Friday
U.S. says North Korea an urgent priority for the United States
North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs are an urgent priority for the United States and Washington remains committed to denuclearization of the country, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. The Biden administration’s lack of direct engagement with North Korea should not be seen as an indication that the challenge posed by its weapons programs was not a priority, department spokesman Ned Price said. “It in fact very much is,” he told a regular briefing. North Korea continued to make progress in its nuclear and missile programs in recent years “which makes this an urgent priority for the United States and one that we are committed to addressing together with our allies and partners,” Price said. “And … the central premise is that we remain committed to denuclearizat...
Myanmar police fire rubber bullets, wounding three, as hundreds of thousands protest
Supporters of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi clashed with police on Friday as hundreds of thousands joined nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations in defiance of the military junta’s call to halt mass gatherings. The United Nations human rights office said more than 350 people, including officials, activists and monks, have been arrested in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, including some who face criminal charges on “dubious grounds”. The U.N. rights investigator for Myanmar told a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva that there were “growing reports, photographic evidence” that security forces have used live ammunition against protesters, in violation of international law. Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews urged the U.N. Security Council to consider imposing sanctio...
Anger over arrests in Myanmar at anti-coup protests
Opponents of Myanmar’s military coup sustained mass protests for an eighth straight day on Saturday as continuing arrests of junta critics added to anger over the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thousands assembled in the business hub, Yangon, while protesters took to the streets of the capital Naypyitaw, the second city Mandalay and other towns a day after the biggest protests so far in the Southeast Asian country. “Stop kidnapping at night,” was among the signs held up by protesters in Yangon in response to arrest raids in recent days. The United Nations human rights office said on Friday more than 350 people, including officials, activists and monks, have been arrested in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, including some who face criminal charges on “dubious grounds”. Anger in...
#ENDSARS: Group urges youths to end proposed protest in Lagos
The Committee of Youths on Mobilisation and Sensitisation (CYMS) has urged Nigerian youths to boycott the proposed protest in the interest of peace and socioeconomic stability that were affected after the 2020 “ENDSARS PROTEST”. The Lagos State coordinator, CYMS, Leonard Obasi, disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen on Friday in Abuja. To counter the proposed Feb. 13 protest #OccupyLekkiTollGate at the tollgate plaza, some youths had announced a #DefendLagos rally to hold at the same venue. The plan to #OccupyLekkiTollGate came barely a day after the controversial ruling of the Lagos Judicial panel of inquiry to reopen the Lekki Tollgate. Obasi said that this has become compelling owing to reports of a planned protest by what he described as some self-centered elements who were he...
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...
Ex-Golden Eaglets star joins South African side Stellenbosch FC
Former Nigeria’s Under-17 star, Ibraheem Jabaar, has pitched tents with a South African club, Stellenbosch FC. Jabaar, a member of the Golden Eaglets squad that made it to the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup, is an exciting addition in attack to Steve Barker’s team. ✍️✅🛅 Deal Sealed. The club is excited to announce the signing of this young Nigerian International who puts pen to paper with #Sfc 🍇 🤝 🇳🇬 Welcome Ibraheem Jabaar (18 y/o)👏 Jabaar is…#ProudlyStellenbosch#StellenboschFC pic.twitter.com/g0Vf7y05nx — Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC) February 9, 2021 The 18-year-old talent joined the South African side from Ijebu United on a long-term contract. Confirming the signing of the Nigerian midfielder ...
Somali opposition leaders ‘no longer recognise president’
Jack Hill/Reuters Somalia’s opposition leaders have announced that they no longer recognise President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, after his term expired without a political agreement on a path toward elections to replace him. The Horn of Africa nation was supposed to hold indirect elections before February 8 but the deadline was missed as the central government and federal states failed to break a deadlock over how to proceed with a vote. It now confronts a political crisis alongside a violent Islamist insurgency, a locust invasion and serious food shortages. A coalition of opposition candidates urged the president, better known by his nickname Farmajo, to “respect the constitution” and ensure a peaceful transfer of power in the fragile country. “Starting from 8th February 2021, the council...
Nigerian government gets revenue boost as oil prices near $60
File Photo Nigeria revenue profile may get a further boost in the days ahead as oil prices near $60 per barrel in a move propelled by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose to their highest levels in nearly a year on Friday with Brent traders zeroing in on the psychological $60 a barrel level on economic revival hopes led by strong compliance with the planned output cuts by OPEC+. Also contributing to the gains were a government report that showed another draw in crude stockpiles, optimism over a speedier U.S. economic recovery on the prospect of additional stimulus from Washington and a successful rollout of the U.S. vaccination program. OPEC+ maintained its oil output policy at a meeting last Wednesday, a sign produce...
ICC ruling brings hope for Palestinians, dismay for Israelis
Many Palestinians see a ruling by the International Criminal Court that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories as a belated chance of justice for victims of Israeli attacks. But for many Israelis, Friday’s ruling is worrying because they say they are the “good guys” defending themselves against Palestinian violence. The ruling, delivered by a pre-trial chamber of three ICC judges, could lead to criminal investigations of Israel and Palestinian militant groups including Hamas. No probe was expected in the near future, however. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she would now examine the decision and pointed to the 2014 Gaza war between Israel and militant groups in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the 2018 Gaza border protests and Israeli settlements in occupied territory. In Khan Youni...
Woman sets sister, three others on fire over inheritance
A woman identified simply as Imole, allegedly set an apartment in Idimu area of Lagos, occupied by her sister and members of her family on fire, over an argument over her share of their late father’s four rooms apartment. Doctors at Alimosho General Hospital were still battling to save the lives of the victims, weekend. Information at newsmen’s disposal had it that Imole visited her elder sister on Dupeolu Street, Pipeline area of Idimu, last Friday, to demand that the four rooms be shared equally between them. But her sister was said to have declined, offering her one room, as she explained that their father had other wives whose children were also beneficiaries. A heated argument according to eyewitnesses ensued between the siblings, at the end of which Imole was pacified. However, at mi...
Imo North bye election: Appeal Court upholds Frank Ibezim’s disqualification as APC candidate
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Saturday, upheld the disqualification of Sir Chuwuma Ibezim as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the Senatorial by-election held in Imo North on December 5, 2020. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of Justices, affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove Ibezim’s name from the list of candidates for the by-election, after it found him guilty of submitting falsified documents. The high court judgement followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1229/2020, which was filed against Ibezim by Asomugha Elebeke. Trial Justice Inyang Ekwo had in the judgement delivered on December 4, 2020, barely 24 hours to the by-election, ...
Saudi Arabia: Nigerian to evacuate 420 nationals
The Federal Government, has concluded plans to evacuate another set of 420 Nigerians from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. An official of the Crises Monitoring and Public Communications Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disclosed the planned evacuation to newsmen in Abuja. The 420 Nigerians, the third batch to be returned to the country in a space of one week, are expected to arrive the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 10:30am today (Wednesday) from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Recall that 802 Nigerians were received between Wednesday and Friday last week from Saudi Arabia by the Federal Government. The deportees said to be illegal migrants, have been held in detention camps in Saudi Arabia while awaiting deportation to the country. “Kindly be informed that another batch of four h...
