President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Professor Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi as Registrar/Chief Executive of the National Examination Council (NECO).
The council has been run by an acting registrar since the death of Prof Godswill Obioma, the former registrar.
Obioma died in Minna, Niger State capital, last month.
In a letter with reference No: FME/PSE/NECO/1078/C.1/36, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, stated that the appointment of Wushishi is for an initial tenure of five years.
He said the appointment took effect on 12th of July, 2021.
Wushishi was born on 5th April 1965 and hails from Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger State.
EID EL KABIR: PRESIDENT BUHARI EXTOLS THE SACRIFICES OF NIGERIANS, URGES PATIENCE AS GOVERNMENT ADDRESSES HARDSHIPS
President Muhammadu Buhari sends Eid greetings on the occasion of Eid El-Adha that is being celebrated across the world.
In his message marking the auspicious Muslim occasion, the President restates the determination of his administration to create a just, harmonious and prosperous country in which the safety of life and property is assured.
Reflecting on current challenges facing the country, the President states that "COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria, in addition to the fact that floods have caused large scale destruction to agricultural farmlands, thereby impacting negatively on our efforts to boost local production in line with our policy to drastically reduce food importation."
This, he explains, has led to food inflation which the government is working hard to address.
According to President Buhari, "no government in our recent history has invested as heavily as we are doing to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to our farmers."
He says, "apart from the destruction caused to rice farms by floods, middlemen have also taken advantage of the local rice production to exploit fellow Nigerians, thereby undermining our goal of supporting local food production at affordable prices."
"As an elected president who enjoys the goodwill of the ordinary people that gave us their mandate, let me assure you that we are continuing with measures to bring relief to Nigerians, including making fertilizer available at affordable prices to our farmers," he tells Nigerians.
The President also notes that the current insecurity in the country "has produced severe and adverse effects on agriculture because farmers are prevented from accessing their farms by bandits and terrorists.”
"Let me also use this opportunity to reassure Nigerians that we are taking measures to address our security challenges. We have started taking delivery of fighter aircraft and other necessary military equipment and hardware to improve the capacity of our security forces to confront terrorism and banditry,” he adds.
Speaking on the significance of the Eid El-Kabir celebration, the President appeals to Muslims "to demonstrate the good virtues of Islam through personal examples and practices:
“Taking advantage of the celebration to exploit fellow citizens through outrageous prices of food and rams is inconsistent with fine virtues of Islam.
"As practising believers, we shouldn't seek obscene profits by making life difficult and miserable for others. We should not seek happiness at the expense of others. Remember that Islam is a religion of charity that urges us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.
"I urge all Muslims to continue to live in peace and harmony with their fellow Nigerians of other faiths in the spirit of peaceful coexistence. Let us pray for the progress of Nigeria at all times. Let us expose undesirable elements among us who are creating security problems for the country."
NCC was reacting to a statement by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Olusegun Ogunsanya, who said that the operating licence of the mobile network has been renewed.
Press Statement
Airtel’s Mobile Operating Licence Pending Renewal - NCC
The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been drawn to a recent statement on an online publication credited to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Ogunsanya, to the effect that the mobile operating licence of Airtel has been renewed by the Commission for another period of 10 years.
Mr. Ogunsanya was said to have made the statement while speaking in Lagos on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, during the media launch of Airtel’s corporate social responsibility programme, ‘Touching Lives 6’.
The Commission wishes to state that while Airtel Nigeria has applied for the renewal of the Unified Access Service (UASL) Licence granted to it by the Commission, the application is yet to be approved as it is still undergoing required regulatory process.
This statement is issued for the guidance of our stakeholders.
Haitian first lady Martine Moise, appearing in 2018 next to her now-late husband, president Jovenel Moise, was evacuated to Florida after she was wounded in the assassination attack.
The widow of Haiti's slain president Jovenel Moise returned home Saturday after being treated in Florida for wounds she suffered in the attack, an official said.
Martine Moïse, 47, disembarked the flight at the Port-au-Prince airport wearing a black dress, a black bulletproof jacket, a black face mask, and her right arm in a black sling as she slowly walked down the steps of what appeared to be a private plane one by one. She was greeted by Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph and other officials.
Under gray skies and buffeted by strong winds, the first lady gingerly descended the steps of the plane, before firmly shaking hands with those assembled to welcome her, as seen on a video posted on social media.
The 1st lady Martine MOISE has just arrived in Haiti as part of the preparations for the national funeral of President Jovenel Moïse. She was greeted at AITL by PM Claude Joseph.
She had spent 10 days in hospital in Miami, Florida, where she had been air lifted after her husband was gunned down in their home in the early hours of July 7.
The state funeral services are set to take place on July 23 in Cap-Haitien, a historic city in the north of Haiti, which has slid dangerously toward chaos since Moise was killed.
The day before Moise's widow's return, Joseph had pledged justice would be served for the president's assassination.
Police chief Leon Charles told a press conference Friday that Haitian authorities were "working with international agencies specialized in judicial investigations, such as the FBI (US Federal Bureau of Investigations), Interpol and other bodies that are on the ground to analyze all the evidence... to trace the masterminds of the assassination."
- 'Healing for Haiti' -
Moise, 53, was assassinated by a hit squad made up mostly of Colombian mercenaries, but many of the details surrounding the brazen attack remain a mystery.
Colombia's police chief Jorge Vargas has said that a former Haitian justice ministry official, Joseph Felix Badio, gave two of the Colombian mercenaries the order to kill the president. But it is not clear if Badio in turn was following orders from someone else.
Badio, a former official in an anti-corruption unit within the justice ministry, is one of several people wanted by Haitian police, alongside former opposition senator Joel John Joseph.
