The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) have strengthened their partnership in order to enhance youth empowerment and stimulate economic growth in Lagos State. On August 20, 2024, both organizations signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the LSETF office in Lagos, aiming to expand their successful collaboration in promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship. The signing ceremony was attended by key figures including USADF President/CEO Travis Adkins, Acting Executive Secretary of LSETF Feyisayo Alayande, Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment Hon. Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, and representatives from both the government…
Author: Omolemi Eboisetale
Civilians are among the dozens of people killed in an attack by militants in Burkina Faso, local and security sources told AFP on Sunday. Jihadist rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged a grinding insurgency since 2015 in Burkina Faso that has killed thousands and displaced two million people. The latest attack was carried out by armed men in the village of Barsalogho in north-central Burkina Faso on Saturday, multiple sources said. Denouncing the “cowardly and barbaric attack”, Communications Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said it was carried out by “hordes of criminals”.…
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a 48-hour nationwide state of emergency from 06:00 am (0300 GMT) Sunday, after the Israeli military launched what it called pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon. “The declaration on the state of emergency enables the IDF (Israeli military) to issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where it may be relevant,” Gallant said, in a statement issued by his office. “I am convinced that there is a high probability of an attack against the civilian population in areas of the country where the declaration of a special situation did not apply,”…
In the dim corridors of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, mobile phone torches are now as essential as stethoscopes for doctors doing rounds without functioning generators. Fuel shortages are widespread in the besieged territory after more than 10 months of war, further restricting services at those hospitals that are still open. Ayman Zaqout had a hard time even reaching the Kamal Adwan, located in Beit Lahia, because of Israeli strikes and evacuation orders. Once admitted, he discovered he would be treated mostly in the dark. “There was no electricity and I don’t know how they will be…
Russia and Ukraine announced Saturday they had exchanged 115 prisoners of war each, just over two weeks after Kyiv launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. The exchange came as Kyiv mounted its offensive in Kursk and as Russia eyes more east Ukrainian towns. It also came on Ukrainian Independence Day. Both countries thanked the United Arab Emirates, who said it mediated the swap deal. “Another 115 of our defenders have returned home today. These are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy, the State Border Guard Service,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He published photographs…
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia wanted to “destroy” Ukraine but that war has “returned to its home”, in an Ukrainian Independence Day video address he said was recorded from where Kyiv launched its surprise incursion into Russia. Kyiv celebrates independence from the Soviet Union as the long war with Russia has reached a dramatic moment, with Ukrainian forces mounting an incursion in Russia’s Kursk region and Moscow eyeing more east Ukrainian towns. Zelensky published a video from a deserted, forested area in the Sumy region, which he visited earlier this week, saying it was a “few kilometres” from…
North Korea has condemned the United States’ decision to sell Apache helicopters to South Korea, calling it a “reckless and provocative act” that threatens regional stability. The $3.5 billion arms deal, which includes up to 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and additional military equipment, has drawn sharp criticism from Pyongyang. In a statement issued on Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry accused the US and its allies of deliberately increasing insecurity in the region. “We strongly oppose and reject the US and its vassal forces’ arms buildup,” the ministry stated, referring to South Korea as a subordinate of the US. The…
The Economic Community of West African States Food and Cultural Festival says its upcoming festival holding in Nigeria is aimed at promoting food security, poverty alleviation and zero tolerance for hunger in 16 ECOWAS countries. Its Director-General, Ambassador Felix Ihonre said this at the Preparatory Inter-Ministerial/Stakeholders Meeting on ECOWAS Food and Cultural Festival in Abuja on Friday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the ECOWAS Food and Cultural Festival is scheduled to be held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State from October 6 to 11, 2024. Ihonre said that the festival would bring together key players in the food security…
Inmates killed at least three Russian prison guards on Friday during a prison siege, officials reported. The assailants were said to have apparent connections to the Islamic State group. Russian special forces stormed the facility in the southern Volgograd region and shot dead all four attackers after an hours-long stand-off. This incident marks the second occurrence of IS-affiliated prisoners taking staff hostage since June and comes amid heightened ethnic tensions following the terror attack on a Moscow concert hall in March. “Four criminals took eight colony employees and four convicts hostage,” Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said on Friday. The assailants…
During the speech at the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris labeled North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a “tyrant and dictator,” prompting a strong response from Pyongyang. North Korea has warned the United States of “serious consequences” following Washington’s decision to supply South Korea with advanced military hardware, including 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The U.S. and South Korea are currently engaged in a series of joint military exercises, dubbed “Ulchi Freedom Shield,” which include over 40 types of field drills designed to counter potential threats from North Korea, such as missile attacks, GPS jamming, and cyberattacks. In…
Russia’s advance in Eastern Ukraine has intensified, leading to heavy and chaotic fighting in the town of New York, just 60km from the strategic Ukrainian stronghold of Pokrovsk. The once bustling town, home to 3,000 residents before the war, now lies in ruins with most of its population fleeing the relentless shelling and the shifting front lines. The conflict in New York is emblematic of the larger struggle engulfing Eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces are pressing forward despite significant resistance from Ukrainian troops. According to Ukrainian military sources, the situation on the ground is chaotic, with control of buildings in…
The United States has issued a warning about the escalating extremist threats in West Africa following the recent withdrawal of its military forces from Niger. Major General Kenneth Ekman, the Department of Defense West Africa Coordination Element Lead at US Africa Command (AFRICOM), stated the deteriorating security situation during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, raising alarms about the region’s increasing vulnerability. The warning comes after Niger’s military junta revoked its military cooperation agreement with the US in March 2024, leading to the departure of 1,000 American armed forces personnel. This has disrupted US strategy in the region, leaving…