RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he understood that Xi Jinping had questions and concern about the situation in Ukraine but praised China’s leader for what he said was a “balanced” position on the conflict. Russia’s war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the global economy into uncharted waters with soaring prices for food and energy amid the biggest confrontation between Moscow with the West since the Cold War. At their first face-to-face meeting since the war, Xi called Putin his “old friend” after Putin said attempts by the United States to create a…
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MAJOR U.S. railroads and unions secured a tentative deal after 20 hours of intense talks brokered by the Biden administration to avert a rail shutdown that could have hit food and fuel supplies across the country and beyond. U.S. President Joe Biden announced the deal in a statement early on Thursday morning, calling it “a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years.” The tentative deal now goes to the unions to be voted on,…
AFRICA Youth Growth Foundation (AYGF), an NGO, has encouraged students to register for online courses and acquire skills to become productive as the strike of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) continues. The Executive Director, AYGF, Dr Arome Salifu gave the advice at a news conference on the lingering ASUU strike, on Wednesday in Abuja. Salifu said that the students should update themselves with new skills, as any period of crisis is a period to rediscover one’s self. He said the ASUU strike which had lasted for seven months, has crippled the education sector, especially in the areas of engineering,…
STAKEHOLDERS on Wednesday called for eye screening of children before school enrolment to reduce the risk of visual impairment and blindness. They made the call during the closing of the Kogi State Inclusive Eye Health (IEH) Programme, organised by Sightsavers Nigeria, in Abuja. Mr Jake Ekpele, President of the Albino Foundation, said introducing a policy by the government to ensure children were screened before school enrollment would reduce the number of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). “We need a policy that will make it mandatory for all children in the country to be tested and screened before they are enrolled in…
THE Sustainable Peace Team, set up by the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) has called for proposal to the National Assembly on how improve funding to address ASUU/FG impasse. The former Secretary-General, CVCNU, Prof. Michael Faborode, made the call in an advisory paper tagged: “Exploring Alternative Pathways to Amicably Resolving FG/ASUU Impasse”. Faborode made the paper available to the news Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja. Faborode said that once the National Assembly receives the necessary communication from government, it should enact legislation to ensure succeeding governments’ compliance with the undertaking. He also suggested that…
GOOGLE suffered one of its biggest setbacks on Wednesday when a top European court upheld a ruling that it broke competition rules and fined it a record 4.1 billion euros, in a move that may encourage other regulators to ratchet up pressure on the U.S. giant. The unit of U.S. tech giant Alphabet (GOOGL.O) had challenged an EU antitrust ruling, but the decision was broadly upheld by Europe’s General Court, with the fine trimmed modestly to 4.125 billion euros ($4.13 billion) from 4.34 billion euros. Even with the reduction, it was still a record fine for an antitrust violation. The…
Taiwan hosts dozens of foreign lawmakers in Washington to push sanctions THE United States is considering options for a sanctions package against China to deter it from invading Taiwan, with the European Union coming under diplomatic pressure from Taipei to do the same, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The sources said the deliberations in Washington and Taipei’s separate lobbying of EU envoys were both at an early stage – a response to fears of a Chinese invasion that have grown as military tensions escalate in the Taiwan Strait. In both cases, the idea is to take sanctions beyond…
SWITZERLAND on Wednesday launched a bid to host the next Women’s European Championship in 2025, saying it has the right credentials to stage the 16-team event. “We have a good infrastructure that is already in place, such as stadiums, hotels, training grounds, airports and transport systems,” said Marion Daube, who is heading the bidding project for the Swiss Football Association. “There are short distances and good connections between national borders and cities. And our country offers political and financial stability and security.” Basel, Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Sion, St. Gallen, Thun and Zurich were the planned venues. This year’s tournament…
NSCDC Head of Forensics and Psychological Services Unit, Mr Tersoo Shaapera (Middle-left), EFCC Head of Forensics Unit, Mr Gideon Dashong (middle-right) alongside other operatives of NSCDC and EFCC at EFCC Headquarters Forensic Laboratory, Abuja on Tuesday By Kelechi Ogunleye The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has partnered with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the deployment of forensic investigation to track criminals. The partnership was established when NSCDC Forensic Unit officers paid a visit to EFCC Headquarters Forensic Laboratory on Tuesday, in Abuja. Mr Tersoo Shaapera, Head of NSCDC Forensic and Psychological Services, said that the…
THE federal government has recovered a total of N2.6 trillion revenue from oil firms following the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and National Assembly intervention. NEITI said a total of 2.6 billion dollars remained outstanding in the hands of companies as at March 2022. Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of NEITI, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at its Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and media engagement on Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) validation. The EITI validation, which is conducted every three years is a quality assurance mechanism to ascertain level of compliance and progress in implementing its standards…