Both are described on their wanted posters as "armed and dangerous."
More than 20 people have been arrested in connection with the killing.
Haitian police have accused a 63-year-old Haitian doctor with strong ties to Florida, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, of being a mastermind of the plot and having "political objectives."
Joseph said 24 police officers attached to Moise's security detail were ordered to report for questioning.
The day before Martine Moise returned to Haiti, around 40 people had gathered in Miami outside the hospital where she was being treated for a gunshot wound to her arm to show their support.
Most were women and most wore blue, one of the colors of their country's flag. They carried signs with slogans such as "Healing for Haiti."
"We're going to pray on the behalf of our First Lady and the people of Haiti," said one of the demonstrators, Regina Martin Archat.
On Thursday, along with the first images of Martine Moise since the attack -- in hospital with a heavily bandaged arm -- the first lady thanked "the team of guardian angels who helped me through this terrible time.
"With your gentle touch, kindness and care, I was able to hold on. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
PUBLICATION OF PERSONAI PARTICULARS OF CANDIDATES FOR THE ANAMBRA GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met yesterday, Thursday, 151th July 2021 and among other things considered the List/personal particulars of candidates nominated by the various political parties for the Anambra State Governorship election scheduled to hold on 6th November 2021.
The Commission also considered and took cognizance of the Judgments/Court Orders served on it in relation to the primaries of the political parties and other processes leading to the election. In line with section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) the personal particulars of the candidates will be published in the Commissions Notice Board in Awka, Anambra State while the names of the candidates, the, gender, party, age, qualification and the Commissions decision/ remarks are herein attached.
The Commission will continue to act in consonance with the Constitution and the law and will continue to obey the Judgments and orders of courts served on it.
Another fight has broken out in the House of Representatives following a disagreement on whether or not members should vote on the electronic transmission of election results.
The House had taken presentations and testimonies from a Nigerian Telecommunication Commission, NCC team at plenary with speaker Femi Gbajabiamila in charge.
He then announced that the House will revert to the Committee of the Whole to continue the consideration of the clause-by-clause report of the electoral bill from item 1 to 52.
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Wase is by the rules of the House in charge of the session as the Chairman.
Wase while assuming his seat stirred the honests nest when he said that the House had already considered items 1 to 54.
Meanwhile, the controversial clause is captured in section 52(2) of the report.
Members disagreed with Wase and said that they stopped at 52 yesterday.
The development brewed some commotion.
Suddenly, a yet-to-be identified member left his seat and furiously rapped another seated member.
The development again, drew the attention of the members who intervened.
Normalcy is yet to return as at the time of filing this report.
The Nigerian Army has confirmed the murder of Major General Hassan Ahmed, a former Provost-Marshal.
DAILY POST broke the story Thursday night, a few hours after the mishap.
A source close to the family said the ambush occured close to the Abaji area of Abuja.
The aggressors kidnapped General Ahmed’s sister, Safina Ahmed (initially mistaken for the wife).
The siblings and the deceased’s driver, Sergeant Bukar were returning to the nation’s capital from Okene when they were attacked.
DAILY POST further gathered that General Ahmed didn’t travel heavy as he made the trip without guards.
Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu announced the death in a statement early Friday morning.
The spokesman said the incident happened when the top officer’s vehicle was “attacked by gunmen while transiting along Lokoja – Abuja”.
Nwachukwu disclosed that an Army delegation, led by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Major General Anthony Omozoje, has visited the widow and other members of the bereaved family.
Members of the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA), led by the Deputy National President, Stella Omozoje have also paid a condolence visit.
“The remains of the deceased senior officer will be accorded a befitting burial at the Lungi Barracks Cemetery on Friday, 16 July 2021 by 10 a.m.”, the statement added.
Nwachukwu conveyed the sympathies of the Chief of Army Staff, Faruk Yahaya, officers and men of the military arm.
Yahaya recently appointed Ahmed as a Director at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.
Anti-gun campaigners have contacted Lego about the customised Block19 last week and it has since issued a cease and desist letter to Culper Precision about the Block19 weapon
A gun which looks like it is made of Lego has sparked outrage in the US.
Culper Precision said its customised Glock weapon, named Block19, was developed to "highlight the pure enjoyment of the shooting sports".
But Danish toymaker Lego has written to the company and demanded it stop producing the weapon, which is covered in what looks like Lego bricks.
The BBC reports that gun control campaigners described the pistol as irresponsible and dangerous.
Shannon Watts, of the Everytown for Gun Safety campaign group, said her organisation had contacted Lego about the customised Block19 last week.
The Danish company has in turn had sent a "cease and desist" letter to Culper Precision, which is based in Utah
It reportedly said there was a risk children may be drawn to use firearms "even when guns don't look like toys".
[url=http://culper%20precision/]Culper Precision [/url] released a statement saying it had chosen to release Block19 to show guns were for "everyone".
The Block19 weapon which has sparked anger over its appearance (Image: culperprecision/Instagram) And that "owning and shooting firearms responsibly is a really enjoyable activity".
It added that the firearm could only be purchased by those legally permitted to own a gun.
The company's president Brandon Scott told the Washington Post that after discussions with a lawyer he decided to comply with the request from Lego.
The weapon appears to have since been removed from the gun manufacturer's website.
The BBC says it is illegal in the US to produce a children's toy that precisely resembles a real gun, but the laws do not explicitly prevent manufacturers from making a gun that resembles a toy.
It also says accidents involving children and firearms are on the increase in the US. More than 140 people were killed in such gun-related incidents last year.
