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Ethiopia’s Tigray Rebels Take Lalibela, UNESCO World Heritage Town

Angel Gimalo
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Ethiopia’s Tigray Rebels Take Lalibela, UNESCO World Heritage Town

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has promised to enthrone international standards and best practice in the handling of ships and cargo in all seaports in the country.

The acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Mohammed Bello Koko made the remark while addressing members of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation led by Senator Theodore Orji, during an oversight visit to NPA.

According to him, the authority has created the enabling environment for a well-structured inter-modal system for seamless connectivity of the waterways, rail and road transportation, to foster improved service delivery as well as increase in revenue to the nation’s purse.

He noted that the various reforms rolled out by the Federal Government have had a significant positive impact on port productivity, stressing that the dividends were evident in the areas of reduced cargo dwell time, improvement in cargo throughput, ship turn-around time and drastic reduction in security incidents within and around the port environs.

The NPA boss called for better synergy with Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other agencies of the government involved in the examination and clearance of cargo, to drive efficiency in port operations.

While expressing the appreciation of the authority to the lawmakers for their visit, Bello-Koko assured that NPA would work tirelessly at ensuring the sustenance of service excellence across the nation’s ports.

He solicited the timely intervention of the committee on efforts to end the perennial traffic gridlock plaguing vehicular activities along the port access roads.

The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Theodore Orji, stated that the committee would work collaboratively with the NPA management with a view to resolving all bottlenecks militating against ease of doing business at the ports.

Boeing Reschedules Launch Of Starliner Space Capsule Test

Angel Gimalo
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Boeing Reschedules Launch Of Starliner Space Capsule Test

Boeing says it is checking the propulsion system valves on its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, after Tuesday’s planned launch was postponed.

The CST-100 Starliner will launch from Florida at some point to showcase how it can ferry crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

It will be the second test flight, and conducted with no people aboard.

The previous demonstration in 2019 encountered software problems that very nearly caused the loss of the capsule.

The Starliner will ride to orbit on an Atlas-5 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Controllers had been targeting Tuesday for the launch but scrubbed the countdown with two-and-a-half hours left on the clock, to allow for investigation of technical issues related to the capsule’s propulsion system.

Now Boeing says a rescheduled launch on Wednesday will not happen either, because it needs more time to discover the reason for “unexpected valve position indications in the propulsion system”.

It’s just over 10 years since Boeing first presented its design for the CST-100 Starliner at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK.

British Labour Leader Attacks Government Record On Green Jobs

Angel Gimalo
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British Labour Leader Attacks Government Record On Green Jobs

British Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged the government to invest urgently in jobs that benefit the environment.

The Labour leader wants £30bn spent to support up to 400,000 “green” jobs in manufacturing and low-carbon industries.

The government says it will create thousands of green jobs as part of its overall climate strategy.

But official statistics show no measurable increase in environment-based jobs in recent years.

Speaking as he begins a two-day visit to Scotland, Sir Keir blamed this on a “chasm between soundbites and action”.

He and PM Boris Johnson are both in Scotland this week, showcasing their green credentials ahead of November’s COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Criticising the government’s green jobs record, Sir Keir points to its decision to scrap support for solar power and onshore wind energy, and a scheme to help householders in England insulate their homes.

Great Green Wall: Buhari’s Presidency To Attract $5b Grants, $14b Loans

Angel Gimalo
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Great Green Wall: Buhari’s Presidency To Attract $5b Grants, $14b Loans

The Pan-African Agency of Great Green Wall (PGGW) on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s take-over of the leadership of the Council of the PGGW would facilitate easier access to about $5 billion in grants and $14 billion loans to member countries.

The loan and the grants would be from the International Monetary Fund and European Union Bank as they had expressed support for the GGW programme.

Environment Minister, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, said this while briefing newsmen on recent developments in the environment sector on Wednesday in Abuja.

Abubakar said that one of the developments was Nigeria’s assumption of the GGW Presidency and hosting of the council of presidents of the GGW countries.

He said that 11 countries, namely Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Sudan make up the GGW support for Nigeria’s presidential aspirations.

According to him, the council believes that President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria was capable of taking the GGW delivery structure to a higher level, if he becomes the Chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of PAN-GGW.

