Myanmar has introduced cross-border motor vehicle insurance for vehicles in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, the official television channel MRTV reported on Thursday.

The ceremony of the cross-border motor vehicle insurance launch through the ASEAN Compulsory Motor Insurance System (ACMI) took place at the Myanma Insurance in Yangon on January 13.

U Lwin Oo, general manager of Myanma Insurance, said branches such as Myawaddy, Tachileik, Muse, and Tamu had been established at border gates to accept vehicles entering Myanmar under the ACMI system.

The ACMI system facilitates the acceptance of insurance for transport vehicles from ASEAN countries through a digital platform.

ASEAN vehicles entering Myanmar would pay premiums online, he said. Premium payments for the vehicles would be made in Myanmar kyats in accordance with Myanma Insurance rules.

In the event of accidents in Myanmar, Myanma Insurance will provide coverage, he said.

According to the manager, vehicles from Myanmar would also pay premiums at the border gates of respective countries according to the premium fees set by those countries.

According to the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit Agreement, freight vehicles, including all types of vehicles that drive through any member country’s territory.

They are required to be insured under the compulsory motor insurance of that country.

A Nigerian pastor, Prosperity Moore, is facing four counts of criminal charges by the United States.

Securities and Exchange Commission for scamming several Nigerians residing in the U.S. of $1.4 million under the pretext of offering them profitable investment opportunities, court documents seen by Peoples Gazette showed.

Mr Moore, 27, a Nigerian citizen and founder of Jesus Online Church, was charged in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia on January 18 for swindling about 60 persons living in America of more than $1.4 million between September 2021 and October 2022.

Through his limited liability company, Prosperity and Investment Solutions, which he named after himself, Mr Moore convinced church members in Atlanta to invest a minimum of $5,000 in exchange for a 50 per cent profit to be cashed at the end of each month.

Mr Moore, who had never acquired any form of financial education from any institution, said the funds were “for a diverse range of investments” to generate profit, court filings showed.

But the SEC found his statement to be false after discovering that he “used money received from investors to make payments to other investors and to pay personal expenses,” in a manner akin to a ponzi scheme.

The pastor deceived his congregation into funding the investment scam by leveraging his Christian faith and quoting scriptures and phrases like “trusting God that everything will be better than it was before.”

Given his Nigerian nationality, he directed his marketing efforts at Nigerian-American Christians, concentrating on those “who identified as Christian and were of Nigerian descent,” according to the court documents.

On the Prosperity website, Mr Moore offered three investment options he referred to as the Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans. With the Silver plan, investors pay a minimum of $5,000 upfront and lock in a profit of 50 per cent after a 30-day period. A 10 per cent investment fee would be deducted from the total profits.

For “Gold Investment,” their funds were locked in for three months and 50 per cent profit was guaranteed while seven per cent investment fee would be deducted from the overall profit.

Platinum investors would invest their monies for a period of 12 months and pay a five percent investment fee to be deducted from total profits.

According to the scam website, Prosperity LLC “provides you with a new source of passive income, giving you more time to do what you love.”

All investors signed an agreement that they could not access the funds during the lock-in period and would only be able to do so upon maturity.

“Between October 2021 and September 2022, Prosperity collected cash investments exceeding $1.4 million from over 60 individual investors, with most investors selecting the Gold Investment program,” court charges by the SEC indicated.

Judge Steve C. Jones swiftly issued an order restraining Mr Moore from taking part in any investment business transaction in the United States after observing that the accused pastor had not refuted or contested the SEC’s claims.

“It is hereby further ordered, adjudged and decreed that Defendant is permanently restrained and enjoined from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”),” Mr Jones ruled on January 19, a day after the SEC’s filed the charges.

The pastor, who did not contest the judgement, also waived his right to appeal the ruling.

Mr Jones said that a separate decision would be made later on a payment plan for restitution of funds to the victims.

Last month, the SEC similarly filed civil fraud charges against Dozy Mmobuosi, CEO of Nigerian agri-fintech Tingo Group, over doctored financial statements and assets.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev stunned second seed Carlos Alcaraz to reach the Australian open semi-finals as a sublime display of serving took him to a 6-1 6-3 6-7(2) 6-4 victory on Wednesday.

Mr Zverev landed 94 of 111 first serves throughout the three hour, five minute contest and even when Alcaraz threatened a remarkable comeback he showed great composure to seal victory.

