Ethiopians continued to dominate the track as Meseret Dinke of Ethiopia emerged women’s champion of the 2021 Lagos City Marathon.
Second position for the women went to Celestine Jepchirchir of kenya.
Third place is Desta Muluneh of Ethiopia.
Myanmar Citizens Flee To India To Escape Violence
Myanmar nationals have been fleeing the country amid violence against civilians in the aftermath of a military coup with many who live close to the border, seeking refuge in India.
Many have used a dirt track through the forest to cross while others have come through an underground storm drain that connects villages on both sides of the border.
Myanmar, has been in a continuous cycle of violence after the country’s military overthrew democratically elected government and detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February.
In the following weeks, the military has crushed protests against the coup in brutal crackdown.
Rights groups say the military has killed over 600 people, including 43 children with claims of soldiers breaking into houses and raping and killing civilians.
Witnesses have recounted stories of people being killed in the streets and even in their homes – including a six-year-old who was allegedly shot dead during a home raid as she ran to her father.
Army spokesman Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun said in a recent interview that the army would never have shot a child inside their home – and if it did happen, they would investigate the incident.
But reports of such atrocities by the security forces are widespread and have sparked an international outcry.
Imo State Community Agog As Kidnapped Traditional Ruler Returns
The Umueze Nguru autonomous community in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of South-East Imo State was on Saturday morning thrown into celebration following return of its traditional ruler, Eze Charles Iroegbu, who was kidnapped last Wednesday.
The popular monarch, who is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of All States Mass Transit, was kidnapped alongside five cabinet chiefs and two palace guards.
They were kidnapped at Seven and Half Junction along Umuahia-Anara-Orlu Road, after attending a traditional wedding ceremony in Ehime Mbano LGA.
They were in three vehicles heading back to the kingdom when the gun-wielding men waylaid them and diverted their movement. The kidnap of the monarch heightened tension in the state following a spate of insecurity.
The community lived in fear and apprehension as their abductors refused to establish communication with the royal family or anybody in the kingdom.
But reprieve came on Saturday morning as the monarch, his five cabinet chiefs and two palace guards were freed.
A source in the palace confided in The Nation Saturday the entire community was “jubilating over the safe return of his Royal Majesty, the cabinet chiefs and the two palace guards.
“His cabinet chiefs and two palace guards who were kidnapped alongside with him on Wednesday were also freed by the kidnappers. They returned to the kingdom this morning.”
Imo police spokesperson, Orlando Ikeokwu, said he could not confirm the release of the kidnap victims.
African Leaders Pay Tribute To Britain’s Prince Philip
African leaders have joined World Leaders in paying tribute to Britain’s Prince Philip, who died on Friday at the age of 99 and sent their condolences to Britain.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said In a statement that Prince Philip was a “global icon”, adding that the Commonwealth will remember the prince for generations to come.
In a press conference with Spain’s Prime Minister, Senegal’s President Macky Sall said he salutes the memory of his Highness, Prince Philip of Great Britain, who has died, presenting his condolences to the Queen Elizabeth II, as well as to the British people.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa expressed his condolences in a Tweet, saying of the late Prince, “may his soul rest in peace.”
In Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that His Royal Highness Prince Philip has been a towering symbol of family values and the unity of the British people as well as the entire global community.
Zambia’s President Edgar Lunga also sent his condolences.
The head of the World Trade Organization Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala praised him for founding the Earthshot Prize council, an environmental award that she is involved with.
Prince Philip was born in Greece and served throughout the Second World War. He is famed for his deep sense of public duty
Iran Starts Up Advanced Centrifuges In Nuclear Deal Breach
Iran on Saturday announced that it had started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges in a breach of its undertakings under a 2015 nuclear deal.
In a ceremony broadcast by state television, President Hassan Rouhani officially inaugurated the cascades of 164 IR-6 centrifuges and 30 IR-5 devices at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment plant.
Rouhani again underlined at the ceremony, which coincided with Iran’s National Nuclear Technology Day, that Tehran’s nuclear programme is solely for “peaceful” purposes.
No images of the cascades were aired but broadcast a link with engineers at the plant who said they had introduced uranium hexafluoride gas to the cascades after receiving the order from Rouhani.
Iran’s latest move to step up uranium enrichment follows an opening round of talks Tuesday with representatives of the remaining parties to the nuclear deal on bringing the United States back into the deal.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.
The Vienna talks are focused not only on lifting crippling economic sanctions Trump reimposed, but also on bringing Iran back into compliance after it responded by suspending several of its own commitments.
All sides said the talks, in which Washington is not participating directly but has the European Union as intermediary, had got off to a good start.
Volcano Erupts In Southern Caribbean, Thousands Evacuate
A volcano in the southern Caribbean that had been dormant for decades, has erupted, spewing clouds of ash for miles and forcing thousands to evacuate.