Portuguese pair under fire from Real Madrid President
The Florentino Perez leaked audio clips continue and it seems no one is safe from his scathing behind-closed-doors comments, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho among the targets in the latest quotes published.
The most recent quotes, dating from two conversations, the most recent in October 2012, published on Wednesday morning, see the Real Madrid president take aim at several of the Portuguese stars at the club.
The content of the leaked audio recordings, released once again by El Confidencial, includes some damning comments towards Ronaldo and Mourinho in particular in 2012, when both were at the club.
"[Ronaldo] is crazy. The guy is an idiot, he's sick," said Perez.
"You think this guy is normal, but he's not. If he was, he wouldn't do all the things he does.
"The last stupid thing, which everyone in the world saw... why do you think he'd do something so stupid?"
Perez also slammed both Ronaldo and Mourinho for having massive egos and being blinkered to reality.
"[Jorge] Mendes has no control over [Ronaldo] and it's the same with Mourinho - none at all," said Perez.
"Even for interviews, they don't listen to him. These are two guys with terrible egos, spoilt the pair of them, who don't see the reality because they could both earn a lot more money if things were different.
"They are both abnormal because we are talking about a lot of money in terms of image rights. And with that face they have, that challenging glare, the fact that no one likes them... if the publicity was different, everything changes."
Furthermore, Ronaldo and Mourinho were not the only Portuguese that Perez had some choice comments for, with Fabio Coentrao also coming in for criticism.
"He's nuts, that's one of the effects of Real Madrid. He's another mindless one and Madrid eats guys like that," said Perez.
"Right now, he's scared and Mourinho is an idiot. It's not that he doesn't want to play... Well, he's a little stupid, driving without a licence.
"The pressure has got to him and that's because he's sick but the other one doesn't care about that."
Staying with the theme, the Real Madrid chief also had something to say about Jorge Mendes' role in Pepe's transfer to Los Blancos in 2007, which came during the presidency of Ramon Calderon.
"That the 30 million [euros] have left here and arrived there, no doubt, but now you have to look at the bank it's ended up in," said Perez.
"He does that with Jorge Mendes, the representative of Porto's president [Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa], with him everything is odd. Mendes pops up and he'd pay him as he's the Porto president's alibi.
"He and Mendes got money from the Russian (Abramovich) with the Mourinho deal and the [Ricardo] Carvalho and [Paulo] Ferreira ones... and that money they take it to Switzerland. Someone mixed up in all this should get mad and they have to give us a clue about that account in Switzerland."
Terror-linked Pantami to hand over Nigerians’ personal data to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, other Islamic countries - People Gazette
Isa Pantami, Nigeria’s communications minister whose dangerous religious and political views, including a declaration of support to Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and Al Qaeda, have continued to unsettle Nigerians, has dragged his secular country into an alliance of Islamic countries.
Mr Pantami signed Nigeria up for the membership of Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO), a group that includes strictly Islamic countries. Mr Pantami did not throw the matter up for public debate in Nigeria, where a virtually equal number of Muslims and Christians would have properly looked at the implication of the country’s membership before taking a decision. The minister appeared to have on his own, presumably with the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose dangerous religious and ethnic agenda has long been documented.
The body said it aimed to optimise “policy and regulatory frameworks to expand cross-border data flows and digital trade among DCO members.” Other potential benefits of the group include a plan to “reduce the digital divide across the DCO” and also to “align approaches to engagement and negotiations with private sector actors.”
The DCO listed its membership countries as the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Sultanate of Oman, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The DCO said the countries were brought together because of their common “vision, strategic goals, and shared values.”
But Mr Pantami’s intention has unsettled some Nigerians online, who said it was suspicious that a minister with a proven history of extremist views would seek to drag a secular Nigeria into an alliance of Muslim countries.
“I can’t recollect any public stakeholder consultation on this matter. No matter how hard you try to spin it, a minister with extremist antecedents signing Nigeria up for a group that comprises only Islamic countries is going to be viewed more about religion than the economy,” Amara Nwankpa, a policy expert based in Abuja, said on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Mr Pantami disclosed Nigeria’s intention to join the organisation in April, but the minister has provided little information to guide Nigerians on the benefits of the alliance.
Mr Pantami’s failure to elaborate might be traceable to his role as the custodian of Nigerian’s personal data. Since late 2020, the minister has been on an aggressive push to collect personal data of Nigerians, including their biometric information for telephone lines and a national identity card.
Mr Pantami continued his controversial campaign despite revelations months ago that he held extremist views that would make millions of citizens uncomfortable with having him at the helm of data collection. Excerpts of the minister’s past controversial sermons included his thirst for the blood of unbelievers, a campaign to drive Christian minorities from their ancestral lands in central Nigeria and his role at a meeting that debated assassination of a Christian governor in the Muslim-dominated northern region.
Mr Pantami also said he considered Osama bin Laden a better Muslim that himself in 2006, years after the infamous Al Qaeda leader masterminded the killing of over 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001.
Mr Pantami denied being a fundamentalist, but did not recant his vicious views as a Muslim preacher in northern parts of the country between mid and late 2000s. Mr Buhari swiftly rallied behind him rejecting public pressure to sack the minister.
The minister did not return a request seeking comments about why he enlisted Nigeria in DCO. An email to DCO was not immediately returned Wednesday morning.
GOVERNOR HOPE UZODINMA CAN’T BLACKMAIL SENATOR ROCHAS OKOROCHA OUT OF APC.
- THE IMO GOVERNOR IS REAPING THE FRUIT OF APC, WHERE HE DID NOT SOW.
- HE BECAME GOVERNOR WITHOUT BEING A MEMBER OF APC.
- SENATOR ROCHAS OKOROCHA CAN’T LEAVE APC FOR HIM.
