THE US Navy has released photos of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot out of the sky on Saturday. The US Fleet Forces Command posted several photos on its Facebook page showing large debris of the balloon being hauled into a boat. The post said the sailors retrieving the debris on Sunday were part of the Navy’s specialist explosives team. The device will now be examined to see whether it was indeed spy equipment. China has repeatedly insisted that the “airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure – it was completely an…
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RUSSIA’S Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has promised continued military support for Mali, which has been battling a jihadist insurgency for more than a decade. Mr Lavrov was speaking at a news conference in the capital, Bamako. It’s his third visit to an African country in recent months. Mali’s military leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, has formed a close relationship with Russia while relations with France have worsened. French soldiers were ordered to leave the country last year, and the Russian Wagner group has deployed troops. The United Nations wants an independent investigation into possible war crimes committed by Malian government forces…
A HIGH court in Malawi has lifted the government’s suspension of the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Martha Chizuma, paving the way for her to return to work. Ms Chizuma’s suspension was last week announced by the secretary to the president and the cabinet, Colleen Zambeen. The suspension was linked to a lawsuit against her following a leaked audio in which she allegedly made remarks suggesting that a number of senior government officials and some judicial officers were hindering the fight against corruption. One official who felt hurt by the suggestion sued Ms Chizuma and she was interdicted on…
FRANK Hoogerbeets, a Dutch researcher last week Friday predicted Turkey and Syria earthquake. Hoogerbeets, in his tweet on his verified Twitter page, said there will be earthquakes in Syria and Turkey very soon. His tweet reads“Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon),” he tweeted last Friday. Mr Hoogerbeets’ tweet came three days before the earthquake which killed 2,300 people and counting. The quake fell several buildings killing at least 1,541 and leaving 9,733 injured in Turkey and 810 dead in Syria. The researcher on Monday sympathised with the victims…
FORMER Portugal and Real Madrid boss Carlos Queiroz has been appointed Qatar head coach, replacing Felix Sanchez. His contract lasts until the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Queiroz, 69, led Iran at the 2022 World Cup and has also managed South Africa, Colombia and Egypt. Qatar took part in the World Cup finals for the first time last year as hosts, losing all three group games to Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands.
UP to 23 million people could be affected by the massive earthquake that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria, the WHO warned on Tuesday, promising long-term assistance. “Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million vulnerable populations,” the World Health Organization’s senior emergencies officer Adelheid Marschang said. “Civilian infrastructure and potentially health infrastructure have been damaged across the affected region, mainly in Turkey and northwest Syria,” she said. The WHO “considers that the main unmet needs may be in Syria in the immediate and mid-term,” Marschang told the WHO’s executive committee in…
A LATE morning fire, Monday, February 6, razed down about 200 houses at the unofficial section of the Muna Internally Displaced Persons’ camp on the outskirts of the Maiduguri metropolis, Borno State. Eyewitnesses, who could not ascertain the cause of the fire, said it flared up, sweeping across the all-thatched houses by 11am. The population of the IDPs affected could not also be immediately ascertained, due to the fact that it is an unofficial camp. “I lost everything comprising all my three rooms, wearing apparels, beds and beddings, and one sack of guinea corn,” Modu Maina, 70, who hails from…
THE Founder and Chairman Governing Council of Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN), Prof. Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo has congratulated Prof. Mohammad Sanusi Magaji Rano on his appointment as the pioneer Rector of the newly created Federal Polytechnic Kabo in Kano State. Before his new appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Magaji Rano, held many positions including Kano State Director, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Dean, Post Graduate School, MAAUN, Maradi and later Acting President of MAAUN Kano. He was also appointed as the Secretary General of Association of African Private Universities (AAPU) by its President, Prof. Adamu Abubakar…
A LANDSLIDE in southern Peru has left at least eight people dead and five more are missing, as torrential rain washes through the region. Twenty more people were treated for minor injuries, according to a bureau for Peru’s Ministry of Health in the mountainous town of Secocha, where the landslide took place on Monday. Located on the banks of the Ocoña River in Camaná province, Secocha is among the areas in the department of Arequipa facing high water levels as heavy rain continues to fall. As of Monday morning, the Ocoña was flowing at a rate of 585.6 cubic metres…
RESCUERS are battling heavy rain and snow as they race against the clock to find survivors of a devastating earthquake in south-east Turkey. More than 4,300 people were killed and 15,000 injured in Turkey and over the border in Syria when the quake struck in the early hours of Monday. The World Health Organization has warned the toll may rise dramatically as rescuers find more victims. As day breaks rescue teams are stepping up their search for survivors. Many people in the disaster zone have been too scared to go back into buildings. The 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17…
