News

Friday, 13 May 2022 06:30

Russia vows ‘symmetrical responses’ as Finland seeks NATO membership

Finland said on Thursday it would apply to join NATO "without delay", with Sweden expected to follow, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine looked set to bring about the very expansion of the Western military alliance that Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent. The decision by the two Nordic countries to abandon the neutrality they maintained throughout the Cold War would be one of the biggest shifts in European security in decades. Finland's announcement angered the Kremlin, which called it a direct threat to Russia and threatened an unspecified response. It came even as Russia's war in Ukraine was suffering another big…

Friday, 13 May 2022 06:28

Europe's gas supply crisis deepens after Russia imposed sanctions

Pressure on Europe to secure alternative gas supplies increased on Thursday as Moscow imposed sanctions on European subsidiaries of state-owned Gazprom a day after Ukraine stopped a major gas transit route. Gas prices surged, with the key European benchmark gaining 12% as buyers were unsettled by the mounting threats to Europe's supply given its high dependence on Russia. Moscow has already cut off supply to Bulgaria and Poland and countries are racing to fill dwindling gas reserves before winter. Russia imposed sanctions late Wednesday mainly on Gazprom's European subsidiaries including Gazprom Germania, an energy trading, storage and transmission business that…

Friday, 13 May 2022 06:27

What to know after Day 78 of Russia-Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces on Thursday night struck the Chernihiv region and hit schools. “Of course, the Russian state is in such a state that any education only gets in its way. But what can be achieved by destroying Ukrainian schools? All Russian commanders who give such orders are simply sick, and incurable.” He condemned what he suggested were senseless attacks on the refinery in the central Ukrainian industrial hub of Kremenchuk, on the Zaporizhzhia region and the Donbas. “They are cowards, and they try to hide the truth behind missiles, airstrikes and artillery shelling,” he said…

Thursday, 12 May 2022 06:44

10m out of 18.5m out-of-school children in Nigeria are girls - UNICEF

Nigeria has a record of 18.5 million out of school children out of which 10 million are girls, the chief of UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Rahama Farah, has said. Farah, who spoke during a media dialogue on girls’ education in Kano Wednesday afternoon, said the statistics are alarming. The dialogue is part of a three-day training for journalists from Katsina and Kano States. He said: “Currently in Nigeria, there are 18.5 million out of school children, 60 per cent of these out of school children are girls – that is over 10 million girls are out of school. “Most importantly…

Thursday, 12 May 2022 06:39

Conflicting judgements: NJC issues policy direction on political, election suits

As political activities continue to increase towards the 2023 general election, National Judicial Council (NJC) has issued a Policy Direction to guide judges that would be handling political and election related cases. The new regulations according to the body was borne out of concern in “the multiplicity of litigations of political suits at different courts of coordinate jurisdiction across the nation”, which according to the NJC is responsible for “conflicting orders on the same issues and facts”. A statement from the Director Information, NJC, Soji Oye, disclosed that the decision was made on May 10 and 11 at the 98th…

Thursday, 12 May 2022 06:32

What to know after Day 77 of Russia-Ukraine war

An adviser to the Mariupol mayor said Wednesday that Russian forces have blocked all evacuation routes out of the city. The adviser, Petro Andriushchenko, said there were few apartment buildings fit to live in after the weeks of bombardment and very little food or drinking water. Andriushchenko said some residents who have remained in the city are cooperating with the Russian occupying forces in exchange for food. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says Ukraine has offered to release Russian prisoners of war if Russia will allow the badly injured fighters to be evacuated from the Mariupol steel plant.…

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 06:30

Presidency responds to Clarke’s suggestion to Buhari to elongate tenure

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, says President Muhammadu Buhari will hand over to his successor at the end of his tenure in 2023. On Monday, Robert Clarke, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had said the Nigerian constitution allows Buhari to extend his tenure in order to tackle the country’s security challenges. Reacting to the statement on Tuesday, Shehu said the president is committed to observing democratic values by handing over to the candidate elected by the people. “Robert Clarke, a very well respected elder may be sincere in his wish for the president to extend his term by six months. We…