Governor Hope Uzodinma can not and will not blackmail Senator Rochas Okorocha out of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Governor Uzodinma was behind the fake story of Senator Rochas Okorocha leaving the APC for the PDP, last Monday.
He had come up with the fake story of Okorocha leaving APC, because the National Secretariat of the Party had set up a reconciliation Committee. And also because of Okorocha’s visit to the National Office of the Party, with men and women who had sacrificed all they had, to make APC the Party to beat in Imo. And with National Assembly members who have the mandate of the people.
Governor Uzodinma was never a member of APC. He joined APC after he had been announced governor by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had given Judgement that the Candidate of APC in the 2019 governorship election was Uche Nwosu. Showing that, Chief Uzodinma was a gatecrasher in APC.
Yet, he does not want to be humble about that. He wants those who labored and blackmailed over APC to leave the party for him. There would not have been APC in Imo today, if Okorocha didn’t take the political risk he took to make Imo APC.
Governor Uzodinma is reaping where he did not sow and one had expected him to be sober about that. But he has continued to use blackmail to see how the party could be abandoned for him. At what point did Chief Uzodinma join APC?
He had destroyed APC in Imo with his style of governance, which is anti-people. The economy of the State has been grounded. Every sector in Imo is in coma. He is using intimidation and threats to govern Imo people. He has demarketed APC in Imo.
Governor Uzodinma might be the one working to destroy APC before joining another party, because he is not doing anything to encourage the party and its members in the State.
Governor Uzodinma should leave Okorocha alone and face governance.
Cameroon Special Envoy, Mr Felix Mbayu has congratulated the Nigerian government on the rearrest and repatriation of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, through the collaboration of national security agencies and INTERPOL.
This is as President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged that Nigeria will offer the best support possible to ensure that the Republic of Cameroon remains an indivisible country.
Recall that IPOB, a separatist group which was proscribed by the Nigerian government was said to have entered into alliance with Ambazonian Movement, another separatist group from Cameroon, in their agitations for self determination.
Speaking while receiving his guest, Mr Felix Mbayu, a Special Envoy from President Paul Biya of Cameroon, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Buhari recalled that Cameroon offered Nigeria needed support during the civil war.
The President said Nigeria and Cameroon share historical ties and common borders, which make it imperative for the two countries to look out for each other’s well-being.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying, “That was why when I first came to office in 2015, I immediately visited all our neighbours, because we are very clear about the value of good neighbourliness.
“You will have problems if your neighbours are not cultivated. And our relationship with Cameroon had been very clear since when I was serving in the military. The country offered us needed support during our Civil War.”
Saying Nigeria was acutely aware of the separatist agitation by the Ambazonian movement, President Buhari submitted that it was in the interest of Nigeria “to ensure that Cameroon is stable, and we will be steadfast in our support for you.”
Mr Felix Mbayu, who is also Minister Delegate in Charge of Cooperation with the Commonwealth, said President Biya was happy with the role Nigeria was playing in Africa, noting that the two neighbours share not just borders and historical ties, “but also common challenges.”
He further said, “These challenges border on security specially, and it is incumbent on us both to find common solutions.”
The Special Envoy said President Biya looked forward to a situation in which Nigerian territory would not be available for the Ambazonian movement to destabilize Cameroon, “as some people are taking advantage of some crises in the two English speaking parts of Cameroon to break the country apart.”
PUBLIC ADVISORY ON A FAKE SECTIONAL SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES IN NIGERIAN NAVY RECRUITMENT
1. The attention of the Nigerian Navy has been drawn to a purported sectional list of supplementary candidates in the Nigerian Navy recruitment exercise trending online and amplified by an online newspaper of questionable integrity.
For the avoidance of doubt, the list is fake and did not emanate from the Naval Headquarters.
The public is therefore advised to treat the list as a pitiable ploy of mischief makers and idle minds intent on creating ill-feelings amongst the Nigerian public thereby stoking sectional and religion sensibilities.
The Nigerian Navy is currently exploring legal means of seeking redress over this mischievous story
2. Additionally, members of the public are advised to visit www.joinnigeriannavy.com for authentic information on Nigerian Navy recruitment exercises.
A former Nigerian Senator representing Kaduna Central Shehu Sani says Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s stance of not negotiating with terrorists in the region has fuelled abductions and killings in the northwestern state.
Mr Sani stated this on Monday when he featured on an ARISE News programme, The Morning Show. He said other states within Nigeria’s North-western region have a strategy of negotiating with terrorists while Kaduna state has none.
According to the former lawmaker, the absence of that strategy has raised beliefs within the camp of the terrorists that they are being confronted by Governor El-Rufai despite negotiations taking place with Zamfara, Katsina and Niger states.
The Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria, Dr Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim, is dead.
Sources close to the family disclosed to Peoples Gazette that the deceased was involved in a car crash that also killed two others on Sunday morning in Abuja.
At the time of filing this report, there has been no official statement by the family.
Dr Ibrahim holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1989) and a Master’s degree in Applied Population Research from the University of Exeter United Kingdom. (2000). He is a member of West African College of Physicians (MWACP) in Community Health and has also attended many courses and workshops in sexual and reproductive health within and outside Nigeria.
