Oil Spillage: Shell Agrees To Pay Ogoni Community N45.9billion Compensation

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August 12, 2021

An oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company, has finally agreed to pay a court-ordered N45.9billion compensation to an Ogoni community in Rivers State.

Represented by Isaac Agbara and nine others, the Ejama-Ebubu community in Tai Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, commenced their suit about 32 years ago seeking damages against Shell for an oil spillage incident.

They obtained the judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt awarding damages in their favour on June 14, 2010, but case went on appeal up to Supreme Court.

On January 11, 2019, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgement in favour of the community.

But since then, the multinational had been resisting the Supreme Court verdict.

It filed an application for a review of the verdict, but the Supreme Court dismissed the request on November 27, 2020.

The firm subsequently brought the case back to the Federal High Court in Abuja in continuation of its pushback against the verdict.

Skills Evaluation: Governor Zulum Conducts Impromptu Aptitude Test For Teachers

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Precious Obazee

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August 12, 2021

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There was drama in Baga Local Government Area of Borno State when the state governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, stormed some schools and conducted impromptu tests for teachers.

In a still photo making the rounds on social media, the governor was seen invigilating the test as teachers were battling to answer questions on the blackboard.

The governor’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, told newsmen that the test was conducted to determine the level of the teachers’ qualifications and ability to teach professionally.

Zulum reportedly told the teachers that the essence of the aptitude test was not to sack anyone, but to determine their capacity and know where to place them.

He quoted the governor as saying that at the end of each year, every teacher and their pupils will be evaluated and government will also support them with accommodation and other related services.

Zulum also told the teachers that more pupils will be encouraged to register especially by providing a meal and other support.

At the end of the exercise, the governor told the teachers that those who are not capable of teaching would be moved either to the administrative department or sent for further training.

Italian Teen Sinner Stumbles In ATP Toronto Opener

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Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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Jannik Sinner fell flat after his weekend title performance, the Italian losing 6-3, 6-4 to James Duckworth on Wednesday in a second-round match at the ATP Toronto Masters.

Just 72 hours after claiming the biggest trophy of his career in Washington, the 16th seed went down in his opening match after a bye to the Australian qualifier.

The 19-year-old Sinner is the youngest player ranked in the top 15 since Juan Martin del Potro in 2008 by virtue of victory in the US capital.

But north of the border, his luck changed.

Sinner exited in just over an hour and a quarter with the number 85 Aussie securing the upset with one break per set.

The Aussie next plays top-seeded world number two Daniil Mdevedev in the third round.

Canadian hopes were dealt a blow as Felix Auger-Aliassime lost in the second round to Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 6-4.

South African Lloyd Harris made quick work of Feliciano Lopez — inserted into the draw as a lucky loser when Rafael Nadal withdrew on Tuesday with a foot injury — beating the veteran Spaniard 6-2, 6-3.

Morocco, Israel Sign Deals To Mark Historic Visit

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Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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FILE PHOTO: Israeli foreign minister visits UAE — FILE PHOTO: Israeli alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid speaks during a news conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo

The foreign ministers of Morocco and Israel signed three accords on Wednesday during the first visit by a top official from the Jewish state since ties were normalised last year.

Nasser Bourita and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid signed agreements on political consultations, aviation and culture.

Lapid told reporters the accords would “bring our countries innovation and opportunities for the benefit of our children -– and their children –- for years to come”.

Israel and Morocco struck a deal last year after then US president Donald Trump recognised Morocco’s contested sovereignty in Western Sahara.

“Today, we are restoring peace, restoring friendship,” Lapid said.

Morocco was the fourth Arab state to establish ties with Israel last year after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

The move infuriated the Palestinians, as it shattered the longstanding Arab consensus that there should be no normalisation until Israel agrees to a comprehensive and lasting peace.

Bourita said that during his talks with Lapid the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories was raised.

