Some cars at the junction leading to the station’s street were damaged. After that, the mob was repelled by Police personnel strategically positioned to prevent the station from being attacked.
Some hoodlums, numbering 30 have attacked a police station at Mapo area of Ibadan, Oyo State, where they set free two suspects from custody.
Confirming the incident, the Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko, in a statement through the Public Relations Officer of the Command, CSP Olugbenga Fadeyi, said: “‘Packaging’ led some thugs numbering about 30 to attack and mob the Police team, and forcefully took the two miscreants away.
“The Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, wishes to inform the general public on the incident that occurred earlier today, January 28, at about 11:45 at Odo-Osun Area of Mapo.
“Police personnel from Mapo Divisional Police Headquarters were deployed to effect the arrest of two notorious miscreants, who have been deeply involved in the crisis rocking Shogoye/Akobi areas of Mapo lately.
“On January 25, at about 6am, an elderly woman in a white cap, known as Modupe Daramola, aged 60, of a Celestial Church in Akobi area, was hit with pellets from a locally-made gun fired by one of the hoodlums during the clashes and she died, while some others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“Sequel to the arrest of the two notorious miscreants who were handcuffed, one ‘Packaging’ led some thugs numbering about 30 to attack and mobbed the Police team, and forcefully took the two miscreants from them.
“To escape from being lynched, police personnel fired a shot into the air. At about 12:20 pm, one Akeem in the company of some angry miscreants invaded the police station to report that his younger brother was shot and the miscreants attempted to attack Mapo Police Station.ย
Oyo state Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko
“Some cars at the junction leading to the station’s street were damaged. After that, the mob was repelled by Police personnel strategically positioned to prevent the station from being attacked.
“Not too long after, at about 1:50 pm, the corpse of one Badmus Rasheed, 20, was brought to the police station by a mob that was earlier repealed from attacking the station.
“The Commissioner of Police wishes to appeal to parents/guardians in the two areas to warn their wards to desist from acts capable of causing the breakdown of law and order as the massive deployment of police personnel and that of sister-security agencies have been emplaced to forestall further crises.”
SaharaReporters gathered that the bandits invaded the communities, killing four residents as the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, sent condolences to the families of the slain indigenes.
At least four persons have been killed after bandits attacked communities in the Igabi and Kajuru local government areas of Kaduna State.
SaharaReporters gathered that the bandits invaded the communities, killing four residents as the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, sent condolences to the families of the slain indigenes.
The casualties were confirmed in a report contained in the second Kaduna State government’s security update on Thursday, January 28, by security agencies.
The report stated that the bandits attacked Nasarawa Kalgo community on the outskirts of Jaji, a military base in Rigachikun district in the Igabi LGA.
According to the report issued and signed by Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security And Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan, the government confirmed that dozens of bandits stormed the villages and killed one resident, Harrisu Ibrahim.
The statement made available to our correspondent on Thursday evening stressed that โsimilarly, bandits attacked the Kujama area of Chikun LGA and were repelled by local vigilantes.
โHowever, as they retreated to their hideouts, the bandits attacked Janwuriya village in Kajuru LGA and killed two brothers; Nuhu Ishaya and Yakubu Ishaya.โ
The government noted that in another incident, the bandits, according to the release, invaded Maraban Kajuru, also in Kajuru LGA and killed one resident, Samiru Na Ya’u.
The state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, expressed his displeasure with the situation and prayed for the repose of the souls of the slain residents, while sending his condolences to their families.
He also tasked security agencies to conduct diligent investigations into the incidents.
The agency said its operatives arrested six of the culprits at their hideout in Ayegbami area of the ancient town following a tip-off while the two brothers were arrested in their home.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested eight men suspected to be internet fraudsters in Osogbo, Osun State.
The suspects, identified as Adepoju Akinrinmade; his brother, Adeniyi Akinrinmade, were arrested alongside six others: Dennis Oluwamuyiwa, Oni Oluwaseyi, Adeyemo Adeyinka, Aborisade Abayomi, Goodluck Olatayo, and Gbolahan Sodiq, on Thursday.