“If the Nigerian President takes over the leadership of the PAN-GGW, it would be easier for the GGW programme to access about $5 billion as grant and $14 billion soft loan available out there.

“This is because of the respect the world has for the President,” he said.

The minister said that on July 29, 2021 at the 7th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the PAGGW in Nouakchott, Mauritania, the council adopted some development reports.

“The reports included that of Nigeria hosting the 8th ministers meeting of the PAGGW later in the year, as well as hosting the 5th summit of the Heads of State and Government virtually in September, 2021.

“That Buhari assumes the Presidency of the Heads of States and Government of the PAGGW at the end of the 5th Summit, while Abubakar, the minister of environment, assumes the Chairmanship of the Council of Ministers at the end of the 5th Summit,” he said.

He added that the Nouakchott meeting also stressed the importance of using the GGW programme to address Africa’s biodiversity problem, as the GGW programme remained the future of Africa.

Today In history – August 5 – Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) Declares Independence From France

Angel Gimalo
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Today In history – August 5 – Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) Declares Independence From France

135 Betar last outpost of Bar Kochba falls to Rome

642 Battle of Maserfield – Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia

910 The last major Viking army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward and Earl Aethelred

1100 Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey

1264 Anti-Jewish riots break out in Arnstadt Germany

1305 William Wallace, who led Scottish resistance to England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London for trial and execution.

1388 Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England

1391 Castilian sailors fire attack Jewish ghetto of Barcelona, 100’s killed

1399 Battle at Worskla: Tataren beat Russians and Litouwers

1420 Duke John VI of Bavaria visits Dutch mystic Lidwina (Christ’s bride)

1435 Battle at Ponza: king Alfonso V of Aragon captured by Genuezen

1543 French and Turkish troops occupy Nice

1552 Battle of Ponza: Ottoman naval fleet led by Dragut defeats Genoese fleet under Andrea Doria capturing seven galleys

1583 Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for the British crown – first English colony in North America and the beginning of the British Empire

1654 French troops occupy Stenay

1666 English fleet beats Dutch under Michiel de Ruyter

1667 State of Holland obtain Eternal Edict

1689 1,500 Iroquois attack the village of Lachine, in New France

1716 Battle of Petrovaradin/Peterwardein: Habsburgs under Eugene of Savoy defeat the Turks in a decisive victory

1745 Jacobite Rising 1745: Jacobite forces capture British company of troops under Captain Scott

1763 Pontiac’s War: Battle of Bushy Run – British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac’s Indians at Bushy Run

1772 1st Partition of Poland between Austria, Prussia and Russia is made public

1775 1st Spanish ship, San Carlos, enters San Francisco Bay

1781 Battle of Dogger Bank (Fourth Anglo-Dutch War): a British strategic victory, although both sides claimed to have won

1812 War of 1812: Tecumseh’s Native American force ambushes Thomas Van Horne’s 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat

1837 1st ascent of Mt Marcy (5,344′) highest in Adirondack, NY

1846 Oregon territory divided between US & Britain at 49th parallel

1858 First transatlantic telegraph cable lands at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland spearheaded by Cyrus West Field (will fail after 3 weeks)

1860 Carl IV of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Norway in Trondheim

1861 Union enlistment increases from 3 months to 2 years

1861 Naval Engagement at Fernandina, Florida, the USS Vincennes ends rebel blockade

1861 US Army abolishes flogging

1861 President Lincoln signs the first US personal Income Tax into law (3% of incomes over $800)

1862 Battle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Union forces prevent Confederate attempts to capture the city

1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, won by the Union Army led by Rear Admiral Farragut with the cry “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” (US Civil War)

1864 Spectrum of a comet observed for 1st time, by Giovanni Donati

1874 Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in England

1882 Martial law is imposed in Japan

1882 Standard Oil of New Jersey is established

1884 Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid on Bedloe’s Island (NYC)

1890 British and French accord to divide African colonization

1891 World’s 1st traveler’s cheques issued by American Express

1900 In Russia, anti-Jewish riots spread from Odessa into other parts of the country

1901 Peter O’Connor of Ireland, sets the first officially recognised world long jump record at 24′ 11 3/4″ in Dublin, Ireland

1905 First meeting of the Russian and Japanese peace commissioners takes place in US President Theodore Roosevelt’s home at Oyster Bay, New York