The volcano, known as La Soufrière, on the northern tip of the main island of St. Vincent, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, had started showing signs of renewed activity in late December.
An eruption by La Soufriere in 1902 killed more than 1,000 people. The name means ‘sulfur outlet’ in French.
According to the National Emergency Management Organization on Twitter, the volcano moved into an “explosive state with smaller explosions continuing throughout the day,
Erouscilla Joseph, director at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre, said, this kind of activity could go on for weeks if not months.
He said the eruption column was estimated to reach 10 kilometers high, while ash fall could affect the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada leading to possible flight delays due to diversions.
St Vincent and the Grenadines, with a population of just over 100,000, has not seen volcanic activity since 1979, when an eruption created severe damages counted in approximately $100 million.
Local media have in recent days also reported increased activity from Mount Pelee on the island of Martinique, which lies to the north of St Vincent beyond St Lucia.
A New Era: Nigeria’s First Solar Powered Electric Car Charging Station Inaugurated
First Solar powered Electric Car Charging Station inaugurated In Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria’s North West.
Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Commission, Jelani Aliyu described the launch as a milestone achievement and the beginning of a new era in Nigeria .
According to him, the centre is a clear testimony of the federal government’s commitment to promoting advanced technology on Nigeria necessary that to power the nation’s economy to a greater height.
He says the collaboration between the NADDC and Nigeria universities of which the Usmanu Danfodio university is one of them is to ensure the adoption of advance technology anywhere in the world in Nigeria.
The two other universities working with NADDC are the University of Lagos, and the University of Nigeria Nsukka aim at aiding research and development in this sector.
China Fines Alibaba $2.75 Billion For Anti-Monopoly Violations
Chinese regulators have fined Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 18 billion yuan or $2.75 billion for violating anti-monopoly rules and abusing its dominant market position.
Alibaba’s billionaire founder Jack Ma’s business empire has been particularly put under intense scrutiny after his stinging criticism of China’s regulatory system in late October.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) had in late December, announced it launched an antitrust probe into the company after authorities stopped a planned $37 billion IPO from Ant Group, Alibaba’s internet finance arm.
SAMR said that Alibaba had been abusing market dominance since 2015 by preventing its merchants from using other online e-commerce platforms.
The penalty, which comes to about 4% of Alibaba’s revenues in 2019, comes amid an unprecedented regulatory crackdown on home-grown technology conglomerates in the last few months that have weighed on company shares.
In response, Alibaba said in a statement posted on its official Weibo account that it ‘accepted’ the decision and would resolutely implement SAMR’s rulings. It said it would also work to improve corporate compliance.
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Sócrates To Stand Trial
A Lisbon court has ruled that former Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates is set to stand trial for alleged money-laundering and forgery.
Judge Ivo Rosa on Friday said that 1.7 million euros, much of it in cash, given to Sócrates by a childhood friend who was working for a Portuguese construction company amounted to an attempt to gain influence over the prime minister and win contracts.
The forgery charges relate to documentation linked to the payments but Sócrates argued that the money and other assets, such as works of art and an upscale Paris apartment, were loans from his longtime friend.
Prosecutors alleged that Sócrates pocketed around 34 million euros during and after his six years in office between 2005 and 2011.
He was suspected of being at the center of a web of shady corporate interests that paid for his influence to win contracts and gain business advantages.
But Sócrates, a center-left Socialist prime minister, has denied any wrongdoing.
However the judge dismissed other allegations of corruption against Sócrates either because of a lack of evidence or the fact that the statute of limitations to prosecute Sócrates on corruption charges has run out.
Both prosecutors and Sócrates can appeal Friday’s ruling.
Djibouti President Guelleh Wins Election With 98% Of Vote
Djibouti President Ismael Guelleh is set to extend his two decades in power after winning Friday’s vote, winning 98.58 percent of votes, according to provisional results.
This means Guelleh will be entering a fifth term in office although theoretically, it is Guelleh’s last term as a 2010 constitutional reform introduced an age limit of 75 and scrapped term limits.
The 73-year-old Guelleh who is the second president of Djibouti since independence from France in 1977, faced off against his only rival businessman Zakaria Farah, who won less than 5,000 votes.
Farah had sharply criticized the absence of his delegates from the polling stations, appearing to suggest that they had been barred from entering
Head of the African Union observation mission, Ahmed Tidiane Souare, told reporters on Friday that his team had not met any delegates of the opponent in the polling stations visited.
He however specified that this was not an obligation and that until then, everything was going well and calmly.
The final results will soon be given by the Constitutional Council.
Flanked by Somalia and opposite Yemen, Djibouti has remained stable in a volatile neighbourhood, drawing foreign military powers such as former colonial ruler France, the United States and China to establish bases there.
