Governor Alex Otti of Abia has inaugurated the Abia State Civil Service Reform Committee with a charge to identify and review the anomalies in the state civil service.

Speaking on Tuesday during the event at the Government House, Umuahia, Mr Otti urged the committee to discharge its duty credibly to enable the government achieve its goal of building a civil service that would be efficient, dedicated and performance-driven.

The governor, represented by the secretary to the state government, Kenneth Kalu, directed the committee to work closely with the office of the head of service to get relevant information for easy execution of their assignment.

Mr Otti described the civil service as critical machinery of the governance, adding that the civil service played a vital role in the execution of government’s policies and objectives.

He said that the committee was not set up to witchhunt anybody, rather it was meant to assist government in creating a better service that would be beneficial to the people of Abia.

Mr Otti said the terms of reference given to the committee include “to review the current civil service structure with a view to improving the efficiency of the civil service, to review the process of appointment, promotion and dismissal and to make appropriate recommendations” and “to review the command promotions done from 2007 to date and to make appropriate recommendations, to recommend how to improve attendance and general discipline in the service.”

Mr Otti also asked the committee “to examine how to address the issues concerning pensioners and to undertake every other review with a view to making recommendations on how to improve general efficiency.”

The committee chairman, Chibueze Ukaegbu, said the tasks would be performed without fear or favour.

The Bauchi State Civil Service Commission has terminated the appointment of Ibrahim Garba, chief secretarial assistant attached to the Bauchi pension board for ”serious misconduct of salary and pension scam.”

This is contained in a statement by the BSCSC spokesman, Saleh Umar, on Tuesday.The commission alleged Mr Garba’s action violated the Public Service Rule (PSR) 0327(XI) which deals with the issues of financial embezzlement.

“The commission approved the termination during a sitting of the 17th plenary session held on August 1. A disciplinary committee of the State Pension Board found Garba guilty of swapping the account number of one Audu Mohammed, now deceased, with his own,” said the statement.

“This facilitated the change of pay point after the relatives of the deceased reported his death.”

It added, “Thereafter, he received illegal pension for 55 months of N54,871 for four years and seven months which amounted to over N3 milion. This amount will be recovered from Garba’s benefits.”

According to the statement, the commission’s chair, Abubakar Usman, called on Bauchi civil servants to be God-fearing in discharging their duties.

Mr Usman said the Public Service Rule (PSR) must be observed and adhered to as a guide, assuring the civil servants that no worker will be victimised and the commission will act against bad eggs sabotaging the service.

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service says July has been confirmed as Earth’s hottest month on record, with a global average temperature of 16.95 degrees Celsius.

That is 0.33 degrees higher than the previous record month of July 2019.Ocean temperatures were also higher than ever recorded.

“We just witnessed global air temperatures, and global ocean surface temperatures set new all-time records in July. These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,’’ Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess warned.

The world’s hottest day to date was July 6, 2023, with a global average temperature of 17.08 degrees, according to the data.

The Copernicus records only go back to 1940, but researchers can build an index of historical climate change using tree rings and air bubbles in glaciers.

This research suggested that July’s temperatures were unprecedented going back thousands of years, said Carlos Buontempo.

Buontempo served as director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in late July.

According to Copernicus, the temperature over land in July was 0.72 degrees above the average from 1991 to 2020 globally.

Also, it has 0.51 degrees, higher for the ocean temperature about 10 metres below the surface.

The Copernicus data is based on computer-generated analyses that include measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.

President Xi Jinping has dismissed top Chinese generals amid a seeming cleansing of the ruling party.

Mr Xi dismissed two top generals at the head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force in what appears to be a purge, with allegations of corruption expected.

Wang Houbin, a former deputy commander of the Navy, has been named the new commander of the Rocket Force, which is in charge of managing land-based missile defence.

He will collaborate with political commissar Xu Xisheng, who was transferred from the Air Force.The Second Artillery Corps’s successor, the PLA Rocket Force, became a significant part of China’s armed forces in 2016.

It oversees China’s vast stockpile of tactical and strategic land-based missiles.The purge is an example of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) continued campaign to oust its leadership.Despite the lack of specifics, the action sheds some light on the persistent crisis of military corruption.

According to reports, Li Yuchao, the former commander of the PLA Rocket Force, Liu Guangbin, his deputy, and Zhang Zhenzhong, a former deputy, were all imprisoned in June.

China has not yet made a formal declaration of a corruption inquiry.

The United States government has threatened to withdraw multimillion dollars in economic and security support given to the Republic of Niger.

The U.S. again demanded the release of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and his family, expressing concerns about his health.

The United States specifically warned the Nigerien coupists of “what is at stake if Niger does not respect its own constitutional order,” including “the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and security support for the people of Niger.”

The coupists have not acceded to the request.

In a statement, Mathew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said, “Given our concerns about the negative political developments, the United States has decided to pause certain assistance for the Government of Niger while the situation remains fluid.”

He added, “As the situation evolves, the United States will make an assessment and update our assistance guidance to ensure consistency with all applicable U.S. legal restrictions and policy objectives.”