1912 Japan’s first taxicab service begins in Ginza, Tokyo

1914 1st electric traffic light installed in the USA on the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio

1914 Cuba, Uruguay, Mexico and Argentina proclaim neutrality in WW I

1914 Dutch Cort Van de Linden government issues silver bonds as money

1914 Battle of Liège: first battle of WWI, massive German assault on forts around Belgium city of Liège led by Erich Ludendorff

1914 Montenegro declares war against Austria-Hungary in World War I

1914 US and Nicaragua sign treaty granting canal rights to US

1914 Westerschelde leaves due to German invasion in Belgium

1915 Warsaw, evacuated by the Russians, is occupied by Germans

1915 The Latin-American Conference Convenes in Washington, with representatives from leading South American nations joining the US to discuss conditions in Mexico

1917 British troops attack canal of Ypres in Boesinghe, Belgium

1917 The entire US National Guard is taken into national service, subject to presidential rather than state control

1918 World War I: the last German air raid on England occurs, with four Zeppelin airships dropping bombs in the Midlands and North East England

1921 KDKA Pittsburgh presents first radio broadcast of MLB; Pirates beat Phillies, 8-0; Harold Arlin first play-by-play broadcaster

1921 Treaty of Berlin: US and Germany sign separate peace treaty

1924 “Little Orphan Annie” comic strip by Harold Gray is 1st published in the New York Daily News

1925 Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language, which is in danger of dying out

1926 French & German trade agreement signed

1926 Harry Houdini stays in a coffin under water for 1½ hours before escaping

1927 Phillies outfielder Cy Williams hits for cycle in just 4 at bats in 9-

1932 Clyde Barrow and two associates kill Sheriff C.G. Maxwell and his deputy, Eugene C. Moore, the first time the Barrow gang kills a lawman

1936 American athlete Jesse Owens wins 200m in world record time (20.7), his 3rd gold medal of the Berlin Olympics

1936 Italian athlete Ondina Valla runs a world record 11.6 in the semi-finals of the 80m hurdles at the Berlin Olympics; wins final the next day but can’t match the time

1936 Ken Carpenter (50.48 Olympic record) and Gordon Dunn make it an American 1-2 in the men’s discus throw at the Berlin Olympics

1940 “Acquaintance” blows-up Zandvoortse synagogue

1940 St Louis Brown’s pitcher John Whitehead no-hits Detroit Tigers, 4-0 in 6 innings (rain shortened)

1942 British government cancels agreement of Munich

1942 German troops cross Kuban River

1943 Sicily: 3 US A-36’s bomb British headquarters

1943 Soviet forces reconquer Orel and Bjelgorod

1943 World War II: at around 11 A.M during the Battle of Troina, Mount Etna erupts sending ash and lava miles into the sky

1944 US 79th/90th division occupy Laval/Mayenne

1944 US troops occupy Vannes, Brittany

1944 German forces begin the mass killing of between 40,000 and 50,000 Polish civilians in the Wola district of Warsaw during the uprising

1947 Netherlands ceases political action in Indonesia, due to UN pressure

1948 Cleveland Indians set club record for most double plays in a game (6) in a 3-0 win v Washington

1948 Americans Sammy Lee and Bruce Harlan go 1-2 in the 10m platform diving at the London Olympics

1948 A Jamaican 1-2 in the men’s 400m at the London Olympics with Arthur Wint (46.2) beating teammate Herb McKenley for the gold medal

1948 A Swedish sweep of the medals in the 3000m steeplechase at the London Olympics with Tore Sjöstrand taking gold ahead of teammates Erik Elmsäter & Göte Hagström

1949 6.4 Earthquake strikes Tungurahua Province, Ecuador, killing 5,000 people

1951 Armed uprising in Ambonezen Camp Middelburg

1953 Operation “Big Switch”; Korean War prisoner exchanged at Panmunjom

1953 “From Here to Eternity” based on book by James Jones, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1954)

1956 KUAM TV channel 8 in Agana, GU (CBS/ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting

1956 WCYB TV channel 5 in Bristol-Kingsport, Virginia (NBC) begins broadcasting

1957 “American Bandstand” premieres on network TV (ABC)