In his seventh Grand Slam semi-final, Zverev will need similar accuracy as he takes on Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.

Alcaraz was outplayed for almost three sets but belatedly found his A-game to win a third-set tiebreaker with a mind-boggling flurry of outrageous winners.

Sixth seed Zverev was suffering from blood blisters on his feet during a riveting fourth set but held firm though to withstand the Alcaraz attack.

His metronomic serving and bullet-proof backhand got him over the winning line against a top-five opponent for the first time at a Grand Slam.

“When you’re up 6-1 6-3 5-2 against a player like Carlos you start thinking because we are all humans,” Zverev said on court.

“Your brain starts going and it’s not always helpful but I’m happy I got there in the end. I fought back pretty well in the fourth set and didn’t let go.”

Zverev had spent nearly 14 hours on court to reach the quarter-finals while 20-year-old Alcaraz had roared through the draw and was firm favourite for Wednesday’s clash.

But the Spaniard was caught cold as Zverev came out swinging, dropping only two points on serve as he raced through the opening set with ease.

Zverev failed to land only four first serves in the opening two sets and two breaks of the Alcaraz delivery in the second set enabled him to seize complete control.

A subdued Alcaraz looked at a loss to know what to do but when Zverev served for the match at 5-3 something clicked and he broke serve for the first time to stay alive — a huge smile spreading across his face as he sat down at the change of ends.

Suddenly playing freely, Alcaraz produced four successive winners from 0-2 down in the tiebreak as he reeled off seven points to take the match past midnight.

Whipping the late-night Rod Laver Arena crowd into frenzy, Alcaraz looked favourite to take the match into a decider as Zverev began to hobble at times.

But Zverev showed great resilience to hold serve in a pulsating eighth game which Nick Kyrgios, co-commentating for Eurosport, described as “insanity.”

Some stunning backhands then gave Zverev the break of serve at 4-4, and 50 minutes after first serving for the match he managed to complete a remarkable victory.

France’s Constitutional Council will on Thursday rule on the legality of a controversial immigration law passed by parliament in mid-December.

The law included measures making it more difficult to receive social benefits, such as housing subsidies or family allowances.

Birthright citizenship would no longer be automatic, and dual nationals who commit offences against law enforcement officers could also lose their French nationality.

The law was pushed for by President Emmanuel Macron and intended to better regulate migration and improve integration into French society.

However, under pressure from the conservative opposition party Les Républicains, on whose votes Mr Macron’s centrist camp depended to pass the legislation, the measures were toughened.

The law has not yet been in force due to the judicial review.

Mr Macron’s administration submitted the law to the constitutional council for review; it could be in his interest if the body uses its authority to remove some of the stricter provisions.

Health minister Aurélien Rousseau was so upset that he resigned in protest against the law in December.Other ministers also considered resigning, according to media reports.

France’s left-wing camp, meanwhile, describes the legislation as xenophobic and has mobilised nationwide demonstrations against it.

The constitutional council scrutinises the legality of statutes to see if they conform to the constitution.

It would determine whether portions of the law need amendment or simply delete before it comes into force.

The Federal Government has urged desk officers of Group Life Assurance in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure prompt reports and settlement of dead officers’ entitlements.

The Director Occupational Health, Safety and Environment, office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Comfort Adeosun, said this at a meeting with GLA officers and representatives of Insurance Brokers and companies in Abuja.

Ms Adeosun, also the director overseeing the office of the Permanent Secretary, Social Welfare Office in HOCSF, said the action was imperative to enable the deceased families get their claims on time.

“Report received by the HOCSF’s office is that deceased officers’ claims do take a long period of time before the family receives the claims,” he said.

She said that the HOCSF was interested in the general welfare of the public servants including early claims of dead officers in active service, adding that she was also interested in prompt response to dead claims.

“I want to appreciate the staff of the insurance department, I love your speed, the energy in making sure that things work the way we want. The insurance administration department has been doing a lot of work and I am impressed how far we have gone, yet we need to improve. These days I have received a lot of reports on late claims of deceased officers by their families. Why do we need to wait for two, three, five years before you write the claims, do you know the impacts of that,” she stated.

Describing their tasks as important, she reminded the desk officers to acknowledge the psychological effects of such delay on the deceased’s family.

