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It was unclear how much of an effect the call by unions to end protests would have, with a number of civil society and political groups having also organised demonstrations over the past week.
President Goodluck Jonathan had late Sunday sought a deal with labour leaders aimed at ending a nationwide strike and mass protests that have shut down Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer.
Unions did not call off the strike after the talks, but said they were canceling street protests after Jonathan expressed security concerns.
Nigeria Labour Congress chief Abdulwahed Omar said Jonathan spoke of "serious security reports" indicating those from outside organised labour may try to hijack protests.
"We came to a conclusion that we will stay at home, that is stay off the streets, in order to make sure that we don't in the first instance endanger innocent lives because of the security situation in the country," Omar told Channels television.
Jonathan was to address the nation at 7:00 am Monday (0600 GMT). He had also met his security chiefs on Sunday, but no details of the talks were released.
Nigeria has faced spiralling violence, most of it in the country's north and blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram, prompting warnings of a wider religious conflict, including from some who have evoked the possibility of civil war.
The main fuel protests in major cities have been largely peaceful, though at least 15 people are believed to have been killed in various incidents.
Last week, a riot broke out in the central city of Minna, leaving one officer dead and political offices burned, while part of a mosque complex was set ablaze in the southern city of Benin and five killed as Muslims were targeted.
At least two people were shot dead as police and protesters clashed in the northern city of Kano on the first day of the strike.
On fuel prices themselves, Omar indicated that the president had decided to alter his policy deregulating the downstream petroleum sector and ending fuel subsidies, though not enough to prompt unions to call off the strike.
He said Jonathan "told us that he has decided to put on hold the issue of full deregulation pending the provision of certain things, especially in the areas of palliatives and so on ..."
Labour leaders have been demanding a return to pre-January 1 petrol prices before further negotiations can occur.
A nationwide strike and protests that began January 9 have brought tens of thousands into the streets.
While the strike was suspended for the weekend, labour leaders warned it would resume Monday if a deal had not been reached. An earlier threat to shut down oil production however has been put on hold.
Unions launched the strike after the government ended fuel subsidies on January 1, which more than doubled petrol prices overnight.
Talks between the government and labour leaders on Thursday and Saturday at the presidency also failed to end the strike.
Meanwhile, queues at petrol stations stretching for several blocks in some areas formed on Sunday, with drivers facing a four-hour wait as they tried to take advantage of the break in the strike to refuel.
The country's main oil workers union had earlier threatened to begin shutting down crude production on Sunday if a deal was not reached.
But a spokesman for the oil union, PENGASSAN, said that while that threat remained, it would only be implemented "if the negotiation process breaks down".
The decision by Nigeria's government to end fuel subsidies without warning caused petrol prices to jump overnight from 65 naira per litre ($0.40, 0.30 euros) to 140 naira or more.
Government officials and economists say removing subsidies was essential and will allow much of the $8 billion (Dh29.38) per year in savings to be ploughed into projects to improve the country's woefully inadequate infrastructure.
But Nigerians are united in anger against the scrapping of subsidies, which they view as their only benefit from the nation's oil wealth. There is also deep mistrust of government after years of blatant corruption.
Family tree Birds survived the extinction of other dinosaurs because they evolved four times faster and kept getting smaller than their relatives, a detailed analysis of their family tree reveals.
The research, reported in the journal Science, clarifies a long-held debate about how birds evolved from other dinosaurs.
Archaeopteryx, the 'first bird' evolved from a group of dinosaurs known as theropods around 150 million years ago.
Birds are the only lineage of dinosaurs in which species kept getting smaller, shows the new study led by Professor Michael Lee of the University of Adelaide, and the South Australian Museum.
"Ultimately, this evolutionary flexibility helped birds survive the deadly meteor impact which killed all the other dinosaur lineages 66 million years ago, so it was survival of the fastest evolving."
