DEC
FBI probing threat to crash airplane into U.S. Capitol to avenge Iranian general’s assassination – reports
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the crashing by unknown persons, of radio frequencies used by U.S. air traffic controllers, to broadcast a threat to fly an airplane into U.S. Capitol in revenge for the assassination of prominent Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. U.S. broadcaster CBS news reported this on Wednesday. Congress is due to convene for a meeting later in the day to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. “We are flying a plane into the Capitol Wednesday. “Soleimani will be avenged,” what sounded like an electronically generated male voice said on the audio recording, published by CBS. According to the broadcaster, citing sources, while the threat is not treated as credible by the U.S. government, it is being investigated as a breach of ...
Nigeria: 1,375 irregular migrants arrested during border closure
The Federal Government said on Monday that no fewer than 1,375 irregular migrants were arrested while the border drill code-named, ”Exercise Swift Response,” lasted. Newsmen report that the border drill held between Aug. 20, 2019 and Dec. 17, 2020. Speaking at a new year media briefing in Lagos on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the border drill was a huge success. The minister said the seizures so far during the period included 157,511 – 50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice, 10,447 bags of NPK fertiliser used for making explosives and 18,630 jerry cans of vegetable oil. The total monetary value of the seized items, according to him, is about ₦12.362 billion. Newsmen recall that ”Exercise Swift Response” was launched as part of efforts to secure th...
Police arrest two ‘armed robbers’ in Kano
The Police Command in Kano on Wednesday said it arrested two suspected armed robbers who specialised in terrorising residents of Yankaba and Badawa Quarters, Kano. The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued to newsmen in Kano. He said that the suspects were apprehended for being in possession of a Pump Action Rifle on Dec. 22 at about 10:30 p.m., by a team of Operation Puff Adder led by CSP Yunusa Danzomo, while on surveillance patrol at Badawa Quarters, Kano. “The suspects have been in the wanted list of the command as at Oct. 21. “During interrogation the suspects confessed to have participated in series of robberies along Hadejia Road by Sheshe Super Market, Yankaba Quarters and Badawa Quarters, Kano. “The second suspect also...
US police officer who shot black emergency technician told he will be fired
One of the Louisville police officers who shot Black emergency medical technician Breonna Taylor, and the officer that prepared the warrant for the botched raid during which she was killed, were told on Tuesday that the department aimed to fire them. Taylor’s death when police entered her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, early on March 13 was one of a string of killings of African Americans that fueled mass protest demonstrations across the United States in 2020. Taylor’s boyfriend, who was with her when police burst into the home, fired once at what he said he believed were intruders. Three police officers responded with 32 shots, six of which struck Taylor, killing her. Lawyers for Detective Myles Cosgrove, one of the officers who shot Taylor, and Detective Joshua Jaynes, who prepared ...
Kogi Assembly passes 2021 budget estimate of N130.54 billion into law
The Kogi House of Assembly on Tuesday passed the N130.54 billion Appropriation Bill tagged “Budget of Accelerated Recovery” into law. Newsmen report that the House considered the bill Clause-by-Clause at the “Committee of the Whole” of the House at plenary in Lokoja. Aderonke Aro (APC-Yagba West) and Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Budget Monitoring and Economic Planning, presented the committee’s report for consideration. Aro declared that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with genuine reasons for adjustments in their allocations were taken care of during the defence of their respective budgets. In the budget presented to the House on Dec. 1, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi had said that the budget was indicative of the assessment of the amount the state could generate on its ow...
Millions of Americans risk losing jobless benefits as Donald Trump refuses to sign aid bill
Millions of Americans are about to see their jobless benefits expire on Saturday as U.S. President Donald Trump has so far refused to sign into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, insisting that it did not do enough to help everyday people. Trump stunned Republicans and Democrats alike when he said this week he was unhappy with the massive bill, which provides $892 billion in badly needed coronavirus relief, including extending special unemployment benefits expiring on Dec. 26, and $1.4 trillion for normal government spending. Without Trump’s signature, about 14 million people could lose those extra benefits, according to Labor Department data. A partial government shutdown will begin on Tuesday unless Congress can agree a stop-gap government funding bill before then. Af...
