Barring a last-minute change in plans, the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, which has been partially closed to traffic in the last seven weeks, will be re-opened on April 4, 2024.
Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, in a statement confirmed the re-opening yesterday.
Osiyemi said: “Dear Lagos Residents, We’re pleased to share that the Third Mainland Bridge will resume full operations on April 4th, 2024, following extensive repairs.
“We sincerely thank you for your patience and cooperation, and we look forward to even smoother travels ahead.”
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. in recent days authorized the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel,[/b] two sources familiar with the effort said on Friday, even as Washington publicly expresses concerns about an anticipated Israeli military offensive in Rafah.
[b]The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, said the sources, who confirmed a report in the Washington Post.
Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally.
The package comes as Israel faces strong international criticism over its continued bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza and as some members of President Joe Biden's party call for him to cut U.S. military aid.
The United States has been rushing air defenses and munitions to Israel, but some Democrats and Arab American groups have criticized the Biden administration's steadfast support of Israel, which they say provides it with a sense of impunity.
Biden on Friday acknowledged "the pain being felt" by many Arab Americans over the war in Gaza and over U.S. support for Israel and its military offensive.
Still, he has vowed continued support for Israel despite an increasingly public rift with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The White House declined comment on the weapons transfers.
The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The decision on weapons follows a visit to Washington by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant this week when he discussed Israel's weapons needs with U.S. counterparts. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Gallant, apparently seeking to cool U.S.-Israeli tensions, said he stressed the importance of U.S. ties to his country's security and of maintaining Israel’s "qualitative military edge" in the region, including its air capabilities.
The war erupted on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed 1,200 people and seized 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has retaliated by launching an air and ground assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 32,000 people, health authorities in Gaza say.
The President, African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has called for a change of name from the Federal Republic of Nigeria to ‘The United States of Nigeria.’
Adesina said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Industrialisation, Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, made available to PUNCH Online on Saturday.
Adesina was quoted to have made the call in a lecture he delivered as the recipient of the 2024 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, titled, ‘Making a New Nigeria: Welfarist Policies and People-Centred Development.’
He explained that a change to the ‘United States of Nigeria’ would change the relational mindset between the states and Abuja, stating that the fulcrum would be the states, while the centre would support them, not lord over them.
He said, “We must be audacious! Instead of the Federal Government of Nigeria, we could think of the United States of Nigeria. The old would give way to the new.
“We would change the relational mindset between the states and Abuja: the fulcrum would be the states, while the centre would support them, not lord over them.
“With good governance, better accountability systems, and zero tolerance for corruption, more economically stronger constituent states would emerge! We would unleash massive wealth across the states. A New Nigeria would arise! To do so, we will need all of us, not some of us.
“From our forgotten rural villages to our boisterous and dynamic urban areas. From the sparks of desire in the eyes of our children to the lingering hope in the hearts of our youths.
“From the yearnings of our women and mothers and our men and fathers for a better tomorrow, and the desires of the old that our end would be better than our past. From the hardworking street vendors and small businesses to the largest business conglomerates, we must create a movement of hope.”
He added that “the achievement of economically viable entities and the viability of the national entity requires constitutional changes to devolve more economic and fiscal powers to the states or regions. The stronger the states or regions, the stronger the federated units.”
Adesina reiterated that to get out of the economic quagmire, there is a compelling need for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying restructuring should not be driven by political expediency but by economic and financial viability.
“Economic and financial viability are the necessary and sufficient conditions for political viability.
“If there was one attribute that defined Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and there were many, it would be his visionary boldness. He went where others feared or failed to go. In the process, decades later, his footprints remain in the sands of time. Likewise, today, in Nigeria, we need men and women with vision, who are willing to take bold decisions,” he said.
He lamented that Nigerians paid one of the highest implicit tax rates in the world, adding that when governments or institutions failed to provide basic services, the people would bear the burden of a heavy implicit tax.
“Truth be told, Nigerians pay one of the highest implicit tax rates in the world. Most of the citizens provide electricity for themselves via generators; they repair roads in their neighbourhoods if they can afford to. They provide boreholes for drinking water with their money.
“In the 21st century, this is incredulous as every household should have pipe-borne water! Sadly, the abnormal has been normalised.
“If people pay taxes, governments must deliver services to citizens and be held accountable for their ability to do so or not. Governments should not transfer their responsibility to citizens. When governments or institutions fail to provide basic services, the people bear the burden of a heavy implicit tax,” Adesina said.
He suggested that to succeed with much-needed welfarist and people-centred policies across Nigeria, it was necessary to change the governance system and decentralise governance to states to provide greater autonomy.
Adesina also emphasised that states had tremendous potential to become even more financially autonomous through greater fiscal prudence.