1957 Comic strip “Andy Capp” makes its debut

1957 WJZ-TV in Baltimore MD begins radio transmissions

1958 Philip Kapleau, Zen teacher, 1st awakening under Yasutani Roshi

1959 42.4 cm rainfall in Decatur Co, Iowa (state record)

1960 Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) declares independence from France

1961 118°F (48°C), Ice Harbor Dam, Washington (state record)

1962 1st quasar located by radio

1962 Nelson Mandela arrested for incitement and for illegally leaving South Africa

1962 UN command forbids flights to Katangese airports

1963 Britain, USA and USSR sign nuclear test ban treaty

1963 Craig Breedlove sets world land speed record of 407.477 mph in Spirit of America at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

1964 Beatles record a cover of Little Willie John’s “Leave My Kitten Alone”; not released until 1995’s “Anthology”

1964 Congo rebellion: Christopher Gbenye/Pierre Mulele conquer Stanleyville

1964 US begins bombing North Vietnam

Group Asks Court To Order Kemi Adeosun’s Arrest, Prosecution Over NYSC Certificate Scam

Rhoda Onuzulike
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Group Asks Court To Order Kemi Adeosun’s Arrest, Prosecution Over NYSC Certificate Scam

The group, Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to order the arrest of Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s former finance minister.

The complainant prayed the court to compel the State Security Service (SSS), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), to arrest Adeosun for forgery of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.

Adeosun, born and educated in the United Kingdom, had skipped the youth service mandatory for under-30 Nigerian graduates. However, she came up with an NYSC certificate purported to have exempted her from the exercise.

The uncovering of this forgery scandal in 2018 triggered a probe by a panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari. Although the probe report was never made public, it led to Adeosun’s resignation from office on September 14, 2018.

Her resignation letter was made public in a statement, and Adeosun admitted that the NYSC certificate was forged, but claimed she was not aware it was counterfeit.

A recent judgment she obtained from the Federal High Court in Abuja, ruled that she did not need to have participated in the youth service.

She claimed to have been vindicated, even though the verdict did not decide on the unchallenged evidence of certificate forgery against her.

In the new suit calling for Adeosun’s arrest and prosecution, the trustees of Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN) sued the Director-General of SSS, Yusuf Bichi; the Inspector-General of Police, Baba Alkali, and the ex-minister as defendants.

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/732/2021 was filed on behalf of the plaintiff by its lawyer, Esther Iorhuna.

The complainant, through the suit, sought among others, an injunction restraining Adeosun from travelling out of the country to take refuge in another country and also seek a declaration that the DG of SSS and the IGP “are under legal duty to arrest and prosecute Adeosun, for fraudulently using a fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Exemption Certificate and intentionally giving false evidence before Ogun State House of Assembly”.

The group, also request, “An order of mandamus compelling the 1st and 2nd defendants to perform their legal duties under Sections 1, 2 (3) and 8 of the National Security Agencies Act, 1 and 86 read together with Instrument No. 1 of 1999 as well as section 4 of the Police Act, 2020 by forthwith arresting and prosecuting Adeosun.”

Greece Battles Wildfires For Third Day With More Evacuations

Zoe Maven
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Greece Battles Wildfires For Third Day With More Evacuations

Greek authorities have ordered more evacuations on an island near Athens and battled a blaze near the site of the ancient Olympic Games in the western Peloponnese as wildfires burned for a third day.

Reported temperatures of over 40 Celsius and strong winds have fanned more than 150 wildfires in different areas of the country in recent days, adding to the conflagrations in Turkey and other areas of the Mediterranean.

More than a dozen villages have been evacuated on the island of Evia near Athens since Tuesday, with some 85 people rescued by boat from a beach, as the wildfire scorched pine trees and sent clouds of ash and smoke into the air. Miles away, skies in Athens were darkened.

Authorities cleared more people on Evia on Thursday as church bells sounded a warning. More than 170 firefighters with 52 engines and six aircraft were operating in the area.

More villages were evacuated in the Peloponnese region on Thursday as a blaze raged near the archaeological games site in Ancient Olympia, but its treasures were out of danger, authorities said.

Citizens’ Protection Minister Mihalis Chrisohoidis told state television that the country’s forces fought an all-night battle … to keep the archaeological site and the town intact.

The site, where the Olympic flame begins its journey to the city hosting the modern Olympics, is one of Greece’s most popular tourist attractions.