The agency said its operatives arrested six of the culprits at their hideout in Ayegbami area of the ancient town following a tip-off while the two brothers were arrested in their home.
Items recovered from the suspects include two cars, laptops and mobile phones.
According to the EFCC, the suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
The returnees are part of the 802 Nigerians stranded in Saudi Arabia that the Nigerian government had promised to evacuate to Nigeria on Thursday and Friday.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has announced the return of 384 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates to their homeland.
The returnees are part of the 802 Nigerians stranded in Saudi Arabia that the Nigerian government had promised to evacuate to Nigeria on Thursday and Friday.
NIDCOM on its Twitter handle, said out of the 384 returnees, 300 are males, 83 are females, while one of them is an infant whose gender was not disclosed.
NIDCOM tweeted, โ384 Returnees (300 Males, 83 Females and one Infant) of the 802 stranded Nigerians in UAE just arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja via Saudi Air flight B773 at about 1:10 pm local time today 28th January 2021.โ
The returnees will be quarantined at the Federal Capital Territory Hajj camp for 14 days in line with the reversed COVID-19 protocols by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had disclosed that the second batch would arrive in the country on Friday and would be received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by the ministryโs officials.
A statement said, โThey (returnees) will be quarantined at the FCT Hajj camp for a period of 14 days in line with established COVID-19 protocols. Thereafter, the ministry will facilitate their movement to their respective home destinations.โ
In 2019, 98% of abortions were carried out on those grounds, meaning that the ruling effectively banned the vast majority of pregnancy terminations.
The ruling provoked outrage from supporters of the right to abortion.
But Poland’s conservative government, which has strong ties to the country’s powerful Catholic Church, supports the ruling.
The court justified its ruling on the grounds that “an unborn child is a human being” and therefore it deserves protection under Poland’s constitution which ensures the right to life.
Following the announcement that the ruling would now be enforced, groups defied coronavirus restrictions to protest in Warsaw.
Waving red flares and LGBT flags, some carried placards reading “Free Choice, Not Terror”.
image captionProtesters gathered on Wednesday after the government announced a near-total ban on abortion would come into force immediately
“I want us to have our basic rights, the right to decide about our bodies, the right to decide what we want to do and if we want to bear children and in what circumstances to have children,” one protester, Gabriela Stepniak, told Reuters news agency.
Leaders of the nationwide Women’s Strike movement that opposed the ban wore green headscarves, in a nod to Argentina’s women’s movement that successfullyย campaigned to legalise abortion.
Groups who support the ban say it is about the human rights of the child.
“We are very happy that this judgement has been published. It is a great step towards the realisation of human rights of all human beings,” Karolina Pawlowska from the Ordo Iuris international law centre told the BBC.
“This also means there will no longer be discrimination against children who are sick or disabled,” she said, adding that the court’s ruling was in line with the Polish constitution and UN treaties on the rights of the child.
Poland already had some of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, and around 1,000 legal terminations are performed each year.
An estimated 200,000 women have abortions illegally or travel abroad for the procedure.
image captionAlexei Navalny says the latest case against him was fabricated
Russian anti-Putin campaigner Alexei Navalny has denounced his detention as “demonstratively illegal” in an appeal hearing via video link.
A judge heard, and then rejected, his appeal against detention for 30 days. He was arrested on 17 January for not complying with a suspended sentence.
He told the judge “this is all massively, demonstratively illegal”.
Police have arrested some of his top aides, including lawyer Lyubov Sobol and his brother Oleg.
The latest arrests are connected with alleged violations by Navalny supporters, who rallied in their thousands across Russia last Saturday.
Mr Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, complained that he had not been allowed to speak to his lawyers in private since his arrest.
He has been detained since 17 January, when he flew back to Moscow from Berlin, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal nerve agent attack in Russia last August.
He accuses President Vladimir Putin of running an administration full of “thieves”.
He blamed his treatment on “those who want to shut me up – to scare me and everyone else.
Navalny Kremlin
“You want to show you’re the bosses of this country. But you are not. You have the power now, but that’s not eternal.”
He spent months recovering from the nerve agent attack which nearly killed him – for which he blamed agents of Mr Putin.