“Let’s consider the school fees, the psychological effects on the wife or husband or even the deceased parents who may still be alive. So, what you’re doing is important, you are touching lives and know that every time you are processing someone’s file, remember that it may be you tomorrow, ” Mr Adeosun said.

Also, the Director Insurance Administration, office of the HOCSF, Alhaji Abubakar Maijama, said the government had directed the HOS’s office to coordinate the procurement of group life insurance cover for all the government workers in compliance with 2024 Pension Act.

This, Mr Maijama said made it mandatory for the office of the HOCSF to coordinate the procurement of group life insurance cover for all the government workers.

“We are all aware that the Pension Reform Act 2014 section 4 sub-section 5 makes it mandatory for all employers of labour to provide Life Insurance Cover for their employees. Incompliance with the provision of the Act, the federal government approved that the office of the HOCSF should coordinate the procurement of group life insurance cover for all the government workers.

“The office carries out the process annually, appoints the insurance companies and assigns them to MDAs in compliance with the provision of the Act.

“According to him, the essence of doing that is to facilitate notifications, processing and carry out settlement of claims between the MDAs and the companies appointed to provide insurance cover.

“I am sure we are all aware of the current policy which is running from February 9 2023 to Feb. 8, 2024. The implications is that in the next two weeks, the policy is about to lapse or expires,” he said.

In his contribution, Assistant General Manager, HOGG, Mr Robinson Nigeria (Insurance Broker), Adekunle Yemitan, said that the essence of the meeting was to rub minds to resolve some difficulties in the process of claims.

“Being desk officer is a very important seat we are all occupying and it is a task that we must see that we do it with all efforts and passion that we could put into it to get desired results especially as it has to do with death claims, ” he said.

The US says its forces have carried out strikes in Iraq on three facilities used by Iran-backed militia.

The “proportionate” strikes targeted “Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups”, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

He said the precision strikes were “in direct response” to attacks against US and coalition allies in Iraq and Syria.

A number of US military personnel were injured in a missile attack on an airbase in western Iraq last week.

Officials said they were “undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries”.

The US military’s Central Command (CentCom) said at the time that an Iran-backed militia targeted the Al Asad airbase, which hosts American troops, with ballistic missiles and rockets.

A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for that attack.

According to the US-based Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the group emerged in late 2023 and is comprised of several Iran-affiliated armed groups operating in Iraq. It has claimed other attacks against US forces in recent weeks.

In a statement, Mr Austin praised the “professionalism” of US military personnel in planning and conducting the latest strikes in Iraq as part of efforts “to further dismantle and degrade ISIS [the Islamic State group].

“Mr Austin stressed that he and US President Joe Biden “will not hesitate to take necessary action” to defend American interests.

“We do not seek to escalate conflict in the region. We are fully prepared to take further measures to protect our people and our facilities. We call on these groups and their Iranian sponsors to immediately cease these attacks,” he said.

In a separate statement, CentCom said the strikes were carried out at 00:15 local time (21:15 GMT Tuesday) in response to the attack – among others – on Al Asad airbase in western Iraq on 20 January.

“These strikes targeted [Kataib Hezbollah] headquarters, storage, and training locations for rocket, missile, and one-way attack UAV capabilities,” CentCom said.

The US military provided no details on where the targeted militia facilities were located in Iraq.

Saturday’s attack on Al Asad airbase followed a US drone strike in Baghdad earlier this month in which a pro-Iran militia leader was killed.

US troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked dozens of times by Iran-aligned militants since the Israel-Gaza war started in October.

The US military and its allies – including the UK – have also intervened to stop Houthi missile attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

Washington and London have carried out strikes against the Houthis – an Iran-backed rebel group controlling much of western Yemen.

On Wednesday, CentCom said US forces had conducted another round of strikes against two Houthi anti-ship missiles “that were aimed into the southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch”.

“US forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region. US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missiles in self-defence,” CentCom added.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday pledged $45 million in additional financing to help fight conflict and bring stability to coastal West Africa, where insecurity linked to jihadist insurgencies has increased in recent years.

Mr Blinken is on the second stop of a four-nation tour of Africa, taking him to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Angola from January 21 to 26.

The trip aims to discuss U.S.-African partnerships over trade, climate, infrastructure, health, security, and other issues.

It follows a summit in Washington with African leaders in December 2022.