“If states focus on unlocking the huge resources they have, based on areas of comparative advantage, they will rapidly expand wealth for their people.
“With such increased wealth, they will be able to access capital markets and secure long-term financing to fast-track their growth and development.
“States that adopt this strategy would have less of a need for monthly trips to Abuja for grants. Instead, part of their federal revenue allocations can be saved as internal ‘state sovereign wealth funds’. This can then be used as a guarantee against borrowings from capital markets. In essence, they would be free from needing to exclusively rely on the federal government,” he said.
Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, has raised the alarm that his administration inherited a huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities from the previous administration, making it difficult for him to pay workers’ salaries now.
He, however, said that despite the humongous debt burden on the State government, he was yet to borrow a single kobo in the last nine months of his administration.
The governor, who stated this in Kaduna on Saturday while addressing a Town Hall Meeting, added that the huge debt burden was eating deep into the State’s monthly Federal Allocation of fund, hence the state was finding it difficult to pay monthly salaries.
Governor Sani lamented that due to the rise in the exchange rate, Kaduna State is now paying back almost triple of what was borrowed by the previous administration of former governor Nasir El-Rufai.
He explained that N7billion out of the N10billion Federal Allocation due to the State in the month of March was deducted to service the debt.
The governor further lamented that the state was left with N3billion, an amount which is not enough to pay salaries, as the state’s monthly salary bill stands at N5.2billion.
He, however, assured that the debt burden not withstanding, his administration remained resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development, as the government has conducted a thorough assessment of the situation and it was sharpening its focus accordingly.
According to the governor, “despite the huge debt burden of 587 million Dollars, 85 billion Naira, and 115 Contractual Liabilities sadly inherited from the previous administration, we remain resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development. We have conducted a thorough assessment of our situation and are sharpening our focus accordingly.
“It gladdened my heart to inform you that, despite the huge inherited debt on the state, till date, we have not borrowed a single kobo.
Recall that the immediate-past Governor Nasir El-Rufai had said he left a domestic debt of N80.60bn and a foreign debt of $577.32m for his successor during his handover to the new govenor last year.
El-Rufai also said he left N5bn and $2.05m in the state treasury.
Governor Sani highlighted some of his administration’s top priorities for 2024 to include safety and security, infrastructural development, education development, housing and urban development, social intervention and investment drive, among others.
On security, the governor said the state has made a lot of progress through revamping of the Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVS) by recruiting 7,000 additional personnel for the service, while over 100 operational vehicles and 100 motorcycles have been procured for distribution to KADVS and the federal security agencies working in the state.
In the area of education, Sani said aside the establishment of several skills and vocational cities to address skill deficits in the state, his government in collaboration with Kuwait was working to reduce out-of-school children in Kaduna State by 200,000, adding that the four-year program, which will start in may or June 2024, is a $62 million project that will build 102 new schools in the State and renovate 170 existing ones within a span of four year.
Also speaking at the Town Hall event, former Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd), urged efforts to address the security challenges facing the state, noting that without peace and security, no meaningful development can be achieved.
In his remarks, the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmad Nuhu Bamali, expressed optimism that despite the challenges facing the state, the governor has the capability to turn around the economy of the state for effective development.
I have a story that is vexing me about the Blood Bank department of LASUTH. If we don’t call this fraud, then what is it? 😡😡
Okay, people have been saying they do it but i have never believed until it got closer home.
If you are scheduled for a surgery at Lasuth, they make sure you donate 2 pints of blood at the blood bank first before they proceed with the surgery which is very nice. You get people to donate on your behalf irrespective of blood type. They will keep the bloods there so that when you come in for your surgery, you will have blood to go into the theatre with. They collect any blood type but on the day of your surgery, they will give you the exact blood type you need since people have been donating different types. Nice one.
There are agents around who will help you get people to donate those two pints on your behalf for 15k each or one person can donate the two pints for 30k. That’s not the issue.
What’s now the issue?
The issue is that when you come in for the surgery and need the blood you donated earlier, they will never be available. It’s always “no blood on ground”. Your wife is being wheeled into the theatre for surgery, you are running around for blood, therefore won’t care where the blood will come from. Now you have to approach a lab to buy blood.
The attendants will tell you you must only go to the labs registered with them to buy the blood. “Only the ones registered with them” for 25k per pint.
I even heard some doctors are tired of these people. Why is blood always not available after people donate donate donate and keep donating?
After my friend’s wife spent several days there, my friend was only able to recover one of the donated pint of blood from their blood bank from the two he donated. He sourced for the rest.
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) on Tuesday grilled Bukky Shonibare, the chairman of FIJ’s Board of Trustees, at their Abuja office, only letting her go after making her promise to “produce” ‘Fisayo Soyombo, FIJ’s founder.
