Honda and Daihatsu recall more cars over Takata airbags

Japanese car makers Honda and Daihatsu are recalling some five million cars globally to replace potentially deadly airbag inflators made by Takata.

The latest recalls come just a day after rivals Toyota and Nissan said they would be recalling 6.5 million vehicles over the same issue.

So far, the six deaths linked to Takata airbags have all been in Honda cars.

In April, Honda cut its profit growth forecast after missing the mark last year on recalls and other issues.

Honda said that the models affected included the Fit subcompact and would not affect its cars sold in the US, where most of the deaths occurred.

It plans to use replacement parts supplied by Sweden's Autolive, Japan's Daicel and Takata in the recalled cars.

Daihatsu, meanwhile, said it would recall the Mira minicar.

Air bag saga

Other than Honda, all other carmakers said the recalls were precautionary and no accidents or injuries had been reported.

But investigations did show that Takata airbag inflators were not properly sealed and could be damaged by moisture. It is alleged that the airbags can burst under pressure, spraying shrapnel inside the car.

The latest announcements bring the total number of cars recalled because of Takata's airbags to about 36 million since 2008.

The car equipment maker faces multiple class action lawsuits and criminal and regulatory investigations in North America.

Following the latest recall, Takata's shares were down 5.6% in Tokyo.

bbc

Toyota and Nissan recall 6.5 million cars over airbags

Japanese car giants Toyota and Nissan are recalling a total of 6.5 million cars globally to replace potentially faulty airbag inflators made by Takata.

Toyota said it was recalling just under five million cars, including the Corolla, Vitz and other models made between March 2003 and November 2007.

Nissan is recalling about 1.56 million cars over the same issue.

Both carmakers said the recall was for investigative purposes and no accidents or injuries have been reported.

Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, said the recall affected 35 of its models made around the world and that it would include 1.36 million cars in Japan.

The move is the latest in the saga of potentially exploding airbags made by Japanese car parts maker Takata that has been linked to at least six deaths - all in Honda cars.

More recalls ahead

After the recalls by Toyota and Nissan were announced, Honda - Japan's number three automaker - said it was also preparing to announce more car recalls related to the air bags.

No details were given on the number of cars Honda would recall.

In March, Honda had said it was recalling another 100,000 vehicles in the US related to the airbags.

About 25 million vehicles with Takata airbags have been recalled worldwide by 10 different carmakers since 2008.

bbc

Awoniyi scores hat-trick against Hoffenheim

Nigeria's Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles, kick started their final leg of preparations for the 2015 Fifa U20 World Cup in New Zealand by defeating Hoffenheim's U23 side 5-2 in a friendly game on Tuesday.

The game is the first in a three test series to prepare the team for the competition due to start later this month.

Hoffenheim's Ahmed Sassi had the first real chance of the game as his header came off the Nigeria post, as Chidera Eze also missed a one-on-one chance with the Ricco Cymer in goal for the Bundesliga side.

Plateau United's Godwin Savior gave Nigeria the lead but Hoffenheim soon equalised through Allesandro Abrussia.

Eze made up for his miss by putting Nigeria ahead again before the home side equalised again through an Ahmed Azaouagh effort.

In form striker Taiwo Awoniyi will bag a hat-trick to give the African champions a three goal cushion and end the game at 5-2, a positive start to the Flying Eagles camping exercise in Germany.

Coach Garba Manu will have till Friday this week to submit his 21 man list for the championship.

The Flying Eagles have two more test games against the U23 sides of Nurnberg on Friday and Freiburg next Tuesday before leaving for New Zealand via Australia.

supersport

Free mobile voice, text and data plans coming to UK

A US firm is to extend its free mobile data, voice and text offering to the UK from July this year.

FreedomPop will offer Sim cards that offer 200MB of data, 200 texts and 200 minutes of voice calls per month using the cellular network at no cost.

The company already offers a similar free mobile data plan in the US to more than half a million users.

The firm, which is backed by Skype founder Niklas Zennstom, says it will make money by selling extra services.

Making money

The company told the BBC it plans to make money from selling users additional data beyond the amount offered free of charge and additional services for which it will also charge.

These include the ability to roll over unused data to the next month, anonymous browsing to protect online privacy, and the ability to add a second phone number from more than 60 countries so that friends and family outside the UK can call at local rates.

For example a UK subscriber could operate a US-based number from the Sim card in addition to their normal UK number for a £2 per month charge.

"We see ourselves as the no-frills mobile carrier. We want users to feel liberated, getting the basic services for free," FreedomPop co-founder Steven Sesar told the BBC.

"We'll start with around a dozen add-on services that customers can choose to pay for and extend that to 20 or so within a year."

Wipe out competitors

The company already has around one million subscribers in the US, with 51% on just its free package, with 49% paying for additional data and services.