Lee and colleagues used mathematical statistical modelling techniques to trace 1549 anatomical traits in 120 dinosaur species including birds, to determine size changes and rates of anatomical evolution across theropods.
"This is probably the largest set of traits ever looked at in dinosaurs," says Lee.
"We worked out how fast those traits were evolving on each branch of that tree.
"From this we worked out which branches were evolving quickly and which weren't doing much at all."
The researchers were surprised by both the continuous shrinkage of the bird lineage, and their rate of evolutionary change compared to other dinosaurs.
"Dinosaurs won't all evolving at the same rate during the Mesozoic, some lineages were evolving much faster than others, and the fastest evolving of all was the lineage which led to birds," says Lee.
The bird lineage decreased in size from an average theropod weight of 163 kilograms, down to 0.8 kilograms in Archaeopteryx, over a period of 50 million years.
Birds rapidly developed new anatomical adaptations such as hollow bones, flight feathers, wishbones, and beaks which are much lighter than having a large mouth full of teeth.
"Sauropods such as Apatosaurus changed very little throughout their entire history, likewise Ceratopsians, which included the Triceratops, all look very similar, some have more horns and others are a bit smaller, but it's the same theme," says Lee.
"Close relatives include Tyrannosaurus rex, which looks like the opposite of a bird, instead of being small with big forearms for flying, it's a giant with tiny, almost useless forearms.
As birds became smaller, lighter and more agile, they were able to explore a whole range of new ecological environments, inaccessible to other dinosaurs by climbing, leaping, gliding and eventually flying.
"If you're large, you're pretty much restricted in how you make a living, you can plod around and that's about it, you can't fly and you can't climb," says Lee.
"Adaptability is the key to long term survival and that applies in every sphere I can think of, in both the natural world and human society. If you can't change, you die."
Use these social-bookmarking links to share Shrinking dinos gave rise to birds.
OSLO (Reuters) - Oil companies should be prepared to pay higher rates for renting offshore service vessels, in order to secure the long-term survival of a key part of the industry’s supply chain, the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said on Thursday.
Energy firms sharply curtailed investments in the wake of the 2014 oil price crash, idling many service vessels and driving down market rates to unsustainable levels, Chief Executive Harald Solberg of the Norwegian lobby group said.
At the peak last year, some 183 offshore vessels and rigs, corresponding to almost one third of the Norwegian fleet, were mothballed, he said, adding that by February the number had dropped to 162 units.
And although most Norwegian ship owners see a brighter future, the offshore vessel industry’s outlook is more subdued, even though lay-ups are likely to fall to around 110 vessels and rigs this year, a survey of the association’s members showed.
“There isn’t sustainable profitability in offshore and rig. Rates have to improve to secure this business. It’s not only the oil companies that should earn money, we need a better balance,” Solberg said.
While revenue in the offshore services business is expected to further decline in 2018, turnover in Norway’s combined maritime fleet is expected to increase by some three percent to 219 billion Norwegian crowns ($28 billion) after falling in each of the last three years.
Nutrition is complex. It's something that affects everyone. But not everyone has access to advice about food and nourishment. A new call centre in Saskatoon is looking to change that. Registered dietitian Carrie Lambden joins me in studio to tell us more about Eat Well Saskatchewan.
Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton closed the investigation into the death of Max Ellison on Wednesday, finding the suspect in a 1979 Cape Girardeau murder died of natural causes, according to a news release from Clifton's office.
In the release, Clifton said a review of Cape Girardeau County Jail records, medical records at the hospital where Ellison died and the preliminary autopsy report showed Ellison's death was a natural one.
Ellison died over the weekend at an undisclosed area hospital.
Ellison, 61, faced charges of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the death of Deborah L. Martin. Before he was hospitalized, Ellison had been incarcerated on a $10 million cash-only bond in the Cape Girardeau County Jail as he awaited a March 29 jury trial.