Meanwhile, Reinforcements arrived from Cyprus and France and two aircraft from Sweden were expected later on Thursday. Fires that had threatened the northern outskirts of Athens on Tuesday were under control, with firefighters and aircraft still working there.

The opposition Syriza and KINAL parties have accused the government of being slow to respond to Tuesday’s blaze, while winds were still low and conditions favourable.

Russia, Belarus To Press Ahead With Military Drills

Zoe Maven
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Russia, Belarus To Press Ahead With Military Drills

Belarus’ Defence ministry says its large-scale crossborder military drills with Russia will hold next month, a move Ukraine has described as a threat to its own security and that of NATO.

In a statement the ministry said the “West-2021” drills will involve thousands of servicemen, including those from Moscow-led Defence bloc member Kazakhstan, as well as tanks, artillery and aircraft,.

Military exercises will be held at training grounds in both Russia and Belarus and will be based on a scenario where “international tensions are escalated to a level that may destabilise the situation in the region and provoke aggression against the Union State (of Russia and Belarus).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s deputy chief of staff, Roman Mashovets, said in April the planned drills were “a threat to Euro-Atlantic security” and “aggressive in nature”.

But Belarus’ defence ministry said, in turn, that the exercise carried no threat, “neither for the European community as a whole not for any neighbouring countries”.

Hardline Cleric Raisi To Be Sworn In As Iran’s President

Zoe Maven
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Hardline Cleric Raisi To Be Sworn In As Iran’s President

Hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi was on Thursday sworn in as Iran’s president with the Islamic Republic’s clerical rulers facing growing crises at home and abroad.

The inauguration reportedly comes two days after winning the formal endorsement of the country’s supreme leader to take office following his victory in an election in June.

Raisi, who is under U.S. sanctions over allegations of human rights abuses when he was a judge, has promised to take steps to lift tough U.S. sanctions that have cut Iran’s oil exports and have shut it out of the international banking system.

Iran has been negotiating with six major powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned three years ago by then U.S. President Donald Trump, who said it was too soft on Tehran.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of international sanctions, but Trump withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.

Tehran has since breached limits imposed on its nuclear activities under the agreement.

Like Iran’s supreme leader, Raisi has endorsed the nuclear talks, but the mid-ranking Shi’ite cleric is widely expected to adopt a tougher line in talks that have stalled.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the last say on all state matters including nuclear policy.

Iranian and Western officials have said significant gaps remain to be resolved in the nuclear talks and have yet to announce when the talks will resume.

With economic misery palpable at home and signs of growing anger among Iranians over economic hardships, breaking free of the U.S. sanctions will be Raisi’s top economic goal, political analysts say.

Kenya’s Korir, Uganda’s Chemutai Win Gold In Heated Races

Zoe Maven
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Kenya’s Korir, Uganda’s Chemutai Win Gold In Heated Races

Emmanuel Korir won gold and led a Kenyan one-two finish in the 800 meters at the Olympics.

Korir pushed his way past Australia’s Peter Bol on the last turn and surged home to win in 1 minute, 45.06 seconds. It was Kenya’s fourth straight victory in the 800 at the Olympics.

Teammate Ferguson Rotich took silver with a late kick to overtake Poland’s Patryk Dobek, who held on for bronze ahead of Bol.

Kenya has claimed this title at every Olympics since Beijing 2008.

Elsewhere, World-record holder David Rudisha won the last two Olympic gold medals in the 800 but he didn’t make Kenya’s team this year because of long-term injury problems. Clayton Murphy of the United States, the bronze medalist in 2016, finished last.

Meanwhile, Peruth Chemutai of Uganda made her move on the last lap and pulled away for the win in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final at the Tokyo Games.

Chemutai set a new national record with her time of 9 minutes, 1.45 seconds. American Courtney Frerichs took off from the pack with around 2 1/2 laps to go. She was chased down by Chemutai but held on down the stretch for silver. Hyvin Kiyeng of Kenya was third.

Emma Coburn of the United States was disqualified for what was listed as a lane infringement after finishing behind the field. She earned bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

The 22-year-old Chemutai finished fifth at the 2019 world championships in Doha.

Frerichs was a silver medalist at the 2017 world championships in London.

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