Author: Editor

THE US government says TikTok should be sold or else face a possible ban in the country. The video-sharing app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is accused of posing a national security risk through data gathered from millions of users. A request for a change in ownership, first reported in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), was confirmed to BBC News by TikTok. The company said a forced sale would not change its data flows or access. The White House has not yet responded to a BBC News request for comment. For years American officials have raised concerns that data from…

RUSSIA’s  ambassador to the United States on Wednesday called on Washington to stop “hostile” flights near his country’s border, after an American drone was intercepted by Russian fighters over the Black Sea. “We assume that the United States will refrain from further speculation in the media and stop flights near Russian borders,” ambassador Anatoly Antonov wrote on Telegram. “We consider any action with the use of US weaponry as openly hostile.” A Russian fighter jet on Tuesday dumped fuel on an American drone over the Black Sea and then collided with it, causing the drone to crash, the US military…

TWO and a half tonnes of uranium have gone missing from a site in Libya, the UN’s nuclear watchdog has said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sounded the alarm after a visit by its inspectors to the undisclosed site earlier this week. They found that 10 drums containing uranium ore had disappeared, the IAEA said. There are fears the uranium could pose a radiological risk as well as nuclear security concerns. In a statement, the IAEA said it would conduct further activities “to clarify the circumstances of the removal of the nuclear material and its current location”. It is…

TWO of four journalists who were detained in January after a video appearing to show South Sudan president wetting his trousers at a public function have been released. The Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) said in a statement that it welcomed the release of Victor Ladu and Mustapha Osman. In December last year, a video shared on social media appeared to show Mr Kiir urinating on himself as the national anthem played at a function. Six staff from the state broadcaster were later arrested, but two remain in detention. “[We] urge the government to release Garang John and…

THE Federal Government has confirmed that the 2023 population and housing census earlier scheduled for March 29 will now hold in May 2023. News Point Nigeria had exclusively reported that, the Federal Govt is considering shifting till the month of May. While briefing State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, confirmed that the postponement had been ratified. He said the decision was necessitated by the rescheduling of the gubernatorial election to March 18. The minister said council approved…

A GROUP in the National Assembly under the auspices of Legislative Governance Group (LGG) has called on Hon. Sada Soli who is from Katsina State in North West of the country to join the race for the speakership position in the 10th House of Representatives at the National Assembly. Hon. Sada Soli was re-elected to the 10th National Assembly, representing the good people of Kaita/Jibia Federal Constituency, Katsina State. In a statement titled “Happy birthday Hon. Sada Soli: it is an era for service”, by the Secretary-General of the group. Stanley Ekpa, it noted that following the victory of the…

THE  Founder of Divine Head of God International Ministry in Abuja, Prophet Emmanuel Omale, has predicted the victory of President- elect, Asiwaju Bola  Tinubu. Prophet Omale gave the prediction during the church’s Cross Over Service on December 31, 2022 while revealing the outcome of the 2023 presidential election. It is important to note that Omale had prophesied the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and his re-election in 2029. In the vedio during the cross over service, Pastor Omale said, “The Lord told him that the election will come and go and nobody will die.” Even though Omale did…

THE expanded 2026 men’s World Cup in North America will start with 12 groups of four teams in a change from the original planned format of 16 groups of three, football’s world governing body FIFA announced on Tuesday. The next World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the first to feature 48 teams, a sharp increase from the 32 sides at last year’s tournament in Qatar. “The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams,” FIFA said.…

BELGIAN footballer, Eden Hazard, has revealed that he is not on talking terms with the Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, having not featured for the Los Blancos in over two months. Hazard has had a torrid time since joining the Spanish side, playing just 73 games in La Liga and finding the back o the net 7 times, and having 11 assists The 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League winner revealed to RTBF the struggles he has had to endure at the club as well as his future plans. ‘There is respect between us,’ But I’m not going to say that we…

THE US has accused Russia of reckless behaviour after an American surveillance drone crashed into the Black Sea following an encounter with Russian fighter jets. The US says the drone was on a routine mission in international airspace when two Russian jets tried to intercept it. The incident highlights the increasing risk of direct confrontation between Russia and the US over the Ukraine war. Russia denied that the two aircraft made any contact. The Russian defence ministry said the drone crashed after a “sharp manoeuvre” and that the MQ-9 Reaper drone was flying with its transponders turned off. Transponders are…