France reports sharp decrease in new daily coronavirus cases before vaccine roll out
French health authorities reported 3,093 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Saturday, sharply down from the 20,000+ figure recorded over the two days before Christmas Day (Dec. 25) But the number of people hospitalised for the disease increased by 85, at 24,477, the first increase in six days. France will launch its vaccination campaign on Sunday along with most other EU countries. Its COVID-19 death toll increased by 146 versus Friday, to 62,573, the seventh-highest globally. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blog...
FRSC urges motorists to exercise patience
The Ifo Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun has advised motorists to exercise patience and drive with caution to stem road crashes during the Yuletide. The Commander of the unit, Mr Joshua Ibitomi, gave the advice on Thursday in Ota, Ogun. The Federal Government had on Wednesday declared Dec. 25 and Dec. 28, 2020, as well as, Jan. 1, 2021, as public holidays for the citizens to celebrate Christmas and the New Year festivities respectively. Ibitomi said that the advice had become necessary as motorists are always in a hurry during the festive season to arrive at their destinations without being conscious of the safety measures on the roads. “The FRSC implores motorists to exercise patience and adhere strictly to traffic rules and regulations to avoid carnage on the ...
Moderna, McKesson, U.S. Army general begin rolling out new coronavirus vaccine
Distribution of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine to more than 3,700 locations in the United States has begun, vastly widening the rollout started last week by Pfizer Inc, U.S Army General Gustave Perna said on Saturday. Moderna has already moved vaccines from its manufacturing plants to warehouses operated by distributor McKesson Corp where they are being packed into containers and loaded on to trucks on Saturday, Perna said during a news conference. Trucks will set out on Sunday and shipments will start reaching healthcare providers as soon as Monday, he said. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved an emergency use authorization for Moderna’s vaccine, the second COVID-19 vaccine to be approved. The jab developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE was approved Dec. 11....
UATH honours 80 coronavirus frontline healthcare workers
The University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada, FCT, on Wednesday honoured 80 COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers for their dedication and selfless service in the hospital. Presenting the awards to the recipients, Prof. Bissallah Ekele, Chief Medical Director (CMD), UATH, said that the gesture was to encourage and prepare them for greater tasks in the future. Ekele said that when FCT recorded its first case of COVID-19, the institution was the first to receive patients because of its capacity to manage the pandemic through the help of its frontline healthcare workers. “About this time in 2019, we gathered to honour and celebrate the 2019 UATH Staff Award winners. We are here today to do the same and we thank God for keeping us alive to witness another celebration. “Permit m...
FRSC: No NIN, no driver’s licence
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has given notice that it will start enforcing the National Identification Number (NIN) directive on driver’s licence processing nationwide, with effect from Dec. 21. Mr Bisi Kazeem, Assistant Corps Marshal (ACM), Corps Public Education Officer, announced this in a statement on Wednesday, in Abuja. Kazeem said that the enforcement became necessary following the Federal Government’s directives on harmonisation of citizens’ data by relevant agencies. In compliance with the directive, Kazeem said the FRSC had earlier put members of the public on notice, urging them, particularly those going for their driver’s license processing, to adhere to the directives. “As a follow up to that, FRSC management has resolved that effective Dec. 21, 2020, all applicants fo...
Kwara announces second wave of coronavirus
The Kwara Medical Advisory Sub-Committee on COVID-19 has announced that a second wave of the pandemic has hit the state. The announcement is contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the committee’s chairman, Femi Oladiji. “Now, there are two epidemiological curves of the disease in Kwara. The first curve peaked between July and August, and then plummeted between September and October, at which stage people thought COVID-19 was winding down. “It is important to state clearly that we now have the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Kwara just like a few other states of the country,’’ he said. Mr Oladiji stated that the second curve started early in November with sharp rise in the number of positive cases. He noted that the reasons for the second wave included increase in awareness for vo...
