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DHS: U.S. to start reopening southern border to asylum seekers
The United States will next week begin reopening the southern border to asylum-seekers who the Trump administration forced to remain in Mexico while awaiting immigration court hearings. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said this in a statement on Friday. “Beginning on Feb. 19, the Department of Homeland Security will begin phase one of a programme to restore safe and orderly processing at the southwest border. “DHS will begin processing people who had been forced to ‘remain in Mexico’ under the Migrant Protection Protocols,” the statement said. The move marks a first step toward overturning the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the ‘remain in Mexico’ policy, which since being implemented in January 2019 has forced migrants to wait in Mexico while t...
Super Eagles boss wants Ahmed Musa to sort out his career before Afcon qualifiers
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr hopes to see his captain Ahmed Musa back to action ahead of their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March. The three-time African champions will take on the Republic of Benin and Lesotho in their last Afcon qualifying games next month. Musa has been without a club since October when he left Saudi Arabian side Al Nass by mutual agreement. The forward starred for Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow before moving to England to team up with Leicester City. The Super Eagles winger struggled to establish himself at the King Power Stadium and in an effort to enjoy more playing time, he left for Saudi in 2018. The forward is now looking to returning to Europe and has been heavily linked to Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. Rohr is hopeful ...
Russia invades homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Russian police and officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) today raided the homes of several Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow, in an ongoing crackdown. Moscow outlawed the sect in 2017, labelling it “extremist,” following up with the sentencing of apprehended members to lengthy jail terms. The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, confirmed the detaining of several leaders and members. Prosecutors, the FSB security services and the national guard carried out searches at 16 addresses, the committee said. Investigators said the Jehovah’s Witnesses had established a branch in the capital where “secret meetings” were convened to study “religious literature”. Founded in the United States in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell, the religious movement has been repeatedly accu...
Court dismisses case against CBN’s directives on bank charges
The Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital, has dismissed a suit instituted by a legal practitioner, Olumide Babalola, challenging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy on Current Account maintenance Fee contained in the Guide to the Charges by Banks and other financial Institutions of January 2020. Babalola had instituted the action in the name of his law firm, Babalola LP, in which he contended that the policy and guidelines of the CBN violated his fundamental human rights. The CBN, through its Counsel, Adeleke Agbola, of Cheakley Chambers, however challenged the suit on the ground that the plaintiff lacked the legal capacity to institute the suit on a policy that affects the public. In his Notice of Preliminary Objection to the Suit, Agbola had contended that the ...
IGP sues Sahara Reporters, publisher over tenure extension bribe report
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has instructed his team of lawyers to commence legal action against the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, over a report by the medium wherein the IGP was alleged to have expended N2 billion on his purported quest to get a one-year tenure extension at the helms of the Nigeria Police Force, spokesman, Frank Mba said on Monday. Adamu was due to retire from the service on February 1 but his tenure has now been extended by President Muhammadu Buhari, albeit under controversial circumstances. Mba, in a statement in Abuja said the three-month extension of tenure of the Inspector General of Police (I-G), Mohammed Adamu, is strictly the prerogative of the President which needed no bribe to effect. He said the reports in some sections of ...
Benue governor calls for arrest of ‘Fulani spokesman’
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has called for the arrest and questioning of a self-acclaimed spokesman of Fulani groups and All Progressive Congress, APC, chieftain, Garus Gololo, over alleged comments on Benue killings. Gololo had recently alleged that Governor Ortom was sponsoring attacks on Fulanis residing in Benue state. Piqued by the allegation, the governor demanded an apology and retraction. The Governor in a statement on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, alleged that Gololo had not been new to such false and malicious statements after his request, to be appointed a Special Adviser in Benue state was turned down. “Since Governor Ortom turned down his request to be made Special Adviser preferring to appoint another Fulani man as his aide, Gololo has launched a ce...
