Author: Chief Editor

Russia could cut off gas supplies to Finland this week, Finland’s state-owned energy provider Gasum said on Wednesday, in a row over Moscow’s demand for countries to pay for gas in roubles and as Helsinki seeks NATO membership. In a statement, Gasum said it had not received any information about the matter from Russia’s Gazprom Export or from the Russian transmission operator, but that it was preparing for a scenario where Moscow cuts off gas late on Friday or on Saturday. Gazprom did not respond to a request for comment. “Gasum will continue preparing for the situation together with its…

Elon Musk may find a way to prove his claim that spam accounts on Twitter Inc’s (TWTR.N) platform are significantly higher than the social media company has estimated, but showing that he and investors were misled will be difficult, legal experts say. Musk tweeted on Tuesday that his $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter could not proceed until the company shows proof to back its estimate that spam accounts make up less than 5% of its user base. He has said he believes the figure is at least four times greater and that he will “defeat the bots or die trying.” Independent…

The New York State Division of Human Rights has filed a complaint against Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) accusing the online retailer of discriminating against pregnant and disabled workers at its worksites, Governor Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday. Amazon was also accused of having policies requiring workers to take unpaid leaves of absence instead of providing them with reasonable accommodations, even if they are capable of working. New York faulted Amazon for allowing worksite managers to override recommendations by in-house “accommodation consultants” who review worker requests for modified schedules or job responsibilities. “My administration will hold any employer accountable, regardless of how big or…

Google’s Russian subsidiary plans to file for bankruptcy after the authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to carry on operations, a Google spokesperson said on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) Google has been under pressure in Russia for months for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal and for restricting access to some Russian media on YouTube, but the Kremlin has so far stopped short of blocking access to its platforms. “The Russian authorities seizure of Google Russia’s bank account has made it untenable for our Russia office to function, including employing and paying Russia-based employees, paying suppliers and vendors,…

Lagos State Wednesday said the operations of commercial motorcyclists have been totally banned in six local governments in the state. The clampdown was announced several days after motorcyclists lynched a sound engineer in Lekki. Okada riders, as commercial motorcyclists are called, will not be allowed to work from June 1 in Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island and Apapa local government areas. [GuardianNG]

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has urged State High Courts to abide by the provisions of the new Electoral Act, which he said prohibits them from handling pre-election or electoral matters. Some State High Courts are already acting in contravention of the law. The governor stated this Monday night, during a state banquet organised at the Government House, in Port Harcourt, in honour of Hon. Justice Mary Peter Odili, on her 70th birthday and retirement from the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Wike said: “The truth is that the Electoral Act says anything about…

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said despite the Federal Government’s efforts to leverage the benefits of tax exemptions and concessions, the incentive has rather led to huge revenue loss to the government. According to her, though the government is committed to reducing tax expenditure, the nation’s current revenue to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of about seven per cent was poor and unsatisfactory. The minister stated this on Monday in Abuja, at the workshop on tax expenditure organised by the ECOWAS Commission under the Context of the Implementation of the Support Programme for Tax…

About two months after the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train service resulting in the death of nine passengers and the abduction of 62 persons, the Federal Ministry of Transportation has directed that the train service resume on Monday, May 23. The families of the victims had lamented the lackadaisical attitude of the government in the rescue of their loved ones. However, the Deputy Director of Public Relations in the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) Yakubu Mohammed, said security agents are making concerted efforts are being made to rescue the abducted passengers, noting that the details are kept out of the public…

• Federal High Court shifts hearing in PDP’s challenge till May 24 The Supreme Court has slated May 19 for hearing in the suit by President Muhammadu Buhari and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. The court will on Thursday entertain the suit filed on April 29, 2022, marked: SC/CV/504/2022, which has the National Assembly listed as sole defendant. The plaintiffs are contending, among others, that the said section of the Electoral Act 2022 is in conflict with constitutional provisions. Also, a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, fixed May 24 for definite hearing…

Barely a week after the intervention that fixed aviation fuel at N480/litre, Jet-A1 scarcity has hit local airlines causing multiple flights delay. The Guardian learnt that more than half of scheduled flights were delayed for hours yesterday. The operating carriers have also warned the travelling public to brace up for massive disruptions in the days ahead. The National Assembly, last week, summoned airline operators, oil marketers, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to a roundtable over soaring cost of jet fuel for which the operators threatened to shut down local air transport services. At…