The NPF-NCCC had invited Shonibare to an interview with its director to answer questions about cybercrime and seek clarification from FIJ about a case it was investigating. With nothing to hide, Shonibare, herself a lawyer, honoured the invitation, accompanied by FIJ’s legal counsel.
FROM REMOVING THE VEIL TO INVITATION
“As you know, we’ve never revealed the identities of the board members of FIJ, not even me as the board chair. That’s for security reasons,” Shonibare told FIJ on Thursday.
“But because they are law enforcement agents, they have the power to remove the veil, you know. This means that they can go to CAC or any similar organisations to obtain information about the person. So, that’s what they did to get my information: name, email address, phone number and everything.
“So, I got the email from them on Saturday. Fast forward to Monday, one of the officers called me. Her name is SP Ann Elunor.
“I was there a few minutes before nine o’clock and did some briefing with my lawyer, Folarin Aluko. Samson Itodo of YIAGA Africa also came there in solidarity. So, we got in and signed in at immediately 9:09 am. They asked me to drop my phone and all of that, but I told them that I did not come with my phone. I had been advised to leave my phone behind. I was there with my lawyer, there was another junior lawyer and Samson Itodo, but they said that I could only go in with one person. So, I went in with the senior lawyer.
“We didn’t drop anything at the gate. When we were signing in, they said we should write ‘threat response’ as the department we came to visit. I was surprised because this would imply that the organisation and I were considered to have engaged in cyber threatening. We were uncomfortable with that but we had to write it. So that there wouldn’t be any form of ambiguity, because they were asking me to write ‘TR’, I wrote the ‘Threat Response’ in full. Trust me, I was thinking of Jamal Khashoggi at this time. People had to know exactly where we went to.”
INTERROGATION INSTEAD OF INVESTIGATION
“So, they took me upstairs. We got into this room. The room had two tables and four chairs. SP Ann was there, another person who was an investigator was there and there were two other people (a male and a female). The investigator’s name was Nnamdi.
“They spent the first few minutes asking why we released a social media post about the invitation, that they just invited me for one or two questions. Samuel Umezurike, the deputy director of the threat response unit, asked why we said that they were prosecuting me. I responded that we never used the word ‘prosecute’. Umezurike had come out to welcome us and just give us some preliminaries. I didn’t have my phone with me, but I later confirmed that they mistook ‘persecution’ for ‘prosecution’.
“The first minutes, they spent lamenting and jesting. One said, ‘that’s why I don’t like social media’. I told them that we know the work we do and why it’s necessary for us to update the public on our movement. The deputy director continued to jest and try to throw jokes. He also said that when they went into our CAC file to get who to invite, they decided to invite the board chair. When they saw that the portrait was that of a female, he asked himself if they should be inviting a woman for this exercise. He was emphasising ‘the fact of being a woman’.
“At that point, I had to cut in; I asked what was wrong about being a woman. It sounded discriminatory. I asked if I was less of a board chair who could answer their questions because I am a woman. He said that wasn’t what he was trying to say, then he went on to say, ‘this poor woman’. I was just smiling at that point. The man went on to say that he checked my age and saw that I was a young person, and he wondered if he would like to invite a young person. He said that he considered inviting the oldest person on the board instead (That would have been Mr. Jahman Anikulapo, the renowned art and culture journalist and former Editor of The Guardian on Sunday.). Again, I pointed out how that ‘poor woman, young person’ sounded discriminatory in an intersectional manner.
“They took their time before actually asking me to write statements in response to the questions they had. My lawyer asked them if they planned to take my statement under caution or voluntarily. Umezurike asked why we wanted to know and the lawyer stated that they knew what would happen either way, so he needed them to clarify if they would detain me or not.
“So the police officers looked at one another, and said that I did not have to write the statement on caution, that it would be voluntary. The official said he had to step out to confirm something, then he returned and then said it’s okay to be voluntary.”
Aluko had briefed Shonibare before they went into the NPF-NCCC building: if they made her write her statement under caution, she would have been detained.
A BIASED QUESTIONING
“After the introduction, they asked me for my role as the board chair. Now, at this point, I must say categorically that that investigator was biased,” Shonibare told this reporter.
“It was biased because, if you are conducting an investigation, you shouldn’t have held an initial position. The responses that you get from all of the parties involved are what contribute to analyses and lead to conclusions. But the man already held a position, and the position is that our stories are untrue; that our stories don’t meet journalistic standards and that we don’t adhere to our objectives.
“They asked me that, based on my role, do we have any oversight or control over any news that is released by FIJ. I told them that FIJ has an executive and a non-executive arm. The board is a non-executive arm. No board anywhere is involved in the day-to-day running of an organisation, which is where the executive arm of it comes in. They (the executive) are engaged in the operational activities. We are only engaged in the governance structure and institutional strengthening of the organisation. We are not involved in the day-to-day activities. They were trying to establish that the board chair and board members are supposed to control the stories published by FIJ.