Security challenges in West Africa, the fallout of a coup in Niger last year, and Russia’s growing influence in the region are among key topics during Mr Blinken’s trip.

He arrived in Ivory Coast’s financial capital, Abidjan, on Monday evening. He met President Alassane Ouattara on Tuesday morning, after which he announced the extra financing at a joint press briefing.

Ivory Coast is one of several coastal West African countries impacted in recent years by Islamist insurgencies that took root in Mali in 2012 and spread across the Sahel region despite costly, internationally backed military efforts to contain it.

“We spent a lot of time discussing mutual security challenges,” Mr Blinken said.

“We appreciate Ivory Coast’s leadership in the fight against extremism and violence.”

The funding will supplement $300 million the U.S. has already invested in coastal West Africa over the past two years.

“We have increased military training by 15 times and are investing in civil protection in Ivory Coast,” Mr Blinken added.Mr Ouattara said security in the region remained a challenge.

“That is why we do appreciate the USA for their support in the area of intelligence and the fight against terrorism,” he said.

The U.S. faced a setback in its fight against militants in the Sahel when military officers toppled Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, a key ally, in July last year.

The coup in Niger was one of a series of military takeovers or attempted power grabs that occurred in West and Central Africa over the past three years.

The instability has raised concern, particularly as juntas have cut ties with traditional Western allies such as the European Union and France, which withdrew thousands of troops from the Sahel last year.

In the afternoon, Mr Blinken met Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, at a sub-regional rice research institute.

He is scheduled to fly to Nigeria in the evening.

Uganda is negotiating with an investment company led by a Dubai royal family member to develop a planned $4 billion refinery for some of its crude oil, its energy minister said on Tuesday.

In July last year, Uganda terminated negotiations with a consortium that included a unit of U.S. firm Baker Hughes opening a new tab over its failure to mobilise financing in time.

Uganda is counting on the 60,000 barrel-per-day refinery for its nascent hydrocarbons industry.

“Expressions of interest were received from several potential investors and they were evaluated following which a memorandum of understanding was signed on the 22 of December 2023,” Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa said at a news conference.

Negotiations on the key commercial details between the government and United Arab Emirates-based Alpha MBM Investments started on January 16 and are expected to be completed within three months, she added.

Alpha MBM Investments’ website says it is led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai’s royal family.

Uganda expects to start pumping crude commercially in 2025 from fields in the Albertine rift basin in the country’s west near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ugandan government jointly operates the fields via the state-run Uganda National Oil Company, China’s CNOOC, and France’s TotalEnergies.

President Yoweri Museveni’s government wants to process some of its crude domestically to boost employment and benefit from technology transfer.

On Tuesday, Mr Nankabirwa also said Uganda had issued a licence to CNOOC to produce liquefied petroleum gas at a plant to be constructed in the Kingfisher development area where CNOOC operates.

Kingfisher is one of Uganda’s two commercial oil development fields.

The second, Tilenga, is operated by TotalEnergies.

The minister did not say how much gas CNOOC would produce annually.Uganda’s gas reserves are estimated at 500 billion cubic feet.

Pakistani authorities on Tuesday said they were allowing Afghan truck drivers through the shared border with Afghanistan for the first time in over 10 days.

“Torkham border has been reopened, and dozens of trucks loaded with goods have already crossed the border,” said Muhammad Ishaq, a customs official at the Torkham border.

The crossing in north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunwa adjoins Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.

It had been closed for trucks on both sides after authorities started demanding valid travel documents, something that had not been the case before.

The government has now set a new deadline, and Ishaq said that drivers without travel documents will not be allowed entry into Pakistan starting April 1.

The border has been closed several times in the past, and the latest decision came amid Pakistan’s crackdown and expulsion of illegal Afghan refugees from the country.

Pakistan started the mass deportations of undocumented or illegal Afghan refugees in November, a move criticised by Western governments and global human rights groups.

At least 473,556 Afghan refugees have left the country, according to the officials.

The police command in Ogun on Monday in Abeokuta said it arrested a 30-year-old woman, Olubunmi Ajayi, for attempting to drown her five-month-old baby.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Omolola Odutola, disclosed this in a statement.

She said a “good Samaritan,” Olusola Sonaya, rescued the baby in the Sagamu area.

The statement said the baby was immediately taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu.The baby is in a stable condition.

