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Saturday, 19 June 2021 05:33

US Catholic Bishops in showdown with Biden over abortion rights

US Catholic bishops are on a potential collision course with President Joe Biden after voting to commission a document that may call for him to be barred from Holy Communion. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) clashed online over whether to draw up a teaching document on politicians who support abortion. Holy Communion is the most important ritual in the Catholic Christian faith. The Catholic president regularly attends Church services. Responding to news of the bishops' vote, he said: "That's a private matter and I don't think that's gonna happen." The Vatican has already indicated its opposition to the…

Friday, 18 June 2021 06:01

Newspaper proprietors, editors, media practitioners oppose FG’s proposed media bill

Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) has asked House of Representatives to drop a bill seeking to amend the Nigerian Press Council Act. The organisation objected to the bill during a public hearing on the bill on Thursday organised by the House Committee on Information, Culture, Ethics and Values. NPO is the umbrella organisation for Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). Editor-in-Chief of the Leadership newspaper, Azubike Ishiekwene, who represented the organisation at the hearing, asked the lawmakers to drop the proposed bill because of an ongoing court case. He said…

Friday, 18 June 2021 05:56

Benue workers get two days off weekly for farming

Benue State Government has declared Thursdays and Fridays work-free days for workers in the state to be able to engage in farming activities. This is the third time the state government would be declaring work free days for its workers during planting and harvest seasons. But this is the first time the work free days will be two days a week and it will last till the end of July. The memo signed by Samuel Udeh on behalf of the Head of Service, Veronica Onyeke was titled, ‘Declaration of work free days for public servants in the state to enhance…

Friday, 18 June 2021 05:55

Teenage girl detained since #EndSARS protests gives birth in prison custody

One of the persons arrested for vandalism during the last #EndSARS protest in Ondo State, Kemisola Oguniyi, has reportedly given birth in prison custody. The 18-year-old girl was arrested, along three others – Ayodele Bukunmi, Ojo Samuel and Ani Obinna, during the crisis and had been remanded in the correctional centre in Ondo town, Ondo State. It was gathered that the defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit felony, arson, riotous assembly, stealing and malicious damage. Ogunniyi was said to have delivered a baby boy on June 16, 2021. In a letter to the Ondo Chief Judge, Oluwatoyin Akeredolu, the…

Friday, 18 June 2021 05:54

Obituary: Life and time of Zambia’s founding president, Kenneth Kaunda

Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s founding president who led his country for 27 years and championed Africa’s struggles against apartheid and HIV/AIDS, has died at the age of 97. “KK”, as he was popularly known, was being treated for pneumonia at the Maina Soko Medical Centre, a military hospital in Lusaka. “On behalf of the entire nation and on my own behalf, I pray that the entire Kaunda family is comforted as we mourn our first president and true African icon,” President Edgar Lungu said in a message on his Facebook page. Authorities declared 21 days of mourning for the liberation hero…

Thursday, 17 June 2021 05:53

FG proposes law to regulate social, online media

Federal government has asked the house of representatives to enact a law to regulate social and online media in Nigeria. At a public hearing organised by the house on Wednesday, Lai Mohammed, minister of information, asked the lawmakers to amend the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) act to empower the agency to regulate social and online media. The public hearing was organised by the house committee on information, national orientation, ethics and values on a bill to amend the NBC act. Section two (b) of the NBC act states: “(1) The Commission shall have [the] responsibility of: Receiving, processing and considering…

Thursday, 17 June 2021 05:52

India strips Twitter of legal immunity for Third Party content

New Delhi has revoked Twitter’s shield against prosecution for user content, saying the platform failed to comply with new regulations as police filed their first case against the site over a violent video, Indian media has reported. The social network became the first American platform to lose the legal protections on Wednesday, with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology claiming the site had not yet come in line with new social media rules implemented in late May, according to several local media outlets. “Due to their non-compliance, their protection as an intermediary is gone. Twitter is liable for penal…

