The US is to end its support for offensive operations by its allies in Yemen, which has been devastated by a six-year war in which more than 110,000 people are believed to have died.

“The war in Yemen must end,” President Joe Biden said in his first major foreign policy speech.

Under Mr Biden’s two predecessors, the US backed a coalition led by Saudi Arabia against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The conflict has left millions of Yemenis on the brink of starvation.

Fighting began in 2014 between a weak Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement. It escalated a year later, when Saudi Arabia and eight other Arab states – backed by the US, the UK and France – began air strikes against the Houthis.

Mr Biden announced other changes to US foreign policy, such as a significant increase in the number of refugees accepted by the US, and a reversal of the decision to withdraw American troops from Germany, where they have been stationed since the end of World War Two.

His speech marks a sharp break with the policies of former president Donald Trump, who left office last month.

The US has been backing the Yemeni government and its Saudi-led allies in their war against the Houthis. As a result of Thursday’s announcement, the US will stop supporting offensive operations, including the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This will not affect operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Biden administration had already put a temporary halt on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Mr Biden is expected to name his new Yemen envoy as Tim Lenderking, an experienced diplomat and Middle East specialist.

This marks a change of tack from Mr Trump’s administration, which increased support for the Saudi-led coalition. Last month Mr Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced that the Houthis were being designated a “terrorist organisation”.

He said the aim was to hold the Houthis accountable for cross-border attacks and deter “malign activity” by their backer Iran.

Aid organisations criticised the move, warning that it could prevent them from operating in areas where millions are in urgent need of food aid.

Last week, the Biden administration said it would exempt certain transactions involving the Houthis from sanctions. That exemption will expire on 26 February.

The United Nations says Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the population in need of aid or protection.

Canada has defended its decision to draw on a supply of coronavirus vaccines from a global inoculation-sharing initiative known as Covax.

Covax pools funds from wealthier countries to help buy vaccines for themselves and low-income nations.

The scheme has announced a plan to deliver more than 330 million vaccine doses in the first half of 2021.

Canada is the only member of the G7 group of rich countries listed as a Covax beneficiary at this stage.

Other wealthier countries, including New Zealand and Singapore, have requested an early allocation as well.

Most of the first doses available, though, will be delivered to low- and middle-income countries.

Many of those countries haven’t even started vaccinations. Meanwhile, Canada has vaccinated 2.29% of its population with one dose, including 48% of health workers, government data shows.

Aside from Covax, agreements for 398 million doses of vaccines have been struck by the Canadian government – more than enough to cover the country’s population of 37 million.

How has Canada defended the move?

In an interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC News, International Development Minister, Karina Gould, was asked why the country decided to access Covax vaccines now.

“Our top priority is to ensure Canadians have access to vaccines,” the minister said. “Covax’s objective is to provide vaccines for 20% of the populations of all member states, both self-financing and those who will receive donations.

“Canada made the decision, as other countries have, to take on this first allocation, because we recognise how important it is that all Canadians have access to vaccines.”

Canada is facing temporary delays for the two vaccines currently authorised in the country. That has put Mr Trudeau under pressure to ensure a timely vaccine rollout .

Canada lacks domestic production capacity for vaccines. Moderna is only delivering about 78% of the planned number of doses this week. Pfizer vaccines have also been delayed amid efforts to scale-up European production.

What is Covax and how is it distributing vaccines?

Covax works towards the development, purchase and delivery of vaccines to more than 180 countries.

It was launched in April 2020 and is led by the World Health Organization (WHO), together with the Global Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Covax released its first vaccine distribution forecast on Wednesday, outlining how many doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines it expected to deliver.

The forecast said the initial batch of about 330 million doses would cover, on average, 3.3% of total populations of 145 participating countries.

The forecast illustrates the challenge of vaccinating the global population against the coronavirus, at a time when access to jabs is limited and highly unequal.

Health experts say that, unless vaccines are shared more equitably, it could be years before the coronavirus is brought under control at a global level.

How many initial Covax doses will Canada get?

Covax’s forecast said an initial 1.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be sent to Canada.

Canada contributed $440m (£324m) to Covax in September, half of which secured doses for itself from about nine vaccines candidates.