Dr Ibrahim has over 15 years working experience in public health and reproductive health both in the public and private sector. He worked with Jigawa State Ministry of Health as the Medical Officer where he rose to the rank of the Assistant Director. He joined PPFN as an Assistant Director Service Delivery and Information, Education and Communication (1997-2000) and later rose to become the Director of Operations in 2000 till 2001 when he became the Executive Director till date.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) is a national non-governmental organization promoting Reproductive Health (RH) in Nigeria. As a full member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), PPFN has expanded the scope of its programs beyond family planning to cover broad reproductive health, emphasizing the needs of adolescents and young people and safe motherhood. https://www.nairaland.com/4886047/planned-parenthood-federation-nigeria-ppfn#73580229
Branson, Crew Take Off On Virgin Galactic Flight To Space
Billionaire Richard Branson and five Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. employees took off on a test flight to space, a milestone for the company he founded in 2004 as it prepares to debut tourism trips next year.
The crew soared into clear, sunny skies over New Mexico a little after 8:30 a.m. local time following a weather delay. According to the mission plan, the VSS Unity space plane will be hauled aloft by a carrier aircraft and detached at about 45,000 feet (13,700 meters). It will then ignite its rocket engine and ascend to about 290,000 feet or 55 miles (89 kilometers) above the Earth.
The suborbital journey kicks off a landmark month for the future of space tourism, with Branson looking to demonstrate Virgin Galactic’s capabilities nine days before Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos plans to fly on a rocket made by Blue Origin, his space venture. Both companies envision businesses catering to wealthy tourists willing to pay top dollar for a short period of weightlessness and an unforgettable view of the Earth and heavens.
Branson, 70, and his fellow crewmembers are expected to experience about four minutes of weightlessness. After reaching its highest altitude, the Unity is designed to pivot in space and glide back to the Spaceport America complex near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
The mission, which is expected to take more than an hour, is the spacecraft’s 22nd test flight and first with a large crew. Virgin Galactic has dubbed the flight “Unity 22,” and it’s the first of two tests the company is planning this summer before an astronaut-training mission with Italian Air Force personnel later this year.
Branson is evaluating the customer experience during the flight and in the various preparatory events Virgin Galactic plans around its launches. Also on board:
Dave “Mac” Mackay, chief pilot. He is among Virgin Galactic’s earliest hires. He is a former U.K. Royal Air Force test pilot and Boeing 747 aviator at Branson-backed Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Mackay, who grew up in a rural village in northern Scotland, became the first Scotsman to fly to space.
Michael “Sooch” Masucci, pilot. He is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel with more than 10,000 hours experience in the U-2 and F-16 jets, along with dozens of other aircraft types. He joined Virgin in 2013 and first flew to space in 2019.
Sirisha Bandla, Virgin’s vice president of government affairs. She will test the “researcher experience” during the flight with a plant experiment from the University of Florida. Born in Guntur, in the Andhra Pradesh province of southern India, she will become the second Indian-American woman to travel in space.
Colin Bennett, a Virgin Galactic engineer. He will evaluate cabin procedures during the test flight. Bennett has worked for Virgin Galactic as an operations engineer for six years in California, according to his LinkedIn page. Previously, he was an engineer at Virgin Atlantic.
Beth Moses, Virgin’s chief astronaut instructor. She is making her second space flight after a trip in February 2019. The flight made Moses the 571st person to travel to space, according to Virgin Galactic. She will be the test director Sunday and the cabin lead. Moses worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for 24 years before joining the company. Her husband, Mike Moses, is Virgin Galactic’s president of space missions and safety.
Virgin last flew the two-craft system on May 22. The company said the Unity performed well after more than two months of work to minimize electromagnetic interference that had delayed a planned February 2021 test. In a flight in December 2020, the rocket motor failed to ignite and the spacecraft glided back to the spaceport.
The test in May was the company’s first successful powered flight since February 2019. Following the test that took place more than two years ago, flight engineers discovered hull damage on the spacecraft from air pressure that had built up after ventilating holes were accidentally covered, according to “Test Gods,” a book published this year by New Yorker writer Nicholas Schmidle.
The company plans to begin working down its backlog of around 600 confirmed customers in early 2022. Virgin Galactic has said it will resume ticket sales after the summer’s test flights, with executives signaling that fares will be higher than the prior price of $250,000 a seat.
Virgin Galactic’s shares have doubled this year through Friday, valuing the startup at almost $12 billion.
They had come into Haiti through Dominican Rep., and had over a month taking pictures and having meetings.
Below is Grosso Guarin (born 1980)..One of the arrested, who is America-trained & was seen below taking pictures in front of the Presidential Palace in the Dominican Rep. capital, Santo-Domingo on June 6.
Retired Colombian soldiers are suspected of participating in the hit squad that murdered Haitian President Jovenel Moise, while investigators try to find who ordered the killing that plunged one of the world’s most turbulent nations deeper into chaos.
Colombia received an official request Thursday from the international police agency Interpol for information about the suspected perpetrators of the slaying, and pledged to cooperate, Defense Minister Diego Molano said late Thursday.
Haitian police said 28 people carried out the attack against the president, 26 of them Colombians and two U.S. citizens of Haitian descent. The group stormed Moise’s official residence early Wednesday in the first killing of a Haitian head of state in more than a century.
On Thursday, Haiti Police Chief Leon Charles said they had captured "the physical culprits” of the crime, and “we are now hunting down the intellectual culprits.”
Haiti’s National Police said they had arrested 15 men including 13 Colombians and the two Haitian-Americans. They also confirmed that they had killed four Colombian suspects and asked for public support in finding nine others.
Police presented the men, sitting on the floor with their hands bound behind their backs to reporters. They also showed a cache of automatic weapons, machetes, sledgehammers, radios and what appeared to be Colombian passports that they said they had captured from the group. The local Le Nouvellitste newspaper said officials had also recovered the hard drive that stored security footage at Moise’s residence and his checkbook.
