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Osinbajo urges global leaders to fulfill $100b climate change pledge

By
Henry Williams
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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has appealed to the global community to fulfill the $100b pledged to African countries for mitigation of climate change activities

The Vice President who was making a special presentation at the virtual edition of the 2022 World Economic Forum featuring leaders from across the world, urged the international community to “meet its pledge recently re-affirmed at COP-26 of providing $100 billion annually in climate finance to support climate change efforts in developing countries.”

He explained that although Africans are working towards the globally accepted net-zero future, “we are also conscious that our energy needs are increasing with the growth in our economies”

He stated that we need partnerships that help to tackle climate change, address security concerns, promote economic prosperity, combat disease, and improve governance.

Nigerians mock Buhari over Afcon loss

By
Henry Williams
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The Lagos State government is putting finishing touches to Timberville, Owu-Ikosi, Agbowa, in Ikorodu, where it plans to relocate sawmillers from the Okobaba waterfront in Ebute Meta area of the state.

Idris Salako, the commissioner for physical planning and urban development, accompanied by Ganiyu Ayuba, the special adviser on urban development, and Abiola Kosegbe, the permanent secretary, in the ministry, undertook the inspection of the new site to assess the level of work.

According to Salako, in a statement signed by Mukaila Sanusi, deputy director, public affairs, of the ministry, all neccessary facilities at Tamberville are being provided to facilitate a hitch-free wood processing and sales.

The commissioner noted that the facilities which include, link roads and internal roads, drainage, electricity, housing and display sheds were being put in place for the comfort of sawmillers and their customers.

He explained that the government had resolved the issue of connectivity by providing an alternative link road as supplement to the main road, thereby making it possible to approach the Timberville from Ikorodu-Itoikin road.

Nigerians mock Buhari over Afcon loss

By
Henry Williams
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Some Nigerians on Twitter are making fun of President Muhammadu Buhari by blaming his video call to the national football team for the loss to Tunisia in the Afcon games.

Nigeria had won all their previous group matches, emerging as favourites in the tournament.

Tunisia won Sunday’s match 1-0, with their coach and several players out after contracting coronavirus.

Nigerians online expressed their disappointment albeit in a humorous way, and blamed president Buhari.

Stowaway found in South Africa plane wheel at Amsterdam airport

By
Henry Williams
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The underbelly of a Boeing 767, the type of plane on which a 16-year-old stowaway reportedly made the death-defying trip from California to Hawaii inside the wheel well.

Dutch police say they have found a stowaway alive in the wheel section of a plane that landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport from South Africa.

Flights from Johannesburg to Amsterdam take about 11 hours, with the cargo plane believed to have made one stop, in Nairobi, Kenya.

It is very unusual for stowaways on long flights to survive, due to the cold and low oxygen at high altitudes.

The man’s age and nationality have not yet been determined, police say.

A spokesperson for freight carrier Cargolux confirmed in an email to Reuters that the stowaway had been on a flight operated by Cargolux Italia.

According to flight data, the only Cargolux freight flight from Johannesburg to Schiphol on Sunday also made a stop in Nairobi. It is not known if the man boarded the plane in South Africa or Kenya.

Burkina Faso President Kaboré reportedly detained by military

By
Henry Williams
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The President of Burkina Faso, Roch Kaboré, has reportedly been detained by mutinying soldiers.

Some troops in the West African nation have demanded the sacking of military chiefs and more resources to fight Islamist militants.

Gunfire had been heard overnight near the presidential palace and at barracks in the capital, Ouagadougou.

The government on Sunday denied suggestions of a military coup or that the president was under arrest.

President Kaboré was detained at a military camp by mutinying soldiers, foreign media reports say. Video from the capital appears to show armoured vehicles

UNIMAID Developing Devices To Tackle Insecurity, says VC

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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The Vice-Chancellor, University of Maiduguri, Prof. Aliyu Shugaba says the institution has recently gone into research and innovative programme to develop devices to tackle insecurity challenges in the campus.

Shugaba disclosed this when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja.

He said that the institution brought the innovative idea following the devastating effects of insecurity in Borno and its environs.

According to him, the university is working with some relevant stakeholders in the area of research and development to provide an enabling environment for effective academic activities in the institution.

“In recent years, we have started recording success in research; we have recorded about five patents and we have breakthrough in registering the patents.

“We are now looking at the commercialisation of them,’’ he said.

He said that one of the patents was in veterinary medicine; a kind of ointment that could be applied for the treatment of some animal diseases.

“The other one is in the area of telescope that will allow someone to view certain things from a far distance. Another one was in the area of engineering.’’

He said that the university had received some awards as a result of its achievements in research.

On incentives, he said that there were no specific incentives to motivate the staff to work except “the visiting lecturers whom the university gives 75 per cent of their salary.’’

He, however, said that in spite of the security challenges people were still taking up jobs in the region except those that were not from the region.

