The House of Representatives has issued a warning to the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, threatening to call for his removal if he continues to obstruct the smooth operation of the Dangote Refinery. This was disclosed by Deputy Spokesman of the House, Philip Agbese, during a press briefing in Abuja on Saturday. Agbese emphasized the House’s support for the removal of the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, for similar reasons. The All Progressives Congress legislator accused both the NNPCL and…
Author: Omolemi Eboisetale
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, alongside Mayor Andre Dickens, led a crucial roundtable discussion on private sector contributions to food security. Held on July 25, 2024, and hosted by Microsoft, this event brought together key figures from various sectors, including Accenture, the American Heart Association, CARE, Digital Green, GoodrCo., Wellstar, and representatives from the City of Atlanta. The roundtable focused on leveraging emerging technologies to combat food insecurity and fostered collaboration across public, private, and non-profit sectors. Participants shared best practices and discussed how successful initiatives in Atlanta could be scaled nationally and globally to…
North Korea has issued a warning to its adversaries, vowing to “totally destroy” them in the event of war, according to state media KCNA. The declaration was made during a meeting held on Saturday to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the Korean War armistice, attended by leader Kim Jong Un. Senior military officials, including Army Colonel Ri Un Ryong and Navy Lieutenant Commander Yu Kyong Song, expressed “surging hatred” towards the U.S. and South Korea. They emphasized their commitment to enhancing military capabilities and executing an “overwhelming attack” at the command of Kim Jong Un. This rhetoric comes amid stalled…
Administrator Samantha Power of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) introduced a Digital Policy aimed at advancing global development and ensuring equitable digital ecosystems. Announced at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the policy outlines a strategic approach to harnessing technology’s potential while addressing associated risks. The new USAID Digital Policy focuses on three primary goals: enhancing development and humanitarian outcomes through digital infrastructure investments, improving digital knowledge and skills, and promoting privacy, security, transparency, and human rights. With an initial funding allocation of $14.6 million, the policy aims to support responsible AI adoption, bolster cybersecurity in…
An Israeli military commander said Friday that troops in the country’s north were preparing for “a decisive offensive” against Lebanon’s Hezbollah after months of deadly cross-border exchanges. Israeli forces have traded near-daily fire with Hamas ally Hezbollah since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel started the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s commanding officer in the north, Major General Ori Gordin, told troops that “we have already eliminated more than 500 terrorists in Lebanon, the great majority of them from Hezbollah”, an army statement said. According to an AFP tally, more than nine months of…
Ethiopia announced on Friday three days of mourning following a devastating landslide in a southern remote part of the country where more than 250 people lost their lives. Rescuers are continuing the grim search for bodies in the tiny locality of Kencho Shacha Gozdi, while distraught survivors bury those who perished in the disaster, the deadliest landslide on record in the Horn of Africa nation. UN humanitarian agency OCHA, citing local authorities, said on Thursday that 257 people have died and warned the toll could reach 500. “The House of Peoples’ Representatives has announced a three-day national mourning for the…
The Third Republic lawmakers have called on the organizers of the planned nationwide protest set for August 1, 2024, to reconsider their actions, stating that the rally is not in the best interest of the nation. The group made this appeal during a press conference at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Friday. The Third Republic of Nigeria refers to the brief political period between 1992 and 1993, which marked an attempt to transition from military rule to a civilian government. Accompanied by incumbent lawmaker and Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, who was…
Authorities evacuated nearly 300,000 people and suspended public transport across eastern China on Friday, as Typhoon Gaemi brought torrential rains already responsible for five deaths in nearby Taiwan. Gaemi was the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall on Thursday, flooding parts of the island’s second-biggest city. Typhoon Gaemi exacerbated seasonal rains in the Philippines on its path to Taiwan, triggering flooding and landslides that killed 30 people, according to police figures on Friday. A tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of oil sank off Manila on Thursday, with authorities racing to offload the cargo and…
The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa on Friday to discuss the restoration of constitutional rule in West African nations that recently experienced military coups, including Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. Military forces overthrew the civilian governments in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger in May 2021, September 2022, and July 2023, respectively. Guinea also succumbed to military control in September 2021. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) responded by imposing economic sanctions on these nations, some of which were relaxed in February 2024. On July 6, leaders…
Sri Lanka’s first presidential elections since an unprecedented economic crisis spurred widespread unrest will be held in September, the election commission said Friday. The election will be the first test of the public mood since the height of the 2022 downturn, which caused months of food, fuel and medicine shortages across the island nation. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, who took office after street protests forced his predecessor to flee the country, has filed his nomination as an independent candidate. He will face at least two rivals campaigning against austerity measures his government imposed to satisfy an International Monetary Fund bailout…
A Hamas leader in the West Bank died in Israeli custody, Palestinian authorities and the militant group said Friday. Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara, 63, died after being moved from a prison in southern Israel to a hospital, according to a joint statement by the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners affairs body and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club watchdog. “We mourn the passing of the leader and prisoner Sheikh Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara and hold the occupation responsible for his assassination through deliberate medical neglect,” Hamas said in a statement. Abu Ara was arrested in October while suffering severe health problems, the Palestinian body…
The U.S. Mission has celebrated the 50-year Sister Cities partnership between Lagos and Atlanta by initiating a new educational collaboration involving Spelman College and three prominent universities in Lagos: the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), and Pan-Atlantic University. This initiative aims to enhance US-Nigeria educational collaboration, focusing on women’s education, STEM fields, and the creative industries. The agreement establishing this collaboration was signed in Lagos by four representatives from the involved stakeholders. A recent statement from the U.S. Mission, titled “U.S. Mission Celebrates 50-Year Sister Cities Partnership Between Lagos and Atlanta with New Educational Collaboration,” highlighted the…