Taiwanese Embassy Eleven of the armed suspects were caught on the grounds of the Taiwanese Embassy in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petion-Ville, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday. The ministry said the embassy suffered no property loss and urged diplomatic staff to increase security in Haiti, which is one of 15 states that maintain relations with Taipei rather than Beijing.
Colombian troops are considered among the world’s toughest after having fought against local guerrillas in jungles and mountains for more than five decades. Soldiers are sometimes tempted to quit the army for the prospect of earning more money working as contractors in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Two Americans arrested in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti this week said that they were not in the room when he was killed and that they had worked only as translators for the hit squad, a Haitian judge said on Friday.
Clément Noël, a judge who is involved with the investigation and who interviewed both men soon after their arrest, said that neither was injured in the assault.
One of the Americans was identified as James J. Solages, a U.S. citizen who lived in South Florida and previously worked as a security guard at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. The other was identified as Joseph Vincent, 55.
Judge Noël, speaking by telephone, said that he could not provide details on the wider plot or a possible motive, but said the two Americans maintained that the plot had been planned intensively for a month.
The Americans, he said, would meet with other members of the squad at an upscale hotel in Pétionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, to plan the attack. He said they had relayed that the goal was not to kill the president but to bring him to the national palace.
Mr. Moïse was shot dead in his private residence on the outskirts of the capital around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, his body riddled with bullets.
Judge Noël said the Americans had been taken into custody after a shootout with police that resulted in the death of two Colombians.
When they were taken into custody, they had in their possession weapons, clothes, food and other paraphernalia used in the assault.
Judge Noël said that it was Mr. Solages who had yelled that the assailants were agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency over a loudspeaker at the start of the assault.
Mr. Vincent said he had been in the country for six months and that he had been staying with a cousin. Mr. Solages said he had been in Haiti for a month.
The men said the Colombians involved in the plot had been in the country for about three months.
All that Mr. Vincent would say about the broader plot was that the mastermind was a foreigner named “Mike” who spoke Spanish and English. Mr. Solages said that he had found the job to translate for the hit squad in a listing posted online. They would not say how much they had been paid.
Judge Noël said Mr. Solages had “replied in a very evasive manner.”
As the Haitian security forces continued to hunt for suspects in Mr. Moïse’s assassination, the interview offered the clues into who carried out the operation. Most of those in custody are Colombian, the authorities say, and include retired members of the military.
The body of another mercenary was found on Thursday around 10 a.m., on the roof of a private residence in Pétionville. The man, presumed a Colombian, was hit by a single bullet in his left side and killed, despite the fact he was wearing a bulletproof vest, said a justice of the peace, Phidélito Dieudonné. The man had climbed the security wall of the home, and then used a ladder to get up on the roof, Mr. Dieudonné said. He had no firearm or identity documents on him, but a couple of license plates had been dropped to the courtyard.
“They were all wearing the same boots,” said Justice Dieudonné.
At a news conference announcing the arrests on Thursday, the authorities had singled out the Americans as they sat on the floor with their hands handcuffed behind their backs. It was not clear what evidence the Haitian authorities had against the two men, when they had entered the country and what their connection might be to those identified as Colombian.
Mr. Solages, 35, is a native of Jacmel, a city in southern Haiti, and lived in Broward County, the Florida county that includes Fort Lauderdale. He was the president of a small charity organization that said it focused on giving grants to women in his home city. But federal tax records show that he claimed to work 60 hours a week on an organization that in 2019 took in just over $11,000.
The organization, Jacmel First, says that its primary objective is reducing poverty and promoting education and better health systems in Haiti. His biography on his website said that he was a consultant, building engineer and “certified diplomatic agent.”
He also claimed to be chief commander of the bodyguards for the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. A Canadian government official said that Mr. Solages was briefly a reserve officer for a security company that had a contract to protect the embassy in 2010.
By the end of Thursday, as photographs of Mr. Solages in custody in Haiti circulated online, the charity group’s website had been taken down. So was a Facebook page that showed Mr. Solages in sharp suits.
Asked about the president’s murder and Mr. Solages’s arrest, Jean Milot Berquin, of Jacmel First’s board members, said, “I’m so sorry about that,” and declined to comment further.
While the biography on Mr. Solages’s charity website paints him as a professional and politician, his LinkedIn profile lists an entirely different set of jobs that sound more like maintenance positions.
His online résumé says that he has an associate degree from a technical college and is a plant operations director at a senior living facility in Lantana, Fla. (Company officials did not respond to requests for comment.)
State corporation records show that he owns maintenance company whose address was the same as the charity’s: a second-floor office above a restaurant in a strip mall. The office is now occupied by someone else.
Mr. Solages’s Twitter account, which has been dormant for over a year, includes inspirational quotes like “Don’t let nobody tell you that you are aiming too high or expecting too much of yourself, with both Mars, your ruler, and the Sun about to move to your favor, you should in fact expecting more of yourself then (sic) ever before.”
South Africa’s High Court rejected an application by former President Jacob Zuma, who was convicted of contempt of court last week, to delay serving his 15-month sentence while his case is reviewed.
The Constitutional Court, the nation’s topmost legal tribunal, found Zuma guilty of violating its order to testify before a judicial panel that’s probing graft during his nine-year rule and he was taken into custody on July 7. The court has agreed to consider the ex-president’s application to review its judgment, with a hearing scheduled for July 12.
Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Bhekisisa Mnguni on Friday ruled that he didn’t have the jurisdiction to intervene in a case that’s being dealt with by a higher court.
Granting the ex-president an the interim interdict against his incarceration “would be harmful to the rule of law and our constitution, as this court will permit Mr. Zuma to disregard the courts and their authority,” Mnguni said in his written judgment.
