The Cable Network News (CNN) has announced the dismissal of three employees for entering its New York headquarters without being vaccinated for protection against the COVID-19 virus.
This was contained in a memo issued on Thursday by the CNN President, Jeff Zucker.
“In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated,” the memo revealed as reported by LA Times.
“All three have been terminated. Let me be clear — we have a zero-tolerance policy on this. You need to be vaccinated to come to the office. And you need to be vaccinated to work in the field, with other employees, regardless of whether you enter an office or not. Period.”
The names of the dismissed employees were not revealed, according to two staffers at the WarnerMedia unit.
Vaccinated employees have been allowed to return to CNN offices on a voluntary basis. They have used the honor system to confirm their vaccination status through the company’s passcard system and have not been asked to show proof. Zucker said that may change in the weeks ahead.
Zucker also said CNN is delaying a formal return date to the office, located at Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan.
Employees were expected to return Sept. 7, but due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, largely caused by unvaccinated individuals, the date has been pushed to mid-October.
About a third of CNN’s news personnel are working on-site after more than a year of working remotely because of the pandemic. Employees are allowed to return to the office two weeks after completing the vaccination process.
A Sudanese court on Thursday pronounced the death sentence on six officers in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for the 2019 killing of six students who were protesting economic hardship as civilians negotiated power-sharing with the military.
The prosecution of personnel from the RSF – which was ordered by the deputy head of Sudan’s transitional governing body – over these killings and others alleged was seen as a test of the government’s commitment to democratisation after decades of autocratic Islamist rule.
According to a statement issued by the RSF after the court’s ruling, the defendants broke RSF law and behaved individually, adding “their actions have no relation to the forces they were part of.”
It was not immediately known whether the six would appeal against the verdict.
The teenage victims were part of a student protest following the June 3, 2019 killing of dozens of protesters demanding a faster transition to civilian, democratic government after an uprising that toppled veteran President Omar al-Bashir, according to a report by Reuters.
Members of the RSF, which emerged out of the Janjaweed militias loyal to Bashir that was accused of atrocities during the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s, were widely blamed for the post-uprising bloodshed.
In May, another RSF member was convicted and sentenced to death for running over a protester soon after the June attack.
The Elobeid court acquitted two other RSF officers, ruling that they had not carried weapons and tried to prevent the fatal shootings of protesters.
One of the nine RSF personnel originally accused in the case was found guilty but referred to a minors court for sentencing as he was underage at the time of the crime, the court said.
At the time of the mid-2019 unrest, military commanders accused protesters of having been infiltrated by militants and that they had attacked markets and banks.
Protest leaders said the demonstrators were peaceful and accused soldiers of shooting “indiscriminately.”
Kelly Rowland was born Kelendria Trene Rowland on February 11, 1981, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Doris Rowland Garrison and Christopher Lovett. Rowland grew up inspired by Whitney Houston and — like her idol — sang in the church choir. At 7, Rowland’s mother left her father due to domestic abuse and moved the family to Houston, Texas. In Texas, Kelly met another budding songstress, Beyoncé Knowles. According to reports, Doris felt it was better for her daughter to live with her friend’s family, and Beyoncé’s parents, Matthew and Tina, agreed to provide legal guardianship over Kelly.
In 2002, Rowland debuted a solo album, Simply Deep, featuring a duet with rapper Nelly, called “Dilemma,” which spent two months at the top of the charts. Rowland released a second solo album in 2007, Ms. Kelly. The album received only moderate success and, two years later, she fired manager Matthew Knowles. Her subsequent studio effort, Here I Am (2011), was released through the label Universal Motown, and garnered warm reviews by critics. Rowland co-wrote most of the tracks for fourth studio album, Talk a Good Game (2013), which featured contributions from Wiz Khalifa and her former Destiny’s Child bandmates. In November 2018, Rowland released her first single in years, simply titled “Kelly.” She followed in early 2019 with “Crown,” with both tracks to be included in an upcoming album.
