United States
Brazil court fires Rio governor over corruption
Brazil’s High Court of Justice removed Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel from office Friday, as police raided his official residence in a probe into accusations he stole emergency funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The raids also targeted the far-right governor’s wife and inner circle. Among those arrested was Pastor Everaldo, an evangelical preacher and leader of Witzel’s Christian Social Party. Helicopters circled over the stately governor’s residence, Laranjeiras Palace, starting at dawn as federal police executed a sweeping series of search and seizure orders and arrest warrants. The court ruling suspends Witzel, 52, from office for at least 180 days as authorities investigate claims he took a reported 274.2 million reals ($50 million) in kickbacks. “This criminal organizatio...
Brazilian president’s son contracts coronavirus
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, said Tuesday he has tested positive for the new coronavirus but was asymptomatic. The 39-year-old senator’s office said in a statement he was “feeling fine,” isolating at home and taking the anti-malaria drug chloroquine, which his father has aggressively pushed as a treatment for COVID-19 despite studies finding it is ineffective against the virus. Known for his staunch support of his father, the younger Bolsonaro is under investigation for an alleged embezzlement scheme when he was a state lawmaker for Rio de Janeiro. He is the fourth member of the presidential family to test positive for the virus. Bolsonaro himself, 65, caught it last month, forcing the far-right leader, a fierce critic of lockdown measures agai...
West African delegation ‘very hopeful’ after meeting Mali junta
A West African delegation visiting Mali to push for a speedy return to civilian rule following a coup said it was “very hopeful” on Saturday after meeting with the country’s military junta and the president it ousted. The head of the delegation from the regional Ecowas bloc, former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, said that detained Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was doing relatively well. “We saw him, he’s very fine,” said Jonathan, who had earlier met for half an hour with the soldiers who seized power on Tuesday, including new strongman Colonel Assimi Goita. Jonathan told AFP that negotiations were going well and he was “very hopeful”. Rebel soldiers seized Keita and other leaders after a mutiny on Tuesday, dealing another deep blow to a country already struggling with a b...
MFM Pastor Olukoya decries link with fraud
General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, has denied involvement in any fraudulent activities as being portrayed in some sections of the media, which he accused of being bent on churning out malicious stories against him and the church. Defending Dr. Olukoya, in a statement, his media aide, Mr. Collins Edomaruse, said the seven allegations laid against the general Overseer and the MFM were without foundation, but intent to damage his reputation and destroy the global image of the church. Edomaruse also said “It has become pertinent for the purpose of clarity to respond to the false allegations being peddled against the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and our General Overseer – Dr. D. K. Olukoya in the social media particularly...
Mali junta plans ‘transitional president’
Rebel troops who have taken power in Mali said on Thursday “a transitional president” would be appointed from either civilian or military ranks. “We are going to set in place a transitional council, with a transitional president who is going to be either military or civilian,” Junta spokesman Ismael Wague told TV channel France 24. “We are in contact with civil society, opposition parties, the majority, everyone, to try to set the transition in place.” Wague said, “It is going to be a transition which will be the shortest possible. You’re not talking about 2023, 2022. (We have) to complete this transition as quickly as possible, and then we go back to doing something different. “I can’t tell you when we are going to hand over power to civilians, because the transition has first to be put i...
PTF: Nigerians poor attitude towards virus testing is worrisome
The Presidential Taskforce, PTF, on COVID-19, on Thursday, decried the poor attitude of Nigerians towards COVID-19 testing and safety protocols, saying, despite the increased capacity, sample collection remains very low. Expressing displeasure during the weekly COVID-19 briefing in Abuja, the Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce, Boss Mustapha, further lamented that the numbers of local governments, LGAs, that are hot spots have increased from 16 to 20 and regrettably happened to be a hard-to-reach area. “Initially, we have 10 local government areas that are hot spots which eventually increased to 16 but now we have 20 LGAs that are hot spots. Regrettably, this recent local government is more remote. “Presently, Nigeria now has the capacity to test 15,000 people daily but sadly, what we ...
IPOB warns Nigerian government to stop harassment of members
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Thursday, told the Federal Government to halt “the incessant harassment and arrest of its members and their families in South-East.” It also called on South-East and South-South governors, particularly Ebonyi State government, to prevail on the security agents in their states to release IPOB and their family members, particularly its Ebonyi State Coordinator, Mazi Igwe Ogbonnaya, without further delay. The pro-Biafra group said it is particularly upset by the alleged recent arrest of its Coordinator in Ebonyi State; and the intimidation of an innocent woman who recently put to bed in Oji River Council Area of Enugu State by security operatives in the guise of searching for Radio Biafra Station. In a statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary...
Tehran, Brussels reject Donald Trump’s ‘snapback’ plan for Iran sanctions
Iran and the European Union have both rejected United States President Donald Trump’s plan to trigger the “snapback” mechanism in the Iranian nuclear deal to impose sanctions on Iran. “The Americans got out of the atomic deal in May 2018 and they know very well that the implementation of the snapback is something illegal and, therefore, absolutely unacceptable,’’ Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said on Sunday, according to state media. The snapback was granted to the participants in the 2015 Vienna nuclear agreement between major world powers and Iran in the event that Tehran violates it. However, under Trump, the United States withdrew unilaterally from the agreement in 2018. “Since Washington withdrew from the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of...
Ex-US envoy Walter Carrington passes on at 90
A former United States ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, is dead. The post Ex-US envoy Walter Carrington passes on at 90 appeared first on TODAY. 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, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Iranian president threatens consequences if arms embargo extended
Iranian President Hassan Rowhani has threatened consequences if the UN Security Council prolongs an arms embargo against Iran at the behest of the United States. The post Iranian president threatens consequences if arms embargo extended appeared first on TODAY. 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, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
US health chief sceptical of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine claim
United States health chief on Wednesday expressed scepticism about Russia’s claim of developing the world’s first safe coronavirus vaccine, pointing to the lack of data from its initial trials. The post US health chief sceptical of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine claim appeared first on TODAY. 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, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Growing number of countries mull TikTok restriction over China links
US President Donald Trump looming TikTok ban may only be the beginning of the popular video app’s headaches, as a growing number of nations are becoming suspicious of its ties to China. The post Growing number of countries mull TikTok restriction over China links appeared first on TODAY. 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, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
