the first time the Lebanese army has responded to Syrian attacks inside Lebanese territory, which have multiplied as the conflict in Syria spills over the border between the countries.

Gunmen attacked the airport and seized control of the state television headquarters in Kinshasa on Monday, in what appeared to be an attempt to seize power by supporters of religious leader Paul Mukungubila. The Police put a security cordon around the state television building where gunmen had taken several people hostage, journalists told Reuters. Witnesses also reported shooting at the Tshatshi military camp, close to the Defence Ministry. Report says Congo is struggling to emerge from decades of violence and instability, particularly in its mineral-rich east, in which millions of people have died, mostly from hunger and disease. Congo is home to a 21,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO. Before transmission was shut down at state television, two gunmen appeared on camera to deliver what appeared to be a political message against President Joseph Kabila, who took office in 2001 after the assassination of his father Laurent. "Gideon Mukungubila

(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, has won all 17 chairmanship seats contested for in the Yobe State Local Government elections. Announcing the results on Sunday in Damaturu, Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Jauro, said APC secured 999,700 of the 1.2 million votes cast during Saturday’s elections. He said the party also won the entire councillorship seats contested for. The chairman said the electoral body did not receive any complaints from any quarters on the conduct of the elections. ``The successful conduct of the polls is a proof that peace has returned to the state,’’ Jauro said. There had been fears that the poor security situation in the state, following insurgents’ activities, would affect the polls’ conduct. However, the spokesman of the Military Joint Task Force in the state, Capt. Eli Lazarus, told NAN that the force had not received any report of security breach during the polls. Ten political parties parti

A female suicide bomber killed 16 people Sunday in a strike on the main train station of the southern Russian city of Volgograd that heightened security fears just six weeks before the Sochi Olympic Games. Investigators said the unidentified woman set off her charge after being stopped by a police officer at the metal detectors of the central entrance to the station when it was packed with people travelling to celebrate the New Year. Footage captured by a nearby camera showed a huge orange fireball blow out the heavy front doors and windows from the grey stone three-storey building. Thick billows of smoke then poured out as people scattered along the rain-soaked street. Russia's Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said officials had launched an inquiry into a suspected "act of terror" -- the deadliest attack in Russia for almost three years. "A suicide bomber who was approaching a metal detector saw a law enforcement official and, after growing