News & Announcements

Author Salman Rushdie has been taken off a ventilator and is able to talk again, a day after being stabbed. Rushdie, 75, was attacked while speaking at an event in New York state and was in critical condition, reports the BBC.

His agent, Andrew Wylie, confirmed the news to US media but had previously said the author may lose an eye.
Rushdie has faced years of death threats for his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims see as blasphemous.

The man charged over the attack pleaded not guilty to attempted murder on Saturday and has been remanded in custody without bail.
Hadi Matar, 24, is accused of running onto the stage and stabbing Rushdie at least 10 times in the face, neck, and abdomen. Following the attack, Wylie said Rushdie had suffered severed nerves in one arm, damage to his liver, and would likely lose an eye.

While the author’s latest condition has not yet been updated, several fellow writers and scholars tweeted their relief at finding out the novelist was now able to talk.

Michael Hill, the president of the Chautauqua Institution where the attack took place, also tweeted the news.
Henry Reese, who had been due to interview Rushdie at the event, suffered a minor head injury. He is the co-founder of a non-profit organization that provides sanctuary to writers exiled under the threat of persecution.

Before the attack, Rushdie was about to give a speech about how the US has served as a haven for such writers.
The novelist was forced into hiding for nearly 10 years after The Satanic Verses was published in 1988. Many Muslims reacted with fury to it, arguing that the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad was a grave insult to their faith.

He faced death threats and the then-Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa – or decree – calling for Rushdie’s assassination, placing a $3m (£2.5m) bounty on the author’s head.
The fatwa remains active, and although Iran’s government has distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, a quasi-official Iranian religious foundation added a further $500,000 to the reward in 2012.

Rushdie was born in Bombay, India in 1947. He was sent to boarding school in England before going on to study history at the University of Cambridge. In 2007, he was knighted for services to literature.
There has been an outpouring of support for him, with the attack widely condemned as an assault on freedom of expression.

Big Brother Naija housemate, Ilebaye has been evicted from the level-up season.
Ilebaye is the third housemate to be evicted from the show. Recall that Christy O and Cyph were evicted last week. 
They were nominated by Adekunle who won last week’s head of the house. The winner of the edition will walk away with N100 million worth of prizes.

Elon Musk has sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares, according to legal filings published on Tuesday, amid a high-stakes legal battle with Twitter over a $44 billion buyout deal.
The Tesla boss sold some 7.9 million shares between August 5 and 9, according to filings published on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website.

“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” Musk, the world’s richest man wrote on Twitter late Tuesday.

Twitter is locked in a legal battle with the mercurial Tesla boss over his effort to walk away from the April agreement to buy the company, and a judge has ordered that a trial will begin in October.
Related News Buyout deal: Elon Musk accuses Twitter of fraud Elon Musk fires back at Twitter in court Elon Musk denies an affair with friend’s wife. Musk has filed a countersuit, accusing Twitter of fraud and alleging the social media platform misled him about key aspects of its business before he agreed to a $44 billion buyout.

The move comes after Musk sold around $8.5 billion worth of shares in the electric carmaker in April as he was preparing to finance the Twitter deal. He tweeted at the time: “No further TSLA sales planned after today.”

Sierra Leone’s parliament on Monday passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms.

The West African country has a history of sometimes deadly conflict between local communities and foreign companies that have cleared huge tracts of land for palm oil and sugarcane plantations in recent years.

Locals have complained of environmental damage, losing their livelihoods, and not being fairly compensated for their land. Under the current system, landowners get an annual rent of $2.5 per acre, which was determined by the state.

The Customary Land Rights Act and the Land Commission Act, both enacted on Monday, empower local landowners to negotiate the value of their land with investors and prevent it from being leased out without their express consent.
Campaigners and locals praised the move, while one palm oil company executive said it would spell the end of the investment.

“To our knowledge, there is not a legal regime anywhere, in either hemisphere that grants such robust rights to communities facing harm,” said Eleanor Thompson of Namati, an international legal advocacy group.

A director of SOCFIN, the biggest agribusiness company in Sierra Leone, called it a “dream of NGOs”.
“Certainly it will block any investment… It makes things very expensive and we are all prone to enormous blackmail by various communities,” Gerben Haringsma added.