The Kremlin denies involvement. The opposition politician’s allegations have, however, been backed up by reports from investigative journalists.
image captionGermany’s government has been criticised for its vaccine programme’s slow start
Germany is likely to face a shortage of coronavirus vaccines until at least April, the country’s health minister has warned.
“We will still have at least 10 tough weeks with a shortage,” Jens Spahn wrote on Twitter.
The pace of Germany’s rollout has been criticised, and it has failed to meet its own daily target of vaccinations.
Mr Spahn’s comments come amid a row between the EU and the vaccine maker AstraZeneca over supply shortages.
The UK-based company has said production issues at its Europe-based plants mean it will be unable to deliver the promised number of doses to the 27-member bloc.
But the EU said the firm must honour its commitments and deliver the jabs by diverting stock from the UK.
Meanwhile, the European Commission said authorities in Belgium had been investigating AstraZeneca’s production site near Brussels in order to corroborate its explanation over the supply shortages.
On Thursday, Mr Spahn called for a vaccination summit involving pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers and politicians to explore how the rollout could be accelerated.
“Then we will see… where we can support the industry,” he said. “We are going through at least 10 tough weeks. We should spend that by working together.”PAEU and vaccines
448mEU population
8.4mPeople received vaccine so far (1.9%)
2.3bnDoses ordered overall
400mDoses ordered from AstraZeneca (Not yet EMA approved) – 17% of total
Earlier this week, Mr Spahn backed the EU’s proposal to create a register of vaccine exports in order to monitor where doses are being sent.
He also said the falling number of cases in Germany was encouraging and suggested schools could reopen once the current lockdown ends on 14 February.
The country is preparing to bar travellers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa over concerns over new variants. “We are co-ordinating towards the aim of refusing inbound travel from mutation areas,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria is in a state of emergency and directed the newly appointed service chiefs to tackle insecurity across the country.
Buhari on Tuesday appointed new service chiefs: Major-General Leo Iraborthe as the Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General Ibrahim Attahiru as the Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo as the Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Vice-Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao as the Chief of Air Staff.
During his meeting with them at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, Buhari told them that Nigerians expected a lot from them in the ongoing security operations across the country.
The service chiefs were led to the meeting by the Minister of Defence, retired Major-General Bashir Magashi.
President Buhari, in a statement released by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, charged the newly appointed service chiefs to be patriotic and serve the country well.
According to him, โWe are in a state of emergency. Be patriotic; serve the country well as your loyalty is to the country.
โThereโs nothing I can tell you about the service because you are in it. I was also in it and I will pray for you. I also assure you that whatever I can do as commander-in-chief will be done, so that the people will appreciate your efforts.
โYou know the stage we were in 2015, you know the stage we are now, and the undertakings we made. We promised to secure the country, revive the economy and fight corruption. None has been easy but we have certainly made progress,โ he said.
New service chiefs
The president said the morale of officers and men of the armed forces was paramount and urged the new service chiefs to pursue it vigorously.
He promised better equipment and logistics for troops to face the daunting task of securing the country.
While speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Gen. Irabor said they would not only work to bring security to lives and properties but also add value.
The CDS said: โWe have just seen Mr President and we are mindful of the demands. We can only at this stage pledge our ultimate best to bring safety and security to lives and properties across the country.
โOn behalf of the service chiefs, I am assuring the nation peace and security. We believe there will be value that will be added to the security disposition of the nation.โ
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on Wednesday warned Nigerians not to expect too much or dramatic change of the countryโs fortunes in the area of security challenges, saying the effective performance of the new service chiefs will be largely determined by the Commander-in-Chief.
It specifically said the active involvement and interest of President Buhari in defence and security will determine the success or failures of their conduct, records and performances.
The Director, Publicity and Advocacy of the forum, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, warned the President to reduce his distance from defence and security matters, and hold service chiefs and senior commanders accountable for successes and failures.
Baba-Ahmed, however, warned the new service chiefs not to dash the hope of Nigerians by living up to the expectations in tackling security challenges ravaging the country.