“I explained that the board is headed by me. There is an editorial team, there is an executive arm that is headed by the editor-in-chief. ‘Fisayo (Soyombo) serves as, not just the founder, but as the executive director. In both capacities, he has a seat on the board. So any oversight or any checks that we need to do on the team regarding the day-to-day operational work, we do it through ‘Fisayo.
“So, at this point, the investigator asked, how do we post stories on our website? Does it come through the board? I said that it doesn’t come through the board and it shouldn’t come to the board.
“They said, how do we then ensure control? I said, because there are basic principles, aside from journalistic, ethics and standards. There are principles that guide our work at FIJ. At this point, the investigator started reading out our objectives, emphasising more on the ones relating to the truth. So he asked me directly, can I confirm, can I say that all of the stories that we report at FIJ are true? I said yes. I noticed that his questions were trying to establish a general standard or trying to draw out lapses in FIJ so that he could use the same yardstick to measure all of the stories.
“He asked if every story gets to the board first before it is posted and I said no. I said, no; it doesn’t and it shouldn’t because that is not our responsibility. Just imagine FIJ waiting for board members to vet every story when the board didn’t go on the field, we’re not the ones who went for the investigation. How do we affirm or reject discoveries from a journalist’s investigations? It is not our responsibility or the responsibility of any non-executive member of boards across the world.
“I insisted that other than journalistic ethics, ‘Fisayo is not just a journalist but he’s a multi-international-award-winning journalist, and no journalist will reach such heights without adhering to journalistic standards. And he’s not just qualified, he is not just an award-winning journalist, he’s also experienced with a history in many media firms. We believe that every story that we put out is true. So, on that question, I said, yes, I believe our stories are true to the best extent possible. Even the deputy director did this to me and tried to hint at criminal responsibility.
“When do we see the story, they asked. I said we see the story when others see the story. That’s when we also see the story. I said we see the story like every bystander.
“They tried to make the board assume a potentially criminal position because they were also trying to already establish that ‘Fisayo is a criminal. If they were saying that the board will be criminally responsible, it means that the person that you believed had done wrong was a criminal. They were not satisfied with how short my statement was. We were finished with the questions and the investigator crossed it.
‘PRODUCE FISAYO’
“The investigator closed his iPad, put his hands on the table and said, well we need to speak to ‘Fisayo. You need to produce ‘Fisayo. So I said, if he said I need to produce ‘Fisayo, that sounds like you have tried to get ‘Fisayo or you’ve invited him and he did not come, so you need me, in whatever capacity, to go and produce him. So, I had to clarify that ‘Fisayo was not on the run; it is not like they had invited him and he didn’t come. So, he asked when I could come with ‘Fisayo. I asked if he was inviting me again. He said, yes, but I had to return with ‘Fisayo.
“So, I told him we have to get back to ‘Fisayo and to know when he’ll be available to come, and when he’s around; ‘Fisayo is not running. He took the statement in and came back outside and asked us to come see the deputy director. He had exited at some point into the questioning.
“So, they took us in and he said, madam, how was it? I told him that questions were asked, and questions were answered. He asked if I was treated well, and I said that was subjective. He then said that he could see we were being careful and all of that, that we could be friends. He was doing everything possible to be nice and playful.
“He asked why FIJ was not like another specific non-profit organisation. The deputy director said that he was friends with this non-profit organisation. He said that they would go to do their research and bring the information to the police. ‘So, why are we publishing our work?’ he asked. ‘Why don’t we bring some findings to them and settle things amicably?’ I told him that FIJ is the Foundation for Investigative Journalism. That’s the work that we do. We’re not another befriending non-profit bringing stories to them. We don’t work that way. Our job is to publish stories.
“The deputy director said that he led the investigation into Gistlover releasing wrong information and claimed that what FIJ did was similar. I told him that we don’t do that kind of work. There’s a solemness in the work that we do.
“He then said that he had access to data. ‘Just having your phone number alone, you’ll be shocked at the amount of information I can get,’ he said. He kept saying it as though it was a huge discovery. It seemed like a threat.
“The deputy director said that they had access to data everywhere, data we don’t have access to. ‘For instance, we have access to people’s account details,’ he said. He said that ‘Fisayo and FIJ don’t have that kind of data, account statements and account flows.
“He picked up the statement and said that it was very short. He started reading it and got to the point where I wrote that: for every story we release, we make sure we meet with journalistic standards, including contacting the relevant parties. So he took me up on that. He asked if we do this on every story. I said that is basic journalistic standard.