Along with her musical work, Rowland has found her way into TV and film projects. She appeared as a judge on the U.K. and American versions of the music competition series The X Factor and nabbed a role in the 2012 ensemble feature Think Like a Man. Following a short-lived attempt to launch new musical careers in the series Chasing Destiny, Rowland returned to judging duties on the Australian version of The Voice. In early 2019, she appeared as R&B great Gladys Knight in the BET series American Soul.
Thousands of Indians on Wednesday protested the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl from one of India’s most oppressed castes societies.
The protests which began on Sunday in New Delhi, entered its fourth day on Wednesday, and had crippled economic activities in several parts of the city.
Protesters marched through the Indian capital with placards and demanded accountability for the girl’s death
The inscriptions on some of the placards read: “We want justice,” and “Justice for India’s daughter.”
A senior Delhi Police official, Pratap Singh, quoting a statement from the victim’s mother, said the girl who is a member of the Dalit community had gone to fetch water from a Delhi crematorium on Sunday.
After the girl did not return for half an hour, the crematorium’s priest, 55-year-old Radhey Shyam called the mother and showed her the body of her deceased daughter.
“The girl was lying on a bench there; they told her mother that look, her lips are blue and her body is burnt from the lips down to the wrist.
“The mother was told that her daughter had been electrocuted while trying to fetch water,” Singh added.
A mother of five, Safara’u Haruna on Tuesday prayed a Shari’a court, sitting in Rigasa, Kaduna to compel her ex-husband, Lawal Abubakar, to take custody of all children so she can remarry.
The complainant said she had been the one taking care of the children since their divorce in 2018.
”Three of the younger children are always with me but the older ones stays with my ex and comes back to me.
”I want to remarry but all my suitors complained that I have a lot of children”, she said.
On his part, the defendant said he was ready to take custody of all his children.
The judge Malam Salisu Abubakar-Tureta ordered the complainant to bring all the five children to court on Aug. 18.
He said the children would be handed over to their father.
A Facebook user, identified by her username as Chimaka Cynthia Duruigbo has lamented bitterly after her father was wrongly paraded by the Nigeria Police force as an Eastern Security Network (ESN, the military arm of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB) member.
The lady who shared her plight in a post she made, narrated how her father, Anthony Onyekwere Duruigbo who works as a motorcyclist went on his routine search for daily bread and was arrested by the police, his bike burnt to ashes and stripped almost naked.
Erica Nlewedim is a Nigerian actress, model and entrepreneur, born Nlewedim Ngozi Ugomma Erica in Umuahia, Abia State. Erica is an only child who was raised in Lagos by her mother.
She had her secondary school education at Victory Grammar School, Lagos and was later moved to Command Secondary School, Ikeja. Erica’s quest for knowledge took her to Covenant University where she graduated with a degree in Business Administration.
Erica discovered her modeling talent at a young age. In 2013, she became the brand Ambassador for Natures Gentle Touch; a personal style brand that uses natural ingredients to solve hair and scalp challenges.
In 2014, she participated in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MGBN) pageant where she quickly became a fan favourite which earned her the MBGN Miss Photogenic award. The competition made her gain massive recognition which saw her work with high profile brands. She also featured in a Peak Milk TV advert alongside Nigerian pop Artiste, Falz.
Erica’s acting career kicked off in 2015 with a lead role in Secrets and Scandals. She also featured in the TV Series, Royal Castle for three seasons. In that same year, she starred in the movie Poka Messiah, Directed by Ernest Obi.
In 2016, she featured in a thriller; Once Upon A Night, where she played a supporting character. Erica has also featured in TV series and movies like My Flatmates and The Paternity Deal, Being Farouk, Dead Rites, Fractured, Win or Lose, Made in heaven and a host of others. She also played a supporting role in the blockbuster movie, Hire A Woman.
In a bid to further her acting career, Erica studied Acting for Film at the Met Film School, London, in 2019. She expressed her delight in the knowledge attained at the Met Film School in an interview with AllAfrica.
Nlewedim founded Erica Nlewedim Foundation in 2018; a non-governmental Organisation geared towards catering to underprivileged children. The foundation embarks on periodical visits to orphanage homes with the donation of babies’ supplies and other consumables. In December 2019, Erica Nlewedim Foundation launched its Hunger Heroes Campaign which successfully fed 1000 less privileged individuals on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria.