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 06:28

Twitter ban on Donald Trump ‘morally wrong and flat-out stupid’. I’ll reverse it - Elon Musk

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said Tuesday he would reverse Twitter’s ban on former U.S. President Donald Trump, while speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference. Musk, who has called himself a “free speech absolutist,” recently inked a $44 billion deal to acquire the social media platform. The decision to ban Trump from Twitter did not silence the former president’s voice, but rather amplified his views among people on the political right, Musk said, calling the ban “morally wrong and flat-out stupid.” Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter shortly after the Jan. 6 riot on the U.S.…

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 06:27

What to know after Day 76 of Russia-Ukraine war

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited some good news Tuesday from the front, where he said the Ukrainian military was gradually pushing the Russian troops away from Kharkiv. The Ukrainian General Staff said its forces drove the Russians out of four villages to the northeast of Kharkiv as it tries to push them back toward the Russian border. Meanwhile Tuesday, Ukrainian officials say Russian missiles pummeled the vital port of Odesa, apparently as part of efforts to disrupt supply lines and weapons shipments critical to Kyiv’s defense. Ukraine’s ability to stymie a larger, better-armed Russian military has surprised many who had…

Tuesday, 10 May 2022 06:21

ASUU extends strike by 3 months, says Nigeria ‘headed for a state of anarchy’

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it would not yield to the decision by the Nigerian government to “starve” its members over the ongoing prolonged strike. It described the decision as ill-advised, and said rather than forcing its members to back down, it would complicate matters. ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, reiterated this on Monday in a statement issued to announce the extension of the three-month-old strike by additional three months. He decried the failure of the government to accede to its request, and accused the elected and appointed government officials of showing no concern because their children and…

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Tuesday, 10 May 2022 06:18

Putin speaks at Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square

Following are quotes from a televised speech on Monday by President Vladimir Putin at Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade on Red Square, translated from Russian to English by Reuters: ON SECURITY GUARANTEES DEMANDED BY PUTIN “Despite disagreements in international relations, Russia has always advocated the creation of a system of equal and indivisible security, a system that is vital for the entire international community. “In December last year, we proposed the conclusion of an agreement on security guarantees. Russia called on the West to enter an honest dialogue, in search of reasonable compromise solutions, to take each other’s interests into…

Tuesday, 10 May 2022 06:17

What to know after Day 75 of Russia-Ukraine war

An adviser to Ukraine’s president is interpreting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day speech as indicating that Russia has no interest in escalating the war through the use of nuclear weapons or direct engagement with NATO. Oleksiy Arestovych pointed to Putin’s statement that Russia would honor the memory of those who fought in World War II by doing “everything so that the horror of a global war does not happen again.” Translating from “Kremlin speak into Russian,” Arestovych said this means: “There will be no nuclear war. There will be no war with NATO. What will there be? There will…

Monday, 09 May 2022 06:33

Domestic airlines withdraw threats to halt operations

Airline operators on Sunday announced that they have “acceded” to appeals from the government to withdraw plans to suspend operations from Monday (today) over high cost of jet fuel and other operational costs. The information was conveyed in a letter signed by Serina Abdulmunaf, president, Airline Operators Association, and jointly signed by the chief executive officers of six domestic airline operators. “…the AON has acceded to requests to withdraw the action for the time being while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with the government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution,” the letter read in part.…

Monday, 09 May 2022 06:30

CBN takes over stamp duty collection as NIPOST-FIRS face-off lingers

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has begun the collection of electronic stamp duty due to the rift between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST). President-General of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Kayode Alakija, disclosed this during an interview with Labour Correspondents in Abuja at the weekend. Alakija said the association, an affiliate of TUC, could not be watching akimbo while NIPOST, one of the branches of SSASCGOC, was being deprived of its power. The two government agencies fought over collection of the N50 stamp duty before the matter was…

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