Zuma, 79, remains a powerful political player in South Africa, and his case has been a key test for the country’s democracy and its resolve to uphold the rule of law. He ruled South Africa for almost nine scandal-marred years until the ruling African National Congress forced him to step down in 2018 to stem a loss of electoral support. The government estimates that more than 500 billion rand ($35 billion) was stolen from state coffers. He denies wrongdoing.
Six 'assassins' have been arrested and seven others killed over the murder of Haiti president Jovenel Moïse who was riddled with 12 bullet holes and had his eye gouged out during Wednesday's brutal attack.
At least two of the men brought in alive were found hiding in bushes by civilians who roughed them up before turning them over to police.
Security forces were involved in an overnight shootout with some of the suspects who raided Moise's mansion in the hills above Port-au-Prince with high-powered rifles in the early hours of Wednesday, assassinating him and leaving his wife seriously wounded.
The identities of the suspects has not been released, with neither their nationalities, genders, ages or ethnicities revealed, and no motive has been given for the attack.
National Police Director Leon Charles told Radio Metropole Thursday that other members of the hit squad remain at large and vowed that the other people responsible 'will be killed or arrested.'
Moise's terrified adult daughter Jomarlie was forced to hide in a bedroom as the assassins ransacked his office and rooms, firing machine guns and leaving her 53-year-old father to die an horrific death, lying in a pool of blood at the private residence.
A maid and another servant were tied up by the gunmen who had shouted 'DEA operation' as they burst in, pretending they were officers of the US Drugs Enforcement Administration, speaking in English and Spanish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHXUwbinSmg First Lady Martine, 47, was shot through the legs, arm, torso and hand, and was later airlifted in a 'critical condition' to a hospital in Miami.
Martine was last night described as 'out of danger' and in a 'stable condition' by Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who on Thursday said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and asked the US for 'technical support' to help Haiti hold elections in the coming days.
The arrests and deaths of some of the suspected assassins comes as new details emerged about the deadly raid.
Magistrate Carl Henry Destin told the Nouvelliste newspaper that the President's body had been ripped apart by 12 bullets from large caliber rifles and smaller 9mm weapons, to the forehead, chest, hips and abdomen.
'The President's office and bedroom were ransacked. We found him lying on his back, blue pants, a white shirt smeared with blood, his mouth open, his left eye gouged out,' he said.
PM Joseph claims he has the situation in hand but the international community fears that the country will fall into utter chaos after months of protests against Moise, who was accused of turning the country into a dictatorship and allowing armed gangsters to roam the streets to prevent new elections.
The raid took place just after 1am local time. Shell casings could be seen on the street outside as forensics experts combed the scene for evidence. A nearby car was peppered with bullet holes.
Moise's wife was first treated at a local hospital then rushed by air ambulance to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.
Two men believed to be Haitian Americans — one of them purportedly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port au Prince — have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s president, a senior Haitian official said Thursday.
Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s minister of elections, told The Associated Press that James Solages was among six people arrested in the 36 hours since the brazen killing of President Jovenel Moise by gunmen at his home in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday.
Four other suspected assailants were killed and two are still missing, Pierre said.
Pierre would not provide additional details about Solages’ background, nor would he provide the name of the second Haitian-American he said was arrested.
Solages describes himself as a “certified diplomatic agent,” an advocate for children and budding politician on a website for a charity he established in 2019 in south Florida to assist residents.
Haiti’s Communications Secretary says police have arrested the “presumed assassins” of President Jovenel Moïse.
Frantz Exantus did not provide further details about Wednesday’s slaying of Moïse and the wounding of his wife, or say how many suspects had been arrested.
The killing is sure to bring more chaos to the unstable Caribbean country already beset by gang violence, soaring inflation and protests by opposition supporters who accused Moïse of increasing authoritarianism.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said the police and military were in control of security.
The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has a history of dictatorship and political upheaval. The streets of Port-au-Prince were empty and quiet. In an interview with The Associated Press, Joseph called for an international investigation into the assassination, said elections set for later this year should be held, and pledged to work with Moïse’s allies and opponents.
Four suspected killers of President Jovenel Moise were fatally shot by police, and two others were arrested, AP reported citing Haiti Police Chief Léon Charles. Three police officers who had been held hostage were freed in the incident, AP said.
Haiti’s Communications Secretary Frantz Exantus said police had arrested Moise’s “presumed assassins” in an upscale neighborhood of Petionville, a suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, AP previously reported.
The hunt for the armed assassins who killed Haiti President Jovenel Moise and wounded his wife Martine in their home had continued on Wednesday.
A short clip of a video purporting to show armed men in pick-up trucks at the President’s home in the aftermath of the attack was posted on social media but could not be immediately verified.
Neighbouring Dominican Republic closed its land border with Haiti after the attack and Haiti officials asked for international help to search for assailants who may have escaped by sea. Authorities declared a “state of siege” in the country and closed the international airport.
Haiti first lady Martine Moise, who was wounded in the attack, was flown out of the country on Wednesday afternoon and her air ambulance has landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to a Miami Herald report.
She is said to be in a stable but critical condition.
Bocchit Edmond, the Haitian ambassador to the United States, said the attack on the 53-year-old Moïse “was carried out by foreign mercenaries and professional killers — well-orchestrated,” and that they were masquerading as agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The DEA has an office in the Haitian capital to assist the government in counternarcotics programs, according to the U.S. Embassy.
It appears to be a heavily-financed operation.
Moise was said to have a long list of enemies who wanted him gone as he was no friends with the State Department & some foreign powers.
Interim PM, Joseph said the heavily armed gunmen spoke Spanish and English, but gave no further details.