Over her modelling years, Nlewedim has worked with brands including Glo, Jumia, and MyZotoApp. from 2015-2017, Nlewedim was the brand face for Zaron Cosmetics, Access Bank and Maltina.
Erica is set to carve a niche for herself with her Luxury hair brand, Beluxia Hair. She holds the position of the brand’s Chief Executive Officer.
In 2020, Erica got into the big brother house as a housemate . Ever since she got out of the big brother house , she has been busy acting and signing lots of deals. Erica, “The star girl” , has since accomplished alot.
Taliban fighters have taken over a television station in Afghanistan’s strategic Helmand province.
The Helmand TV and Radio station which are located in the city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, is operated by state-run Radio and Television Afghanistan.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban confirmed its fighters had taken over the station and chased out its staff.
The incident came a few hours after the United States ramped up airstrikes against the Taliban in a bid to turn back the militants’ advances on a number of key provincial capitals in Afghanistan, a senior Afghan security official told journalists.
“Over the past three days, the US airstrikes have targeted Taliban positions around the cities of Herat, Kandahar, and Lashkar Gah.
“They strike multiple times when the Taliban try to enter the city,” the official said, adding that the three cities were considered “endangered” by Taliban advances.
Sudanese officials say they have discovered more than 50 bodies floating in rivers in Kassala province between Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray and Sudan on Tuesday.
Witnesses report that some of the corpses had gunshot wounds or their hands tied amid escalating conflict in the region in recent weeks
Local officials say a forensic investigation was needed to determine the causes of death after two Ethiopian health workers in the Sudan border community of Hamdayet confirmed seeing the bodies found in the Setit river, known in Ethiopia as the Tekeze.
The river flows through some of the most troubled areas of the nine-month conflict in Tigray, where ethnic Tigrayans have accused Ethiopian and allied forces of atrocities while battling Tigray forces.
Tewodros Tefera, a surgeon who fled the nearby Tigray city of Humera to Sudan, said two of the bodies were found on Monday, one a man with his hands bound and the other a woman with a chest wound. He added that fellow refugees have buried at least 10 other bodies.
Tewodros said the bodies were found downstream from Humera, where authorities and allied fighters from Ethiopia’s Amhara region have been accused by refugees of forcing out local Tigrayans during the war while claiming that western Tigray is their land.
“We are actually taking care of the bodies spotted by fishermen. I suspect there are more bodies on the river,” Tewodros said.
However, an Ethiopian government-created Twitter account has called the accounts of bodies a fake campaign by “propagandists” among the Tigray forces.
Former United States President, Donald Trump, has raised $100 million through a fundraising initiatives put together by his political organisations.
The funds were generated in the first six months of this year by the ex-President’s two political action committees – Save America, a leadership PAC, and Make America Great Again.
He said the funds were contributed by supporters who were unhappy with his defeat in last year’s presidential election and are hoping for a “change.”
This is the first time an ex-President is amassing such figures at any stage of an election cycle.
Trump, who spoke on the development in a statement, said the donations were the citizens’ demonstration of their support for his efforts at getting justice on the “flawed election.”
Trump said: “The donations are signs that millions of Americans “share my outrage and want me to continue to fight for the truth.”
Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Dennis Graham, is African American and a practising Catholic from Memphis, Tennessee, who worked as a drummer, performing alongside country musician Jerry Lee Lewis. His mother, Sandra “Sandi” Graham (née Sher), is a Canadian of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage who worked as an English teacher and florist. Dennis Graham performed at Club Bluenote in Toronto, where he met Sandra Sher, who was in attendance. Drake is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, having American citizenship due to his American father. In his youth, he attended a Jewish day school, and had a bar mitzvah.