โIn our current circumstances where the nation is being swamped by old and new security challenges, a change of leadership in our armed forces should be a signal that President Muhammadu Buhari accepts the need to effect major changes in his disposition to security issues and improvements in the nationโs capacities to deal with security and public safety.
โNigerians will hope that these changes, even if belated, are intended as a response to the persistent demands for changes at leadership levels as part of the requirements to improve professionalism, morale and integrity of command structures of our armed forces.
โThe Forum warns the nation not to be misled into thinking that these changes will dramatically change the nationโs fortunes in its fight against multiple security threats.
โThe new service chiefs will be a lot more effective if they are inspired by a commander-in-chief who adopts and involve an active interest in their conduct, records and performances.
This week, Australia also suspended a travel bubble with New Zealand after its first Covid case in months was confirmed to be a more contagious variant.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian welcomed the state border decisions on Thursday, saying: “I hope this brings a lot of joy and relief to people and that people are reunited.”
Ms Berejiklian had previously criticised some of the border closures from other states, arguing they were a disproportionate response. She noted many NSW residents lived far away from the Sydney hotspots.
Her state managed to curb the city’s fast-growing outbreak in December through aggressive contract tracing, restricting gathering sizes and making masks mandatory in shops and on public transport.
Owhefere, a lawyer by training, had been sick for the past two weeks and was placed on oxygen.
The Majority Leader of the Delta State House of Assembly, Tim Oghenekome Owhefere, is dead.
Owhefere, 58, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party representing Isoko North constituency. He was said to have died as a result of suspected COVID-19 complications.
The fourth-term lawmaker, died on Wednesday at about 11:50 pm at the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC), Asaba, the Delta State capital.
Tim Owhefere
Our correspondent reliably gathered that Owhefere, a lawyer by training, had been sick for the past two weeks and was placed on oxygen.
A colleague of Owhefere, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the story to our correspondent. He disclosed that the late majority leader could not attend the plenaries with his colleagues after the Christmas and New Year break.
“When the illness became complicated, he was hospitalised in a private hospital in Asaba and placed on oxygen, because of some breathing difficulties. He was later transferred to the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC), Asaba, on Wednesday where he gave up the ghost almost midnight.
“I was in the Assembly with Hon. Tim Owhefere in the last assembly. He was a pillar to the house with his robust legislative contributions. Tim was a genius in lawmaking; a perfect and lively gentleman with a good heart. He will be greatly missed by all. We wish his soul eternal rest in Jesus name, amen.”
The Nigerian Army has deployed 100 female soldiers of the 1 Women Special Operation Battalion to secure the Abuja-Kaduna highway.The women soldiers will form part of Operation Thunder Strike.
This is the first deployment as another set of 200 soldiers are expected, making a total of 300. The female soldiers, who are of the Women Corps, are expected to complement Operation Thunder Strike and other existing operations along the highways and the environs.
Speaking at Kakau village along the highway where he received the 1st batch of 100 female soldiers of the 1 Women Special Operations Battalion Wednesday, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, commended the deployment by the Nigerian Army, which he said will boost the security situation along Kaduna-Abuja highway.The highway is being bedevilled by incessant kidnapping and killings.
The governor expressed hope that, with the deployment of the female soldiers, the insecurity along the highways will soon be a thing of the past.โThe problem of Abuja-Kaduna road will be over with these female soldiers because what a man can do a woman can do better.โWe believe in the capability of women in this State.โI am confident the road will be the safest in Nigeria with this deployment and we will do everything possible to make this operation comfortable.โWe are very happy to have you and I believe your presence will inspire other girls to join the military.
โThat is why we have female deputy governors to inspire other women,โ El-Rufai said.The Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe charged the female soldiers to do their best to make sure everyone in the state and the state is safe.
Earlier, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Kaduna, Major-General Usman Mohammed acknowledged the support the Kaduna State Government had provided to the military in its internal security operations.Major-General Mohammed thanked Governor El-Rufai and his deputy for personally coming to receive the female troops
The U.S. military is exploring the possibility of using a Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia and additional two airfields in the kingdom amid heightened tensions with Iran, the military said Tuesday.
