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State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) account for the majority of Chinese GDP, so the connection between the Communist Party and economic activity has always been close. But how does it make sense for China's richest person to be a member of the Communist Party? Jack Ma, China’s Richest Man, Belongs to the Communist Party. Of Course. Jack Ma, China’s richest man and the guiding force behind its biggest e-commerce company, belongs to an elite club of power brokers, 89 million strong: the Chinese Communist Party… It may sound contradictory that the wealthy Mr. Ma belongs to an organization that got its start calling for the empowerment of the proletariat. But Mr. Ma’s political affiliation came as no surprise to many Chinese and China watchers. Though it still publicly extols the principles of Karl Marx, the Chinese Communist Party largely abandoned collectivist doctrine in the post-Mao era, freeing private entrepreneurs to help build the world’s second-largest economy after the United Sta...

The creative director of the Miss Nigeria pageant is quoted as saying that the contest winner will not be chosen on the basis of "physical attributes alone." She then describes the attributes the winner should possess, but doesn't describe how those things will be assessed. (Sound familiar?) Miss Nigeria - Organisers Say Winner Won't Be Determined By Looks Alone The organisers of 'Miss Nigeria' beauty pageant, Daily Times Nigeria , have said that the 2018 winner will not be chosen based on physical attributes alone. The creative director of Miss Nigeria, Ezinne Akudo- Anyaoha, disclosed this at a media interview held in Lagos on Wednesday. Anyaoha "We are committed to finding a young lady who defies the stereotypical perception of beauty queens as just superficial," Ms Ezinne, who won the Miss Nigeria pageant in 2013 said. "Miss Nigeria 2018 must embody all the attributes of a strong female leader. She must be beautiful, socially conscious and c...

During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China, there were study groups in farm fields, factory floors, classrooms, and neighborhoods. The only study materials were Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung , the "little red book." President Xi is updating the ideology study. Courseware on Xi thought launched Courseware on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has been launched for free download on several websites including people.com.cn and xinhuanet.com. The courseware, developed by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Ministry of Education (MOE), contains 30 subjects that focus on basic spirit, connotations and requirements of the thought. The courseware is aimed at helping officials and the public, especially college teachers and students, to learn, understand and grasp the thought. The CPC Central Committee Publicity Department, the MOE and the working committee of the centra...

President Buhari offers his campaign comment about the military attack. Metele attack: President Buhari speaks of deep shock Nigeria's leader has vowed to close the "loopholes" which allowed militants to reportedly kill dozens of soldiers at a base in north-eastern Borno state. President Muhammadu Buhari addressed last Sunday's attack publicly after the army acknowledged it had taken place. It had been reported that at least 40 soldiers died when an Islamist militant group targeted the base in Metele. But the army refused to confirm the reports until Friday, when they put out a release disputing the death toll… The president - who faces an election in three months time - added no responsible leader "would rest on his oars... to allow terrorists to endanger the lives of its military personnel and other citizens". As a result, he planned to meet with military and intelligence chiefs "in the coming days" to plan their "next steps". Mr Buhar...

Armed warfare in Nigeria As the presidential campaign begins in Nigeria, the warfare in the northeast continues and gets more complex. How will politics reflect this continuing warfare? Nigerian Islamists kill scores of soldiers in military base attack Islamic militants in Nigeria may have killed as many as 100 soldiers in an attack on a military base, according to media reports and security officials. The reported death toll is among the highest since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015 and comes as the country prepares for elections in three months. The worst losses came when militants overran a military base in the village of Metele in the north-eastern state of Borno on Sunday. The area is the centre of an insurgency waged by Boko Haram, which was founded nine years ago to bring strict Islamic law to swaths of Nigeria, and a second newer group linked to Islamic State. Nigeria’s military and government have repeatedly said they are on the point of defeating the milita...

The official date for campaigning by presidential candidates in Nigeria has come. Here's Buhari's opening speech. Buhari Launches Campaign Manual, Says - Let's Not Set Nigeria Ablaze The president spoke yesterday during the launching of his campaign… at the State House Villa, Abuja. "I am not unmindful that the National Assembly and the presidential campaign starts today… I will implore candidates to go about the campaigns peacefully and decently. We have no other country, let us not set it ablaze because of politics," he said. The occasion was attended by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomhole, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha and other top government officials… Noting that the next four years will be quite significant for the country, Buhari said "Nigeria is faced with a choice to keep building a new Nigeria - making a break from its tainted past which favoured ...

PM May tries to explain why Brexit is a good idea to the association of the UK's top business people at the Confederation of British Industry meeting. Brexit plan will stop EU migrants 'jumping the queue' Theresa May is renewing her efforts to sell her draft Brexit withdrawal agreement - saying it will stop EU migrants "jumping the queue". She said migration would become skills-based, with Europeans no longer prioritised over "engineers from Sydney or software developers from Delhi". The PM also insisted to business leaders at the CBI that the withdrawal deal had been "agreed in full"… There has been widespread criticism of the draft 585-page withdrawal agreement - and the short paper setting out what the UK and EU's future relationship could look like - which are set to be finalised and signed off at an EU summit this weekend. Two of the prime minister's cabinet ministers resigned over the proposed deal, while others are believed to...