Drake’s parents divorced when he was five years old. After the divorce, he and his mother remained in Toronto; his father returned to Memphis, where he was incarcerated for a number of years on drug-related charges. Graham’s limited finances and legal issues caused him to remain in the United States until Drake’s early adulthood. Prior to his arrest, however, Graham would travel to Toronto and bring Drake to Memphis every summer. His father later collaborated with Canadian music group Arkells on the music video for a song titled “Drake’s Dad”. Graham claimed in an interview that Drake’s assertions of him being an absent father were embellishments used to sell records, which Drake vehemently denies.
Drake was raised in two Toronto neighbourhoods. He lived on Weston Road in the city’s working-class west end until grade six, playing minor hockey with the Weston Red Wings. He then moved to one of the city’s affluent neighbourhoods, Forest Hill, in 2000. When asked about the move, Drake replied, “[We had] a half of a house we could live in. The other people had the top half, we had the bottom half. I lived in the basement, my mom lived on the first floor. It was not big, it was not luxurious. It was what we could afford.”
He attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, where he demonstrated an affinity for the arts, first acting while an active student at the school. He later attended Vaughan Road Academy in the city’s multicultural Oakwood–Vaughan neighbourhood. Due to the economic status associated with the neighbourhood, Drake described the school as “not by any means the easiest school to go to.” Drake was often bullied at school for his racial and religious background, and upon realizing that his busy class schedule was detrimental to his burgeoning acting career, Drake dropped out of school. He later graduated in October 2012.
At the age of 15, eager to begin his career as an actor, a high school friend introduced Drake to his father, an acting agent. The agent found Drake a role on the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake portrayed Jimmy Brooks, a basketball star who became physically disabled after he was shot by a classmate. When asked about his early acting career, Drake replied, “My mother was very sick. We were very poor, like broke. The only money I had coming in was [from] Canadian TV.” He appeared in a total of 100 episodes between 2001 and 2008. In 2010, Drake expressed interest in playing Barack Obama in a biopic, to which Obama responded to with approval in an interview in 2020.
According to the series’ creators Stephen Stohn and Linda Schuyler, Drake regularly arrived late on set after spending nights recording music. To prevent this, Schuyler claimed Drake struck an agreement with the set’s security guards to gain entry to the set after recording to be allowed to sleep in a dressing room.
After becoming musically inspired by Jay-Z and Clipse, Drake self-released his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement, in 2006. The mixtape featured Trey Songz and Lupe Fiasco, and included vast production from Canadian producers Boi-1da and Frank Dukes. When asked about the mixtape, Drake described the project as “pretty straightforward, radio friendly, [and] not much content to it.” Room for Improvement was released for sale only and sold roughly 6,000 copies, for which Drake received $304.04 in royalty payments. In 2007, he released his second mixtape Comeback Season. Released from his recently founded October’s Very Own label, it spawned the single “Replacement Girl” featuring Trey Songz. The song made Drake become the first unsigned Canadian rapper to have his music video on BET, with “Replacement Girl” featured on their “New Joint of the Day” segment in April 2007. The song also saw Drake sample “Man of the Year” by Brisco, Flo Rida and Lil Wayne, retaining Lil Wayne’s verse, and adjoined his own to the song’s earlier half. This caused Jas Prince to gift Lil Wayne the song, which prompted the rapper to invite Drake to Houston to join his Tha Carter III tour. Throughout the duration of the tour, Drake and Lil Wayne recorded multiple songs together, including “Ransom”, “Forever”, and a remix to “Brand New”. Despite the collaborations between the duo, Drake was yet to be signed by Young Money Entertainment.
In 2009, Drake released his third mixtape So Far Gone. It was made available for free download through his OVO blog website, and featured Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, Omarion, Lloyd, and Bun B. It received over 2,000 downloads in the first 2 hours of release, finding mainstream commercial success from the singles “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful”, both gaining Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with the former also peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. This prompted the mixtape’s re-release as an EP, featuring only four songs from the original, as well as the additions of the songs “I’m Goin’ In” and “Fear”. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, and won the Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards.