While describing the work as “contingency” planning, the U.S. military said it already has tested unloading and shipping cargo overland from Saudi Arabia’s port at Yanbu, a crucial terminal for oil pipelines in the kingdom.
Using Yanbu, as well as air bases at Tabuk and Taif along the Red Sea, would give the American military more options along a crucial waterway that has come under increased attack from suspected mine and drone boat attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
However, the announcement comes as Saudi-American relations remain strained by the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and the kingdom’s ongoing war in Yemen in the first days of President Joe Biden’s administration. Deploying – even temporarily – American troops to bases in the kingdom, which is home to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, could reignite anger among extremists.
U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central Command, said the evaluation of the sites had been going on for over a year, sparked by the September 2019 drone-and-missile attack on the heart of the Saudi oil industry.
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have blamed that attack, which temporarily halved Saudi oil production and saw a spike in oil prices, on Iran. Tehran has denied being involved and the Houthis claimed the assault, though the drones involved appear to be Iranian-made.
“These are prudent military planning measures that allow for temporary or conditional access of facilities in the event of a contingency, and are not provocative in any way, nor are they an expansion of the U.S. footprint in the region, in general, or in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in particular,” Urban wrote.
U.S. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, visited Yanbu on Monday. Defense One and the Wall Street Journal, which traveled with McKenzie to Yanbu, first reported on the American planning. Saudi officials did not respond to request for comment Tuesday.
Already, Saudi Arabia paid for improvements at the sites and are considering more, Urban said. Tabuk is home to King Faisal Air Base, while Taif is home to King Fahd Air Base.
The Gulf Arab states are home to a vast array of American military bases, the legacy of the 1991 Gulf War that saw U.S.-allied forces expel Iraq from Kuwait, and the later 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. America pulled its forces out of Saudi Arabia after the 9/11 attacks. Osama bin Laden had cited their deployment in his attacks targeting the U.S.
Already, U.S. Central Command has a forward headquarters in Qatar. The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet operates from the island kingdom of Bahrain off Saudi Arabia’s coast. Kuwait hosts the U.S. Army Central’s forward headquarters, while the United Arab Emirates hosts American aviators and sailors.
Those locations also don’t include the American troop presence in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Former President Donald Trump also deployed the first troops into Saudi Arabia since 9/11 over concerns about Iran. Some 2,500 American troops now man fighter jets and Patriot missile batteries at Prince Sultan Air Base southeast of Riyadh.
The addition of these Saudi locations appears to be part of what McKenzie previously described to the U.S. Congress as the “Western Sustainment Network,” a new logistics system designed to avoid maritime chokepoints, said Becca Wasser, a fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security.
These locations likely would not have permanently stationed troops and could allow the U.S. to drawdown forces at other bases through that flexibility, she said.
“If we are trying to have a flexible posture where we are not tied to permanent bases, โฆ you are going to need to back it up with a logistics network that can make sure you can flow in people and weaponry as needed,” Wasser said.
Such contingency plans already exist in the Mideast, like the agreements that grant American forces rights to use bases in Oman under certain circumstances. But the western coast of Saudi Arabia also provides additional distance from Iran, which has invested heavily in ballistic missiles as sanctions have locked it out of global arms sales.
The Persian Gulf “would be contested waters under any scenario of armed conflict with Iran, so you look at the places where you would move your forces as they enter the theater from being in a contested area,” McKenzie was quoted as telling journalists in Yanbu.
For Iran, additional bases likely will increase the suspicions of its theocratic government. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. remain high after Trump unilaterally withdrew from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018, leading to an escalating series of confrontations.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It remains unclear how Biden’s relationship with Saudi Arabia will be during his presidency. While campaigning, Biden referred to the kingdom as a “pariah” over the killing of Khashoggi.
However, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states remain top clients for American weaponry and rely on the U.S. for ensuring the free flow of oil and goods through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Riyadh also came under a mysterious air attack on Saturday which the U.S. State Department under Biden condemned as “an attempt to target civilians.” It remains unclear if it was a missile or a drone used in the attack.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who earlier have targeted Riyadh, denied being involved, though Gulf Arab countries blamed the assault on the rebels. A previously unheard-of group called the “True Promise Brigade” said it carried out the attack with “drones of terror,” without offering evidence to support its claim.