The other half goes into a pooled fund to buy doses for 20% of the people in 92 low- and middle-income countries.

But other high-income countries with large stocks of vaccines, including the UK and Israel, were not included on Covax’s distribution list.

On Wednesday, Gavi chief executive officer Seth Berkley said the group’s most important role is to “supply vaccines for countries that otherwise wouldn’t get access”.

“Does it help when countries that have a lot of bilateral deals don’t take doses?” he asked. “Of course it helps because that means there are more doses available for others.”

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu.

Adamu was due for retirement on February 1, 2021, but a day after, he welcomed Buhari back to Abuja from Katsina, dressed in his full uniform.

This had triggered different reactions while some lawyers asked the court to stop Adamu from parading himself as the IGP.

But speaking with State House correspondents on Thursday, Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, said the President decided to extend Adamu’s tenure in order to have enough time to search for his replacement.

“Mr President has decided that the present IGP, Mohammed Adamu, will continue to serve as the IG for the next three months, to allow for a robust and efficient process of appointing a new IG.”

“This is not unconnected to the desire of Mr President to, not only have a smooth handover, but to also ensure that the right officer is appointed into that position,” he said.

Born on September 17, 1961, Adamu and enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on February 1, 1986, as a Cadet Assistant. He rose through the ranks, serving as Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 5 Police Command Headquarters, Benin, Edo State.

He had previously served as the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti and Enugu states. He was a Directing Staff at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.

The Federal Government has commenced discussions with representatives of the organised labour on how to raise the freight rate of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol from N7.51 per litre to N9.11 per litre, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation (Management) Board (PEF), Alhaji Ahmed Bobboi, has disclosed.

The plan will amount to 21.30 per cent hike in freight that is a Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) component of the total cost of the petrol.

Bobboi disclosed this at the 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) that held at the Zuma Rock Resort, Abuja-Kaduna expressway in Niger State on Thursday.

In his virtual goodwill message, the Executive Secretary of PEF said the agency was waiting for the Federal Government’s approval before it would begin the implementation of the new freight rate of N9.11 per litre.

Besides, he revealed that the Federal Government was expecting the labour unions to revert to it on the agreement it has taken from the joint committee set by the government on the hike in the price of petrol and electricity.

Asked to comment on the implementation of freight increase, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Malam Mele Kyari, said upon the conclusion of the deliberations with labour, the Federal Government will announce the effective date in line with the pricing template.

Represented by the corporation’s Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, he told reporters at the ceremony that: “The Executive Secretary of PEF made a statement that there is an on-going engagement between the Federal Government and the labour, and at the end of that process, the government will make adequate pronouncement as to the effective date of that figure as contained in the pricing template”.

Earlier in his goodwill message, Kyari commended the association for its operations despite the daunting challenges in the country.

He said; “we are not unaware of the conditions of our roads, the insecurity, the highways, and also a number extortions do take place along these highways.”

He urged the association to ensure that its trucks and drivers comply with safety standards at all time which has been put in place by the regulator towards ensuring hitch free operation at the depot and on the highway.

He promised that the NNPC will continue to cooperate with the association to resolve all the challenges impacting in the distribution of products in the country.

Kyari noted that: “We will continue to make payment to PEF for deductions of dues due to you so that PEF will continue to pay your members as at when due.”

The GMD urged the transport owners to ensure that their tankers and drivers meet the safety standards set by government regulators for the industry to curb accidents involving petrol tankers.

An Iranian diplomat has been convicted of a plot to bomb a big French rally held by an exiled opposition group.

Assadollah Assadi, 49, who worked at the Iranian embassy in Vienna, was given a 20-year jail term by the court in Antwerp in Belgium.

It was the first time an Iranian official had faced such charges in the EU since the 1979 revolution.

Three others were also convicted. They were arrested during a joint operation by German, French and Belgian police.

Tehran insists the plot was a fabrication.

Tens of thousands of people attended the June 2018 rally outside Paris, including Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

The verdict comes weeks after US President Joe Biden took office, with Iran hoping he will reverse some of the sanctions introduced by his predecessor.

France blamed Iran’s intelligence ministry for the planned attack and responded by freezing the assets of two senior Iranian officials.