Due to the success of the mixtape, Drake was the subject of a bidding war from various labels, often reported as “one of the biggest bidding wars ever”. Despite this, Drake was rumoured to have secured a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment on June 29, 2009. This was later confirmed following a planned lawsuit from Young Money, in conjunction with Drake, against an unauthorized album titled The Girls Love Drake, which was released on iTunes under dubious means.[vague]
Drake then joined the rest of the label’s roster on the America’s Most Wanted Tour in July 2009. However, during a performance of “Best I Ever Had” in Camden, New Jersey, Drake fell on stage and tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.He underwent surgery later that year.
Drake lives in Toronto, Ontario, in a 35,000-square-foot, $100 million estate nicknamed “The Embassy”, which was built from the ground-up in 2017, and is seen in the video to his song “Toosie Slide”. He also owns a home nicknamed the “YOLO Estate” in Hidden Hills, California, which he has owned since 2012. Additionally, he owns a Toronto condo adjacent to the CN Tower, and a Boeing 767 airplane.
Drake’s paternal uncles are bass guitarist Larry Graham and musician Teenie Hodges. Graham achieved both critical and commercial success as a member of the band Sly and the Family Stone, while Hodges featured as the lead guitarist and songwriter for Al Green, and contributed heavily on most of his work in the 1970s, including the hits “Take Me to the River”, “Love and Happiness”, and “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)”.
Drake dated singer Rihanna on-and-off from 2009 to 2016. He has mentioned the relationship in every one of his studio albums, and when presenting Rihanna with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2016, he said “she’s a woman I’ve been in love with since I was 22 years old.” On his former relationship with her, he said on the talk show ,’The Shop’.
Drake
As life takes shape and teaches you your own lessons, I end up in this situation where I don’t have the fairy tale, like, ‘Oh, Drake started a family with Rihanna and this is like so perfect.’ It looks so good on paper. By the way, I wanted that too at one time.
Drake is a father to one son named Adonis, who was born on October 11, 2017 to French painter and former model and adult film star Sophie Brussaux. Brussaux’s pregnancy was the subject of several rumours after featuring in a TMZ article in early 2017. After the nature of the pair’s relationship was discussed in Pusha T’s “The Story of Adidon”, Drake confirmed his fatherhood on the album Scorpion in 2018, citing a desire for his child’s privacy.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to humbly accept its defeat in the Ondo State governorship election.
The Supreme Court had last week upheld the victory of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in October 10, 2020 election in the state.
But three out of seven justices in the apex court’s panel ruled against the governor on the petition against him.
In its reaction to the ruling, PDP commended the Supreme Court justices for upholding the integrity of the nation’s judiciary.
The party claimed that the justices agreed that the Chairman of the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Mai Mala Buni violated 1999 Constitution by holding two separate positions at the same time.
Mala Buniis also the governor of Yobe State.
But in a statement issued by the Secretary of the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, John Akpanudoedehe, the party urged the PDP to accept its defeat at the Supreme Court in good faith rather than attempting to constitute itself into an alternate court of law and misinterpreting the apex court’s judgments.
APC described the PDP as an “old, lonely, toothless and hungry Hyena” which had become rudderless, saying it would not join issues with the major opposition party on the status of Mai Mala Buni-led committee.
The party urged its major rival to show genuine repentance its 16 years misrule in the country.
The statement read: “The Peoples Democratic Party PDP is an old, lonely, toothless, and hungry Hyena wandering aimlessly in the jungle of political wilderness. Nigerians are fully aware of its antecedents and will never take it seriously no matter how much empty noise it makes.
We note how arrogantly the PDP has become an interpreter of the laws of the nation with ignorant comments on the recent Supreme Court judgment which affirmed the election victory of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu SAN and dismissed the PDP’s case on the grounds that it was incompetent.
Instead of being humbled by that defeat, the PDP has turned itself into an alternate court by misrepresenting the decision of majority members of the Supreme Court that did not hinge its ruling on Section 183 of the 1999 constitution as the PDP labours to spin.
“Our position stands. It is not our intention to join issues with self-proclaimed interpreters of our laws which unsurprisingly now includes the PDP on the status of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC ) and its membership. The apex court ruling had no bearing on the validity or otherwise of the APC CECPC chaired by Governor Mai Mala Buni.