US President Joe Biden will sign a series of executive orders aimed to address climate change, including a new ban on some energy drilling.
The orders aim to freeze new oil and gas leases on public lands and double offshore wind-produced energy by 2030.
They are expected to meet stiff resistance from the energy industry and come as a sea change from Donald Trump, who cut environmental protections.
Mr Biden will also label climate change a “national security” priority.
The series of executive orders that Mr Biden is due to sign on Wednesday will establish a White House office of domestic climate policy and announce a summit of leaders in the movement to tackle climate change to be held in April.
Mr Biden will also call upon the US Director of National Intelligence to prepare an intelligence report on the security implications of climate change.
Mr Biden is using the power he has as president to make climate change a central issue of his administration.
The executive orders and memorandum – which cannot go as far as congressional legislation in combating climate change – can be undone by future presidents, as he is currently doing to Mr Trump.
According to a statement from the White House, Mr Biden will direct the Department of the Interior, which oversees federal public lands, to pause oil and gas drilling leases on federal lands and water “to the extent possible” and to launch a review of existing energy leases.
Mr Biden aims to conserve at least 30 percent of federal lands and oceans by 2030.
According to the New York Times, fossil fuel extraction on public lands accounts for almost a quarter of all US carbon dioxide emissions.
Public lands are controlled by the federal government. Mr Biden’s order does not affect private property owners or state-held public lands.
Mr Biden’s “whole-of-government” approach, the White House says, will create the first-ever National Climate Advisor who will lead the office of Domestic Climate Policy at the White House.
Later today, Mr Biden’s envoy for climate – another new position – will join the White House press briefing.
The orders also direct all federal agencies to develop plans for how climate change will affect their facilities and operations.
It also will require agencies to determine ways to help the public better access climate change forecasts and information.
Mr Biden is also making it clear his administration will make decisions based on the best science available.
He’s directed agencies to only make “evidence-based decisions guided by the best available science and data”.
The pharmaceutical company Sanofi will help produce millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and German company BioNTech in an effort to help meet the huge demand for the shots.
The French drugmaker in a statement Wednesday said it will provide BioNTech access to its “established infrastructure and expertise” in an unusual arrangement to produce over 125 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Europe.
Initial supplies will originate from Sanofi’s production facilities in Frankfurt beginning this summer, the company said.
Pfizer and BioNTech have been looking for ways to increase vaccine supply. The companies have one of only two COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the U.S.
Sanofi is collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline on its own COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and said developing that drug will continue to be a priority.ย
But the companies last month said their vaccine did not trigger enough of an immune response in people over the age of 50, delaying its launch until likely much later this year.
The move by Sanofi raises questions about whether other companies that have not succeeded in making effective coronavirus vaccines will follow suit in throwing their manufacturing power and expertise into helping the ones that have.
This week for instance, Merck said it was discontinuing the development of its two COVID-19 vaccine candidates because of weak immune responses.
Sanofi’s CEO Paul Hudson said he recognizes the severity of the global pandemic requires some drastic steps, like helping produce a competitor’s vaccine.
“We are very conscious that the earlier vaccine doses are available, the more lives can potentially be saved. Today’s announcement is a pivotal step towards our industry’s collective goal of putting all the effort in to curb this pandemic,” Hudson said in a statement.
“Although vaccination campaigns have started around the world, the ability to get shots into arms is being limited by lower than expected supplies and delayed approval timelines owing to production shortages. We have made the decision to support BioNTech and Pfizer in manufacturing their COVID-19 vaccine in order to help address global needs, given that we have the technology and facilities to do so,” Hudson said.
There are so many people who should be in prison if this government had not run out of steam, and so the system is being manipulated.
Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on Wednesday, lambasted the Nigerian government for its inefficiency in the fight against corruption in the country, saying many persons ought to be in jail if the system worked.
Soyinka noted that corruption cases involving some state governors over whom much evidence had already been gathered suddenly died down without any tangible reason.