Prosecution lawyer Georges-Henri Beauthier told reporters the ruling showed two things: “A diplomat cannot just do anything. He has immunity related to his position, he does not have immunity for criminal and terrorist acts he committed.”

In a statement, an Iranian foreign ministry official strongly objected to Assadi’s arrest, trial and sentencing, condemning the process as “illegal and a clear violation of international law, especially the 1961 Vienna Convention (on diplomatic relations)”.

Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the group targeted by the plot, described the conviction as “a brilliant victory for the people and resistance of Iran and a heavy political and diplomatic defeat for the regime”.

In a statement she claimed the plot had been authorised at the highest levels in Iran, by the president and supreme leader and that the intelligence ministry had been given the task of carrying it out.

Assadi was arrested in Germany in June 2018, days after he met a Belgian couple of Iranian origin at a Pizza Hut in Luxembourg. They were being watched during their stay in Luxembourg by local intelligence.

Nasimeh Naami and Amir Saadouni were arrested in Brussels with half a kilogram (1.1lb) of explosives and a detonator, which prosecutors said was to be used against an Iranian opposition meeting in France. Belgium’s Dovo bomb disposal unit released a report detailing how the TATP explosive was carried along with batteries, an antenna and a remote-control finger-operated button transmitter, or RFT (below).

The couple admitted receiving the package from Assadi, but denied knowing what was inside.

A fourth man, Belgian-Iranian poet Merhad Arefani, was arrested in Paris and accused of being an accomplice. All three were convicted of taking part in the plot and given jail terms of 15 to 18 years.

The plot centred around a rally held by the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) outside Paris in June 2018.

Bakare says he’ll wonder what Osinbajo is still doing in the presidency if he’s truly not allowed to perform his role.

Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church says he does not believe the claim that Professor Yemi Osinbajo is not allowed to perform his constitutional role as the Vice President of Nigeria.

Bakare said he would like to hear from the Vice President directly that he is being prevented from playing his role, saying he does not like rumour and gossip.

The cleric said this on in an Instagram Live Chat with popular journalist, Dele Momodu on the night of Tuesday, February 2, 2021, in reaction to the claim that the office of the Vice President is being rendered handicapped.

He said, “I do not know if that statement is true that he is not allowed to perform because the constitution is very clear on what the role of the vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is, especially as it relates to steering the economy of the nation.

Bakare, who was Buhari’s running mate in the 2011 presidential election said, before he accepted to be his Vice President, he asked what his role would be.

“Before I accepted General Muhammadu Buhari’s offer, I said what would be my role because I am not prepared to be a spare tyre and he said to me that my role will be as prescribed by the constitution and as many other things as you can be given to do”. he said.

“I want to hear it one day from the vice-president that he is not allowed to perform. I don’t like rumour and I don’t like gossip. If he is not allowed to perform, I would wonder what he is still doing there because he is not allowed to perform.

“If he is content in his office and he is given responsibilities and he is discharging those responsibilities to the best of his ability, I do not believe the story that he is not allowed to perform. If that is true, let him say so and not other people saying he is not allowed to perform.

The claim that Osinbajo is being prevented from performing his constitutional role gained prominence when President Muhammadu Buhari said he decided not to hand over power to the VP when he travelled to the United Kingdom on a private visit from April 25 to May 5, 2019, because there was no constitutional requirement for him to do so.

But in August 2018, when he travelled to London on a working leave the president handed over to his deputy.

While Buhari was away, Osinbajo sacked the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, a move that was said to have been opposed by those close to the president.

Italy’s president has asked the former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, to form a new government after the previous coalition collapsed.

President Sergio Mattarella said Italy needed a “high-profile government” to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and the worst economic crisis in decades.

Politicians failed to agree a coalition following the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte last week.

Mr Draghi will now have to put forward an administration that leaders support.

He was summoned to Rome’s historic Quirinale Palace on Wednesday by President Mattarella, who gave Mr Draghi a mandate and said he hoped he would break the parliamentary stalemate.

In a brief statement after accepting the challenge, Mr Draghi said Italy was facing a “difficult moment” and that it was time for unity. “I am confident that in talks with parliamentary and other groups, we will find unity and the ability to find a responsible solution.”EPAWe have the extraordinary resources of the EU at our disposal, we have the opportunity to operate with a careful eye on future generationsMario Draghi

Italy’s financial markets welcomed the news that the country’s star technocrat had been brought in, with the Milan stock market up almost 3%. On paper, Mr Draghi has impeccable credentials, BBC Rome correspondent Mark Lowen reports.