According to him, Maiduguri is the safest place in the country irrespective of the security challenges.

He also encouraged Nigerian students to go into whatever field of study they had passion for and harness the opportunities in the areas, saying “there is no single course that one will study and will not find use for it.”

Shugaba said that all the programmes in the University of Maiduguri had gotten full accreditation from National Universities Commission (NUC) except “Civil and Water Resources Engineering” which is in works.

Exploring Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar

By
Angel Gimalo
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A portion of a dirt road in Madagascar is one of the island nation’s most famous landmarks.

Known as the Avenue of the Baobabs, the stretch of road is lined with giant, ancient baobab trees that are more than 800 years old.

The dirt road on the west coast of Madagascar linking Morondava and Belo Tsiribihina is framed by dozens of rare and ancient baobab trees creating a setting so beautiful and unique that it may become the country’s first official natural monument.

These giant, dry season-deciduous trees (members of the Mallow family), many of which are more than 800 years old with trunks that are over 150 feet around did not always stand alone.

At one time the trees dotting the lane were part of a rich forest of the trees and other plants, but the encroachment of modern civilization and increasing populations in the area led to massive deforestation leaving the remaining baobabs to stand in relative isolation.

There are also a handful of the ancient trees remaining in the outlying areas but both the trees along the road otherwise are under near-constant threat of destruction.

UAE Bans Flying Of Recreational Drones After Fatal Attack

By
Zoe Maven
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The United Arab Emirates has banned the flying of drones in the country for recreation after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a fatal drone attack on an oil facility and major airport in the country.

According to the Interior Ministry, as of Saturday, drone hobbyists and other operators of light electric sports aircraft face legal liabilities if caught flying the objects, adding it may grant exemptions to businesses seeking to film.

A rare drone and missile strike on the capital of Abu Dhabi blew up several fuel tankers and killed three people last week.

The Houthis, who hold Yemen’s capital and have fought a bloody, yearlong war with a Saudi-led military coalition that includes the UAE, claimed the assault.

While the UAE has largely withdrawn troops from the stalemated conflict, the country continues to be a major player and support local militias on the ground.

The UAE said the Houthis targeted the country with bomb-laden drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, adding the country had intercepted some of the projectiles.

In response to the strike, the Saudi-led coalition has escalated attacks on the rebel-held parts of Yemen in the last week.

Government regulations in the UAE already restrict flying drones in residential areas as well as near, around and over airports. Drone users typically must obtain a certificate from the civil aviation authorities.

Heavy Gunfire Reported At Burkina Faso Military Base

By
Zoe Maven
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Heavy gunfire rang out at a military base in Burkina Faso’s capital early Sunday, prompting fears that a coup attempt was underway after weeks of growing frustration with the government’s handling of the Islamic insurgency wracking the West African country.

The mutinous soldiers seized control of the Lamizana Sangoule military barracks in Ouagadougou, the capital while the government put out a statement acknowledging gunfire in army barracks but denying an army takeover of the country.

Defense Minister Aime Barthelemy Simpore told state broadcaster RTB that a few barracks had been affected not only in Ouagadougou but in “some cities elsewhere.

He denied, however, that President Roch Marc Christian Kabore had been detained by the mutinous soldiers, even though his whereabouts remained unknown.

At the Lamizana Sangoule military barracks, however, angry soldiers shot into the air Sunday, directing their anger over army casualties at the president. About 100 motorcycles later left the base, chanting in support of the mutineers, but were stopped when security forces deployed tear gas.

The soldiers said that they were seeking better working conditions for Burkina Faso’s military amid the escalating fight against Islamic militants. Among their demands are increased manpower in the battle against extremists, and better care for those wounded and the families of the dead.

The gunfire comes a day after protesters demanded his resignation at a demonstration in Ouagadougou. Kabore has faced growing opposition since his reelection in November 2020. Last month he fired his prime minister and replaced most of the Cabinet.

Russia Rejects UK Claim Of Trying To Replace Ukraine Leader

By
Zoe Maven
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Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday rejected a British claim that Russia was seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration, and that former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev was being considered as a potential candidate.

Britain’s Foreign Office on Saturday also named several other Ukrainian politicians it said had links with Russian intelligence services, along with Murayev who is the leader of a small party that has no seats in parliament.

Those politicians include Mykola Azarov, a former prime minister under Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president ousted in a 2014 uprising, and Yanukovych’s former chief of staff, Andriy Kluyev.

Murayev’s Nashi party is regarded as sympathetic to Russia, but Murayev on Sunday pushed back, characterizing it as pro-Russia.

The U.K. government made the claim based on an intelligence assessment, without providing evidence to back it up. It comes amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia’s designs on Ukraine and each side’s increasing accusations that the other is planning provocations.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging app Sunday that the disinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is more evidence that it is the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, who are escalating tensions around Ukraine.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the information “shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.

Britain has sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine as part of efforts to bolster its defenses against a potential Russian attack.

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