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India warns Twitter of consequences if it fails to follow new rules
India’s government has told Twitter it could face “unintended consequences” if it fails to comply with the country’s new social media rules, Reuters reported. India’s technology minister wrote in a June 5th letter to Twitter that the company’s responses to previous government letters about the new rules did not confirm whether Twitter was in full compliance, according to Reuters. Under India’s Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, which took effect in May, social media companies could be subject to legal action if they fail to follow the code’s provisions, which are aimed at regulating the platforms’ content. The new rules call for platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp to remove content within 36 hours of receiving a legal order. The rules also require the compani...
Aston Villa set to break transfer record with Emi Buendia signing
Aston Villa are set to break their transfer record for the third consecutive summer window after agreeing a £30,000,000 initial fee with Norwich City for Emi Buendia. The transfer will include a number of add-ons and a sell-on fee should the Argentina international move on from Villa Park in the future. It is thought that the deal offered by Aston Villa was too good to refuse, with the deal set to potentially rise to £40,000,000 in the future. It marks a huge profit for Norwich City, who signed Buendia for £1,500,000 from Spanish side Getafe. It is thought that Emi Buendia has agreed personal terms today whilst away with the Argentina national team, while also completing his medical. When the transfer is set to be officially announced remains to be seen, but it is a sign of Aston Villa’s c...
Bandits murder police inspector, seven others in Katsina, Kaduna
The Katsina State police command has confirmed the killing of an Inspector of Police and three residents of Zandam village, in Jibia Local Government Area, by suspected bandits. The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, said the incident happened on Monday evening, during which five other villagers sustained injuries. Isah, in a press statement, yesterday, said, “bandits in large numbers, armed with sophisticated weapons and riding on motorcycles, invaded Zandam village. “The Bandits had a fierce gun battle with the mobile policemen deployed to the village. “At the scene, it was discovered that three male residents were shot and killed by the hoodlums while five others sustained injuries. “The team succeeded and gunned down three of the bandits, but an Inspector of Police g...
Senator Okorocha: Police still holding two of my political allies
Former governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha has appealed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to save two political allies, Casmir Ugbor and Ojukwu Ukonu, who he said were wrongly arrested and linked as suspects of the jailbreak of April 5. The two suspects in police custody, according to a statement the senator released through his media adviser, Sam Onwuemeodo, were arrested alongside their wives for offence he said they never committed. Senator Okorocha claimed that their only offence was that they belong to his political family. The senator has also faulted the police on the date it stated it arrested the duo, insisting that they were arrested three weeks ago and not on May 27 as it now claimed in their recent press statement. Okorocha said: ‘In the press release, we called on the Co...
Ebonyi governor sacks over 1,000 board members, aides
Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has dissolved all boards and commissions in the state with immediate effect. He announced this during his 2021 anniversary day address to the people of the state. Also sacked are management Committee members, liaison officers and local government advisory committee at all the 64 local government areas and 171 wards in the state. Also affected by the sack are all the Executive Assistants, Technical Assistants and Senior Technical Assistants to the governor. Put together, those sacked are over 1000. The sack comes barely 24 hours after the governor sacked 83 members of the state executive council. He however noted that some statutory boards are not affected by the dissolution. They include Judiciary Service Commission, House of Assembly Service Commission, C...
Police arrest ‘internet scammer’ for ‘killing’ twin brother
Delta Police Command has apprehended a suspected internet scammer at Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State for allegedly killing his twin brother. The suspect, it was gathered, was found with a dog and the decomposing body of the deceased in their apartment at Old Olomoro Road on Monday after neighbours perceived a strange smell emanating from the flat. The source said the corpse of the deceased had been deposited in a mortuary in the area while the suspect and his dog were arrested by the police. Though the reason for the killing could not be ascertained at press time, sources said it may have been carried out for ritual purposes. A source who craved anonymity, disclosed that the house was locked for some days and after sometime, the people living in the com...
Mali’s coup leader seizes power again
Mali’s president and prime minister have been ousted by the officer who led last year’s coup and became vice-president of an interim government. Col Assimi Goïta says President Bah Ndaw and PM Moctar Ouane failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country’s transition. They were arrested hours after a government reshuffle which saw two senior army officers replaced. Col Goïta says elections will still go ahead next year as planned. But he ignored pleas from the UN chief, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the EU and the US that the president and prime minister be released without any preconditions. The two men have been held at a military camp outside the capital, Bamako, since they were arrested on Monday evening. A delegation from Eco...
Gunmen burn INEC office, attack police station in Anambra
The Police in Anambra State have confirmed attacks on the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission and Police B’Division in Awka, the State capital on Sunday night. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, who confirmed the incident said he had scanty information on the development. He said, “Please, I will get back to you as soon as I get the full details.” Gunmen had around 9pm on Sunday invaded B Division Police Station and the INEC office in Awka. Some police officers were feared dead in the attack. Eyewitnesses said the attack lasted for about two hours with gunshots. “The gunmen set the police station and INEC office ablaze. It was followed by what looks like mass robbery in the area with gunshots everywhere. It was like we were in Sambis...
Coronavirus: Nigerian government declares 90 travellers ‘persons of interest’ for violating protocol
The presidential steering committee (PSC) on COVID-19 has declared 90 travellers as ‘persons of interest’ for violating the protocol for passengers arriving Nigeria from selected countries. The federal government had mandated travellers who arrived Nigeria within 14 days of visiting Brazil, Turkey and India, to embark on isolation. The directive was given in view of increase in the spread of the virus in the affected countries. In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, the PSC said it will also sanction the travellers by disabling their passports for at least one year, while foreigners will have their visas cancelled. The affected travellers — who arrived Nigeria from Brazil, India and Turkey between May 8 and May 15 through...
Cross River PDP stakeholders: We’re not defecting with Governor Ayade
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Federal Lawmakers and Stakeholders Forum in Cross River have pledged not to follow the State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The lawmakers and the PDP stakeholders forum at a news conference on Friday in Abuja, promised to remain in PDP, saying Cross River remained a stronghold of the party. Sen. Geshon Bassey, who spoke on behalf of the lawmakers, said that Ayade did not consult them before his defection, adding that “even if he did, we will not follow him. “As far as I know, till date, the National Assembly caucus remains intact. I don’t see any of us leaving. We are legacy members of the party, who have been in this party for the past 15 to 20 years. So, we are not going anywhere. “We were not consulted and...
Nigeria records 49 new coronavirus infections
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has registered 49 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,901. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Wednesday. According to the centre, no new death linked to COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The public health agency noted that the newly recorded infections raised the country’s tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 165,901 and the death toll from the disease to 2,067. It disclosed that additional four people have been successfully treated and have been discharged from its isolation centre, bringing the active caseload across the country to more than 7,300. The NCDC noted that additional recoveries reported on Wednesday increased the country’s numbe...
Taiwan says request to drop word ‘country’ preceded BioNTech vaccine deal collapse
Germany’s BioNTech asked Taiwan to remove the word “country” from an announcement they planned to make on a COVID-19 vaccine sale to the island, its health minister said on Thursday, giving details of the deal whose axing was blamed on China by Taipei. Taiwan and China are engaged in an escalating war of words after Beijing offered the shots to the Chinese-claimed island via Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, which has a contract to sell them in Greater China. Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told a daily news briefing the government had signed and sent back a “final contract” agreed with BioNTech after months of negotiations, and the two sides were on the verge of issuing a press release on Jan. 8. But four hours later “BioNTech suddenly sent a letter, saying they strongly ...