CHINA will once again start issuing a range of visas to foreigners as of Wednesday, the country’s foreign ministry said, in a major easing of travel restrictions in place since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The move marks the latest step towards reopening China to the outside world, as Beijing breaks with the strict zero-Covid strategy that defined its pandemic response until a few months ago. In addition to new visas being reviewed and approved, those issued before March 28, 2020 that remain valid will once again allow entry to China, said a notice posted Tuesday on a social…

THREE Ugandan students were killed after a lorry rammed into their classroom at a school near the capital, Kampala. At least 18 other learners were injured in the incident at Kasaka Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon. The lorry got nearly halfway into the building and tore up part of the roof. Uganda police say the lorry driver lost control and drove through the school fence before hitting the school’s computer laboratory that was occupied by students. The driver, a 26-year-old man, has been arrested to help with investigations, police said. The school is located in the country’s central district of…

TWO Malawian soldiers went missing after their rescue boat was swept away on Tuesday in the southern Mulanje area. A military spokesperson as saying that the mission was hampered by a swollen river. The soldiers were part of a six-member crew that went to rescue people stranded after Tropical Storm Freddy ripped through the region, Minister of Local Government Richard Chimwendo Banda told a local outlet. Two other soldiers and one civilian managed to swim back after the boat malfunctioned on the way to the rescue mission, the minister told Zodiak Online. Mr Banda said one of the missing soldiers…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has renewed call on political parties to consider the Saturday’s Governorship and States Houses of Assembly election as a contest and not a war. Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman said this at an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, meeting on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Yakubu urged political leaders to refrain from acts that may mar the election or compromise the security of INEC personnel, observers and other stakeholders. He said that the governorship election would hold in 28 states, with the exception of Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and…

THE Inspector General of Police Alkali Baba has cancelled the deployment of Feleye Olaleye as Kano commissioner of police. The IGP instead posted CP Ahmed Kontagora to lead the command during the Governorship and State Assembly elections in the state. On March 8, the IGP reversed the deployment of CP Balarabe Sule, a former chief security officer to the governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, following protests over the officer’s alleged partisanship. But in a signal released on Monday with reference number TH.5361/FS/FHQ/ABJ/SUB.6/144, the IGP maintains the posting of CP Ita Lazarus Uko-Udom to Kano Central, with DCP Umar Iya…

THE President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent out a message of sympathy and consolation to traders affected by the recent fire outbreaks in Kano State. In a statement released by his media office on Tuesday signed by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Asiwaju Tinubu bemoaned the inferno which affected a section of Singa Commodity Market in the city on Monday, a few days after similar incidents in two other markets. The President-elect described the incidents as disturbing setbacks for the traders and the economy of the state. “I am disturbed to learn of the horrific fire incident which consumed dozens of shops…

GBOYEGA Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Monday, asked the Court of Appeal, Abuja to declared Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun unqualified to have contested the July 16, 2022 poll in which he emerged as winner over alleged certificate forgery. Oyetola, whose candidacy in the poll was affirmed by a tribunal, made the prayer in a cross appeal marked: CA/AK/EPT/GOV/03/2023 filed before the three-member panel headed by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 1st and 2nd cross appellants in the case are Oyetola and the APC respectively. In the matter, the Independent…

PEP Guardiola admits his Manchester City reign will be defined by success in the Champions League no matter how many times his side win the Premier League. City face Bundesliga high-fliers Leipzig in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday looking to advance to the quarter-finals for a sixth successive season. Guardiola’s men were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but are fancied to progress in front of their own fans at the Etihad Stadium. For Guardiola, the quest to end City’s wait to win Europe’s elite club competition for the first time…

PARIS Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, charged with rape in France, was called into the Morocco squad Monday for friendly games against Brazil and Peru. One of the stars of Morocco’s historic charge to the semi-finals of the World Cup last year, Hakimi was charged earlier this month with allegedly raping a 24-year-old woman. Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25 in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. “We are behind him and that’s the most important thing,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said. “There is the…

US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to three African countries this month, a statement said Monday, as Washington looks to strengthen diplomatic ties on the continent. The trip to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia from March 25 to April 2 comes after a December summit hosted by President Joe Biden in Washington with US leaders and counterparts from Africa, a continent where China and Russia have enjoyed rising clout. Harris’s tour aims to “strengthen the United States’ partnerships throughout Africa and advance our shared efforts on security and economic prosperity,” a statement from the vice president’s office said. She is…