My lawyers have informed me of the judgment by the Federal High Court, Abuja, in the case of Folakemi Adeosun v The Attorney General of the Federation (FHC/ABJ/CS/303/2021) in which the court, presided over by Honourable Justice Taiwo Taiwo, ruled that the constitution does not require me to present my first-degree certificate or any other certificate, including the NYSC certificate, to be appointed a Minister. More importantly, he also ruled that I was not eligible to perform NYSC by virtue of the constitution. This is the position I have always maintained and am happy for this official clarification.
The ruling vindicates me after a very traumatic spell. It is, however, not only a personal victory; it’s also a victory for many Nigerians in the Diaspora under similar conditions who are desirous to serve their country.
I wish to thank God, my family, friends, my counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and numerous well-wishers for their love, care and concern throughout this difficult period, which has lasted 3 whole years.
I wish to add in light of the court’s ruling, I will at the appropriate time and without hesitation, take all further steps necessary within the law to protect my reputation.
Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, news decorated Chief of Army Staff COAS), Wednesday said that bandits and other criminals waging wars against the government and undermining national security “have been sent to God to go and answer for their crimes.”
The Chief of Army Staff said this shortly after he was decorated as a Lieutenant General by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa, Abuja.
Addressing newsmen, the COAS appreciated Buhari for the confidence reposed in him and pledged his unalloyed loyalty on behalf of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army.
He said, “I want to first most sincerely appreciate the President and commander in chief of the armed forces for the confidence reposed in me and now being decorated Lieutenant General and Chief of Army Staff.
“And I want to pledge my unalloyed loyalty on behalf of the officers and men of Nigerian Army and also continue to do our very best to arrest this challenge that we have, particularly insurgency, insecurity and other violent crimes.
“We are already getting successes. We will leverage on that, including our experience in this job and by the grace of God, we shall get there.”
When requested to send a message to the bandits and other criminals elements in different parts of the country, he added, “That’s what we have started doing already and many of them have been sent to God to go and answer for their crimes. And we will continue to do that.”
Supporters of wanted Yoruba activist Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho have taken to the streets of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to protest last Thursday’s midnight raid by the Department of State Services on the residence of the Yoruba nation activist.
The protesters gathered in front of Igboho’s house in the Sooka area of Ibadan from where they took to the streets around 12 noon on Wednesday.
They were heard chanting “No retreat, no surrender!”, “Oodua Nation!”, “Sunday Igboho is not a criminal!” amongst other phrases. They also carried placards displaying similar phrases.
A leader of the protesting youths, whose name was unknown as of the time of filing this report, addressed the gathering before they took off.
He said they would march to the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji; and from there proceed to the Government House, amongst other places.
“It is a peaceful demonstration; we are marching there to demand the release of the detained persons. We are not afraid of teargas, we are marching to demand the rights of our people.
“We want them to bring the killers of Adogan and Alfa to book.
“The government must pay the N500m damages as requested by Igboho’s lawyer for the destruction of his house and property during the invasion.
“We want the Obas to make this happen within seven days,” he said.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the DSS invaded the residence of Igboho in a Gestapo style around 1am on Thursday. Though Igboho had escaped the raid, his house and cars were riddled with bullets while bloodstains splattered over the floors of the house. The DSS also said it killed two of his associates in a gun duel. Thirteen of Igboho’s guards and close associates were later paraded in Abuja on Thursday evening.
The secret police had since declared Igboho wanted. The activist is being accused of stockpiling weapons to allegedly destabilise the country under the guise of agitation for Yoruba nation but he has since denied the allegation, saying he protects himself with charms and not weapons.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Tuesday, lauded the raid. He said Igboho is a militant who conducts acts of terror, adding that the regime won’t condone any act by secessionists.
However, the DSS raid had been condemned by many Nigerians including human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, who described it as a “nocturnal coup”, arguing that no law in Nigeria allows security agents to arrest anyone in the dead of the night.
Also, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, had condemned the invasion which he described as “bizarre”.
Similarly, Southern governors, on Monday, resolved that security agencies must notify them as the chief security officer of their states before they carry out any operation within their domain.
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom describes the decision of Southern Governors Forum to enact laws to ban open grazing of livestock in the region as a bold and patriotic move that will bring to an end the lingering crisis caused by armed herdsmen.
The Governor also lauds his counterparts in Southern Nigeria for backing their May 11 Asaba declaration against open grazing with the resolve to legally prohibit nomadic cattle rearing; a resolution which conforms with the global best practice of animal husbandry.
He also commends the Southern Governors Forum for their position on rotation of the Presidency between the north and south, beginning from 2023.
Governor Ortom believes that only equity, fairness and justice can strengthen the unity of Nigeria, give all citizens a sense of belonging and reduce tensions across the country.
The Governor re-echoes his call on the Federal Government to respect the 1999 Constitution (as amended) regarding fundamental human rights, the rule of law and federal character.
He restates his commitment to speaking out against injustice and quotes Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr who stated that “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Governor Ortom reaffirms his belief in Nigeria’s unity and expresses optimism that the country will overcome its current challenges and emerge stronger as a great nation.
Sunday Igboho: Take permission from us before carrying out operations in our states — Southern Govs
The Southern Governors’Forum, SGF, on Monday, insisted that any law enforcement agency carrying out an operation in any of the states in the South must take permission from the state governor, who is the chief security officer of the state just as it insisted the next President of the country should emerge from the South.
Reading the communique after its closed-door meeting, Governor Rotimi of Ondo State, the forum, however, kept mum on the recent arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, and the attack on Yoruba freedom fighter, Chief Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho’s house.
Education › Buhari Appoints Prof Wushishi As NECO Registrar by HonNL(op): 4:42pm On Jul 19, 2021