“He told us to come along to meet the executive director. We went upstairs to meet the executive director and the office was closed. We went downstairs and I was asked if I could wait a little longer to meet the executive director. I reminded him that I had a flight to catch. Then he said that he wouldn’t keep me waiting, then he asked SP Ann to accompany us out.
CONTACTING THE CYBERCRIME CENTRE
When FIJ called Elunor on Thursday to ask for her comments on the encounter, she said she needed to speak with her superior before speaking. She later sent a text message:
“I have spoken with my Team leader and he advice[sic] you come to the office. Thanks.”
When this reporter asked Elunor whom this team leader was, she failed to respond.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said it busted a fake bottled water syndicate at the Pipeline Road axis of Eneka in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The agency said the discovery on Friday morning followed a tip off from some well-meaning members of the public which its official speedily acted on.
NAFDAC Public Relations Officer, South-South Zone, Mr. Cyril Monye, who disclosed this in a statement in Port Harcourt on Friday said the suspects were using a ‘decrepit’ shop camouflage as a pool house for the production.
Monye said one of the distributors of the fake bottled water was arrested after packing the product and loading them for sale to unsuspecting consumers.
The statement read in part, “They pick used Eva plastic bottles which they fill with contaminated water fetched from a paint bucket while using dirty rubber funnel covered with clothing material as filter.
“The already printed Eva labels were then affixed into the plastic bottles and corked with already fake fitted Eva cocks.
“One of the distributors of the adulterated water who identified himself as Chibunna James was arrested as he was loading the product for sale, while the kingpin/producer is at large and efforts are on to track him down.”
Speaking on the incident, the NAFDAC Coordinator in Rivers State, Emmanuel Onogwu, enjoined members of the public to always avail the agency of useful information that will lead to arrest of criminals who specialise in adulteration and faking of regulated products.
The statement further said the fake products of 30 packs were eventually evacuated to NAFDAC office in Port Harcourt, while the uncorked ones were emptied.
NEW YORK (AP) — Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud on hundreds of thousands of customers that unraveled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world’s most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan delivered a blistering analysis of Bankman-Fried and his crimes before announcing a sentence that was half of what prosecutors sought and less than a quarter of the 105 years recommended by the court’s Probation officers.
“There is absolutely no doubt that Mr. Bankman-Fried’s name right now is pretty much mud around the world,” Kaplan said of the 32-year-old man who once seemed atop the cryptocurrency world before his businesses collapsed in November 2022, leaving customers, investors and lenders short over $11 billion, which the judge ordered him to forfeit.
He was convicted in November of fraud and conspiracy — a dramatic fall from a crest of success that included a Super Bowl advertisement and celebrity endorsements from stars like quarterback Tom Brady, basketball star Stephen Curry and comedian Larry David.
Kaplan imposed the sentence in the same Manhattan courtroom where, four months previously, Bankman-Fried testified that he had intended to revolutionize the emerging cryptocurrency market with his innovative and altruistic ideas, not steal. The judge said Bankman-Fried repeatedly committed perjury when he told lies from the witness stand.
Kaplan said the sentence reflected “that there is a risk that this man will be in position to do something very bad in the future. And it’s not a trivial risk at all.” He added that it was “for the purpose of disabling him to the extent that can appropriately be done for a significant period of time.”
Kaplan said he would advise the Federal Bureau of Prisons to send Bankman-Fried to a medium-security prison near San Francisco because his notoriety, his association with vast wealth, his autism and social awkwardness are likely to make him especially vulnerable at a high-security facility.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos had recommended a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years, saying it was the only way to ensure “the defendant doesn’t do it again.”
“The defendant victimized tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years. He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him; he lied to investors; he sent fabricated documents to lenders; he pumped millions of dollars in illegal donations into our political system; and he bribed foreign officials. Each of these crimes is worthy of a lengthy sentence,” prosecutors had said in a court filing.
Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried misappropriated billions of dollars to fuel his quest for influence and dominance in the new industry, and had illegally used money from FTX depositors to cover his expenses, which included purchasing luxury properties in the Caribbean, bribes to Chinese officials and private planes.
Kaplan agreed with prosecutors Thursday that Bankman-Fried should not get leniency just because some investors and customers might get some of their losses back. He noted that customers lost about $8 billion, investors lost $1.7 billion and lenders were shorted by $1.3 billion.
Given a chance to speak, Bankman-Fried stood and apologized in a rambling statement, saying: “A lot of people feel really let down. And they were very let down. And I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage.”
He added, “My useful life is probably over. It’s been over for a while now, from before my arrest.”
Bankman-Fried, wearing his khaki-colored prison uniform and chained at the ankles, seemed to briefly get emotional as he spoke for about 20 minutes, expressing regret about “a lot of mistakes” but casting some of the blame onto others. His trademark messy and bushy hair had returned from the trimmer look he displayed at trial.
