Author: Chief Editor

Nearly a quarter of a million people are facing starvation in Somalia as a drought worsens and global food prices hover near record highs, United Nations agencies said on Monday. The agencies said a fourth consecutive rainy season had failed in the Horn of Africa country and meteorologists were warning of another below-average rainy season later this year as the world’s climate becomes more erratic. At the same time, world food prices are close to record highs hit in March as the Russia-Ukraine war roils markets for staple grains and edible oils. Around 213,000 Somalis are at risk of starvation,…

Tunisia’s political crisis deepened on Monday as President Kais Saied ordered judges’ salaries cut to take account of strike days after they began a week-long work stoppage in protest at his move to dismiss dozens of them. Saied, who has progressively sought to tighten his grip on power, last week dismissed 57 judges, accusing them of corruption and protecting terrorists. Courtrooms were closed across the country on Monday. The head of the Tunisian Judges Association, Anas Hamaidi, said 99% of judges observed the first day of the strike, and that the action would continue until Saied reinstated those sacked. The…

A protester was shot and killed in the Sudanese city of Omdurman on Monday by security forces, medics say, making them the 100th protester killed in anti-coup demonstrations since October. The protester, the second death after the lifting of a state of emergency on May 29, was most likely killed by buckshot, said the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors. Demonstrations have continued since a military coup in October, organized by neighborhood resistance committees. Most of those killed in the protests have been young men. Military leaders have promised investigations into the deaths. Protests flared in Omdurman on Monday in response…

South Africa said on Monday the United Arab Emirates had arrested Rajesh Gupta and Atul Gupta, brothers who face charges of political corruption under former South African president Jacob Zuma. Confirming South Africa’s statement on Tuesday, Dubai police said on Twitter that it had coordinated with South African authorities “regarding the extradition file to complete the legal procedures”. South Africa’s Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services said on Monday there were discussions between various law enforcement agencies in the UAE and South Africa “on the way forward”. The two nations agreed an extradition treaty last year. The brothers are accused…

A veteran Uganda opposition figure was released on Monday after a court slashed his cash bail that forced him to spend nearly two weeks in custody, his lawyer and an aide said. Kizza Besigye had been charged on May 25 with inciting violence after being detained a day earlier in the capital Kampala as he rallied supporters to protest against soaring commodity prices. After he was charged he was granted bail, but on condition that he paid 30 million shillings ($8,000.00) of it in cash, which his lawyer protested as “outrageous.” Besigye refused to pay and instead chose to go…

Sunday’s attack on St Francis Catholic Church in the Nigerian town of Owo killed 22 people and injured 50, an official from the National Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday. Unknown assailants attacked the congregation with guns and explosives during Pentecost Sunday mass. Authorities had not previously released any casualty figures. Media reports had said more than 50 people were killed. It is not uncommon for conflicting casualty figures to emerge in the aftermath of disasters in Nigeria. Authorities have not given any information about the identity of the attackers or their motive. Police said on Monday they had recovered…

Sen. Sani Musa, (Niger East Senatorial District), says the Senate President Ahmad Lawan will make a very good President, if elected or affirmed through consensus at Tuesday’s APC’s Presidential Primaries scheduled for Eagle Square in Abuja. Musa spoke about the compelling qualities of the Senate President and why he would make a great President of Nigeria if elected at the primaries and later at the general elections. This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Nasiru Abdullahi, Media Adviser to the Sen. Ahmad Lawan Campaign Organisation and issued to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja. ” Senator Ahmad…

The proposed national carrier for Nigeria, Nigeria Air will receive its Air Transport Licence (ATL) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) today in preparation for it to start operation after it has obtained its Air Operator Certificate, (AOC). The licence would be presented to the interim management of the airline at the headquarters of the aviation regulatory body in Abuja. This was made known on the Instagram handle of the Ministry of Aviation @fmaviationng which read: “The @NigerianCAA will on Monday, June 6th, 2022 present the Air Transport License (ATL) to the interim management of the #NigeriaAir, Nigeria’s national…

Eze Onyekpere Nigeria is perhaps facing its greatest challenge since the end of the civil war. It is the challenge of leadership, honesty of purpose and dedication of the leadership to the nation and its people. This discourse is set against the background of ongoing political party primaries for the selection of candidates to contest elections at all levels of leadership across the federation. This message will find resonance more with the youths and all persons of goodwill who love Nigeria and have the interests of its people at heart. The message is straightforward. The youths have the largest voting…

* Want aspirants to close ranks, present one candidate   *Buhari didn’t discuss zoning, Adamu insists *Tight security in Abuja, police mount security around Eagle Square Weekend’s decision by President Muhammadu Buhari and Northern Governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to concede the party’s 2023 presidential ticket to the South, has elicited commendation from the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), which described the development as a remarkable political development in the country. SMBLF, in a release jointly issued yesterday by its Leaders, Chief  Edwin Clark; Afenifere Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; President-General of Middle Belt Forum, Dr Pogu…