The playwright stated this on an African Independent Televisionโs programme, Kakaaki, adding that the system had been so corrupted that cases were stretched out into silence by all kinds of technicalities.
He said, โThere are so many people who should be in prison if this government had not run out of steam, and so the system is being manipulated.
โThere are cases where the prosecution had reached the level where evidence had been given on governors who had been stealing and depositing in bits and pieces so as not to flout a certain regulation.
โI mean cases have been taken to that level and suddenly, silence.
โThe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which I backed solidly ever since the days of (Nuhu) Ribadu, in all kinds of ways; we no longer can distinguish from right and left.โ
Asked whether the National Assembly, dominated by the All Progressives Congress, was not putting enough pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari, he said NASS had a lot of work to do in its relationship with the President.
However, Soyinka said the desire of some lawmakers for committee positions โwhere I think all the goodies are sharedโ has made them compromise.
He added, โIt is the responsibility of the constituency to remind them of these derelictions; these failures to come up to scratch as expected when they come round next for elections.โ
US President Joe Biden has warned Russian leader Vladimir Putin about election meddling in their first call as counterparts, the White House says.
The conversation also included a discussion about the ongoing opposition protests in Russia.
A Kremlin statement did not refer to any points of friction, saying the call was “business-like and frank”.
Both leaders reportedly signalled willingness to renew the countries’ last remaining nuclear deal.
Former US President Donald Trump sometimes undercut his own administration’s tough posture on Russia and was accused by some of being too deferential to Mr Putin.
But former President Barack Obama – under whom Mr Biden served as vice-president – was also criticised for failing to check the Kremlin as it annexed Crimea, supported rebel forces in eastern Ukraine and muscled in on Syria.
“President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defence of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies,” the White House said in a short statement, referencing the main talking points of Tuesday afternoon’s call but listing no further details.
The US said that the two presidents also discussed the massive SolarWinds cyber-attack, which has been blamed on Moscow; reports that the Kremlin placed bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan; and the poisoning of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
The Kremlin statement about the call said their president had “noted that the normalisation of relations between Russia and the United States would meet the interests of both countries and – taking into account their special responsibility for maintaining security and stability in the world – of the entire international community”.
The two leaders appeared to seal an agreement to renew New Start, an Obama-era accord that limits the amounts of warheads, missiles and launchers in the US-Russian nuclear arsenals.
It was due to expire next month, and Mr Trump had refused to sign on.
British residents arriving in England from Covid hotspots will have to quarantine in hotels, Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to announce.
The measures will apply to people coming from most of South America, southern Africa and Portugal, amid concern over new variants of the virus.
Most overseas visitors from those countries are already barred from entering the UK.
But Labour said hotel quarantine should be mandatory for all arrivals.
British nationals and those with residency rights who arrive from high-risk countries will be required to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense for up to 10 days, in a bid to improve compliance with self-isolation rules.
Senior ministers met on Tuesday night to approve the plan, following days of disagreement over the details.
They also agreed that if other areas were designated as high risk in the future, then the requirement for hotel quarantine would be extended.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had argued for a targeted approach to quarantine, while the home secretary had favoured its more widespread use, according to BBC political correspondent Iain Watson.
Ms Patel will set out further details in the House of Commons, including the timescale for the policy and who will be exempt.
She told MPs on Tuesday the government would not hesitate to take further action to protect the UK from new variants, adding: “Measures are always under review.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for tougher measures to combat the spread of new variants from abroad.
He told reporters on Tuesday: “It’s very clear that we need to have quarantine comprehensively in hotels for everybody coming into the country, we need much stronger defences at our borders.”
image captionIran has detained several US-Iranian dual citizens and Iranians with US permanent residency in recent years
Iran says it has arrested a US-Iranian dual national facing spying charges who attempted to leave the country.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili did not identify the man, but said he “had been free on bail”.
Iranian media reported last week that a US-Iranian businessman named Emad Shargi had been arrested has he tried to cross a western border illegally.
It could complicate plans by new US President Joe Biden to re-engage diplomatically with Iran.
His predecessor Donald Trump subjected the Tehran government to a “maximum pressure” campaign of crippling economic sanctions.