The judge later criticized those remarks, saying he expressed “never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes.”
Defense lawyer Marc Mukasey said his client was misunderstood.
“Sam was not a ruthless financial serial killer who set out every morning to hurt people,” Mukasey said. “Sam Bankman-Fried doesn’t make decisions with malice in his heart. He makes decisions with math in his head.”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced the formation of a new Cabinet as it faces international pressure to reform.
President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the PA for nearly two decades, announced the new government in a presidential decree on Thursday.
Abbas tapped Mohammad Mustafa, a longtime adviser, to be prime minister earlier this month. He replaced Mohammed Shtayyeh, who, along with his government, resigned in February citing the need for change amid Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and escalating violence in the occupied West Bank.
Mustafa is a politically independent US-educated economist and has pledged to form a technocratic government and create an independent trust fund to help rebuild Gaza. Mustafa will also serve as foreign minister.
Interior Minister Ziad Hab al-Rih is a member of Abbas’s secular Fatah movement and held the same portfolio in the previous government. The Interior Ministry oversees the security forces. The incoming minister for Jerusalem affairs, Ashraf al-Awar, registered to run as a Fatah candidate in elections in 2021 that were indefinitely delayed.
At least five of the incoming 23 ministers are from Gaza, but it was not immediately clear if they are still in the besieged territory.
The PA administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and is dominated by Abbas’s Fatah party. Fatah has long had a strained relationship with Hamas, the group that runs Gaza, and the two factions fought a brief war before Fatah was expelled from the territory in 2007.
The PA has little popular support or legitimacy among Palestinians, in part because it has not held elections in 18 years. Its policy of cooperating with Israel on security matters is extremely unpopular and has led many Palestinians to view it as a subcontractor of the occupation.
The provisional self-governing authority has also been unable to prevent Israeli occupation from expanding, including stopping Israel’s illegal settlement expansion project, home demolition orders and widescale arrests.
It has struggled to address major concerns about the status of Jerusalem – the eastern half of which remains occupied by Israel – as well as Palestinian refugees and the right of return.
Opinion polls in recent years have consistently found that a vast majority of Palestinians want the 88-year-old Abbas to resign.
The United States has called for a revitalised PA to administer Gaza after the Israeli war on the territory ends.
More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza since October 7, according to Palestinian authorities. More than 80 percent of its 2.3 million population has been displaced and are in desperate need of aid, and swaths of the enclave now lie in rubble.
Israel has rejected the US plan, saying it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with Palestinians who are not affiliated with the PA or Hamas.
Mustafa said in a cabinet statement addressed to Abbas that the first national priority is an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave, in addition to allowing humanitarian aid to enter in large quantities and reaching all areas, WAFA reported.
“In order to enable the launch of the recovery process and preparation for reconstruction, stop the aggression and settlement activities, and curb settlers’ terrorism in the West Bank,” Mustafa added.
Hamas has rejected the formation of the new government as illegitimate, calling instead for all Palestinian factions, including Fatah, to form a power-sharing government ahead of national elections.
Fatah and Hamas have attempted several times in the past to form a unity government, but the attempts have so far been fruitless.
How wholesome is that tomato paste you are consuming?
Experts say it may be reddish in colour and ravishing but could lead to other diseases such as cancer. To this end, the global food safety concerns on processed fruits and vegetables, which tomatoes pastes belong took the centre stage in Lagos recently, during a Consultative Meeting with Importers of Tomato Paste in Retail Packs (Sachet/Tin) from China by Erisco Foods producers of RIC-GIKO tomato paste with support from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC.
The concerns came as a result of a recent discovery that a group of Asians and their Nigerian collaborators have been killing Nigerians by selling starch and colouring in the name of Tomato paste.
According to the President of Erisco foods Limited, Chief Eric Umeiofia, reports from a NAFDAC survey revealed that such killer tomato paste with colouring are carcinogenic and therefore unfit for human consumption.
“Apart from the cancer-causing colouring, the starch contained in those products is clearly harmful to unsuspecting diabetic patients. This, the importers have been doing by luring unsuspecting Nigerians with banned synthetic colouring agents which are eye-catching and other substandard ingredients and with sell at cheap prices! However, it has been established that the more red your food is via substandard tomato paste, the more you endanger your life and that of your family,” he stated.
Umeiofia who explained that Ric-Giko shared their standard with tomato paste produced in the United State, South Africa and EU lamented the faking of some genuine tomato paste in the country. He said wholesome tomato paste such as RIC-GIKO should be a rich source of Lycopene, a photochemical with many possible health benefits and a natural pigment that gives many red fruits and vegetables their colour.
“It has been scientifically proven that Lycopene contains a potent antioxidant that stabilizes free radicals making them harmless and helping the body to dispose of them thereby reducing the risks of cancer and other Non-Communicable Diseases, NCDs.
