Lot
Bishop Kukah: Nigeria has not recovered from civil war
Catholic News Agency Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev Matthew Kukah, has said Nigeria has not recovered from wounds of the civil war, 51 years after the unfortunate event. He also lamented the leaders have not learnt instructive lessons from the 30-month war. The activist-cleric, who spoke at the second edition of the ‘Never Again Conference” said the country has failed to adopt resolutions meant to heal the wounds of the war. The theme of the virtual conference was:’51 years after the Nigerian-Biafran civil war.’ It was chaired by Afenifere chieftain Chief Ayo Adebanjo. The ‘Never Again Conference’ is the brainchild of Nzuko Umunna, a pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, which organised the first edition in Lagos last year. Kukah said some of the neglected resolutions were re-echoe...
Egypt court acquits TikTok stars jailed over ‘debauchery’
An Egyptian appeals court has acquitted two young women imprisoned for “attacking society’s values” over videos they published on TikTok. The women had been sentenced to two years in prison last July for “breaching public morals”. “The court of appeal accepted the appeal filed by Haneen Hossam and Mawada al-Adham against their imprisonment … on charges of incitement to debauchery and attacking society’s values,” a court official said on Tuesday, asking not to be named. Hossam, 20, was acquitted after being jailed for encouraging women among her 1.3 million subscribers to broadcast videos in exchange for money, while al-Adham’s two-year sentence for publishing indecent photos and videos was cancelled. Hossam’s lawyer Hussein El Bakar told Thomson Reuters Foundation that her client, a studen...
Uganda election: Will Bobi Wine derail Yoweri Museveni’s sixth term bid?
As millions of Ugandans prepare to pick the country’s president this week, the stakes could not be higher. The run-up to Thursday’s vote has been marred by restrictions on campaigning, arrests of opposition figures and deadly violence. At least 54 people were killed in November as security forces put down protests by opposition supporters. Longtime President Yoweri Museveni, 76, is facing a strong challenge from popular musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine in his bid to secure a sixth, five-year term in office. Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, was just four years old when Museveni, a former rebel leader, came to power in 1986. In 2005, Uganda’s ruling-party-dominated parliament removed presidential term limits. And in 2017, lawmakers scrapped the age limit of 75 fo...
Jadon Sancho happier at Borussia Dortmund after Manchester United transfer saga
Jadon Sancho says he’s feeling happy and settled at Borussia Dortmund. Sancho has insisted he has put his Manchester United transfer saga behind him and is “raring to go” again at Borussia Dortmund after scoring in the weekend win over RB Leipzig. The 20-year-old winger missed out on a summer switch to Old Trafford as United refused to meet Dortmund’s £108million asking price. “Obviously this season has been very difficult for me personally,” Sancho said. “So I knew when I went away, I just focused on my game and came back raring to go. “I’m working hard every day in training and on the pitch so I’m just happy to get my goals and assists.” After the match, Dortmund boss Edin Terzic discussed Sancho’s contribution and outlined his hopes for further improvement to come. “We spoke a lot but J...
#EndSARS: It’ll take long to rebuild destroyed property – Governor Sanwo-Olu
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said, yesterday, that it would take the state time to rebuild the properties destroyed during the EndSARS protests. This came on a day the Lagos State government disclosed that the 2021 budget of N1.164 trillion would be funded from a revenue estimate of N971.028 billion in the fiscal year, with a target on the expansion of tax nets. Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this while briefing State House correspondents, after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the meeting dwelt more on the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, security situation and the impact of the #EndSARS protests in the state. On rebuilding Lagos after the EndSARS protests, he said: “It is also some of the things I dis...
NANS: Nigerian government’s 2021 budget for education worst in 10 years
The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Com. Sunday Asefon, has frowned at the 2021 budgetary provision for education under President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as the worst in the last ten years in the country. Disturbed by the neglect of the education sector, which was apportioned with a paltry of 5.6 percent in the 2021 budget and the high level of insecurity in the country, NANS has planned to organise a Security and Education Summit to partner stakeholders on how to arrest the drift in the two critical sectors Asefon said this in Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday, during a courtesy visit to the office of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Correspondents’ Chapel, Ekiti chapter. He said: “I condemn totally, the federal government’s 2021 budgetary provision to edu...