Official: NDLEA seizes N1.4 billion worth of cannabis in Edo
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Edo State said it has uncovered suspected cannabis warehouses in Ukpuje forest in Owan West Local Government Area of the state. Buba Wakawa, the state commander of the agency, announced this at a news conference on Saturday in Benin City. Mr Wakawa said the village had four large warehouses with 233,778 kilogrammes of dried weeds suspected to be cannabis. The substance, according to him, has an estimated street value of more than N1.4 billion. Seven people believed to be running the cannabis trafficking syndicate have been apprehended, he said. “This is the largest single concentration of cannabis discovered by the command,” he added. Mr Wakawa said while the quantity seized weighed 2,249 kilogrammes, others weighing 231,529 kilogrammes w...
Iran won’t resume nuclear commitments until US lifts sanctions – supreme leader
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sunday the US must “completely lift” sanctions first, followed by verification by Tehran, before the Islamic republic returns to its nuclear deal commitments. “If they want Iran to return to its commitments … America must completely lift sanctions, and not just in words or on paper,” Khamenei said in a televised speech to air force commanders. “They must be lifted in action, and then we will verify and see if they have been properly lifted, and then return,” he added. The 2015 landmark deal has been hanging by a thread since US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from it in 2018 and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Tehran a year later suspended its compliance with most key nuclear commitments to the deal. The new administration of ...
Senator Marafa moves to end Zamfara APC crisis
The APC crisis in Zamfara state might have been over as the Senator Kabiru Marafa faction meet in Kaduna to finalize moves of reconciling with the Abdulaziz Yari faction. This development followed the meeting convened by the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, where virtually all the APC stakeholders in Zamfara attended. Senator Kabiru Marafa, who addressed hundreds of his supporters on Saturday in Kaduna, said their resolve to reconcile was in the general interest of Zamfara state. He said “we are meeting with critical stakeholders of our faction (APC Mai Jama’a, which literally means APC of the grassroot) today in Kaduna.” “You will recall that the chairman of the caretaker committee of our party, His Excellency, Governor...
Paul Pogba limps off injured in Manchester United’s clash vs Everton
Manchester United have been dealt a blow as Paul Pogba limped off injured after 39 minutes of the Premier League clash with Everton. The France international has been in excellent form in recent weeks, but he looks set for a spell on the sidelines. He was on the ball and played a simple pass towards Victor Lindelof, only to immediately pull up in discomfort. He pointed to his right thigh as he received treatment before being replaced by Fred and limping down the Old Trafford tunnel. Midfield is one area of strength for Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the likes of Fred, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes, Nemamja Matic and Donny van de Beek ensuring there are ample options to choose from. However, in what is a congested season any absence will be keenly felt. Following the clash wi...
Ranking John Carpenter: Every Movie from Worst to Best
Dark streets, empty lawns, singing trees, and the nauseating pulse of synths — you’re watching a John Carpenter film. Chances are the Master of Horror was responsible for a few of your earliest childhood nightmares. He’s more or less the Ray Bradbury of filmmaking, an underrated visionary who can conjure up a brand of fear that’s both out of this world and within your reach. Six years after returning to the synthesizer for 2015’s Lost Themes, the Master of Horror is back for more with its second sequel: Lost Themes III: Alive After Death. Once again, Carpenter is working alongside his son Cody Carpenter and his godson Daniel Davies, a collaboration that’s only grown stronger with time. “We’ve matured,” Carpenter has confidently expressed. In celebration, we’ve resurrected this original bre...
Twitter: Donald Trump ban permanent, even if he runs for office again
Former President Donald Trump will not be returning to Twitter at any point in the future, according to the company’s chief financial officer. In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box program on Wednesday, Twitter CFO Ned Segal said that running for public office again would not reverse the ban the company handed out to Trump in the aftermath of the US Capitol riot on January 6th. The question is relevant considering Trump’s ongoing impeachment trial. A central question in the trial is whether Democrats can bar Trump from running for president again in 2024 or seeking other public office. Regardless of the outcome, the @realDonaldTrump will still remain suspended for good, Segal said. “The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the...