Acting deputy secretary of state Victoria Nuland of the United States of America visited Niamey, the capital of Niger, on Monday to convey the nation’s deep concern about recent events in Niger and its commitment to defending democracy and the rule of law.

The U.S. undersecretary also had a town hall meeting with the American Embassy staff in Niger, commending them for their hard work and dedication to advancing democracy and stability in the Sahel.

Ms Nuland underlined that the U.S. would remain in close contact with “our allies and partners, including the Economic Community of West African States.”

Flights from and to Bamako and Ouagadougou, the capital cities of Mali and Burkina Faso, respectively, have been halted by Air France until August 11.

The airline business revealed this on Monday after the junta in Niger announced that its airspace would be closed, necessitating lengthier travel times across the West African area.

The suspension adds to the list of African airspace affected by geopolitical disruptions, which already includes Libya and Sudan.

Some planes may now face diversions of up to 1,000 kilometres (620 miles).“The closure of Niger’s airspace dramatically widens the area over which most commercial flights between Europe and southern Africa cannot fly,” tracking service, FlightRadar24 said.

The Air France spokeswoman noted that flights between Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Accra in Ghana were scheduled to run nonstop and that Air France anticipated extended travel durations from sub-Saharan hub hubs.

According to a Brussels Airlines representative, the flight timings for redirected flights may be between one and three and a half hours longer and may involve a fuel stop.

Niger is waiting for a response from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, after coup leaders in Niamey ignored a deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum – a move the bloc has warned could lead it to authorise a military intervention.

ECOWAS said it would issue a statement on its next steps in response to the junta’s refusal to cave in to external pressure to stand down by Sunday following the July 26 power grab.

The bloc took a hard stance on the region’s seventh coup in three years. Given its uranium and oil riches and its pivotal role in a war with Islamist militants, Niger also holds importance for the U.S., Europe, China, and Russia.

On Sunday as the deadline expired, the junta closed its airspace until further notice, citing the increased threat of military intervention.

An escalation in the standoff with ECOWAS could further destabilise one of the world’s poorest regions, which is in the grip of a hunger crisis and battling an insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.

ECOWAS defence chiefs agreed a possible military action plan, including when and where to strike, if the detained Mr Bazoum, is not released and reinstated.

Any military intervention could be complicated by a promise from juntas in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso to come to Niger’s defence if needed.

On Sunday, Italy said it had reduced its troop numbers in Niger to make room in its military base for Italian civilians who may need protection if security deteriorates.

At least 200 people fell ill due to food poisoning in east Afghanistan’s Khost province, an official said on Monday.

The incident occurred in Satkai village of Zazai Maidan district on Sunday evening when the villagers attended a charity meal.

All the victims had been taken to nearby hospitals and clinics, said provincial police spokesman Mustaghfar Garbaz.

Without providing more details, the official added that further investigations were underway.

In the meantime, one of the villagers, Tahir Azimi, claimed that around 400 people became sick after eating the meal.

U.S. soldiers in South Korea were caught smuggling drugs through military mail and distributing them, local broadcaster MBC reported on Friday.

The police in Pyeongtaek, about 70km south of the capital Seoul, apprehended a South Korean woman in her 20s on charges of distributing synthetic cannabis.

She was caught distributing the cannabis in April after receiving intelligence from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

The investigation continued against a U.S. serviceman who had been dating the arrested South Korean woman.

Some 20 U.S. soldiers were caught distributing and taking synthetic cannabis in a building, located about 10 minutes’ walk away from Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek.

This place served as the headquarters of the 28,500-strong USFK.The group of U.S. troops was accused of smuggling synthetic cannabis through military mail from the U.S. mainland and trading directly with drug buyers here sought through a chat application.

All of the overseas military mails are subject to X-ray inspection.

But it had been hard to filter out suspicious mail because of a lack of customs clearance personnel.

A strict procedure to inspect the U.S. military mails under the treaty between South Korea and the United States, the broadcaster noted.

The police called in and questioned the U.S. soldier suspected of leading the drug distribution last week.

The U.S. soldier had already been detained at a facility of the U.S. military unit.

Some of the other U.S. soldiers involved in the drug crime were transferred to the U.S. mainland before the investigation.

At least 12 people have gone missing after flash floods triggering landslides hit India’s northern state of Uttarakhand, officials said on Friday.

According to officials, several shops were swept away on Thursday night near Gaurikund in Rudraprayag district, about 245 km northeast of Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand.

“Last night, we got information that three shops were affected because of falling rocks and heavy rainfall near Gaurikund.

“Our teams immediately reached the spot to carry out rescue efforts despite facing several difficulties,’’ Dalip Singh Rajwar, a disaster management officer, said.

“We were unable to locate anyone, and it is said that around 12 people were there, but so far they have not been traced,’’ officials said.

They added that mounds of earth and boulders fell from the nearby hill because of the heavy rains and swept the shops below.

The search operation is underway in the area as rescuers from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel were trying hard to locate the missing.

“District administration, disaster management, police, SDRF, NDRF and other teams are present on the spot.

“The operation is on to search for the missing people,’’ a statement issued by police said.

