Samoa’s New Prime Minister Seeks To Install Cabinet On Tuesday

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July 24, 2021

Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, said on Saturday her government would formally take office next week, a day after the country’s Court of Appeal affirmed her government was legal.

In her first comments to the media following the court’s decision, Mataafa said parliament would meet at the earliest opportunity next week to pass a temporary budget to keep the government running.

This she said would give her and her cabinet time to review the country’s financial and economic circumstances.

Samoa, which relies on subsistence farming along with tourism and fish and coconut product exports, has had to depend on foreign aid and is heavily indebted to China, which offered to back a port development by the previous government.

Fiame told Reuters in May she would shelve the Beijing-backed port development, calling the $100 million project excessive for a small country already deep in debt.

The Pacific country’s politics descended into crisis this year after the incumbent, China-friendly Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, refused to give way after losing a parliamentary election in April that ended his 22 years in power.

Mataafa said her administration is committed to returning this country to the special place dreamt of by our forefathers, when they grabbed the mantle of independence almost 60 years ago.

Monsoon Rains Flood Philippine Villages, Thousands Evacuate

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Zoe Maven

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July 24, 2021

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Thousands of residents have fled flooded communities and swollen rivers in the Philippine capital and outlying provinces Saturday after days of torrential monsoon rains, which left at least one villager dead.

Officials said they struggled to open more emergency shelters in order to allow social distancing among the displaced residents and prevent evacuation camps from turning into epicenters of COVID-19 infections.

In the hard-hit city of Marikina in the capital region, nearly 15,000 residents were evacuated to safety overnight as waters rose alarmingly in a major river.

Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro told News men, the situation would be too difficult if there won’t be a permanent solution to flooding, especially with the threat from the so-called covid-19 delta variant.

Teodoro blamed years of illegal logging in nearby mountains and heavy siltation in Marikina River for constant flooding in his city, adding that many of the residents were evacuated from flood-prone villages in Marikina overnight, depriving them of sleep.

In the mountainous northern city of Baguio, a resident reportedly died Friday afternoon after the taxi she was riding in was hit by a falling tree, adding two other people in the taxi were injured.

The northern Philippines has been swamped by days of monsoon rains that flooded low-lying villages and set off minor landslides.

Forecasters say Typhoon In-fa, which has churned off the country’s eastern coast and dumped rain on Taiwan before blowing toward China, intensified the seasonal downpours,.

State Governments Urged To Build Holding Centres For Suspects Awaiting Trial

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Angel Gimalo

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July 24, 2021

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The Federal Government of Nigeria says about 74% of the total population of inmates in its custodial centres, are awaiting trial inmates

It, therefore, urged state governments to build holding centres for suspects awaiting trial in order to address the challenges of congestion in custodial facilities across the country.

In a statement on Friday in Abuja, the Director of Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Interior, Blessing Lere-Adams, quoted Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola as making the call.

Aregbesola spoke at the inauguration of the Osun Command office complex of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Osogbo.

He noted that the entire national custodial facilities have a maximum capacity for 57,278 inmates.

“But by the last count earlier in the week, there is a total population of 68,747 inmates, made up of 67,422 males and 1,325 females.

“This means that we have shot above the capacity by 18 per cent.”

The minister noted further that 50,992 inmates, representing 74 per cent of the total population of inmates in the custodial centres, were awaiting trial inmates, while only 17,755 inmates, representing 26 per cent, were actual convicts.

Aregbesola urged state governments to work with the Federal Government in addressing the challenges as an overwhelming majority of inmates in custody were state offenders being tried by their respective state governments.

Heavy Rain In India Triggers Floods And Landslides

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Zoe Maven

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July 24, 2021

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Rescue teams in India were doing all they could in getting through the thick sludge and debris on Saturday to reach dozens of submerged homes as the death toll from landslides and accidents caused by torrential monsoon rain rose to 125.

According to Experts, Maharashtra state is being hit by the heaviest rain in July in four decades, and downpours lasting several days have severely affected hundreds of thousands of lives.

A senior Maharashtra government official said in Taliye, about 180 km southeast of the financial capital of Mumbai, the death toll rose to 42 with the recovery of four more bodies.

