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Russia Veto Ends UN Monitoring Of North Korea Sanctions

By
Zoe Maven
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Russia has blocked the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea, weeks after the body said it was investigating reports of arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Heavy criticism followed the move, including by South Korea’s foreign ministry, which said Russia had made an irresponsible decision despite its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The United States called the veto by Moscow a self-interested effort to bury the panel’s reporting on its own collusion” with North Korea.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, Russia’s actions today have cynically undermined international peace and security, all to advance the corrupt bargain that Moscow has struck with the DPRK,

He was referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took to social media to call the veto “a guilty plea,” amid allegations that Pyongyang is aiding Moscow in its war against Kyiv.

Moscow’s veto at the Security Council does not remove the sanctions on North Korea, but spells the end for the group monitoring their implementation and myriad alleged violations.

The panel’s mandate expires at the end of April.

North Korea has been under mounting sanctions since 2006, put in place by the UN Security Council in response to its nuclear program.

Since 2019, Russia and China have tried to persuade the Security Council to ease the sanctions, which had no expiration date.

The council has long been divided on the issue, with China’s deputy ambassador Geng Shuang arguing Thursday that the sanctions “have exacerbated tensions and confrontation with a serious negative impact on the humanitarian situation.”

China abstained rather than joining Russia in the veto. All other members had voted in favor of renewing the expert panel.

French Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning All Types Of Hair Discrimination

By
Zoe Maven
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French lawmakers in the Country’s lower house has passed a bill that would ban discrimination over the texture, length, color or style of someone’s hair.

Its authors hope the groundbreaking measure sends a message of support to people of colour and others who have faced hostility in the workplace and beyond because of their hair.

The bill was proposed by Olivier Serva, a French lawmaker from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, who says if passed it would make France the first country in the world to recognize discrimination based on hair at a national level.

The bill would amend existing anti-discrimination measures in the labor code and criminal code to explicitly outlaw discrimination against people with curly and coiled hair or other hairstyles perceived as unprofessional, as well as bald people.

The draft law which echoes similar legislation in more than 20 U.S. states, does not specifically target race-based discrimination, though that was the primary motivation for the bill.

The bill is supported by members of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party Renaissance and left-wing parties. But it has faced opposition from conservative and far-right lawmakers who see it as an effort to import U.S. concepts about race and racial discrimination to France.

In the United States, 24 states have adopted a version of the CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, It bans race-based hair discrimination in employment, housing, schools and in the military. Federal legislation passed in the House in 2022 but Senate Republicans blocked it a month later.

However, Opponents of the French bill say France’s legal framework already offers enough protection to people facing discrimination over their natural Afro hair, braids, cornrows or locs.

Advocates of the bill hope it addresses Black French people’s long struggle to embrace their natural hair, often stigmatized as coarse and unruly.

Togo’s Opposition Rejects Constitutional Reform, Calls For Protests

By
Zoe Maven
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In Togo, Activists and opposition leaders have been calling for protests to stop the country’s president from signing off on a new constitution that could scrap future presidential elections and could see Faure Gnassingbé extend his rule.

The constitution, which was passed by the country’s lawmakers earlier this week but now awaits President Faure Gnassingbé’s final approval, grants parliament the power to choose the president, doing away with direct elections.

This makes it possible for Gnassingbé to be re-elected when his mandate expires in 2025.

Some legal experts say the constitution actually restricts the power of future presidents as it introduces a one-term limit and hands over greater power to a figure similar to a prime minister, officially called the president of the council of minister.

But opposition fears the role could become another avenue for Gnassingbé to extend his grip on power.

The president of the council of minister will either be “the leader of the party which secures the majority during the legislative elections.” Or the leader of the winning coalition of parties. He will also rule for a six-year term with no term limit.

The new constitution also increases presidential terms from five to six years. The almost 20-years that Gnassingbé has served in office, after taking over from his father, would not count toward that tally.

Togo, a nation of around 8 million people, has been ruled by same family for 57 years, initially by Eyadema Gnassingbé and subsequently by his son. Faure Gnassingbé has been in office since 2005 after winning elections that the opposition described as a sham.

French Court Hands Ex-Liberian Rebel Leader 30-Year Jail Term

By
Zoe Maven
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0

A French court has handed former Liberian rebel commander Kunti Kamara a 30-year prison sentence for violence against civilians and complicity in crimes against humanity.

During the proceedings, the Court heard 22 witnesses, 9 civil parties, and 5 experts, according to Civitas Maxima.

The group coordinates a network of national and international lawyers and investigators who work for the interest of victims of international crimes and the crimes were found to have happened between 1993 and 1994 during the First Liberian Civil War in Lofa county, in north-western Liberia.

Kamara had been sentenced to life in prison during a first trial in Paris in 2022. His lawyers welcomed the shorter sentence but still argued their client was innocent.

