The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has called on judges to urgently rule on his request for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others linked to the war on Gaza. Prosecutor Karim Khan says that any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally affects the rights of victims. Khan had applied for arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders in May for alleged crimes comm...
Aug 26, 2024•1 min
A "right to disconnect" rule has come into effect in Australia, offering relief to people who feel forced to take calls or read messages from employers after they finish their day’s work. The new law allows employees to ignore communications after hours if they choose to, without fear of being punished by their bosses. More than 20 countries, mainly in Europe and Latin America, have similar rules. The law does not ban employers from contacting workers after hours. Instead, it gives staff the rig...
Aug 26, 2024•1 min
Gabon's interim president who seized power in a coup a year ago has barred members of his transitional government from holidaying abroad. Gen Oligui Nguema has also limited government officials to a maximum of one week of holiday leave. These new restrictions were announced on state television, after he toured the country to listen to people's concerns. There is speculation that Gen Nguema may be softening the ground to run for president in next year's election - the first since he seized power ...
Aug 26, 2024•1 min
The Federal Government has declared that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited does not have the funds required to rebuild old pipelines. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, stated emphasised that Nigeria also needs to repair its pipelines, which he said are old, corroded, and expired. He noted that even if the country can produce more than 1.7 million barrels of crude oil, the problem is how to evacuate it to the terminal. He says the pipelines have all ...
Aug 26, 2024•1 min
The federal government says it stands by its decision to void over 22,700 degree certificates obtained by Nigerians in some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and Benin Republic. Education Minister Tahir Mamman, says Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such “illegal” tertiary institutions are denting Nigeria’s image. He says the measure to invalidate degree certificates from illegal universities in the Benin Republic and Togo was not a harsh one as the authorities in the neighb...
Aug 26, 2024•1 min
The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission earlier said that electricity consumption was not a fundamental right that could be challenged. The country’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu,says that electricity will now be treated as a fundamental human right. He says Although access to electricity is not exactly specified as a fundamental human right by the United Nations, it is implied within human rights frameworks in countries like India and China. He says making electricity a basic human ...
Aug 26, 2024•1 min
The Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has advocated policy consistency in Nigeria regardless of change from one administration to another. She says maintaining good economic and social policies; maintaining policy consistency and adding more reforms will lead along the path of good progress. The former Nigerian finance minister decried a phenomenon she labelled as the “not-in-my-administration syndrome” in governance which she said has been responsible for th...
Aug 26, 2024•54 sec
The World Health Organization has declared the mpox outbreak in parts of Africa a public health emergency of international concern. The highly contagious disease - formerly known as monkeypox - has killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has now spread across parts of central and east Africa, and scientists are concerned about how fast a new variant of the disease is spreading and its high fatality rate. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus s...
Aug 23, 2024•1 min
The Federal Government has given subscribers of the National Housing Programme a 90-day deadline to complete their payments, with an additional eight-week grace period. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, says the validity period for the completion of all payments was 90 days.” However, he added that a grace period of eight weeks was given to them, within which they were advised to complete all their payments. He explained that it meant t...
Aug 23, 2024•1 min
The Federal Government has been implored to simplify the process of land documentation as a measure to enhance housing construction and home ownership across the country. The Managing Director of Gestpoint Nigeria Limited, Dr Ebenezer Akinrinade, says the current reality in the sector is that the process of getting land documented is cumbersome and time-consuming across the country, adding that the development impedes investors from Nigeria’s real estate sector. He posited that if the government...
Aug 23, 2024•1 min
Stakeholders in the judiciary sector of the country have called for speedy implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act across the country. They said the act was passed into law and domesticated in 2015 by at least 34 states including Katsina is yet to be implemented, The Programme Manager of CLEEN Foundation, Chigozirim Okoro, described policing as a collective responsibility from parents to guardians, to school teachers, to community heads, to religious leaders, to security and...
Aug 23, 2024•57 sec
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has debunked a report claiming that it owes international oil traders $6.8 billion. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, also refuted claims that the NNPCL has not remitted funds into the federation account since January. Soneye, however, acknowledged that it is normal to owe at one point or the other since the oil trading business, transactions are carried out on credit. He says on the issue of quality/quantity fiscalization of ...
Aug 23, 2024•1 min
Hamas says that any resumption of ceasefire talks about the conflict in Gaza should be based on previous plans rather than holding new rounds of negotiations. International mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the US urged Israel and Hamas to attend negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release deal on 15 August. Israel responded saying it would send a team of negotiators to take part in the meeting. Negotiations faltered last month, after new terms were introduced to the framework presented by US ...
Aug 12, 2024•1 min
A US court has convicted a Mozambican former finance minister over a 10-year-old conspiracy that triggered the worst economic crisis in his home country since independence. Manuel Chang was found guilty of accepting pay-offs through US banks for approving secret loans which were intended to pay for a fleet of tuna fishing ships and other projects, leading to the affair being dubbed the "tuna bond" scandal. But the loans were plundered, leaving Mozambique $2bn (£1.5bn) in debt. Chang was arrested...
Aug 12, 2024•1 min
Paul Kagame has been sworn in for a fourth term as Rwanda's president after winning 99% of the vote in last month's election. While some hail Mr Kagame for bringing peace and stability to his country after the 1994 genocide, others accuse him of running a repressive regime in a country where ordinary people are afraid to criticise him openly. Rights groups say the margin of his electoral victory is proof of the lack of democracy in Rwanda. Only two candidates were allowed to stand against Mr Kag...