Harsh weather has hit several parts of the world in recent weeks, with floods in China and Western Europe and heat waves in North America, raising new fears about the impact of climate change.

Parts of India’s west coast have received up to 23 inches of rain, forcing authorities to move people out of vulnerable areas as they released water from dams about to overflow.

The hill station of Mahabaleshwar recorded its highest ever rainfall – 60 cm in 24 hours and Rescuers were searching for victims of landslides in four other places in the state, the official said.

In a statement the Maharashtra government said around 90,000 people were rescued from flood affected areas, as authorities released water from overflowing dams.

Thousands of trucks were stuck for more than 24 hours on a highway linking Mumbai with the southern technology hub of Bengaluru, with the road submerged in some places.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was in anguish over the loss of lives.

Tokyo Olympics: Toko Finishes Fifth, Can Still Qualify For Quarterfinal

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Angel Gimalo

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July 24, 2021

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Nigerian born Rower, Esther Toko could only qualify for the repechage stage of the women’s single sculls event in the rowing competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Friday.

Toko, who was on lane five of the six-woman heat in one of the event’s opening rounds at Sea Forest Waterway, could only finish fifth in eight minutes 58.49 seconds.

The 21-year-old was 1:08.78 behind fourth-placed Alejandra Alonso of Paraguay (8:11.88) and 2:28.56 ahead of Esraa Khogali of Sudan (10:18.27).

But all three rowers could only qualify for the classification series, after the first three rowers in the heat, had clinched the tickets to the quarter-finals from their heat.

NAN reports that Kara Kohler of the U.S won the heat in a time of 7:49.71.

Tatsiana Klimovich of Belarus (7:51.86) and Nazanin Malaei (7:59.01) of Iran joined her in heading to the last eight.

Toko will now take part in Saturday’s repechage 2 at the same venue.

Olympics 2020: Algerian Nourine Withdraws To Avoid Facing Israeli Opponent

By

Angel Gimalo

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July 24, 2021

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An Algerian judoka has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics before his event starts, after the draw set him for a possible match-up against an Israeli.

Fethi Nourine told Algerian TV that his political support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible for him to compete against Tohar Butbul.

“We worked a lot to reach the Olympics, and the news came as a shock, a thunder,” he told the channel late on Thursday.

Nourine said his decision was “final” and he would not “get his hands dirty.”

The 30-year-old was due to face Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool on Monday for his first match in the men’s 73 kg class.

A victory would have paired him with Butbul – who has a first-round bye – in the next round.

It is not the first time that Nourine has withdrawn from competition to avoid facing an Israeli opponent.

He pulled out of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo for the same reason.

“We were unlucky with the draw. We got an Israeli opponent and that’s why we had to retire.

“We made the right decision,” Nourine’s coach Amar Ben Yaklif was quoted as saying in Algerian media.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has dragged on for decades, with tensions flaring again this year as confrontations in contested Jerusalem triggering cross-border clashes.

Athletes from other countries, including Iran and Egypt, have also previously refused to compete against Israelis.

Nigeria At The Tokyo Olympics

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Angel Gimalo

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July 24, 2021

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The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is underway and two of Nigeria’s contingent, seven-time Olympian, Olufunke Oshonaike and Esther Toko were in action in table tennis and in the sculls respectively on Saturday morning.

Oshonaike loses in the prelims

Oshonaike, Nigeria’s history maker in table tennis crashed out in the preliminaries to USA’s Juan Liu in five sets. The 45-year-old, ranked 175 in the world, lost 4-1 to her 36-year-old opponent.

Liu, ranked 449 in the world, won the first three sets: 11-7 11-3 11-4 before Oshonaike took the fourth in a tie-break 13-11. But Liu clinched qualification for the first round by claiming the fifth deciding set 11-4.

This is Oshonaike’s seventh Olympic Games, which made her the first woman to achieve that feat in table tennis.

Toko fails in the repechage

Nigeria’s only rower at the Tokyo Olympics, Esther Toko failed in her attempt to qualify for the quarter-final of the women’s single sculls event on Saturday morning.