THE Secretary to the Government of the Federal (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, says the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is committed to improving the minimum wage of workers to boost productivity. Mustapha, who was the special guest of honour at the inauguration of Hassan Sumonu’ Court, said this in Abuja on Monday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Hassan Sumonu Court, a two-storey building, was built by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and named after Sumonu, its founding president. He said that the Buhari-led administration is concerned about improving the welfare of public service and had paid the arrears…
THE Ghana Football Association has asked fans to “pray” for former Chelsea and Newcastle forward Christian Atsu, who has reportedly been trapped under rubble caused by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey. Both Atsu, 31, and his Hatayspor Sporting Director Taner Savut were left under rubble after the quake, leading Turkish sport presenter Yağız Sabuncuoğlu reported. Hatayspor is the main club in Hatay, one of the cities affected by the 7.5 quake that has killed at least 2,000 people in Turkey and Syria. The Ghana FA said in a Tweet that “We pray for Ghana International Christian Atsu and victims of…
LEEDS manager Jesse Marsch has been sacked after less than a year in charge. Leeds lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, their seventh Premier League game without a win. They are 17th in the table – above the relegation zone only on goal difference – and last won in the league on 5 November. Leeds finished 17th last season after American Marsch succeeded Marcelo Bielsa in February. A club statement read: “We would like to thank Jesse and his backroom staff for their efforts and wish them well for the future. “The process of appointing a new head coach…
SOCIAL media giant Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, has failed to stop a Kenyan court from hearing a case that alleges poor working conditions at the company. Meta wanted the case dismissed, saying that Kenyan courts have no jurisdiction because Meta is not domiciled in, nor does it trade from, Kenya, but a judge rejected the argument. Former content moderator Daniel Motaung, who worked for local outsourcing company Sama, said he was paid about $2.20 (£1.80) per hour to review posts including beheadings and child abuse. The toll of the work left Mr Motaung with post-traumatic stress disorder…
A MEDIA tycoon in Cameroon has been arrested in connection with the killing of the prominent radio journalist, Martinez Zogo. The businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, the owner of L’Anecdote media group, was arrested just before dawn. Zogo was abducted three weeks ago outside a police station in Yaoundé. His body was found heavily mutilated five days later. The authorities announced last week that they had made several arrests in connection with the killing. Three years ago another Cameroonian journalist, Samuel Wazizi, disappeared then died in state detention and an investigation into his death was not made public. Cameroon ranks 118th…
FIVE Palestinian militants have been killed in an Israeli army raid near Jericho in the occupied West Bank. The armed wing of the Islamist movement Hamas said all those killed were its members. It is the latest in nearly nightly operations by the Israeli military targeting militants in the territory. The last two weeks have been a particularly bloody period, with deadly Israeli raids and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday night’s operation aimed to arrest a “Hamas terrorist cell” which it said was behind a gun attack a week earlier on a restaurant near…
MUSLIMS have been advised, to inculcate the teachings of Islam and use the glorious Qur’an as guide and solution to all problems bedevilling the society. The chief Imam of ‘Yan Lilo mosque Tudun Wada Kaduna, Dr Muhammad Khamis Alhafiz made the call during his conferment as Gwani, held at School Of Arabic Studies (SAS), Kano. Dr Muhammad, who doubles as judge, national Quran memorization competition was honoured along with 53 other Hafiz across the country, with Gwani title and Ijaza. According to him, the Gwani title which is one of the highest ranks attained by memorizers of the holy Quran,…
THE death toll in Turkey following Monday morning’s earthquakes has risen to 2, 302, according to the country’s vice-president. Fuat Oktay says more than 9,700 people have been injured after the two quakes struck the south and south-east of the country today. He did not go into how many casualties, if any, resulted from the second quake. There were 145 aftershocks following both quakes, three of whose magnitudes were larger than 6.0, he added. Some 3,500 buildings had been destroyed, Oktay also said, as rescuers continued to search through the debris in freezing conditions looking for survivors.
THE World Bank Country Office in Nigeria has disclosed that the incessant fuel scarcity and the inability of Nigerians to access the new note may influence uncertainty ahead of the February 25 and March 10 elections in the country. According to a document obtained by Premium Times, the bank disclosed the deadline for old notes will socially and economically affect vulnerable people in the country. Earlier, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced February 10 as the deadline for the exchange of old notes. “The shortage of cash compounds fuel shortages which have been ongoing for months. “There is a clear…
By Al-Amin Ciroma IT is with so much passion and to set the record straight that we wish to state that our spar center has never been shut down because of any report purported by a news website, as carried by some online reports a few days ago. According to a report by International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), the Lilu specialist hospital has been closed. It also demonstrates that the hospital was run illegally in Nigeria by a North Korean named Jongsu Kim, who claimed to be Chinese for four years in Abuja. In the report, the author also…