Tuesday
Algeria’s FLN remains biggest party after election
Algeria’s FLN, long the country’s biggest political party, won the most seats in Saturday’s parliamentary election, the head of the electoral authority said on Tuesday. Fewer than a third of registered voters took part in the election, which the long dominant establishment had seen as part of its strategy to move beyond two years of mass protests and political turmoil. The protests that erupted in 2019 demanded the ousting of the ruling elite, an end to corruption and the army’s withdrawal from politics. While authorities praised the demonstrations as a moment of national renewal, they also cracked down with arrests. “The dynamic of peaceful change that was launched (with the protests) is being strengthened,” electoral authority head Mohamed Chorfi said, referring to the election. The FLN’...
Liverpool given go-ahead for Anfield expansion
Liverpool have been given the go-ahead to expand Anfield by around 7,000 seats, taking the total capacity at their historic stadium to more than 61,000. City council planners voted in favour of the redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand on Tuesday, despite concerns expressed by residents and environmental groups about the impact on nearby Stanley Park. The Premier League club’s project is expected to be completed in 2023. “This is a huge milestone in our journey towards bringing more supporters into Anfield,” said Liverpool managing director Andy Hughes. “We underwent a rigorous two-stage public consultation period during the planning process for this project and I would like to thank everyone who has offered a contribution to that.” As part of the application, the club have also been giv...
President Buhari approves employment for families of slain NYSC members
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved automatic employment in the Federal Civil Service for one graduate from each of the immediate families of the 10 slain National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in 2011 in Bauchi State. Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Akin Dare, who disclosed this on Tuesday said the President also approved scholarships to the four children of Mr. Adowei Elliot, a Delta State indigene killed during the post-election violence. Dare announced these during the inauguration of the National Governing Board of the NYSC on Tuesday in Abuja. The 10 Corps members were killed in Bauchi State in some northern states following the 2011 election won by former President Goodluck Jonathan. In a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Mi...
Official: PDP focused on taking over government in Anambra
File Photo The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra, Ndubuisi Nwobu, said the party remains focused to take over the state in the upcoming governorship poll. Nwobu said this in an interview with newsmen in Awka on Tuesday, adding that he would not be distracted by those trying to destabilise the party in the state. He lauded the National Executive Committee of the party for organising successful ward congresses in the state which he said was a sure step to the party’s free, fair and credible primary election. “We want to conduct our primary election, where party people will freely vote and produce a candidate that will be acceptable to Anambra people at the November 6 poll. “This is not (the) time for distractions. We are focused on taking over the government from the ...
CDHR calls for release of abducted Ebonyi children
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has urged the police and sister agencies to secure the unconditional release of the seven Ebonyi children abducted by suspected hoodlums at Enyigba community. The children were abducted from their respective homes at Enyigba community in Abakaliki Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebonyi by unknown persons, following alleged renewed conflict over a land dispute with Enyibichiri community in Ikwo LGA. A statement signed by the state secretary of CDHR, Jeremiah Oyibe, on Tuesday in Abakaliki, urged the police to ensure the safe and unconditional release of the seven abductees. The CDHR added that the police and the state government should ensure the arrest and trial of those involved in the criminal abduction of innocent children. The group expre...
Taiwan reports largest incursion yet by Chinese air force
Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, the island’s government said, the largest reported incursion to date. While there was no immediate comment from Beijing, the news comes after the Group of Seven leaders issued a joint statement on Sunday scolding China for a series of issues and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, comments China condemned as “slander”. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the self-ruled island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. The latest Chinese mission involved 14 J-16 ...
Cristiano Ronaldo is unconcerned over Juventus future
Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo insists his sole focus is on Euro 2020 and reports of interest from rival clubs are causing him no “sleepless nights”. Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juve in 2019, but the move has not worked out quite as planned. Although the Bianconeri won the Serie A title for a ninth successive season in the forward’s first campaign, they lost their crown to Inter this term and scraped Champions League qualification. Success in Europe’s premier club competition, which Ronaldo won five times with Manchester United and Madrid, continues to evade the Turin giants. A frustrating season ended with Massimiliano Allegri returning to replace Andrea Pirlo, and there has been speculation Ronaldo could follow his coach out of the door. Madrid, United and Paris Saint-Germain have...