The US free deal is more generous than the one proposed for the UK, offering 500MB data, 500 voice minutes, and 500 texts at no cost.

Explaining the difference Mr Sesar said: "We found users in the US typically use more data and the alternative plans start at around 500MB."

"In the UK there is a lot of interest in the lower-use end of the market which is where we plan to wipe out the guys offering £5-£10 data plans."

Too good to be true?

Commenting on the plans mobile expert at uSwitch.com Rob Kerr told the BBC:

"A free Sim with a free allowance of minutes, texts and data might sound too good to be true, but it could just be enough to appease the truly entry-level customers.

"The more data-hungry users should be careful about out-of-bundle charges and make sure they do their research before they go over their allowance.

"Extra data charges will have to be very competitive with the likes of iD Mobile offering unlimited data at £20 a month.

"Where FreedomPop could be useful is for that emergency phone in the car, where users are unlikely to eat into the limited calls, texts and data."

FreedomPop said it will offer its Sim cards over the internet and wants to hear from people in the UK who would be interested in helping test the service before its official launch.

bbc

South African pro-pot activist lights joint during live news broadcast

A South African marijuana legalization activist became fed up with a debate he was having on broadcaster SABC and sparked a joint on live TV.

Andre du Plessis, a vocal proponent of marijuana legalization in South Africa, was participating in a live debate with David Bayever, deputy chair of the Central Drug Authority, when he became noticeably annoyed by Bayever's statement that "xenophobia" was delaying the agency's position paper on legalizing recreational use of cannabis.

Du Plessis, who was being filmed in a separate location from Bayever and the SABC anchor, then lit a marijuana cigarette and started smoking.

When prompted for closing comments, du Pessis blew a plume of smoke at the camera.
"I think that's all I've got to say," he said.

The campaigner, who is head of the Cannabis Working Group, later confirmed he was smoking cannabis, or "dagga," as it is sometimes called in South Africa.

"The reality is that people smoke it, and I did," he told eNCA. "This is the reality of cannabis while this man continues to blah blah blah."

SABC, which posted video of the incident to YouTube, said it does not support du Plessis' actions.

"The SABC Broadcaster and the SABC Newsroom does not condone the actions of our guest Andre Du Plessis," the company said in the video's YouTube description.

upi

Oldest working U.S. nurse turns 90 with hospital surprise party

The oldest working nurse in the United States celebrated her 90th birthday with a surprise party during her shift at a Washington state hospital.

Florence "SeeSee" Rigney, who started her career as a registered nurse 69 years ago, was treated to a surprise party Thursday, the day before her 90th birthday, by coworkers at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital.

The surprise, which was captured on video and posted to YouTube, featured Rigney being serenaded with a birthday song and presented with gifts including flowers, a tiara and a letter of congratulations from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who recognized her as the oldest working nurse in the country.

"You are all wonderful," Rigney said through tears of joy. "I know I'm a pain in the you-know-what!"

Rigney temporarily left the profession at the age of 67, but her retirement was short-lived.

"I stayed retired for about five months, then I came back, and here I am," she told KING-TV in a 2014 interview.

Sheri Morris, assistant nurse manager, said Rigney is a valuable asset to the hospital.

"She runs circles around all of us," Morris told Today.com. "She's a wealth of wisdom and knowledge, and we absolutely love her."

upi

‘My wives know I’m a criminal’

A 27-year-old suspected kidnapper, Rasheed Adetunji, who was paraded alongside other suspects, has confessed that his two wives knew he was a criminal and not a kidnapper.

He also revealed that he used part of the ransom money collected from victims to get married to them.

According to the Osun State-born Adetunji, his love for women is responsible for his having two wives at his age and had hoped to marry more before he was arrested.

He told Vanguard that one of his wives had a premonition of his current travails and warned him to stay away from members of his gang.

He regretted that he would miss his wives and family who, he claimed, he was trying to make happy.

On how he joined the kidnapping gang, he said it was Niyi Omosola that introduced and placed him and other members of the gang on an oath administered by a native doctor, known as Baba.

The other suspects are Ifeanyi Chukwuleta, 25, from Oguta in Imo State, and Kolawale Alani, 26, from Ekiti State.

The suspects were arrested after the kidnap of a 62-year-old woman, Kudirat Adeboye, along Eleko-Epe Expressway by six armed men.

It was gathered that the gang contacted the victim’s family and demanded N50 million but eventually accepted N3 million after six days of keeping the victim.

The kidnappers directed the victim’s son to drop the money at a spot on Ijebu-Ode Road, where one of the kidnappers came out from the bush to collect the ransom.

Operatives of Special Anti-robbery Squad, SARS, who were deployed to the area pursued the kidnappers and one of them, Niyi Omosola, was caught.

He said it was Omosola that took operatives to a forest along Epe Road where the victim was rescued. Omosola later died from the gunshot injuries he sustained.

vanguard