Reports said heavy rains and boulders falling intermittently from the hillside in the area were hampering the search operation.

Police at Lunzu in Blantyre, Malawi, have rescued a newborn baby girl who was buried alive by her 21-year-old mother.

Chileka Police public relations officer, Sergeant Jonathan Phillipo, who confirmed the incident on Thursday, August 3, 2023, identified the suspect as Olivia Jonas.

Sergeant Phillipo said the suspect was 8 months pregnant and during the night of August 1, 2023 at around 18:30 hours, the suspect gave birth to a baby girl by herself at home and buried the child at a nearby bush without notifying anyone around.

It is reported that when her husband arrived home from work, she lied to him that she had miscarried, and due to complications the suspect was experiencing, she was taken to Mlambe Hospital for some medication.

Police say after being quizzed by nurses who were attending to her, Jonas claimed to have delivered a dead baby and buried her at a nearby bush within her vicinity.

Immediately after receiving the report from Mlambe Hospital officials, police officers from Lunzu Police Unit rushed to the hospital where they interviewed the suspect who revealed that she buried the child after giving birth.

Later, the suspect led police officers and medical officers from Kadidi Health Centre to the scene where she buried the child and the place was exhumed and it was discovered that the baby was still alive and healthy.

Meanwhile, the suspect who is expected to answer charges of concealing birth of a child, is admitted to Mlambe Hospital where she is receiving medical treatment.

Olivia Jonas hails from Mjamba Village in the area of Traditional Authority Kapeni in Blantyre District.

Hundreds of people backing the coup in Niger gathered Thursday for a mass rally in the capital Niamey with some brandishing giant Russian flags, AFP journalists said.

The demonstrators converged at Independence Square in the heart of the city, following a call by a coalition of civil society associations on a day marking the country’s 1960 independence from France.

Issiaka Hamadou, one of the demonstrators, said that it was “only security that interests us,” irrespective of whether it came from “Russia, China, Turkey, if they want to help us.”

“We just don’t want the French, who have been looting us since 1960 – they’ve been there ever since and nothing has changed,” he said.

France has some 1,500 troops in Niger in a bid to fight against jihadism in the Sahel.

“I have no job after studying in this country, because of the regime (of Bazoum), which is supported by France,” said one student who only gave his first name Oumar. “All that has to go!”.

The coup has triggered alarm bells in Western countries struggling to contain a jihadist insurgency that flared in northern Mali in 2012, advanced into Niger and Burkina Faso three years later, and now threatens the borders of fragile states on the Gulf of Guinea.

Junta supporters in Niger say France has failed to shield them from the jihadists, whereas Russia would be a stronger ally.

Ordered Departure of Non-Emergency U.S. Government Personnel from U.S. Embassy Niamey Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson.

The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas, including U.S. government personnel serving abroad.

Given ongoing developments in Niger and out of an abundance of caution, the Department of State is ordering the temporary departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from the U.S. Embassy in Niamey.

Commercial flight options are limited. We updated our travel advisory to reflect this and informed U.S. citizens that we are only able to provide emergency assistance to U.S. citizens in Niger given our reduced personnel.The U.S. Embassy remains open for limited, emergency services to U.S. citizens.

The State Department continually adjusts its posture at embassies and consulates throughout the world in line with its mission, the local security environment, and the health situation.The United States remains committed to our relationship with the people of Niger and to Nigerien democracy.

We remain diplomatically engaged at the highest levels. The U.S. Senate recently confirmed a new Ambassador, Kathleen FitzGibbon, a career diplomat with extensive experience in West Africa.

Ambassador FitzGibbon is well positioned to manage our bilateral relationship through this difficult period and we look forward to her swift arrival in Niamey.

The United States rejects all efforts to overturn Niger’s constitutional order, and stands with the people of Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, and other international partners in support of democratic governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights.The U.S. Embassy advises U.S. citizens in Niger to limit unnecessary movements around Niamey.

U.S. citizens interested in departing Niger and those requiring assistance should register via our assistance request form available on Embassy Niamey’s website: https://cacms.state.gov/s/crisis-intakeWe will continue to provide information to U.S. citizens in the area through Alerts, our Embassy and Consulate websites, and travel.state.gov.

The Embassy remains open. Routine consular services are suspended.The Embassy is only able to provide emergency assistance to U.S. citizens in Niger.

At least eight people were killed, and several others injured due to lightning in India’s eastern state of Odisha, state-run broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) said Tuesday.

On Monday afternoon, heavy rains accompanied by lightning strikes hit many parts of the state.

“Capital city Bhubaneswar experienced very heavy rainfall accompanied by lightning and thunder, throwing life out of gear.

“The downpour was so intense that the rainwater was found flowing at knee-high in several areas for a long time,’’ the broadcaster said.

The rainwater inundated roads and entered many residential houses.Waterlogging also hit the movement of vehicular traffic for hours.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Odisha received significant rainfall in the past 24 hours, and that isolated heavy rainfall is very likely to ravage the state until Wednesday.

According to the IMD, the rainfall will occur under the influence of the well-marked low-pressure area over the North Bay of Bengal.