“Sonaya, a male, averted a premeditated drowning by the mother. An attempted murder case had occured on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. when Ajayi, a 30-year-old female, was sighted by Sonaya who saw her dropping her little child into the river.

“The person who saw her dropping the child into the river raced to the river and rescued the baby from drowning.

“The baby was rushed to OOUTH for immediate medical attention and examination, and she was reported to have survived,” the police statement explained.

The police command explained that the mother had been apprehended and was currently under observation to ascertain her mental health.

“Efforts have been made to contact relatives or the husband to hand over the baby in the hospital, for appropriate welfare,” she said.

Cameroon launched the world’s first routine vaccine programme against malaria on Monday.

It is one of 20 African countries planning to introduce the drug this year, according to global vaccine alliance Gavi.

Here are some key facts:

The RTS,S malaria vaccine, developed by British pharmaceutical GSK, opens new lab and sold under the brand name Mosquirix, was backed by the World Health Organisation in July 2022.

It underwent trials in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

It acts against P. falciparum, the deadliest strain of malaria spread by anopheles mosquitoes, and the most common in Africa.

The vaccine is designed to be administered to young children in four doses from around five months of age.

The vaccine had been in the making for nearly 40 years.

It was first created in 1987, according to GSK.

The drugmaker received funding to develop the RTS,S-based vaccine for young children in 2001, it said.

In July 2023, 18 million doses of RTS,S available for 2023–2025 were allocated to 12 countries, prioritising those doses for where the risk of malaria illness and death among children are highest, until vaccine supply increases to fully meet demand.

The vaccine’s effectiveness is relatively low. GSK in 2015 published results of a large-scale clinical trial showing it reduced the risk of severe malaria by around 30 per cent.

However, some researchers say it could be higher if given just ahead of the malaria season.

The fact that it must be administered across at least four doses has raised concerns about the logistics of fully inoculating children in remote areas.

More than 30 African countries have expressed interest in introducing the vaccine.

The WHO estimates that 40-60 million doses will be required each year by 2026, rising to 80-100 million by 2030.

Demand for the shot is likely to far outstrip supply for several years, but the anticipated roll-out of a second vaccine should ease these supply pressures.

The R21 vaccine, developed by Oxford University, could be launched in May or June, according to Gavi.

It was pre-qualified by the WHO in December, a key regulatory step.

The Duchess of York has been diagnosed with malignant melanoma following the removal of a cancerous mole during treatment for breast cancer.

Sarah Ferguson had several moles removed and analysed while having reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy, her spokesman said.

The duchess “remains in good spirits”, despite it being “distressing” to have another cancer diagnosis.

She is the third royal to announce a medical procedure this week.

Her spokesperson said: “Her dermatologist asked that several moles were removed and analysed at the same time as the duchess was undergoing reconstructive surgery following her mastectomy, and one of these has been identified as cancerous.

“She is undergoing further investigations to ensure that this has been caught in the early stages.

“The duchess wants to thank the entire medical team which has supported her, particularly her dermatologist whose vigilance ensured the illness was detected when it was.

“She believes her experience underlines the importance of checking the size, shape, colour and texture and emergence of new moles that can be a sign of melanoma.

“The statement also thanked the private medical team that supported the royal during her treatment.

According to sources close to the duchess, she is back in the UK after initially recuperating in Austria.

A second cancer diagnosis within six months is clearly a great challenge to deal with, say sources, but she is a resilient person and is getting the care and support of her family.

The duchess has shown a remarkable ability to bounce back from adversity.

Last year, she had a diagnosis of breast cancer, following a routine mammogram screening.

The duchess was very public about her treatment, urging other women to get checked and using her podcast to raise awareness about breast cancer, wanting it to be a positive message to save others.

She went on to have a single mastectomy at King Edward VII hospital in London, a private clinic used by senior royals.

In the autumn, in her latest reinvention, she made guest appearances as a presenter on ITV’s This Morning, in a career that has also seen her become a successful author.

And having not been invited to the Coronation in May, at Christmas the duchess appeared at Sandringham, walking to church with the rest of the Royal Family for the first time more than 30 years.

The 64-year-old was married to the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, for 10 years before they divorced in 1996.

They continue to share a home at Royal Lodge – a property owned by the Crown Estate at Windsor Great Park.

They have two daughters – Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 33 – and three grandchildren.