While the PDP and their fellow travelers labour to sell their falsehoods, backed by solid legal guidance, APC is on good grounds to conduct its Congresses leading to the National Convention.
“One asks, is the PDP now a Court of Law? It is a reflection of their propensity to hang on straws and murky thinking which shows that they should not be trusted with power again because they have no capacity to think clearly, talkless of running a country properly.
“The PDP is apparently using these baseless comments on the APC leadership to distract attention from its depleting fortunes and rudderless leadership which has led its members and leaders to abandon the failed opposition in droves for the APC which is providing Nigerians with purposeful leadership, rebuilding the nation and institutionalising the rule of law.
That the Uche Secondus-led PDP leadership is currently grappling with a serious crisis of confidence among its members and leaders is no longer news. However, we offer free advice: imbibe internal democracy; have focus; shun corruption and be orderly in your conduct as a sign of repentance and atonement for wasting 16 years misgoverning our country.
“The APC’s internal democracy and progressive politics which has been deepened by the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led leadership of the APC CECPC has demonstrated its sterling organisational capability which led to credible ward congresses. On the other hand, the PDP is so disorganised that it is unable to complete its abandoned national secretariat.
PDP has reached the end of its political road and Nigerians will never trust it again with the governance of this country.”
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Abuja on Sunday, disclosed that it has nabbed a lady, Ebere Edith Okafor, with 35 wraps of cocaine concealed in her underwear.
She was nabbed during the outward clearance of passengers on Air Cotevoire, to Monrovia, Liberia from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), in Lagos.
The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect who was arrested on Saturday, July 31, tucked the pellets of cocaine in her underwear to beat security checks at the airport but was picked up for search and questioning during which the wraps of the illicit drug were found on her.
During a preliminary interview, she claimed her desire to make money pushed her into drug trafficking,” Babafemi said.
Also, Babafemi disclosed that another suspect, Echendu Jerry Maduakolam, an intending male passenger going to Istanbul was arrested at Gate A departure hall of the MMIA on Tuesday, July 27, during outward clearance of Egypt airline to Turkey with 78 grams of cannabis mixed with dried bitter leaves.
He noted that on the same day, another intending male passenger, Egbon Osarodion, going to Milan, Italy was arrested at the airport’s Gate A departure hall during outward clearance of passengers on Egypt airline with different quantities of 225mg Tramadol and Rohypnol concealed in foil papers wrapped in a polyethylene bag.
Babafemi disclosed that in another development, operatives of the agency from the Kontagora Area Command, acting on credible intelligence, in the early hours of Thursday, July 29, raided a warehouse at Mailefe village in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State, where drug supplies for bandits operating in parts of the state were stored.
He said, “After a thorough search of the warehouse, 125 bags of cannabis sativa were recovered while a man seen praying in front of the house fled into the forest when he sighted the narcotic officers from afar.”
The Nigerian Army said on Friday at least 91 members of the Boko Haram sect and their families have surrendered to troops in the North-East.
The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.
He said the troops of 202 Battalion took custody of eight insurgents and their families who surrendered at Ruwaza village in Bama local government area of Borno State.
These, according to him, comprised 10 adult females and 22 children.
The army spokesman added that the troops of Forward Operational Base operating along BoCobs-Bama road also arrested 20 terrorists and their families at Nbewa village in Bama LGA.
Nwachukwu said: “The surrendered families of the insurgents comprised 15 adult females and 26 children.
“The suspects all surrendered to the troops during clearance operations in the areas on July 29 following ongoing intense clearance operations by troops in the general areas.
“The children among the surrendering suspects have been vaccinated with polio vaccines, while the adult and female suspects, who have been documented and screened are currently undergoing preliminary investigations.”
The President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera has revealed the rationale behind his decision to travel with his family to a virtual conference in London.
Chakwera further slammed allegations of nepotism by critics over his decision.
Ripples Nigeria had reported that the President incurred the wrath of his country after he flew out to the United Kingdom to attend the Global Educational Summit hosted by British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
According to media reports in the country, Chakwera was said to have traveled to London for the summit owing to a bad internet connection in his country which could affect his participation.