Aug 12, 2024•57 sec
The Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention have designed a health declaration form for international passengers to guide against the surging new strain of monkeypox in some African countries from spreading to Nigeria. The new variant of monkeypox started ravaging African countries especially DR Congo in September 2024. Deadlier and more transmissible than previous forms, the mpox strain, known as the Clade Ib subclade, spread from person to person. T...
Aug 12, 2024•1 min
The Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line will from Monday, 12th August 2024 increase its number of trips from 54 to 72 per day. The Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Engr. Abimbola Akinajo says Blue Line train riders will now travel between Marina and Mile 2 in just about 18 minutes from the previous travel time of 25 minutes. She says the implication is that there would be a train every 18 minutes both ways, thus allowing commuters to plan their trips. Akinajo says ...
Aug 12, 2024•1 min
The Nigerian Air Force has announced the destruction of 13 illegal refining sites and ten overhead tanks. The Director of Public Relations and Information of the Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet says operations conducted along the Imo River near Obuzor and Okoloma, several active illegal refining sites were discovered to be taking advantage of the difficult terrain to perpetrate their illegalities. The statement further added that while the crew extended their patrol downstream, they s...
Aug 12, 2024•1 min
The management of the National Youth Service Corps has denounced what it described as misleading information circulating in the media regarding the payment of ₦70,000 minimum wage to corps members. The Director, of Information and Public Relations of the Corps, Eddy Megwa, says corps members, parents and members of the public should note that no directive has been received from the relevant sector of government responsible to raise the allowance of corps members. He explained that corps members ...
Aug 12, 2024•59 sec
President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has received its first American-made F-16 fighter jets. Ukraine’s leader thanked allies for what they were once very hesitant to provide - though he added that many more were needed. The arrival of the jets marks a crucial milestone in boosting the capabilities of Ukraine's air force, which largely relies on old Soviet-era jets. He says more F-16s are expected and hoped in the months ahead, though Ukraine does not yet have enough trained pilots to fly th...
Aug 05, 2024•1 min
Stock markets across Asia plunged on Monday, following big falls last week by major indexes around the world. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 12.4%, or 4,451 points - its largest points drop in history, while the broader Topix index lost 12.2%. It comes after weak jobs data in the US on Friday sparked concerns about weakness in the world's largest economy. A stronger yen makes Japanese goods more expensive, and consequently less attractive to potential overseas buyers. India's main index,...
Aug 05, 2024•1 min
Ethiopia has secured a $3.4 billion loan from the IMF after floating its currency as part of the reforms to ease the country’s foreign currency shortages and attract foreign investments. IMF says the four-year financing package will support the authorities’ Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda to address macroeconomic imbalances, restore external debt sustainability, and lay the foundations for higher, inclusive, and private sector-led growth. The National Bank of Ethiopia has maintained a managed F...
Aug 05, 2024•1 min
A court in Guinea has sentenced former military ruler Moussa Dadis Camara to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity. The charges stemmed from one of the worst massacres in the nation's history - the killing of more than 156 people after troops opened fire at a rally held in September 2009 to demand a return to civilian rule. Camara and seven of his military commanders were convicted, while four others were acquitted. He denied any involvement in the stadium massacre. His lawyer described...
Aug 05, 2024•56 sec
Mali says it has cut diplomatic relations with Ukraine after a military official suggested Kyiv had played a role in deadly fighting near the Algerian border last month. Dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group were killed in days of clashes with Tuareg separatist rebels and fighters linked to al-Qaeda. Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, says that the rebels had been given the necessary information to conduct the attacks. A top Malian offic...
Aug 05, 2024•1 min
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, has expressed dissatisfaction with the inadequate support from international development partners, noting that the government had anticipated greater assistance for its reform efforts to yield results. He says the international bodies have not provided enough support to consolidate the bold, courageous, and risky reforms undertaken by the current administration since its inception over a year ago. He advocated enhanced international dev...
Aug 05, 2024•1 min
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari says the country expects a bumper harvest before year-end. Food inflation has reached 40 per cent according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, pushing the prices of essential commodities beyond the reach of millions of Nigerians. Kyari however says the Federal Government has measures in place to address the situation including ramping up farming which would increase food production. He says one of the reasons for the acute...
Aug 05, 2024•57 sec
President Nicolás Maduro has won Venezuela's presidential election, according to partial results announced by the electoral council. The head of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso - who is a close ally of Mr Maduro - says that with 80% of ballots counted, President Maduro had 51% of the vote, compared to 44% for his main rival. The Venezuelan opposition dismissed the CNE's announcement as fraudulent and promised to challenge the result. It says its candidate, Edmundo González, had won...
Jul 29, 2024•1 min
Canadian nationals, along with those from Germany, the US, the UK and 29 other countries, will require a visa to enter Namibia from next April. These include all non-reciprocating countries which means the new visa rules will affect citizens from all countries that require Namibian passport holders to have visas. Namibia’s immigration ministry says Namibia has extended gestures of goodwill and favourable treatment to nationals of various countries however, despite these efforts, certain nations ...
Jul 29, 2024•1 min
The Central Bank of Nigeria has clarified that only accounts that have been inactive for over 10 years are eligible to be classified as dormant and will be used for investment purposes. It also stated that a dedicated office would be created to manage dormant accounts and unclaimed balances. The Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances and Other Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria is a policy issued by the CBN that seeks to operationa...
Jul 29, 2024•1 min
Human rights lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has asked the Nigerian Communications Commission to probe telecommunication operators’ alleged disconnection of subscribers ahead of the planned #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria warned that telcos should not attempt to sabotage the forthcoming protest against economic hardship in Nigeria by restricting internet access among displeased citizens. He says the contract between telecom companies and their subscribers remains ...
Jul 29, 2024•58 sec