However, the substandard tomato paste contain little or no Lycopene and secondly, the banned colouring used by importers of deadly tomato paste are most times impossible to dispose of from the body. The colourings therefore stick to veins, arteries and vital organs and accumulate to cause cancer, hypertension and other diseases.
In addition, the banned colouring agents have been proven to cause poor neurological development in children; causing hyperactivity, poor concentration and, hence, poor performance in education and progress in life.
He advised Nigerians to patronise only made-in-Nigeria Food product, adding that the Nigerian government should encourage indigenous local manufacturers, especially in the food sector as tomato paste.
Endorsing Ric-giko tomato paste, the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii stated that it has become imperative to conduct a study on the quality of tomato pastes imported from China to Nigeria.
Orhii said: “Tomato is one of the consumed fruits in the world, either as raw fruits or as processed products. In fact, available records revealed that globally, tomatoes are second only to potatoes in economic importance and consumption and are used in the food industry as raw material for the production of several products like juices, sauces, purse, pastes and canned tomatoes.”
PRESS RELEASE March 28, 2024 FAAN SHUTS DOWN KFC OUTLET AT MMIA
In line with Lagos State law on People with Special Needs, Part C, section 55 of General Provisions on Discrimination which states that “A person shall not deprive another person of access to any place, vehicle or facility that members of the public are entitled to enter or use on the basis of the disability of that person”, the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has closed the KFC facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos with effect from March 28, 2024.
This is as a result of a social media report by a Passenger with Reduced Mobility (PRM), alleging discriminatory treatment he received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The MD/CE of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi, Kuku intervened swiftly by deploying a management team comprising the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mrs Obiageli Orah; the Regional Manager South West, Mr. Sunday Ayodele; Ag. General Manager Public Affairs, Mrs Ijeoma Nwosu-Igbo and the International Terminal Manager, Mr. Kerri, to investigate the allegation.
It is based on the findings of the team that FAAN has shut down the KFC facility at the MMA, where the incident occurred.
The authority has instructed that the KFC Management should tender an unreserved apology, in writing, to the affected PRM and a policy statement of non-discrimination be written and pasted conspicuously at the door post of their facility at MMIA before it resumes operation.
FAAN uses this medium to express our unreserved apology to the affected Passenger with Reduced Mobility and assures all airport users that we shall continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the rights of every passenger are not infringed upon.
Mrs Obiageli Orah Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection.
The victim of the maltreatment, Adebola Daniel, son of former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, recounted his experience at the KFC outlet of the airport in a series of posts on Wednesday via his social media handle.
Daniel, a wheelchair user, described his ordeal as “the worst sort of public humiliation” he ever had.
However, because “the lift to the lounge has been out of service,” for the past three years, he decided to find “solace” at the KFC outlet in the airport, alongside his wife and his three brothers, whom they were travelling together.
“Today I chose KFC – what a colossal mistake,” he bemoaned.
EreluRoz: This nlfpmod is mischievous , he surely knows the kind of topic to bring to the front page for gbasgbos but he'll be pretending like he's gentle.
He no dy take eye see any paternity fraud story before he rushes to bring it to front page
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Those who want the Naira to be N400 to the $ are living in a dream world. Even discounting for the negative impact of speculative attacks on the value of the Naira, the exchange rate will (and should) reflect its market value in reality, not the artificiality that the Emefiele era central bank sought to maintain to please economic illiterates in political power at the time.
That artificiality created room for massive arbitrage by speculators which bled the economy. Nigeria does not (yet) have a productive export economy. That’s the heart of the matter.
And we do not have $100 billion in foreign reserves. So on what basis would the Naira forex rate return to some fantasy land soon? It will also take time to regain or achieve full investor confidence such as we had when we were there (and the rate was N150-165 to the $ 😀).
The sooner we focus on a painstaking creation of vale-added manufacturing export economy that earns forex beyond oil in real and significant terms, the better. Key to this is the electricity conundrum in which we are at less that 4,000 megawatts of generation for a population of 200 million for decades now. Take power to even 20K megawatts (let’s not talk of 50K for South Africa’s 60 million population or Brazil’s 181K megawatts for a population only slightly larger than Nigeria) and you will see what the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit is capable of.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari expresses his deepest condolences to his former official photographer, Sunday Aghaeze, and family, on the death of his wife, Mabel.
In a message to the Aghaezes at the funeral, which held on Thursday, the former President said he was shocked by the news of the demise of the brilliant chartered accountant, adding that the family had lost a pillar of support, a peaceful and loving mother.
He urged Mr. Aghaeze and the children to take solace in the good name and solid reputation that the deceased left behind, and to thank God for giving them Mabel for the period He allowed.