The Missourian must be on a different disclosure list than the rest of the media, because KZIM has been reporting all week that the "undisclosed area hospital" is St. Francis.
Marion_Morrison.....Did you really have a need to know in which hospital Mr Ellison died?
Man who sustains stab wound tries to escape in his car while under fire; motive still unclear, German newspaper says.
Young Israelis in Berlin, return home!
REUTERS — One person was wounded in a knife and shooting attack in Cologne city center in the early hours of Monday, German newspaper Express reported, adding that two suspects were on the run.
The paper said several people had told the police shortly before 4 A.M. local time that three or four people seemed to be having problems with a man.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing men attacking each other with axes, Express said on its website.
A man who sustained a stab wound tried to flee in his car but other men shot at him, though they only hit the car.
Two possible perpetrators were later stopped by police. The motive for the attack is unknown, the newspaper reported.
A BOOM in farm sales in the Border district which began more than a year ago is showing no signs of slowing heading into 2019. Two major sales were crunched by Elders Albury last month for highly-sought after properties at Holbrook and near Albury. Forest Vale at Holbrook has changed hands for only the third time since being part of the Kinross holding founded in the 1860s. The 2809 acre property was sold by the Watson family to Doug and Sue Rutledge from Warren in the central west of NSW. The Watsons then snapped up Kensal Green, a 2000 acre property on the Murray River near Albury, which had been owned for about 20 years by leading orthopaedic surgeon, David Kirwan and his wife Jane, in an off-market deal. The prices paid for both remain undisclosed, but industry watchers estimate the combined value of the sales to be more than $30 million. The Forest Vale deal comfortably exceeded a sale in the Holbrook area last year which fetched more than $4000 per acre. “The price they received was above expectation,” Elders Albury agent David Gittoes said. “It certainly exceeded past rural property sales in the Holbrook district. “This one (Kensal Green) has gone to another level.” Mr Gittoes said it was rare to see two properties of that calibre up for sale at the same time, but demand for agricultural property had not experienced the same softening as residential property. “It is also on the back of commodities being strong,” he said. “The wool and lamb markets are strong, the cattle market is still strong and it is all stabilising the rural prices. “But we were fortunate to have some really top quality properties for sale and they were all in good rainfall areas.” In the spring selling season alone Elders Albury achieved more than $50 million in farm sales. It sold a Myrtleford property before auction and another at Mullengandra was sold privately.
Forest Vale at Holbrook has been bought by the Rutledge family from Warren.
A BOOM in farm sales in the Border district which began more than a year ago is showing no signs of slowing heading into 2019.
Two major sales were crunched by Elders Albury last month for highly-sought after properties at Holbrook and near Albury.
Forest Vale at Holbrook has changed hands for only the third time since being part of the Kinross holding founded in the 1860s.
The 2809 acre property was sold by the Watson family to Doug and Sue Rutledge from Warren in the central west of NSW.
The Watsons then snapped up Kensal Green, a 2000 acre property on the Murray River near Albury, which had been owned for about 20 years by leading orthopaedic surgeon, David Kirwan and his wife Jane, in an off-market deal.
The prices paid for both remain undisclosed, but industry watchers estimate the combined value of the sales to be more than $30 million.
The Forest Vale deal comfortably exceeded a sale in the Holbrook area last year which fetched more than $4000 per acre.
“The price they received was above expectation,” Elders Albury agent David Gittoes said.
“It certainly exceeded past rural property sales in the Holbrook district.
Mr Gittoes said it was rare to see two properties of that calibre up for sale at the same time, but demand for agricultural property had not experienced the same softening as residential property.
Kensal Green has been sold by Albury orthopaedic surgeon David Kirwan and his wife Jane.
“It is also on the back of commodities being strong,” he said.
“The wool and lamb markets are strong, the cattle market is still strong and it is all stabilising the rural prices.
In the spring selling season alone Elders Albury achieved more than $50 million in farm sales.