Felice Chow of Trinidad and Tobago and Jeong Hyejeong of South Korea finished first and second with times of 8:15.94 and 8:26.73 respectively to progress to the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls. Toko came in fourth with a time of 9:07:54.

Nigerian Stocks Leap Higher, Market Capitalisation Rises

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Angel Gimalo

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July 24, 2021

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Nigerian stocks heaped up further gain on Friday, swelling 0.21 per cent and deriving drive from investor exuberance for the shares of United Capital and those of energy and consumer goods firms notably Total, Oando, Ardova, Guinness, Unilever, Cadbury, Vitafoam and Dangote Sugar.

Also supporting gains was the sweeping effect of a string of positive earnings news of firms like Cutix, United Capital and Total.

Tier 1 lender, Zenith, announced an interim dividend plan Friday, the same day its board endorsed its half-year audited financial report, which is to be issued anytime from now once the central bank’s nod is in place. Zenith’s shares gained 0.81 per cent following the news.

Market breadth, a measure of investors’ sentiment in the market, was broadly positive, with 30 gainers emerging relative to 11 laggards.

The all-share index lifted 82.38 basis points to 38,667.90 points, while market capitalisation rose to N20.147 trillion.

Year to date, the index is down by 3.98 per cent.

TOP FIVE GAINERS

Universal Insurance led gainers, appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N0.22. Oando added 9.97 per cent to end trade at N3.97. Totalenergies advanced by 9.96 per cent to N203.20. Cutix rose to N4.81, notching up 9.82 per cent in the process. Guinness climbed up by 9.14 per cent to N31.65.

TOP FIVE LOSERS

UPL topped the losers’ chart, declining by 9.03 per cent to close at N1.41. Champion Breweries shed 8.89 per cent to end trade at N2.05.

Red Star Express fell to N3.20, losing 3.03 per cent. International Breweries slumped to N5.20, recording 2.80 per cent depreciation. NAHCO closed at N2.20, going down by 2.65 per cent.

Israeli Panel To Review Potential Misuse Of NSO Spyware Around World

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Elizabeth Williams

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July 24, 2021

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Israel has established a committee to review allegations that NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus phone surveillance software was misused, the head of Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said Thursday.

“The defense establishment appointed a review committee made up of a number of bodies,” lawmaker Ram Ben-Barak told Army Radio.

“When they finish their review, we’ll demand to see the results and assess whether we need to make corrections,” the former deputy head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency added.

Ben-Barak said Israel’s priority was “to review this whole matter of giving licenses.”

Pegasus had “exposed many terror cells,” he said, but “if it was misused or sold to irresponsible bodies, this is something we need to check.”

In a statement on Monday, the Defense Ministry said if it finds that the NSO Group violated the terms of its export licenses, it will “take appropriate action.”

The ministry said that Israel only permits companies to export cybersecurity products to “government figures only for legal purposes and to prevent and investigate crimes and to combat terrorism. And this is dependent upon commitments regarding the end use/user from the purchasing country, which must abide by these conditions.”

Pegasus has been implicated in possible mass surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders and 14 heads of state, whose phone numbers were among some 50,000 potential surveillance targets on a list leaked to rights group Amnesty International and Paris-based Forbidden Stories.

U.S Passes Bill Banning Products From Xingjian Region

By

Elizabeth Williams

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July 24, 2021

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The United States has passed a bill banning all the products manufactured from Xingjian region.

The latest efforts by the US are to punish China for the forced labour and genocide of Uyghurs and other minorities in the region.

Senator Marco Rubio from Florida introduced the legislation with Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

They said in a statement after the passage of the bill that the message to Beijing “and any international company that profits from forced labour in Xinjiang is clear: no more.”

It added that the US would “not turn a blind eye” to the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s “crimes against humanity,” nor “allow corporations a free pass to profit from those horrific abuses.”

Merkley noted that Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang “are being forced into labour, tortured, imprisoned, forcibly sterilised, and pressured to abandon their religious and cultural practices by the Chinese government.”

“No American corporation should profit from these abuses,” Merkley said. “No American consumers should be inadvertently purchasing products from slave labour”.

Xinjiang products are deeply integrated into lucrative global supply chains, and Nike and Coca-Cola were among the major companies to have lobbied against the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, reported Axios.