“King Mohammed VI insists on the need to break the current impasse and resume negotiations, as the only means of reaching a solution based on two states living side by side on the 1967 borders,” Bourita said.

The monarch had reassured Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after the normalisation of ties that Morocco would continue to support the Palestinian cause.

On Thursday, Lapid will officially open Israel’s diplomatic representation in the capital Rabat.

Polish Government Loses Key Votes, Putting Future In Doubt

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Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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The future of Poland’s government was thrown into doubt on Wednesday after it lost four votes in a session dominated by a fierce debate over a law that critics say would curb media freedom.

The parliamentary drama raises the prospect of early elections and comes a day after the departure from the government of the Agreement party. It had been a junior partner in the ruling coalition led by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.

In one of the four votes, MPs voted by 229 to 227 to suspend the session in the 460-seat lower house in order to postpone a vote on the media law.

But speaker Elzbieta Witek, a PiS party member, ordered another vote which the government won by 230 to 225 to resume proceedings despite howls of outrage from the opposition.

The PiS’s fragile parliamentary majority does not mean that the government will collapse as a formal vote of no confidence by parliament would be required for that to happen and it could continue as a minority government.

But commentators have said a minority government would be difficult to sustain long-term as it would have to rely on the far-right Confederation party, which is highly critical of the government.

The next elections are currently scheduled for 2023.

The United Right coalition, which is dominated by the PiS, has governed Poland since 2015.

It has been accused by the European Union of rolling back democratic freedoms but is still popular among many Poles, mainly for its social welfare reforms.

Iran’s Raisi Names Anti-Western Hardliner New Foreign Minister

By

Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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FILE PHOTO: Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran’s New President Ebrahim Raisi named an anti-Western diplomat as foreign minister on Wednesday as the country and six world powers seek to restore their 2015 nuclear deal.

Raisi, a hardliner under Western sanctions over allegations of human rights abuses when he was a judge, was sworn into office on Aug. 5 with the Islamic Republic’s clerical rulers facing growing crises at home and abroad.

The mid-ranking Shi’ite cleric replaced pragmatist Hassan Rouhani as president after an election in June when most prominent rivals – including moderates and reformists – were barred from standing.

Presenting his cabinet to parliament for an expected vote of confidence, Raisi chose Hossein Amirabdollahian as foreign minister and Javad Owji, an ex-deputy oil minister and managing director of the state-run gas company, as oil minister.

Reports in semi-official Iranian media suggested that the Supreme National Security Council, which reports directly to hardline Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would take over the nuclear talks in Vienna from the foreign ministry, which had been led by relative moderates during Rouhani’s administration.

Iran and world powers have been negotiating since April to revive the pact that was repudiated in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who also reimposed sanctions that have devastated Tehran’s economy by squeezing its oil exports.

A sixth round of the talks were held on June 20, with Iranian and Western officials saying major gaps remained to be resolved in returning Tehran and Washington to full compliance with the pact.

Iran has violated limits on its enrichment of uranium, a possible pathway to nuclear weapons, since 2019.

Russia Announces New Criminal Charge Against Navalny

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Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny faces a new criminal charge of establishing an organisation that incited Russians to break the law, the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said on Wednesday.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic critic, is already serving a 2-1/2-year sentence for parole violations he calls trumped up.

He was arrested in January after he flew back from Germany where he had been recovering from a nerve agent poisoning and this latest new crime is punishable by up to three years in jail.

Authorities have cracked down hard on opposition activists ahead of parliamentary elections in September.

The Investigative Committee said in a statement that Navalny and his allies used his Anti-Corruption Foundation to call on Russians to take part in unauthorised protests in January that authorities said were illegal.

A court in Russia declared Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and regional campaign groups “extremist” in June, effectively outlawing their activity.

The Investigative Committee on Tuesday announced a new criminal investigation into two close Navalny allies for raising funds for his political network.