It sold a Myrtleford property before auction and another at Mullengandra was sold privately.
His legacy lives on. Cole Sprouse opened up about Luke Perry’s death and revealed how the tragedy has affected the Riverdale cast.
Fans all around the world are mourning Perry, who died at age 52 on Monday, March 4, after suffering a massive stroke. The CW drama honored his memory during the Wednesday, March 6, episode credits and has vowed to dedicate all future episodes to him.
The total prize money for competitors in the 2019 Masters Tournament is a whopping $11,500,000.
Tiger Woods, who won his first green jacket since 2005 after a miraculous comeback, will pocket more than $2 million.
The remainder of the professionals will receive cash prizes of $28,290, depending on the scores.
A recent study by Gallup shows that just 30 percent of teachers are "actively engaged" in their jobs. The study also estimates that teachers who aren't engaged account for 2.3 million missed workdays every year.
Based on a phone survey of 6,711 full-time teachers from across the U.S., Gallup finds that 57 percent of teachers say that they are "not engaged" at work, with an additional 13 percent saying that they are "actively disengaged"—that is, they "act out their unhappiness in ways that undermine what their coworkers accomplish."
Gallup defines an engaged teacher as one who is "involved with, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work." By contrast, unengaged teachers are merely satisfied with their jobs and are less likely to look for opportunities for growth or to feel "emotionally connected" to their work.
Teacher engagement also varies significantly by state. In Washington, 35 percent of teachers are engaged, while only 22 percent of Michigan teachers say the same. Washington also has a low rate of disengagement, with just one in 10 teachers reporting feeling actively disengaged.
Those "unhealthy days" may turn into missed work days. Though teachers who are not engaged report only slightly more unhealthy days—11.3—than their more-engaged peers, their greater share of the workforce means that they account for nearly 782,000 additional missed work days. Gallup estimates that actively disengaged teachers, despite their small numbers, miss more than 1.5 million additional days as a group.
The analysis also suggests that districts may play a role in both engagement and teacher health. A supportive environment can encourage engagement in the classroom while also providing resources for teachers who are unwell.
Gallup reached these totals using data from past surveys of all American workers, which show that 31 percent of unhealthy days translate into missed workdays. It's not clear whether or not teachers follow the rest of the population where this is concerned. Given that teachers, unlike many other workers, require substitutes when they call in sick, it's possible that they are less likely to miss work when feeling unwell.
Regardless of exactly how many days teachers miss each year, the study makes it clear that there is a connection between engagement in the classroom and teacher health, though it does not seek to establish causality in its results. Gallup does note that workers in other professions are equally engaged—in fact, past polls have suggested that teachers are more engaged than other workers. However, in a field where personal connections can be critical, it's worth considering the impact of a system where so many teachers don't feel connected to their work.
Chart courtesy of Gallup, Inc.
What's Your Guilty Pleasure Song?
We all have those songs that we're embarrassed to admit we love— the ones we rock out to in the privacy of our bedrooms, but would never fess up to it. These 39 brave souls at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, OH, owned up to the songs they hate to love.
Last Thursday's season 12 premiere featured lots of trash talking and outfits made out of nylon parachutes. Let's take a look back and see how the remaining designers stack up against each other. Warning: more trash talking ahead.
There was a phantom hand attached to Dakota's hip at the Met Gala, according to this photo from People.com.
Of all the questionable iPhone cases I've seen, the Smart Guard certainly raises more than just a few eyebrows. It's designed to protect both the phone with a durable case, and the user with a can of pepper spray.
The logic behind the case seems sound. People carry phones everywhere these days + people need protection = the Smart Guard. But even with a safety mechanism that ensures it won't accidentally go off in your pocket, I'd still be hesitant about carrying it.
And not just carrying it, but holding it up to my face when making a call as well. If you've had to use the spray before there's bound to be some residue left on the can, and putting that anywhere near your eyes and face is a terrible idea.