The Defence Headquarters said troops of Operation Hadrin Daji have rescued 16 Almajiris and a woman abducted in Gada Local Government Aera of Sokoto State.
The PUNCH reports that some terrorists had invaded the LGA on March 9, 2024, and kidnapped the victims.
The DHQ, in a statement on Saturday, by the Director of Media Operations, Maj. Gen Buba Edward, said the troops with local authorities and government agencies worked together to ensure the freedom of the hostages.
He noted that the rescued victims had been handed over to the Sokoto state government. The statement read, “Recall terrorists invaded and kidnapped 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman in Gada LGA of Sokoto State.
“On 21 March 2024, the military, working with local authorities and government agencies across the country, in a coordinated search and rescue operation rescued these hostages.
“The rescued hostages have been handed over to the Sokoto State Government for further action. ”
Edward, however, said the military had extended its resources to find and rescue kidnapped victims in the country.
He vowed that the military would not rest on its oars until terrorists and other non-state actors abducting citizens are brought to book.
Edward said, “Additionally, the armed forces are extending all of its efforts and resources to find other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.
“These efforts would continue until they are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law. The military would not rest until all kidnapped hostages are rescued.”
Edward also noted that troops would deploy the same efforts to fish out those behind the death of its personnel in Delta State.
He said, ” Furthermore, troops are deploying the same effort to track down the culprits responsible for the killings of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State on 14 March 2024.”
He said the banner of wanted persons would be deployed in strategic locations.
He said, ” Indeed, to curb the freedom of action of terrorists and the perpetrators of insecurity across the country, the military has released banners of wanted terrorist and their cohorts.
“The banners would be deployed in strategic areas across the country. The deployment of the banner is for ease of recognition and arrest of the wanted persons. The public is urged to cooperate and report, please.”
In the last one year, we have had more than 50 people raised from the dead. How do you explain such things? Both old and young, in various countries. How do you explain? What will you use to explain them? Including the ones that happened in the hospitals to the amazement of doctors and nurses. Maybe we bribed them....
A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack damaged power plants and caused blackouts for more than a million Ukrainians on Friday morning, in what Ukrainian officials said was one of the war’s largest assaults on energy infrastructure.
At least five people were killed in the assault, and 23 others were injured, according to Ukrainian officials.
The strikes came as the Kremlin escalated its rhetoric over the conflict, saying that Russia was “in a state of war” in Ukraine — and moving beyond the euphemism “special military operation” — because of the West’s heavy involvement on the Ukrainian side.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, traffic lights were not working and the water supply was disrupted. A fire raged at the country’s largest hydroelectric dam, in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. A few dozen miles to the southwest, a power line supplying a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant was temporarily knocked out.
“The enemy is now launching the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy sector in recent times,” Herman Halushchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, said on Facebook. “The goal is not just to damage, but to try again, like last year, to cause a large-scale failure of the country’s energy system.”
The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia had launched 63 Iranian-made “Shahed” attack drones and 88 missiles in the assault, including hypersonic weapons that fly at several times the speed of sound. The air force said it had shot down most of the drones but fewer than half of the missiles, a low interception rate compared with previous assaults that may reflect Ukraine’s dwindling air-defense stocks.
“Russian missiles have no delays, unlike aid packages for Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, an apparent reference to the $60 billion in military assistance for Ukraine that Republicans in the United States Congress have held up for months.
'A huge shock': Catherine, Princess of Wales, announces she has cancer
Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed Friday she has been diagnosed with cancer and is in the “early stages” of treatment.
The princess described the diagnosis as a “huge shock” in a video statement released on social media. The news comes two months after she had temporarily stepped away from public life following what Kensington Palace said at the time was surgery for a non-cancerous abdominal condition.
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous,” said Catherine, 42, who is married to the heir to the British throne, Prince William.
“The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”
Kate continued that her diagnosis was “a huge shock” and that “William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”
The princess added, “As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.”
Kate said that she had told them she is “well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.”
She praised Prince William for being by her side as “a great source of comfort and reassurance” as well as the support she has received from the public.
“We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment. My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery,” the princess said.
She ended her heartfelt message by saying that she was also keeping “all those whose lives have been affected by cancer” in her thoughts.
“For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone,” Kate concluded.
The announcement is a devastating blow for the British monarchy as King Charles III is currently undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer, which was announced by Buckingham Palace in early February.
The update on the princess’s health came after Kate successfully underwent abdominal surgery on January 16. She remained in a London hospital for 13 days following the procedure and, on doctor’s advice, had since been away from public duties during her recovery.
Kate was spotted in public for the first time since her surgery, visiting a farm shop with her husband Prince William last weekend.
Travel / Third Mainland Bridge Reopens On Thursday, April 4, 2024 by nlfpmod: 4:18pm On Mar 31