Thursday, 17 June 2021 05:51

Borno gov lauds Buhari as president visits state today

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to pay a one-day official visit to Borno State on Thursday (today) to appraise security challenges in the North-East and inaugurate some projects in the state. A statement by Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on Wednesday titled, ‘Thursday: Why Buhari deserves Borno’s rousing welcome,’ confirmed this. Zulum, who said Buhari was concerned about the humanitarian situation and sincerely committed to finding peace in the troubled state, added, “This is why he is visiting us on Thursday.” The governor said, “While I must admit that we still have security challenges, at the same time, if we…

Thursday, 17 June 2021 05:49

Buhari is wrong on ‘grazing route’, Senate spokesperson explains

Senate Spokesperson, Ajibola Basiru, insisted on Wednesday that there was no law on grazing routes in any part of Nigeria. Rather, the Senator, who holds a doctoral degree in property law, said the law on grazing reserves, recognised as a state law in the 1999 constitution, actually criminalised open grazing. The Osun Central Senatorial District Senator gave the clarification in a statement personally signed by him in Abuja on Wednesday, titled, “No Law of Grazing Routes in Nigeria: Either North or South.” He maintained that modern animal husbandry practices remained the panacea to herders/farmers clashes in Nigeria. Basiru said the…

Thursday, 17 June 2021 05:47

Two die as road transport workers clash with phone sellers in Ibadan

Some members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), otherwise known as Park Management System (PMS), on Wednesday evening clashed with phone dealers in Iwo Road area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital. At least two people have lost their lives in the violent incident, sources say. It was gathered that an individual who bought a phone from a store in Iwo Road was reportedly duped by the seller. After making payment and realising he had been defrauded, the buyer tried to retrieve his money but was allegedly beaten up by the dealers. “The guy later went to bring…

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Thursday, 17 June 2021 05:46

Biden and Putin praise Geneva summit talks but discord remains

Presidents of the US and Russia have praised their talks in Geneva but have made little concrete progress at the first such meeting since 2018. Disagreements were stated, said US President Joe Biden, but not in a hyperbolic way, and he said Russia did not want a new Cold War. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Biden was an experienced statesman and the two "spoke the same language". The talks lasted around three hours, less time than was scheduled. Biden said they did not need to spend more time talking and there was now a genuine prospect to improve relations with…

Wednesday, 16 June 2021 05:52

MTN warns of service disruption amid rising insecurity

Subscribers of MTN, the largest telecom provider in Nigeria, may soon face service disruption in the West African nation, according to a notice seen by some journalists and outlets. A rise in insecurity challenges in Nigeria is likely to disrupt MTN's service, Reuters and others said, citing an alert from customer service reps. Throughout this year, Nigerians have had to battle kidnappings, clashes between farmers and herders, mass abductions of students, and armed robberies. “Sadly, we must inform you that with the rising insecurity in different parts of Nigeria, service delivery to your organization may be impacted in the coming…

Wednesday, 16 June 2021 05:51

Half of Nigeria’s population to fall into extreme poverty as economy recovery drags - World Bank

Nigerian economic growth has resumed after the Covid shock but is lagging the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, with food inflation, heightened insecurity and stalled reforms slowing growth and increasing poverty, the World Bank said on Tuesday. Presenting its six-monthly update on development in Africa’s most populous country, the organisation gave a GDP growth forecast for Nigeria of 1.9% in 2021 and 2.1% in 2022, compared with 3.4% this year and 4.0% next year for sub-Saharan Africa. Lead economist for Nigeria Marco Hernandez said inflation, especially in food prices, was exacerbating poverty and food insecurity. Food accounted for almost 70% of…

Wednesday, 16 June 2021 05:50

Military aircraft raid forests for bandits in Northern Nigeria

There were strong indications on Tuesday that the military had begun the bombardment of bandits’ hideouts in the Northwest, Northcentral and some parts of the Northeast. Top security officials, who confided in our correspondents, said the bombardment, which started in Katsina and Benue states would soon be extended to other states in the zones. Recall that the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in an interview with the Hausa Service of the BBC in March, said President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered crackdown on bandits terrorising farmers across the country. Also, during his interview with Arise Television…

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