Author: Editor

AT times, Joe Biden is his own worst enemy. When asked on Thursday whether it was true he had kept classified documents in a garage next to his sports car, he responded in a rather flippant manner that the garage was locked. That will lead some to wonder about the protestations from the White House that they are taking seriously the matter of whether Mr Biden mishandled classified materials after leaving the office of vice-president in 2017. But the justice department’s appointment of a special counsel will concentrate minds and will undoubtedly overshadow the president’s next months in office. He…

RUSSIA’s military says it has captured the Ukrainian salt-mine town of Soledar after a long battle, calling it an “important” step for its offensive. The victory would allow Russian troops to push on to the nearby city of Bakhmut, and cut off the Ukrainian forces there, a spokesman said. This was a very confident and ambitious statement from Moscow. But Ukrainian officials said the fight for Soledar was still going on and accused Russia of “information noise”. The battle for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the war. The town is relatively small, with a pre-war population of…

A SONG by Shakira about her ex-partner Gerard Pique for cheating on her has broken YouTube records. The video for Out of Your League has been watched more than 63 million times in 24 hours, making it the most-watched Latin song in that time period. Shakira, 45, separated from former Barcelona footballer Pique, 35, in 2022 after more than 10 years together. The pair also have two children together. This four-minute pop song is the first time Shakira and Argentinian producer and DJ Bizarrap have worked together. Shakira joins a hallowed list of Latin performers to break YouTube records -…

A COURT in Zambia’s Ndola city has released four Croatian couples on bail after they were charged on allegations of attempted child trafficking. All the suspects pleaded not guilty. Workers at a guesthouse say that the couples checked in without children, but on the third day of their stay they noticed they had four minors, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in their care, local media report. Three of the children were three years old and the other was 15 months old, Lusaka Times reports. The couples said they had adopted them, the news site reports, but Zambian authorities said…

TWO high profile inmates have escaped after spraying chilli powder in the eyes of guards escorting them back to prison in south – western Ethiopian town of Alaba, police have said. They were two of four who made the bid to break free. “Out of four inmates who escaped, one was killed, another injured and two are still at large,’’ Deputy Commander Taju Negash of Southern Nations regional state police told the BBC. It’s unclear where the inmates got the chilli from. The killed inmate was facing another charge of throwing a grenade at police officers while in prison. Police…

OSUN State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing a free and fair election in Osun state, like he did for all the states in the country. Senator Adeleke made the commendation when he paid a ‘thank you’ visit to the president at the State House in Abuja, Friday. The governor, elected on platform of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said he had come to appreciate the President for providing a level playing field in the 2022 governorship election in his State. According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the governor said: “I…

Troops of Operation Delta Safe have in the last three weeks, uncovered and destroyed several illegal refining sites and apprehended 19 suspects in the Niger Delta region. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami made this known on Thursday in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military across the country. Danmadami said land, maritime and air components conducted operational activities at the creeks, waterways, high seas, towns and cities of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers to checkmate criminal elements. He said the troops, in the conduct of Operation Octopus Grip and other operations, discovered and destroyed several…

Katsina Guber: Radda, Lado, Khalil, Jino, Talba For Daily Trust Town Hall Meeting Tomorrow TOP contenders for this year’s governorship election in Katsina State are billed to attend tomorrow’s town hall meeting to interact with voters ahead of the March election. The event is organised by the Media Trust Group, owners of Daily Trust, Aminiya, Trust TV and Trust Radio in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD); Vision FM, Farin Wata TV and Katsina City News, an online newspaper company, to bring the contestants and electorate together for mutual interaction. The governorship candidates are Dr Dikko Radda (APC), Senator Yakubu…

BUYING a new smartphone was a bit of a mission for Deepa Aswani, who works in marketing in Mumbai. “I am very particular about what phone I buy. I did not want to invest too much,” she says. After two months of deliberation, she chose the OnePlus 10R, which in a sale cost her $400 (£329), a reasonable price for a smartphone, but still a significant sum in any country, and particularly in a developing one like India. “The idea was to buy a phone which did not make a hole in my pocket and had good features. I am…

JAPAN says it will release more than a million tonnes of water into the sea from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant this year. After treatment the levels of most radioactive particles meet the national standard, the operator said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the proposal is safe, but neighbouring countries have voiced concern. The 2011 Fukushima disaster was the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Decommissioning has already started but could take four decades. “We expect the timing of the release would be sometime during this spring or summer,” said chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno on Friday, adding…

