Trump's remarks test bid to improve Russia ties

                                   

President-elect Donald Trump upped the stakes in a back-and-forth exchange with President Vladimir Putin over nuclear weapons that tested the Republican's promises to improve relations with Russia.

Offering a glimpse of how he might conduct diplomacy after taking office on January 20, Trump reportedly welcomed a nuclear arms race with Russia and China and boasted that the United States would win it.

MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski said Trump told her in an off-air phone call: "Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all." The television station did not play his comments on air.

It was the second brusque comment about atomic weapons in two days from the New York businessman that alarmed nuclear non-proliferation experts worried about fueling global tension.

The broadsides from Trump's resort in Florida appeared to be aimed mostly at Putin even though the two men have vowed to patch up relations between their countries once the Republican enters the White House.

Trump tweeted unexpectedly on Thursday that, "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," but gave no further details.

That comment appeared to be a response to Putin who said earlier on Thursday that Russia needed to "strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces."

Russia and the United States are at odds over Syria's civil war and Ukraine but Cold War-style nuclear tensions have greatly eased in recent years. Moscow and Washington signed the New START nuclear treaty in 2010 which reduced strategic weapons and delivery systems.

University of Port Harcourt expels 22 students

                                  

The Senate of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) on Saturday have announced the expulsion of 22 students of the university for various offences including assaulting a female lecturer.

A statement signed by the Registrar of the university, Mrs Dorcas Otto in Port Harcourt, said that the offences also included being members of different cult groups and undermining security on the campus.

According to the statement, the decision to expel the students was taken at the 426th Senate Meeting of the university held on Wednesday.

It further disclosed that eight of the students were expelled for being part of different cult groups, two students expelled for assaulting a female lecturer and disrupting a congress meeting of the department.

“Twelve other students expelled were former presidents of faculty associations,” the statement said.

Be vigilant during Xmas, group advises Nigerians

                     

Police Assistance Committee (PAC) has called on its teeming members nationwide to be vigilant and security conscious during the festivities by intensifying on intelligence gathering and information dissemination to the police and other security agencies to forestall and prevent all criminal activities before and during the Xmas and New Year celebrations.

In a communiqué issued after a one-day end-of-year security conference held in Lagos, the PAC urged their executive members, comprising chief security officers (CSOs) of private and public establishments, PAC zonal coordinators, chairmen, secretaries and PROs of all trade unions / associations, and artisans across the country to mobilize all their members at the grassroots to be watchful and report all suspicious movements and actions that constitute security risks to law enforcement agencies.

The communiqué, signed by PAC Director-General, Dr. Martins John Oni, also implored the police and other security agencies, including the armed forces and para-military agencies to give quick and easy access to their members who might be willing to give them useful information that could assist in crime prevention and combating.