Cristiano Ronaldo is unconcerned over Juventus future
Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo insists his sole focus is on Euro 2020 and reports of interest from rival clubs are causing him no “sleepless nights”. Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juve in 2019, but the move has not worked out quite as planned. Although the Bianconeri won the Serie A title for a ninth successive season in the forward’s first campaign, they lost their crown to Inter this term and scraped Champions League qualification. Success in Europe’s premier club competition, which Ronaldo won five times with Manchester United and Madrid, continues to evade the Turin giants. A frustrating season ended with Massimiliano Allegri returning to replace Andrea Pirlo, and there has been speculation Ronaldo could follow his coach out of the door. Madrid, United and Paris Saint-Germain have...
Lagos-Ibadan train service to begin full operation on Tuesday
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says it will begin full operation of the standard gauge railway service from Lagos to Ibadan on Tuesday. The Management of NRC said this is a statement signed by the Lagos District Manager, Jerry Oche, in Lagos on Sunday. According to him, the Lagos-Ibadan train services will now be available in the mornings from Tuesday. “The updated time table for Tuesday to Friday is as follows: Lagos to Ibadan at 8:00 a.m. from Mobolaji Johnson Station at Alogo megi Ebute – Meta Lagos. Also, the train will take off from Ibadan to Lagos at 8:00 a.m. from Obafemi Awolowo Station at Moniya. “The train will take off from Lagos to Ibadan at 4:00 p.m. from Mobolaji Johnson Station Alagomji, while from Ibadan to Lagos at 4:00 p.m. from Obafemi Awolowo Station at Moniya. ...
Police dispel report of armed Fulani invasion of Ekiti market
The Ekiti State Police Command has dispelled reports that armed Fulani bandits had stormed Ado Ekiti, the state capital. The state’s Commissioner of Police, Tunde Mobayo, said it is important to allay the fear that engulfed residents of the town when the news made the rounds on Wednesday. A report had trended online on Wednesday that a truck loaded with Hausa-Fulani men, all armed with AK-47 rifles and other weapons, had arrived at the Shasha market, along Ikere Road in Ado Ekiti. Mobayo, in a statement signed by the Command’s spokesman, ASP Sunday Abutu, and made available to reporters on Wednesday night, explained that the report was concocted by purveyors of fake news, and should be disregarded by residents of the town. The statement, entitled “No Armed Hausa/Fulani Invaded Shasha Marke...
Foodstuff, cattle dealers threaten to stop supply to Southern Nigeria
The Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AFUCDN) has again threatened to stop food supply to the South and other parts of the country. The union said it would carry out this threat within three weeks if governments at all levels failed to meet its demands within three weeks. National President of the AFUCDN, Muhammed Tahir, who spoke with journalists at the end of an emergency meeting of the union in Abuja on Tuesday evening, lamented that since the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, intervened in the last three months, which led to the suspension of their six-day industrial action, nothing had been done on the union’s agitation. The union had in March 2021 gone on strike and stopped supply of foodstuffs to the South following allegations of killings of its members...
Tunisia president wants debate on new political system, constitutional amendment
Tunisian President Kais Saied called on Tuesday for a dialogue with political parties on creating a new political system and amending the 2014 constitution, which he described as “with locks everywhere”, in an effort to ease the ongoing political crisis. Saied’s comments could pave the way for an end to a months-long political standoff with Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, who is backed by parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, over powers and political alliances. The Tunisian constitution, approved following the 2011 revolution, has been widely praised as a modernist constitution. But many politicians admit that it includes many controversial chapters and needs amendment. “Let us enter into a credible dialogue… to a new political system and a r...