Meanwhile, in explaining his decision to travel with his family, the President said his daughter was included in the delegation to take care of his wife who is not feeling well, and to give physical support.
Chakwera made this clarification during a BBC Hardtalk interview with Sarah Montague.
When asked why his wife, daughter and son-in-law were on the team, even when his foreign minister were left out, he said;
“Each member of the delegation has a specific function and provides services that justify their presence at the summit,” he explained.
Responding to a question from Montague on the inclusion of his wife in the London delegation, the President said, “Everyone has a responsibility. I brought my wife because I needed her.
“I have done virtual conferences before and this was an appeal for me to be present personally. I also brought Malawians who are also valuable.
Each one in my delegation has a specific function and I need their services”, he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari has denied receiving a bribe from a Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
The United States Department of Justice had said ongoing investigations showed that Hushpuppi allegedly bribed Kyari to arrest one Kelly Chibuzo Vincent, one of his accomplices in Nigeria. Reacting to the allegations on Thursday morning, the DCP in a statement on his verified Facebook page said his hands are clean.
According to Kyari, nobody demanded money from the embattled Instagram influencer, stating that the focus of the police was to save people’s lives that were purportedly threatened. Kyari explained that Hushpuppi had informed the police that somebody in Nigeria was threatening to kill his family. He added that the social media celebrity, who was based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before his incarceration, also sent the suspect’s phone number, urging the police to act fast to save his family. He however said the suspect was allowed to go after investigation showed they were long time friends with disagreements over money. Kyari insisted that he did not demand a dime from Hushuppi, saying the only time they had discussions about money was when the fraudster demanded to know who sews his native clothes and caps, adding that after linking both party, Hushpuppi sent N300,000 for five sets of attires. Kyari said the clothes and caps were delivered to his office after which someone collected them for Hushpuppi. He urged anyone interested in further pursuing the matter to contact Vincent for confirmation. He urged his supporters to remain calm, stating that those working towards damaging his reputation would be disgraced. The statement reads in part, “For those who are celebrating that this is an indictment on us and mentioning some fictitious big money, They will be disappointed once again as our hands are clean and our record of service for two decades is open for everybody to see. They will continue seeing us serving our fatherland and we will continue responding to ALL distress calls from ALL Nigerians provided they are life threatening.
“For good Nigerians who appreciate our service, please don’t worry as our hands are clean and they should please not respond to those celebrating and creating many false narratives without any evidence. We are used to such types of people and false newsmakers and distributors”.
At least 180 people have died in the West Indian state of Maharashtra after torrential monsoon rains caused landslides and flooded low-lying areas cut off hundreds of villages.
38 people were confirmed dead in Taliye, 18km South-East of India’s financial capital, Mumbai, when a landslide flattened most of the small village, state government officials said on Tuesday.
A representative from the state’s Disaster Management, Relief, and Rehabilitation Department told journalists that 27 persons had died in the Satara district in the last 48 hours.
In nine other landslides in parts of Maharashtra, 59 people died and another 15 were killed in accidents linked to the heavy rainfall, officials said.
Another 84 deaths were recorded in the coastal district of Raigad, an official with the National Disaster Response Force said on Monday.
The toll increased after 31 people who were reported missing after Thursday’s landslide had been confirmed dead.
Maharashtra and neighboring states of Goa, Karnataka, and Telangana had faced heavy rainfall since last Thursday.
An unspecified number of indigenes of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State were in the early hours of Monday attacked by hoodlums suspected to be herdsmen.
The victims were on their way to the market when they were attacked at Opanda village, in Uzo-Uwani, leaving many of them injured.
It was gathered that an unspecified number of people were killed in the attack, while eight sustained injuries.
A native said the villagers were still searching for more victims of the Monday attack in the farms and bushes.
He said the victims were rushed to the Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka, from where they were referred to the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu.
Daily Trust reports that the community suffered a similar attack in 2016 during which nine people were killed.
The spokesperson of the state Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident but was silent on whether lives were lost.