Afghan President Ghani Arrives In Mazar-I-Sharif

By

Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flew to the besieged northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif Wednesday to rally his overburdened forces, with Taliban fighters having now taken more than a quarter of the country’s provincial capitals in less than a week.

Ghani arrived in Mazar as the Taliban captured Faizabad overnight, making it the ninth city to be overrun since Friday. He plans “to check the general security in the northern zone”, according to a statement released by the palace.

The Afghan leader was also likely to hold talks with Mazar’s long-time strongman Atta Mohammad Noor and infamous warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum about the defence of the city, as Taliban fighters inched closer to its outskirts.

The loss of Mazar would be a catastrophic blow to the Kabul government and represent the complete collapse of its control over the north — long a bastion of anti-Taliban militias.

Hours before Ghani arrived, pictures posted on official government social media accounts showed Dostum boarding a plane in Kabul, along with a contingent of commandos, en route to Mazar.

Fighting in Afghanistan’s long-running conflict has escalated dramatically since May, when the US-led military coalition began the final stage of a withdrawal set to be completed before the end of the month.

But even as the Taliban routed government forces, US President Joe Biden gave no hint of delaying his deadline to withdraw all American troops by August 31, instead urging Afghan leaders to “fight for themselves” on Tuesday.

Biden has stressed that Washington would continue to support the Afghan security forces with air strikes, food, equipment and money for salaries.

US Says UK Judge Who Blocked Assange Extradition Was Misled

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Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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Lawyers for the US government on Wednesday criticised a British judge for blocking the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, questioning evidence about his mental health and accusing an expert witness of misleading the court.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser in January refused to grant a request by Washington for Assange to face trial in the United States on spying charges, ruling he was at serious risk of suicide.

But lawyer Clair Dobbin, representing the US government which is appealing the decision, said the judge “didn’t appreciate the weight” of expert evidence that concluded Assange was not a suicide risk.

Instead, the judge relied on evidence presented by Assange’s psychiatric expert Michael Kopelman, Dobbin told the High Court in London.

She said that Kopelman had admitted to misleading the court by “concealing” that his client had fathered children while holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Judge Baraitser concluded that Assange’s mental health would deteriorate faced with the “harsh conditions” likely to await him in the US jail system, “causing him to commit suicide”.

Assange, who is currently being held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, is wanted on 18 charges in the US relating to the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The 50-year-old Australian followed court proceedings via a video link from prison, sporting long white hair and an unbuttoned white shirt with an untied tie draped around his neck. Dozens of his supporters gathered outside the court, some waving placards saying “Free Assange”” and “10 years enough

More Than 60 Killed In Algerian Raging Wildfires

By

Zoe Maven

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August 11, 2021

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Firefighters, troops and civilian volunteers battled blazes in forests across northern Algeria on Wednesday as the country experienced rising death tolls of at least 65 people in the latest wildfires.

Soldiers deployed to back the overstretched emergency services tackle the rash of more than 50 fires that broke out on Tuesday accounted for 28 of those killed, state television reported.

The authorities say they suspect widespread arson after so many fires erupted in such a short space of time. They have announced several arrests but have yet to elaborate on the identity or suspected motives of those detained.

Fire official Youcef Ould Mohamed said high winds fueled the rapid spread of the fires in the tinder-dry conditions created by a heat wave across North Africa and the wider Mediterranean.

Emergency services spokesman Nassim Barnaoui also told reporters A total of 69 separate wildfires remained active Wednesday, spread across 17 provinces,.

Most of the fires and 16 of the deaths were recorded in Tizi Ouzou district, in the mainly Berber region of Kabylie, east of the capital Algiers.

There have been mounting calls for aid convoys to be sent to the worst-hit districts with food and medicine from the capital.

An appeal for volunteer doctors to assist the city’s overstretched medical services also appeared on Facebook.State media have reported four arrests for suspected arson.

Meteorologists expect the heat wave across North Africa to continue until the end of the week, with temperatures in Algeria reaching 46 degrees Celsius.