On Wednesday, Kensington Palace confirmed that the Princess of Wales would stay in hospital for up to two weeks after undergoing planned abdominal surgery.

Kensington Palace said the procedure was successful but that the princess was not expected to resume royal duties for months, and would remain in hospital for up to two weeks.

The palace did not disclose further details about Catherine’s condition but said it was not cancer-related.

Shortly after that announcement, Buckingham Palace said the King would receive treatment for a benign prostate condition and would visit an undisclosed hospital in the coming days.

It is thought the King wanted to share his diagnosis with the public to encourage other men who may be experiencing symptoms to get checked.

At least 47 people have been buried in a landslide on Monday morning in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, according to state media.

Rescue efforts are under way in sub-zero temperatures in Zhaotong city. It is unclear yet if anyone has died.

Videos from local media showed rescuers working among collapsed homes and buildings.

More than 500 people have also been evacuated from the region after the incident, according to People’s Daily.

The incident took place at 05:51 local time (21:51 GMT). State broadcaster CCTV said that some households are among those trapped under the rubble.Authorities are looking into the cause of the landslide.

Landslides are common in the remote region, which is surrounded by mountain ranges.

In January 2013, at least 18 people were killed in Zhenxiong county, which is located in Zhaotong, after a landslide.

The government of Sudan says it will pursue the independent UN Sanctions Monitors report pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1591 on Darfur to end the war against the rebel militia.

The ministry of foreign affairs of Sudan made this known in a statement on Sunday.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs follows with interest the latest report of the independent UN Sanctions Monitors pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1591 on Darfur.

“Especially, in respect to the war that the rebel militia and its sponsors are waging against the Sudanese people.

The report, which featured victims of ethnic cleansing and genocide committed by the rebel militia and its allies in West Darfur State alone, amounted to between 10 and 15 thousand civilians, including women, children and the elderly.

It revealed that the continued supply of advanced weapons provided and facilitated by specific countries flown to the militia several times a week violated the council’s resolution.

According to the ministry, such violation of the relevant security council resolutions is what enables the rebel militia to expand its military operations, pursue its atrocities against civilians, prolong the war and widen its geographical zone.

“The rebel militia owns an external elaborate financing network and more than fifty commercial companies in various countries, which enables it to procure weapons to kill the Sudanese people.

“To buy the loyalty of politicians and media people and hire public relations and propaganda companies to try to improve its bleak image in front of the international community.

“The report vindicated the government of Sudan as it has long alerted the international community of dire consequences of inaction, slow response and hesitation in taking decisive measures against the rebel militia in particular.

“Failure to classify the militia as a terrorist group, and treating it the same way as ISIS, Boko Haram, the Lord’s Resistance Army and similar groups, contributes to the continuation of the war.

“This stalls peace efforts, and worsens the humanitarian suffering that is affecting millions of Sudanese within the country and abroad in light of the above.”

The ministry, therefore, called on the international community to prioritise the immediate classification of the rebel militia as a terrorist group and criminalisation of all forms of support to it.

It urged the United Nations Security Council to shoulder its responsibility towards the countries that fuel the continuation of the war in Sudan by providing the militia with advanced weapons, and political and media support.

“As clearly indicated in the report, moreover, these countries must be held accountable for crimes of aggression that are punishable under international criminal law.

“The council should investigate and dismantle the militia’s financial networks and commercial companies, and penalise the public relations and propaganda companies employed by the militia in the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, and as partners in the crimes by the militia.

“The comprehensive and precise implementation of the Jeddah Declaration on Humanitarian Principles signed on May 11, 2023, and the subsequent commitments must be a prerequisite for the commencement of any peace efforts to reach a ceasefire.

“This will deprive the rebel militia the opportunity to manipulate multiple paths of peace efforts, to escape implementing the terms it had committed itself to,” it said.

The wife and children of a wanted Ecuadorean gang leader have been detained and expelled from Argentina.

Argentina’s security minister said the move against Adolfo Macías Villamar’s family showed the country is a “hostile territory for narco-criminals”.

The gang leader, known as Fito, is at large after escaping from an Ecuadorean prison earlier this month.

Ecuador is under a state of emergency as a nationwide search for the organised crime boss continues.

Argentine authorities released footage on Friday of several people they say have links to Fito under police escort aboard an air force plane.

Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich told a press conference they were detained at a property in the region of Córdoba and had been returned to Ecuador. She said eight people were deported in total, including associates and family members.

Interior Minister Guillermo Francos said Argentina would “not be a den for criminals”.

The move comes as Ecuador’s government continues to hunt Fito while attempting to quell an outbreak of gang-related disorder that has plunged the country into crisis.

Fito, who is head of the Los Choneros gang and has been accused of orchestrating earlier prison violence, vanished from his cell in a facility in the city of Guayaquil.

He has also been linked to the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, an anti-corruption presidential candidate who was shot dead last August.

In the aftermath of the escape, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa declared war on the country’s gangs and imposed tough security conditions, a stance which has been met with unprecedented levels of violence by Ecuador’s gangs.

Earlier this week, authorities said they had regained control of the country’s prisons after days of rioting – but the country’s most wanted fugitive remains elusive.

Mr Noboa has called on authorities in neighbouring Colombia – where several powerful drug cartels are based – to begin searching for Fito, according to AFP news agency.

He has also reiterated plans to deport foreign criminals in a bid to alleviate overcrowding in Ecuador’s volatile prisons.

Thirteen people have died after a fire broke out in a school dormitory in central China, the country’s Xinhua state news agency reported.

The deadly blaze happened on Friday night at a school for young children in Yanshanpu village, Henan province.

The privately-run school caters for nursery and primary age pupils, according to China Daily.

The manager of the school, near Nanyang city, has been detained and an investigation is under way.

One other person is being treated in hospital and is in a stable condition.

No further details about the identities of the dead or the cause of the fire were released via official channels. It was extinguished less than an hour after firefighters were alerted, Xinhua reported.

Fatal fires in China are not uncommon due to lax enforcement of building and safety standards.

In November, 26 people died after a large fire ripped through an office building in Luliang City, Shanxi province.

A hospital fire in Beijing last April claimed the lives of at least 29 people – mostly patients – and triggered an investigation which saw 12 people detained by police for questioning.

Harrowing footage of the fire showed people climbing out of windows onto air conditioning units to escape the flames.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), is partnering Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, in building a weather station in the university.

Signing the Memorandum of understanding (MoU)was performed on Thursday, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike expressed happiness that the relationship with Bells University, which began in 2008 was continuing.

He said: “The choice of Bells University of Technology is strategic as it will help in downscaling NiMet data to farmers in the state and beyond”.

Continuing, Professor Anosike said; “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been a friend of NiMet for many years. He has interests in farming in the state and beyond, and has been a champion of weather and climate change. We are happy that he has indicated interest to attend the 2024 NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) public presentation holding on February 20,, 2024”.

“The MoU will open other areas of partnership opportunities that will be mutually beneficial and contribute to economic development.

As NiMet partners with other universities, we want them to show more commitment by transmitting back data to NiMet timely so that we can archive the data. Because of the commitment demonstrated by Bells University and President Obasanjo, NiMet will build a full weather station at Bells University. I am charging them when the station becomes operational, to measure impact of the data from the weather station on farmers’ activities and the economy as a whole”, Prof. Anosike concluded.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Bells University of Technology, Prof. Jeremiah Oludele Ojediran said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo is keen to see that the partnership between the university and NiMet blossoms.

“We want to go beyond building a weather station and do more with NiMet in the area of research into climate change and training of farmers. I look back in time and I remember Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) but climate change is impacting negatively on activities of farmers these days, hence the need for research using the data from the proposed weather station which will be applied in the area of agriculture and other sectors”.

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who called in during the signing of the MoU said he was committed to partnering NiMet to promote climate change.

“I have planted three and half million trees so far but my target is to plant five million. We all should do our bit to protect our environment and climate”, President Obasanjo said.

The Director of Center for Climate Change at Bells University of Technology, Professor Samuel Babatunde Agbola, said he was delighted with the way NiMet has interfaced with Bells University.

He pleaded with the DG/CEO, Professor Anosike, to accept Bells as an active partner of NiMet going forward.

In a vote of thanks, the Director of Engineering and Technical Services of NiMet, Engineer Hamid Abdulkareem Olayinka, said that signing of the MoU was auspicious as it was happening early in the year, ahead of NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction holding on the 20th of February 2024.

“The proposed weather station will aid smart agriculture and encourage research, data gathering and sharing between the two institutions”, he concluded.