Mr Trump wanted to compel Iranian leaders to renegotiate a 2015 nuclear deal that he abandoned, but they refused to do so and retaliated by violating a series of key commitments.
Mr Biden has said he is open to rejoining the accord and easing the sanctions if Iran returns to full compliance.
Iran has detained a number of US-Iranian dual citizens and Iranians with US permanent residency in recent years, most of them on spying charges.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Esmaili responded to a question about the reported arrest of an US-Iranian “defendant”.
He said Iranian law did not recognise dual nationality, but that “the defendant had been free on bail… and was arrested as he tried to leave the country”. This person “faced charges from earlier in the area of spying and gathering information for foreign countries”, he added.
According to tweets shared on President Buhari’s , he stated the following;
I have accepted the immediate resignation of the Service Chiefs, and their retirement from service. I thank them all for their overwhelming achievements in our efforts at bringing enduring peace to Nigeria, and wish them well in their future endeavours.
I have also appointed new Service Chiefs, to replace the retired officers:
Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff.
Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff.
Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff.
Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff.
Major-General Leo Irabor, Nigeriaโs new Chief of Defence Staff.
Major-General I. Attahiru, Nigeriaโs new Chief of Army Staff.
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its 100-day deportation freeze in one of the first legal battles over the new president’s agenda.
Judge Drew Tipton issued a temporary restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will apply nationwide while the lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) plays out.
“Texas has thus far satisfactorily demonstrated it is entitled to immediate and temporary relief from the January 20 Memorandum’s 100-day pause on removals,” wrote Tipton, who was appointed by former President Trump to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Biden’s freeze, Tipton wrote “is clearly not in accordance with, or is in excess of, the authority accorded to the Attorney General.” Tipton disputed the federal government’s claim that U.S. Code allows the attorney general to pause deportations when a final order of removal has already been issued. This argument, he writes, is based on an interpretation of the statue that “contravenes the unambiguous text.”
“Where Congress uses specific language within its immigration statutes to direct the Attorney General toward a specific result, courts are not free to assume based on a matrix of principles, statutes, and regulations that the Attorney General’s authority is simply ‘a matter of discretion,'” Tipton added.
Paxton announced the lawsuit last Friday, two days after Biden took office.
“If left unchallenged, DHS could re-assert this suspension power for a longer period or even indefinitely, effectively granting a blanket amnesty to illegal aliens that Congress has refused to pass time and time again,” Paxton’s complaint reads.
The day before Paxton’s lawsuit, the Department of Homeland Security issued a memo that called for the 100-day freeze on most deportations as part of a broader “reset and review” of immigration enforcement throughout the department.
The Hill has reached out to Paxton’s office and the Justice Department for comment.
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its 100-day deportation freeze in one of the first legal battles over the new president’s agenda.
Judge Drew Tipton issued a temporary restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will apply nationwide while the lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) plays out.
“Texas has thus far satisfactorily demonstrated it is entitled to immediate and temporary relief from the January 20 Memorandum’s 100-day pause on removals,” wrote Tipton, who was appointed by former President Trump to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Biden’s freeze, Tipton wrote “is clearly not in accordance with, or is in excess of, the authority accorded to the Attorney General.” Tipton disputed the federal government’s claim that U.S. Code allows the attorney general to pause deportations when a final order of removal has already been issued. This argument, he writes, is based on an interpretation of the statue that “contravenes the unambiguous text.”
“Where Congress uses specific language within its immigration statutes to direct the Attorney General toward a specific result, courts are not free to assume based on a matrix of principles, statutes, and regulations that the Attorney General’s authority is simply ‘a matter of discretion,'” Tipton added.
Paxton announced the lawsuit last Friday, two days after Biden took office.
“If left unchallenged, DHS could re-assert this suspension power for a longer period or even indefinitely, effectively granting a blanket amnesty to illegal aliens that Congress has refused to pass time and time again,” Paxton’s complaint reads.
The day before Paxton’s lawsuit, the Department of Homeland Security issued a memo that called for the 100-day freeze on most deportations as part of a broader “reset and review” of immigration enforcement throughout the department.
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