The Luxembourg-based company has invested more than $150 million in palm oil farming in Sierra Leone. It has also frequently clashed with local landowners.
Lands Minister Turad Senessie said the new laws would encourage investment by ensuring peace and order.

“This is a win-win situation for both business and Sierra Leoneans including rural landowners,” he told Reuters. One of the laws will also end a colonial-era provision that bars descendants of freed slaves from owning land outside the capital, Freetown.

Ukrainian Presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak has warned about Russia’s next line of action in Ukraine.
Podolyak warned that Russia is aiming to “freeze the conflict for six months in order to bring new troops and weapons to the front line.”

He warned that if Ukraine’s allies, the West and the United States “get tired of the war, Russia will strike again with all its might.”
Continuing, the adviser said that his country needs the supply of long-range artillery, MLRS and unmanned aerial vehicles.

He called on Germany to rise to the occasion and take a different path and understand what Russia really is, adding that “it is a fact that we need more weapons.”
The President’s adviser said this in an interview with the Tagesspiegel, calling on Germany to help increase its weapons supply.

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed an officer, Liyomo Okoi, for flogging a man with a machete.
The dismissed officer was captured in a viral video on 31st July 2022 where he was flogging a man with a machete.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Monday revealed that the officer has been dismissed on grounds of gross misconduct.
“The Force has dismissed Force No. 524503 PC Liyomo Okoi attached to Ekori Divisional Headquarters, Cross Rivers Police Command for gross misconduct captured in a viral video on 31st July 2022 where he was flogging a man with a machete. His dismissal takes effect from today the 8th of August, 2022,” the statement partly read.

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, also expressed grave disappointment at the reports of brutality and extortion leveled against some police officers via various complaint channels available to the public, particularly on social media platforms.
The statement revealed, “The IGP has, therefore, directed all supervising Commissioners of Police and Tactical/Strategic Commanders to ensure strict supervision of their personnel as further incidences of this nature would be viewed strictly.

“The IGP has also ordered a wholistic overhauling of the Intelligence Response Team, the Special Tactical Squad, and the Special Weapon and Tactics Units to ensure that their operations are in tandem with the purpose for their creation, and maximum effectiveness and output in line with the mandate of the IGP’s administration and public safety.

“The IGP has therefore directed the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Intelligence Bureau (AIG-FIB) to carry out a supervisory role over the three units to ensure their operations are professional, active, and productive and do not infringe on the fundamental rights of the citizenry, and other members of the public.

It was a deluge of praises and commendation as the family of late business mogul and philanthropist, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo marked one year memorial of his demise that witnessed personalities from all works of life.

The event, which was held at the Well Hosa’s Greenhouse Farm along the Benin bypass also had religious and traditional leaders in attendance.
The Deputy Governor of Edo state, Comrade Philip Shaibu who stood in for Governor Godwin Obaseki said Okunbo “lives on and will continue to live on. We can go on and on how he has touched lives. I have a personal relationship with him, and obviously we will miss him”, he said. 

A two-time governor of Delta State, James Ibori said Okunbo was “Somebody who will never say no to any request no matter how difficult and he has done it, he would say I have done it but it was tough.”

To the family, he said “We are your fathers, brothers and as long as I continue to breathe, the family, have me by your side. He was a great man and we will continue to miss him. He has not left, he is still with us.”
Okunbo’s daughter who is the wife of the Olu of Warri, Her Royal Highness Olori Atuwatse III, said the departure of “my dad felt like a thousand pillars crushing my heart. It heralded a phase of grief that I didn’t know I could eventually conquer, were it not for the mercies of God through Jesus Christ and the fantastic people I have been gifted with. 

“This is why we have converged here today at the magnificent Well Hosa’s farm; one of my dear father’s entrepreneurial legacies while he was with us and where he continues to rest to give God thanks.”
Speaking on behalf of the Okunbo family, Kingsley Okunbo called for unity which he said was what his late brother stood for.

He said “It has been a long year. Only one thing has bonded this family together and it is love and we will not trade it for anything. Cappy never played with the love that bonds the family and this by the grace of God we will continue”
The scion of Captain Hosa, Osahon Okunbo said the last year since the demise of his father has been so challenging noting that he missed those midnight calls and fatherly counsel. 
“To brothers and sisters who are unavoidably absent, I’m always here for you. Just know that you have a big brother. I also want to thank all those who took time on a Monday morning to identify with us. We are indeed grateful. 

