Mr Liu Kan, the Consul-General of the Consulate General of People’s Republic of China in Lagos, on Thursday expressed his country’s growing interest in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Liu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that China would also depend on Nigeria to satisfy the demand of her increasing population for crude oil and gas.

“China is the most populous nation in the world and her demand for oil and gas is increasing by the day.

“Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and ranks the 11th largest in the world.

“China will, therefore, continue to value her good relations with Nigeria in areas of oil and Gas.

“We see a great potential in our cooperation with Nigeria in areas of oil and gas in the future,’’ he said.

Liu said that China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) were already doing well in Nigeria’s oil sector.

The consul-general also said that many more Chinese oil companies had indicated interest in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The envoy expressed optimism that the cooperation between both countries would continue to be on a win-win basis.

Liu appealed to the Nigeria Government to create enabling environment for cooperation between the two countries to continue to thrive. (NAN)

An ECOWAS health official, Dr Mariane Ngoulla, said on Wednesday that contracting the Ebola Virus could be avoided once people abstained from touching the body fluids of an infected person.

Ngoulla, who is the ECOWAS Health Advisor for the Malaria Elimination Campaign, based in Nigeria, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dakar, Senegal.

She said that people could contact the virus if they touched the body fluid of a dead person but could prevent the spread of the virus if they improved their personal hygiene by constant washing of the hands with soap and running water, among other things.

“Ebola is actually quite hard to contact; so we should know that it is not something that is spread in the air; it comes when you get in close contact with the body fluid of an infected person.

“So, if you don’t touch the body fluids you can’t contact Ebola and this is the message; so to prevent it is as simple as don’t touch an infected person and, therefore, the body of an infected person.

“Use hygiene; wash the hands as frequently as possible under running water with soap and of course when you see somebody who is not feeling fine, encourage the person to go to the health system where they are equipped to take care of him.

“In case it is Ebola, the sooner the person goes, the better it is; but the most important thing is that we have to stop the transmission of the virus.“

She said that avoiding contact with uncooked bush meat and the fluid of infected meat could increase the chances of containing the spread of the virus.

“For now, the transmission is human-to-human; it started maybe more likely from the bush animal to a human being; but the way is being spread now is more from human to human.

“While we avoid uncooked bush meat and the manipulation of dead bush meat, we should also know that right now it’s one way – contact between human beings. So, it’s important to avoid it.

A statue of Satan standing proud with a huge erection has been swiftly taken down by city officials in East Vancouver.

The nine foot underworld ruler mysteriously appeared on Tuesday morning.

It was on display near the Clark Drive SkyTrain station – raising hell with shocked commuters.

But it didn’t last long, and was removed hours later.

The small square where the devil appeared was originally home to a statue of Christopher Columbus, but that has since been moved to Hastings Park, report CTV News.

 Rizwan Naseer, Pakistani Rescue official, said on Wednesday in Islamabad that the death toll from a week of flooding in Pakistan has risen to 250.

He said the authorities rushed to evacuate nearly 1 million people from the southern province of Sindh.

Naseer said more than 24 people died when the roof of a mosque collapsed on worshippers overnight in the eastern city of Lahore.

The National Disaster Management Authority said mudslides and flooding killed around 250 in the central province of Punjab and parts of the Kashmir region divided between Pakistan and India.

The agency spokesman, Ahmed Kamal, said two eastern rivers were still in high flood.

He said the Chenab and Jhelum rivers have breached their banks and inundated more than 350,000 acres (142,000 hectares) of cropland in Punjab.

“Flooding has destroyed cotton, sugarcane and rice crops,’’ he said.

Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister, said authorities on Wednesday used explosives to divert River Chenab away from entering the southern city of Jhang.

Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, said thousands of troops and rescue workers were evacuating nearly 1 million people in Sindh province, as floods headed towards the region.

He said military helicopters and rescue boats were taking part in the evacuation operation.

Television footage showed people standing on overloaded boats taking them to safety, leaving their houses and cattle behind in flooded villages.

 President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday directed the immediate removal of the “#BringBackJonathan 2015” signs and banners around Abuja.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said in a statement in Abuja that the signs were offensive and repugnant to Jonathan and many Nigerians.

The statement said: “Jonathan wholly shares the widely expressed view that the signs, which were put up without his knowledge or approval, are a highly insensitive parody of the #BringBackOurGirls hash tag.

“Jonathan appreciates the enthusiastic show of support for his administration by a broad range of stakeholders.

“But he condemns the #BringBackJonathan 2015 signs which appear to make light of the very serious national and global concern for the abducted Chibok girls.

“The president assures all Nigerians and the international community that his administration remained fully engaged with efforts to rescue the abducted girls.

“He will not knowingly promote any actions that will fly in the face of the seriousness of their plight and the anguish of their families.”