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Sunday, 06 February 2022 06:15

Coups, Covid, disagreements over Israel dominate discussions at AU summit

Leaders gathered at an African Union (AU) summit called on Saturday for the continent to have a bigger role on the international stage amid signs the bloc is struggling to forge a coordinated response to challenges from coups to Covid-19. The AU, formed 20 years ago to foster regional cooperation, has taken little decisive action in the face of six coups or attempted coups in Africa over the past 18 months, and the power grabs were high on the summit agenda. While the bloc did move to suspend Burkina Faso, Mali and Sudan following military takeovers, it is unclear whether…

Sunday, 06 February 2022 06:14

Police overwhelmed as thousands protest vaccine mandates in Canadian cities

Thousands of people demonstrated in Canadian cities, including the financial hub Toronto, on Saturday as mostly peaceful but noisy protests against vaccine mandates spread from Ottawa, the capital. The "Freedom Convoy" began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. “We're all sick and tired of the mandates, of the intimidation, of living in one big prison,” said Robert, a Toronto protester who did not give his last name. "We just want to go back to normal without having to…

Saturday, 05 February 2022 06:08

Inflation pushed another 8m Nigerians into extreme poverty in 2021, and FG ‘did nothing’ about it - World Bank

The World Bank has said the Federal Government of Nigeria did not take any concerted action towards curbing inflation in 2021 despite inflation shock pushing an estimated eight million Nigerians below the poverty line. The Washington-based bank said this in the latest edition of its ‘Nigeria Development Update’ report 2021. It said, “Double-digit inflation rates are depressing economic activity and exacerbating poverty. Rising food prices are eroding household purchasing power, and we estimate that during 2020 and 2021, the ‘inflation shock’ alone pushed about eight million more Nigerians below the poverty line. “We have revised our inflation forecast upwards from…

Saturday, 05 February 2022 06:07

Nigeria’s biggest power plant gutted by fire

The poor state of power supply is set to take a turn for the worse within Lagos and environs as the one of the largest power generating plant in Sub-Saharan Africa, Egbin Power Plc, has been engulfed in a fire outbreak. Egbin is one of the operating entities of Sahara Power Group, which is an affiliate of Sahara Group. The plant has an installed capacity of 1,320MW consisting of six turbines of 220 megawatts each. The incident occurred at its power plant on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at around 4.20pm. In a statement issued by Egbin Power to its stakeholders…

Saturday, 05 February 2022 06:06

We’re ‘ready to make a pact with Satan to drive out France from Mali’, protest leader says as thousands demonstrate in Bamako

Thousands of anti-French protesters took to the streets of Mali's capital on Friday waving Russian flags and burning cardboard cut-outs of French President Emmanuel Macron in celebration of the expulsion of France's envoy in Bamako. Mali expelledthe French ambassador last week over what the country's transitional government described as "hostile and outrageous" comments by the former colonial power. Relations between Mali and its former coloniser have turned acrimonious after the junta, which seized power in August 2020, reneged on a promise to organise elections in February and proposed holding power until 2025. The failure to hold elections has led to…

Friday, 04 February 2022 06:38

Buhari launches revised population policy, chairs Council on Population Management

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, in Abuja launched the Revised National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development, stressing the need for urgent measures to address Nigeria’s high fertility rate, through expanding access to modern contraceptive methods across the country. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari also inaugurated the National Council on Population Management (NCPM), chaired by him, and the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, as deputy chairman with heads of relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as members. Speaking on the country’s revised population policy, the president said its overall goal is to…

Friday, 04 February 2022 06:35

Biden details U.S. raid that took out ‘horrible terrorist’ ISIS leader in Syria

President Joe Biden praised U.S. special forces for a raid in Syria that led to the death of the leader of ISIS, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who detonated an explosive that killed himself and members of his family at the beginning of the operation near the Turkish border. "Thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more," Mr. Biden said in remarks at the White House. Describing the atrocities the ISIS leader perpetrated, the president said he authorized the raid to minimize the number of civilian casualties that would have resulted from an airstrike. "Our…