Ndukwe, in a statement, said, “Following an information received at Nimbo Police Division in the early hours of today, 26/07/2021, alleging that yet-to-be-identified hoodlums attacked some persons in a location at Opanda Village in Nimbo Community of Uzo-Uwani LGA, police operatives attached to the Division raced to the scene and found three young men with degrees of machete cuts.
“They were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are responding to treatment.
“Meanwhile, the area is calm, while the Commissioner of Police, CP, Mohammed Ndatsu Aliyu, has ordered the conduct of thorough investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident and bring the perpetrators to book. He also calls on residents of the area to remain calm and assist the police with useful information.”
The national identification number (NIN) and subscriber identity module (SIM) integration exercise has been extended by the federal government till October 31.
Ikechukwu Adinde, Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) who disclosed that there are now a total of 59.8 million unique NIN enrolments with an average of three to four SIMs per NIN, said the exercise was extended to “accommodate registration in hard-to-reach remote areas, foreigners and diplomatic missions, and Nigerians in the diaspora”.
He said; “The Federal Government has approved the extension of the deadline for National Identity Number (NIN)-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) data verification to October 31, 2021.
“The decision to extend the deadline was made following a request by stakeholders to accommodate registration in hard-to-reach remote areas, foreigners and diplomatic missions, diaspora and address low enrolments in schools and hospitals, as evidenced by enrolment statistics.
“The decision also followed a review of the progress of the exercise which indicated significant progress, hence the need to consolidate the gains of the enrolment and NIN-SIM verification process across the country.
“As at July 24, 2021, there are over 5,500 enrolment systems within and outside the country and this would significantly ease the NIN enrolment process and subsequent linkage of NIN to SIM.
“The administration of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the extension as part of efforts to make it easier for its citizens within and outside the country, and legal residents to obtain the NIN and it is important to take advantage of the extension.
“The NIN-SIM linkage also makes it easier for the security agencies to carry out their statutory duties and the relevant parastatals under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy are supporting them as required.
“There are now a total of 59.8 million unique NIN enrolments, with average of 3 to 4 SIMs per NIN. With the great number of enrolment centres within and outside the country, and many more coming up, every citizen, legal resident, and Nigerian citizens living in diaspora should be able to obtain their NINs.”
R.Kelly has found himself in more problems as federal prosecutors have revealed more sex trafficking allegations against the disgraced singer including that he had sexual contact with an underage boy.
Recall Kelly faces multiple charges in New York, Minnesota and Illinois, many of them related to his alleged abuse of underage girls.
In a court filing on Friday, July 23, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed it believes he also violated at least one male victim.
According to the filing, which includes new information but no new charges, Mr. Kelly met a 17-year-old boy at a McDonald’s around December 2006, and invited him to a party. When the teen showed up with his mother and stepfather, Mr Kelly allegedly asked him to come alone next time.
After that, prosecutors say he invited the boy to his studio, “under the guise of helping and mentoring John Doe #1 with his musical aspirations”. “Kelly also asked John Doe #1 what he was willing to do to succeed in the music business and clarified that he wanted John Doe #1 to engage in sexual contact with Kelly,” the document says. “With that backdrop, Kelly then engaged in sexual contact with John Doe #1, in violation of Illinois law.”
Mr. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies ever abusing anyone. Prosecutors, however, are accusing the musician of coordinating a vast criminal enterprise involving his bodyguards, managers, and other members of his entourage, all geared toward gratifying Mr Kelly’s sexual desires.
“The purposes of the Enterprise were to promote R Kelly’s music and the R Kelly brand, to recruit women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with Kelly and to produce pornography, including child pornography,” the US attorney’s office says.
Friday’s court filing spans 55 pages, and includes 20 “Jane Does” and two “John Does”. Prosecutors say Mr Kelly also asked John Doe #1 to contact a juror in his 2008 child pornography trial, and to tell the juror that Mr Kelly was a “good guy”. They also allege that he tried to start a sexual relationship with a friend of John Doe #1’s, who was 16 or 17 at the time. Mr Kelly’s New York trial is set to begin on 9 August.
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