In his sermon,  Pastor Charles Osazuwa urged youths to develop skills to add value to the government.
Among dignitaries present were representatives from the Palace of the Oba of Benin, the palace of Olu of Warri, Segun Awolowo Jr, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie Esq. and several others.

Belarusians will put up a powerful resistance if Minsk drags the country into full participation in Moscow’s war on Ukraine, according to opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.“Our partisan movement will sabotage this. Orders will be refused.

“Or Belarusian soldiers will surrender there and then,’’ Tikhanovskaya told DPA in an interview two years after disputed elections led to an uprising in Belarus.
Tikhanovskaya said Russia was probably counting on Belarus as a bridgehead for an attack on their neighboring country Ukraine even at the time of the rigged elections that returned leader Alexander Lukashenko to power.

Lukashenko proclaimed himself the winner of the elections on Aug. 9, 2020, triggering unprecedented protests in Belarus.
The United States and the European Union did not recognize Lukashenko as a legitimate president.
Many saw Tikhanovskaya as the true winner.

However, although there were serious demonstrations, these were halted by a huge crackdown on the pro-democracy opposition, trade unions, rights defenders, and independent journalists.
“Lukashenko is a collaborator. He dragged Belarus into this war and for Russia to keep him in power, he’s now doing everything that’s asked of him,’’ Tikhanovskaya said.
Belarus had not officially joined Russia’s war on Ukraine.

However, shortly after the start of the invasion in February this year, Lukashenko acknowledged that Russian missiles had been fired from Belarusian territory across the border toward Ukraine.
“It’s now clear that the Kremlin was already planning to ensure Lukashenko remained in power so Russian forces could attack Ukraine from Belarusian territory,” Tikhanovskaya said.

“But there were also acts of sabotage against the important supply routes at the beginning of the war.
“Rail partisans slowed down military transport and information was given to Ukrainian forces about bases from which Russian missiles were fired.”
According to her, a battalion of Belarusian fighters also formed in Ukraine to fight against the Russian incursion.

In spite of the Kremlin’s demands, Lukashenko had not fully committed Belarus to outright war on Ukraine.
Tikhanovskaya said 86 percent of the people in Belarus were against the war, NAN reports.

A Zambian man identified as Martin Stampa reportedly collapsed after discovering his wife is his “landlord.”

Local news platforms reported that Stampa lived in the house for 15 years, and was paying 3500 kwacha every month. It was also gathered that his wife was the one who always took the rent to his “landlord.”
However, an altercation ensued after the lady identified as Lushomo discovered that her husband was having an extramarital affair. Martin reportedly told his wife that he got a side chick because he wanted someone who was intelligent and engages in smart conversations.

This riled Lushomo, who ended up spilling the beans and telling Martin that he’s not intelligent enough as he has been paying her a monthly rent because the house they live in belongs to her.
On seeing the house’s title deeds, Martin lost consciousness and collapsed. People had to drench him with bucketfuls of water to wake him up.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said his experience will help him win his re-election bid. Sanwo-Olu said this on Sunday in an interview on Channels Television.
On the threat of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Candidate, Dr. Olajide Adediran, the governor said in an emergency it is in the interest of the people to go for an experienced person to handle the situation than going for someone who does not know what the issues are.

Arguing that he has the experience to do the needful in Lagos, he said, ‘this is real governance. I have the greatest respect for all the candidates but the governance of Lagos is not a trial and error, you have to hit the ground running.

“If you have an emergency at 3: am, who would you call? What are your chances? Do you call a man that has the experience, that has gone through the trenches before, that has lived with it and understands what the issues are and appreciates the challenges you have at that 3:am? Or will you leave your chances to someone that does not know where the dial is or that does not know what the issues of governance are? This is Lagos and we have informed audiences. This is not a tea party. This is a state that is bigger than the economy of Ghana; in itself, it is a country. It is not a circus but a real thing.

“I don’t want to disparage anyone because I have the greatest respect for all the candidates that have emerged and the candidate of the particular party you are talking about. How does he start? It is not trial and error; you need to hit the ground from day one. I know all the names of my 65 or so permanent secretaries and I know what their pedigrees are. I believe that we have earned it.”

To fight unemployment, the governor said he has trained no fewer than 400,000 people in new skills since he assumed office in 2019.