Friday, 04 February 2022 06:31

Yoruba Global Alliance appeals for release of Sunday Igboho

The continued unjustifiable incarceration of Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho by the Benin Republic authorities, obviously with the connivance of the Nigerian authorities, has become a huge embarrassment not only to those who padlocked him but also to all people of conscience all over the world. Adeyemo is a successful Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He got drawn into activism in response to the nefarious activities of terrorists who were tormenting his ancestral community. He also felt concerned about the second-class citizen position his Yoruba people were reduced to in their land and thought he could do something to redress the…

Thursday, 03 February 2022 06:14

FG eyes Standard Chartered rail project loan after China’s funding disappointments

Federal government has approached Standard Chartered Bank for funding of two rail projects, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi said on Wednesday, after delays from Chinese lenders. President Muhammadu Buhari has made upgrading transport networks and improving outdated power grids the pillar of his administration, with a view to boosting agriculture and other non-oil industries to cut dependence on dwindling crude revenues. But funding has been a major constraint. National Assembly last year approved several billions of dollars in project-tied loans from the Chinese and other international lenders but funds have yet to materialize. "We are actually waiting for the Chinese to…

Thursday, 03 February 2022 06:09

Biden orders thousands of troops to Europe amid fears of Russian invasion of Ukraine

President Joe Biden is ordering 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 more from Germany to Romania, demonstrating to both allies and foes America’s commitment to NATO’s eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Russia fired back with a sharply worded objection, calling the deployments unfounded and “destructive.” Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a new telephone exchange with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But readouts from both governments showed no progress, with Putin saying the West was giving no ground on Russia’s security concerns and Johnson expressing deep concern…

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Wednesday, 02 February 2022 06:09

We’ll honour all FG’s agreements with ASUU - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration will honour its agreements with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to prevent incessant strikes in the education sector. According to Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, Buhari spoke on Tuesday when he received members of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja. The visit was led by Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Samson Ayokunle, president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). In his remark, the president hailed NIREC’s interventions in past strikes embarked upon by ASUU. The president said while his government is committed to meeting ASUU’s demands, the union should also…

Wednesday, 02 February 2022 06:06

Putin accuses US, allies of working to draw Russia into war

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s top security demands but said Moscow is willing to talk more to ease tensions over Ukraine. The comments were his first on the standoff in more than a month and suggested a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine may not be imminent and that at least one more round of diplomacy is likely. Yet the two sides remain unyielding in their main positions, and there was little apparent hope for concessions. Russia is expected to respond soon to a U.S. proposal for negotiations on lesser Russian…

Wednesday, 02 February 2022 06:05

Guinea-Bissau's President Embalo survives attempted coup

Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo survived an attempted coup on Tuesday but said many members of the security forces had been killed repelling an attack on democracy that may have been linked to drug trafficking. Earlier, heavy gunfire rang out near a government compound where Embalo had been chairing a cabinet meeting. The situation was unclear for several hours, during which the African Union and West African bloc ECOWAS condemned what they called "an attempted coup". The fast-moving events in the former Portuguese colony on the West African coast came just over a week after the military in Burkina Faso,…

Wednesday, 02 February 2022 06:03

Falana to ECOWAS leaders: Acts proactively to prevent military coups, not after their occurrence

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has written to the President of Ghana and Chairman of Economic Community of West African States, Nana Akufo-Addo, over continuous military coups usurping governments in West Africa. In a letter dated February 1, 2022, Falana urged Akufo-Addo to provide the leadership necessary for ECOWAS to adopt preventive measures to promote the rule of law, end impunity of political leaders, and ensure full respect for citizens human rights including socio-economic rights. “Following the latest military coup and unconstitutional change of government the Republic of Burkina Faso has been suspended from the ECOWAS. The coup came on…

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