Political parties have been divided over how to spend €222bn (£195bn; $267bn) of EU Covid recovery funds, amid a pandemic in which nearly 90,000 Italians have died – the sixth highest death toll in the world.

However, Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which has been in government since 2018, has already said that it will not back a government led by Mr Draghi.

Sometimes referred to as “Super Mario” – after the hero Italian character in a Nintendo video game – Mr Draghi steered the eurozone through the financial crisis during his eight years as president of the European Central Bank (ECB).

Some analysts and commentators credit him with saving both the eurozone and the euro currency.

The eurozone financial crisis was already a serious problem when Mr Draghi took office at the ECB in November 2011. At its height, the crisis raised concerns that the eurozone could break up altogether.

Mr Draghi responded by promising to do “whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, calling for “urgent action” to implement a substantial bailout fund.

His call for governments to come together and play their role in tackling the debt crisis collectively was initially met with resistance from Germany, but it eventually paid off.

Economies began to grow and subsequently no country left the eurozone.

In his statement on Wednesday he said the challenges Italy now faced were “beating the pandemic, completing the vaccination campaign, offering answers to everyday challenges and getting the country back on track”.

“Mario Draghi was the Italian who saved Europe, and I think now he is the European who can save Italy,” former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told the BBC’s Newshour programme.

FEC Approves Establishment Of 20 New Private Universities

The Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday has approved a memo from the Ministry of Education for the establishment of 20 new private universities across the country.

The 20 new private universities are to be given provisional licenses to run for three years while the ministry monitors and evaluates their growth.

This brings the total number of private universities in the country to 99.

The universities approved by the FEC are:

• Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Akwa Ibom State.
• Thomas Adewumi University, Oko-Irese, Kwara State,
• Maranathan University, Mgbidi, Imo State,
• Ave Maria University, Piyanko, Nasarawa State, and
• Al-Istiqama University, Sumaila, Kano State.

Others are

• Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State,
• HavillaUniversity, Nde-Ikom, Cross River State,
• Claretian University of Nigeria, Nekede, Imo State,
• NOK University, Kachia, Kaduna State and
• Karl-Kumm University, Vom, Plateau State.

Others are

• James Hope University, Lagos, Lagos State,
• Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano, Kano State,
• Capital City University, Kano, Kano State,
• Ahman Pategi University, Pategi, Kwara State, and
• University of Offa, Offa, Kwara State.

Others are

• Mewar University, Masaka, Nasarawa State,
• Edusoko University, Bida, Niger State,
• PhilomathUniversity, Kuje, Abuja,
• KhadijaUniversity, Majia, Jigawa State and
• Anan University, Kwall, Plateau State.

Channel reveal that nine of the private universities are located in North Central, three in South South, two in South East, five of them in North West and one in South West.

Similarly, during the meeting, members observed a minute of silence for two late cabinet members who died recently.

The minute of silence was observed just before the commencement of the weekly meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari  Council Chambers of the State House.

The former members are Alfa Wali and Tony Momoh.

Wali, a prominent Kano State indigene and former Minister of Agriculture, died on Monday, January 25th, 2021.

He also served as Permanent Secretary in many ministries, including the Ministry of Defence.

The late Momoh was a veteran journalist and politician who was Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, who died on February 1, 2020, at the age of 82.

Others members that attended the meeting were;

• The Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo,
• Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha,
• Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, and the
• National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj. Gen. Babagana Mongunu, as well as
• seven ministers physically, attended the meeting.

The ministers included;

• Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed;
• Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami;
• Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, and
• Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with the approval of additional 20 universities, Nigeria now has 99 private universities

Children in China are to be banned from using their phones in school, the Ministry of Education has ruled.

Pupils will not be allowed to bring mobiles to school without written parental consent.

The authorities say they want to protect young people’s eyesight, improve their concentration and prevent internet addiction.

Schools are being encouraged to find other ways for parents to communicate with children during the school day.

According to one of the country’s newspapers, China Daily, there has been heated debate among parents over the whether the ruling is practical.