US Democrat Senate wins push stocks higher despite Capitol chaos
Clean sweep by Democrats allows them to enact big-spending policies likely to benefit the economy, investors say. Global stock markets rose and bonds nursed losses on Thursday in anticipation of a big-borrowing and big-spending Democratic administration driving growth, following runoff elections that gave the party control of both houses of the United States Congress. On Wednesday, US Treasury bonds had suffered their steepest selloff in months after Democratic Party victories in two races in the state of Georgia handed them narrow control of the Senate and the power to pass their agenda. US S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9 percent as markets seemed to shake off a late fade that pulled Wall Street indexes back from fresh record peaks when chaotic protest...
Minister: Nigeria expecting vaccine from China
The Federal Government has opened talks with the Peoples Republic of China to have access to COVID-19 vaccines for the citizens, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said on Tuesday. This is as both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishment of inter-governmental committee to coordinate aspects of cooperation between both countries. The MOU was signed by Onyeama and the Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi in Abuja on Tuesday. The Chinese Foreign Minister is on a two-day working visit to Abuja. Briefing reporters after their bilateral meeting, Onyeama said at this point when countries were discovering vaccines and China being one of them, Nigeria was engaging the country in the area of access to the vaccine. “We have...
#EndSARS: Lagos hires forensic team to investigate Lekki toll gate shooting
The Lagos State government has hired a team to conduct an independent forensic examination of the Lekki toll gate. Nigerian soldiers attacked peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the toll gate on October 20, 2020 after weeks of demonstrations against police brutality. Soldiers fired on the protesters after the declaration of a curfew, leading to a yet-to-be-determined number of fatalities disputed by the government. A judicial panel of inquiry investigating the incident revealed during a sitting on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 that the Lagos government has paid a forensic team to aid the investigation. Chairperson of the panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi, announced this after the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) repeated a request that it be allowed to retake control of the toll gate which was vandalised ...
Pep Guardiola confident Kevin de Bruyne will commit future to Manchester City
Pep Guardiola expects Kevin De Bruyne to commit his long-term future to Manchester City despite reports the Belgium midfielder’s contract talks have stalled. De Bruyne’s current contract runs until 2023, but City have already offered him a new deal. That contract extension remains unsigned amid claims De Bruyne was “disappointed” City’s offer did not significantly improve his reported salary of £280,000 ($380,000) per week. De Bruyne, voted the PFA Player of the Year last season, is said to want a deal that reflects his status as one of the world’s best midfielders and vice-captain of the club. Despite those issues, City boss Guardiola remains confident De Bruyne’s future will be at the Etihad Stadium. “I am pretty sure he will stay but at the same time we have to respect the process,” Gua...
Report: Jack Ma’s Ant Group considers overhaul due to regulatory pressure
Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group plans reorganisation that would allow it to be regulated more like a bank, Bloomberg reports. Jack Ma’s besieged Ant Group Co. is planning to fold its financial operations into a holding company that could be regulated more like a bank, according to people familiar with the situation, potentially crippling the growth of its most-profitable units. The fintech giant is planning to move any unit that would require a financial license into the holding company, pending regulatory approval, said the people, who asked not be named because the matter is private. The plans are still under discussion and subject to change, the people said. Ant declined to comment. The operations that Ant is looking to fold into the holding company include wealth managemen...
Senator Sani visits survivors of 2012 Kaduna church bombing
CNN Ex-Senator from Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, on Saturday visited survivors of a 2012 Boko Haram bomb blast at St Monica Catholic Church, in Malali, Kaduna. In 2012, about eight worshippers had died at the explosion, with several others sustaining injuries. Those who survived the attack lamented that they have since been abandoned to cater for themselves. The survivors used the former lawmaker’s visit to call on the government and citizens for aid to be able to get back their life. A survivor, Polycarp Lawrence, who lost an eye in the attack, said that he has been paying for his medical bills with the little support from the church, which has not been enough. ‘Since the bomb blast of 2012, I have not found my rhythm back in life. Life has been so difficult for me and my family. There has...