LISA Marie Presley, the only child of rock’n’roll legend Elvis, has died aged 54, her mother has said. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley said. Lisa Marie, also a singer, was rushed to hospital earlier on Thursday. US media say she suffered cardiac arrest. She was found unresponsive at her home in Calabasas, California, sources told US outlet TMZ. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement. “We ask for privacy…

NOVAK Djokovic returns to the Australian Open a year on from his controversial deportation, again primed as the man to beat at the opening Grand Slam tournament of the 2023 season. The 35-year-old Serb, aiming for a record-extending 10th title in Melbourne and a record-equalling 22nd men’s major, has warmed up by winning an ATP title in Adelaide. Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz, ranked the world’s best men’s player, has pulled out with a knee injury and is one of several high-profile names to miss out. British women’s number one Emma Raducanu suffered an ankle injury in the build-up, initially putting…

THE Saudi Arabian league want to count on more and more stars. Signing Cristiano Ronaldo is not enough for them. They are now also after Lionel Messi. Like in La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi could be in two different teams who are fierce rivals. Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr’s biggest rivals, want to get the Argentinian in their team, according to ‘Mundo Deportivo’. In order to persuade the recent World Cup winner, Al-Hilal will have to get their chequebook out. The Catalan paper says that they would be willing to pay him around $358m a year. An absurd amount of money and,…

Fulham 2 vs Chelsea 1 FULHAM manager Marco Silva hailed “a great night for the club and the fans” as his side beat 10-man Chelsea in a fiery west London derby at Craven Cottage. Carlos Vinicius headed in a 72nd-minute winner after Portugal winger Joao Felix had been sent off on his Chelsea debut when the score was 1-1. Willian put the hosts ahead against his former side in the first half, before Kalidou Koulibaly equalised early in the second, but Vinicius’ winner saw Fulham move up to sixth in the Premier League. “Chelsea is a super team, they are…

THE National Project Coordinator of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), Aminu Bodinga Mohammed has hinted at the expansion of the project to cover the 36 States of the federation. Speaking in Calabar at the annual training and retreat for staff of the project, Bodinga said RAAMP is geared towards making remarkable impacts across the country hence the need to extend the project to all states. In a signed statement by the Development Communication Officer, RAAMP, Khadija Ishaq and made available to News Point Nigeria, the coordinator who noted that, the successes recorded since the start of the project…

THE Cross River state governor, Prof Ben Ayade has called on Nigerians to always put the nation first rrespective of ethnic, religious and political inclination. The governor stated this, while declaring open the 2023 Training and Annual Retreat organized for staff of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) across in the 20 participating states in Nigeria, in Calabar. The Governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Ministry of International Donor Cooperation (MIDC), Dr Inyang Asibong welcomed participants to Calabar, the Cross River State capital and described RAAMP as a multi-dimensional project of several benefits poised to uplift…

A POLICE officer said to be the  Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Pankshin Division in the Pankshin local government area of Plateau state was kidnapped a few days after he resumed work at the Division. The name nor rank of the said officials could not be ascertained at the time of this report and the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Alfred Alabo, was not available to shed light on the development. However, a resident of Pankshin who did not want to be named told Vanguard that kidnapping has been rife in the local community in recent times…

ARGENTINA featured heavily in shortlists for FIFA’s Best awards following their World Cup triumph, with forwards Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and coach Lionel Scaloni receiving nominations in their categories. Messi, along with his Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, were among the 14 players shortlisted for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, the world governing body said on Thursday. The trio are joined by last year’s winner Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona, Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and PSG’s Neymar and Achraf Hakimi. Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema,…

LATEST data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics for November has indicated that the price of household Kerosene, also known as cooking kerosene skyrocketed by over 100 per cent in one year. The report showed an average retail price of kerosene per litre rose by about 146 per cent from N441 in November 2021 to N1,083/litre in the corresponding period last year. Also it indicated that average retail price per litre was 4 per cent higher on a month-on-month basis in November 2022 compared to N1,041 recorded in October. On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on his 64th birthday. The president, in a statement issued Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina and made available to News Point Nigeria, said Lawan has a profile of being one of the most experienced legislators in the country, having served eight years in the House of Representatives, 1999-2007, and almost 12 years in the Senate. The president said Lawan, after leaving his career path as a lecturer and researcher, deployed his vast knowledge in shaping policies and strengthening democracy in Nigeria by…