The vast majority of children and teenagers in China access the internet via their own smartphones – 74% of under-18s, according to the government-affiliated China Internet Network Information Centre.

But the authorities are concerned about how internet use is affecting the health of the nation’s youth.

There have been rising levels of nearsightedness among children in China and in 2018, the authorities announced plans to regulate the gaming industry which was partially blamed for the problem. They also cited concerns that gaming addiction was damaging mental health.

The following year a curfew was imposed on under-18s, who were restricted to 90 minutes of gaming on weekdays and three hours on weekends and holidays

Many schools in China already restrict the use of mobile phones on their premises. In some extreme cases, phones have been smashed in front of students who have broken the rules.

The topic of a ban has become a major news item in China and on social media, with thousands discussing it on social media site Weibo.

Bashir Tofa, an Elder Statesman, has warned those stoking ethnic tension across the country to desist from doing so in order to avoid a serious crisis.

There has been tension in the country since an ultimatum was issued to herders to vacate the SouthWest over rising insecurity.

Sunday Igboho, Yoruba self-acclaimed activist, had first instigated crisis against the Fulani Community in Oyo State in January, leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties.

But peace was restored after Southern and Northern Stakeholders met in Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo where the initial violence took place.

Surprisingly on Tuesday, Igboho stormed Abeokuta in Ogun State, and one person was reportedly killed in the violence that ensued.

In a statement, Tofa called on the federal government to address the situation before it spirals out of control.

“The mayhem we see, almost everyday now, of killings and maiming of people of Northern extraction, including especially, the Fulani, in some other parts of the country, is totally unacceptable. There is clearly a nefarious plan by the enemies of this potentially great country to initiate a violent crisis that may lead to its
destruction.

“Tension is beginning to brew, and if revenge attacks on Southerners begin here in the North, it will be difficult to control. Our enemies from within and outside, some well known by our Security Agencies, are more determined than ever to set us against each other, so that we may get to a point of no return when the conflagration begun.
There is no part of this country that is at peace.

“Local and neighbouring, including foreign terrorist, are busy, fully armed, to cause whatever damage
they can inflict on our dear country. I, therefore, call on the President to take this insecurity and the tribal lynching
happening very seriously, and put up urgent measures to deal with them without any more delays. I am sure, there is concern at the Presidency and discussions are being held,” he said.

Tofa advised the federal government to take urgent and decisive action, adding: “If any Nigerian will not be allowed to live freely and conduct their lives and businesses in any part of the country without being disturbed or molested or
even killed, then no one should be allowed to settle and prosper anywhere else.

“Those foolish leaders and their stupid hirelings who encourage the expulsion of other Nigerians from their States, should remember that their own indigenes also live in other parts. They must stop, or the law should stop them by all means necessary.”

Donald Trump must be convicted because he is “personally responsible” for the riot at the US Capitol, House Democrats have said.

They detail the former president’s “incitement of insurrection against the republic he swore to protect” in a pre-trial brief released Tuesday.

It calls for him to be disqualified from ever running for office again.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied his words led to the riot on 6 January.

Prior to the armed insurrection, thousands gathered at a “Save America” rally near the White House and listened to Mr Trump, who urged his supporters to “fight like hell” because “we won [the election] by a landslide”.

House impeachment managers said the former president’s repeated refusal to concede the election to Joe Biden encouraged the riot.

Mr Trump’s “statements turned his ‘wild’ rally on January 6 into a powder keg waiting to blow”, the brief says.

Impeachment managers plan to use Mr Trump’s own words and video footage of the riot to say that “the furious crowd” was “primed (and prepared) for violence if he lit a spark”.

“The evidence is clear. When other attempts to overturn the presidential election failed, former President Trump incited an attack on the Capitol,” it reads.

Lawyers for Mr Trump will argue in next week’s impeachment trial that convicting a now-private citizen would be unconstitutional.

In response, the impeachment managers from the House say the Senate has jurisdiction to act because “a president must answer comprehensively for his conduct in office from his first day in office through his last”.

“This is not a routine corruption charge,” they wrote. “Trump has committed an impeachable offense of historic proportions.”

Unlike in the case of Mr Trump’s first impeachment last year, Democrats have not indicated that they will call any witnesses.