The 49-year-old was who arrested in France in 2018, was a regional commander of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy  (ULIMO), a rebel group that fought the National Patriotic Front of former President Charles Taylor.

According to estimates, 250,000 people were said to have been killed in the West African nation during back-to-back conflicts from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

In early March, Liberia’s parliament backed the creation of a war crimes court.

A truth and reconciliation committee had recommended the establisshment of a special tribunal to try those accused of committing crimes but no action was taken.

Senators still have to vote on the bill in a country where some former warlords have held elective positions.

HRW Accuses Wagner Group Of Killing Civilians With Malian Army

By
Zoe Maven
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Human Rights Watch, HRW says Russian mercenary group Wagner is helping government forces in central and northern Mali carry out raids and drone strikes that have killed scores of civilians, including many children.

The claim was published by the body in reports this week, spanning the period from December to March.

In a statement on Thursday, Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Mali’s Russia-backed transitional military government was not only committing horrific abuses, but was working to eliminate scrutiny into its human rights situation.

In an example of a raid carried out by Russian-backed government forces in January, Human Rights Watch said the army entered a village near a military base in central Mali and arrested 25 people, including four children. The report said their bodies were found later that day blindfolded and with bullet wounds to the head.

Human Rights Watch has said the Turkish-supplied drones in Mali are capable of delivering precise laser-guided bombs.

The group has also documented how drone strikes have killed civilians. In one example, a drone strike in central Mali’s Segou region killed at least seven people at a wedding, including two boys.

For over a decade, Mali, along with its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger, has battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance instead.

The juntas ruling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso earlier this month announced a joint security force to fight the worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region.

This follows steps taken by the juntas to step away from other regional and Western nations that don’t agree with their approach and rely on Russia for security support instead.

S’ Africa’s Election Management Body Bars Jacob Zuma From Polls

By
Zoe Maven
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South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been excluded from standing in the May 29 General Election in the country.

According to the President of South Africa’s electoral commission Mosotho Moepya, an objection to Zuma’s participation in the forthcoming elections has been upheld.

He said the party that has nominated him has been informed of the development as have those objecting to the move, adding however that decision can be appealed if lodged before April 2.

The electoral commission said in a statement that under the constitution “any person who was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine” cannot stand in an election.

Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail in June 2021 after refusing to testify to a panel probing financial corruption and cronyism under his presidency.

Eighty-one year old Zuma, was forced out of office in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations.

He is campaigning for the opposition Mkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party in an attempt to relaunch his career and weaken his former party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

The general election, after which the victor will appoint a president, is set to be tense and the ruling ANC party is on the brink of dropping below 50 percent of the vote for the first time since it came to power at the end of apartheid.

The ANC has lost much support amid a weak economy and allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

Also, besides Zuma’s 2021 contempt conviction, he is facing separate charges of corruption in an arms procurement scandal in the 1990s, when he was vice president.

FIRS will not Introduce Additional Taxes – Chairman

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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0

The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue, Zacch Adedeji, has restated the agency’s commitment not to introduce additional taxes in the country.

Adedeji stated this on Wednesday, when the Chief Executive Officer of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Adebayo Alli, led the management team of the company on a visit to the Revenue House in Abuja.

FG, States Begin Harmonisation of Taxes

The FIRS boss, in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, Dare Adekanmbi, was quoted as saying, “The President gave a directive that he wants a single digit tax in the country, meaning that the maximum number of taxes we will have after the work of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms will be nine taxes.

“For us at FIRS, we have responded to that directive. We want to grow the pie such that even if we are taking the same percentage of the bigger pie, the result will be huge.

 “By God’s grace, we will not introduce additional taxes nor increase any form of tax. We are only determined to increase the pie. We have restructured our operations at FIRS in such a way that we are now effectively carrying out our duty of assessing, collecting and accounting for taxes. We used to have functional types of taxes, but we have identified that the only customers we have are the taxpayers.”

He noted that FIRS had improved the way it relates with customers by rearranging “our operations based on our customers, using their turnover as the basis to categorise them into large, medium and small”.

He added that President Bola Tinubu, through the consumer credit scheme recently introduced, aimed at increasing the purchasing power of Nigerians to boost the productive capacity of companies and stimulate growth.

“In a couple of days, the consumer credit scheme will be launched and what that will do is really set the right fundamentals, especially for the kind of products you sell.

“In an economy of our size, it will be extremely difficult if we don’t have a consumer credit scheme. People need to eat before they drink. But when they have credit to buy things, this gives them more money that they can use to come to drink and relax after work.

“More so, the President has also directed the commencement of a single window platform for your logistics at the ports. So, instead of having to pay in many places, you can now do that through the platform, most especially for companies like yours. You know your products before they come into the country, so you pay before they arrive, as the issue of port congestion that delays the time you get your raw materials has been taken care of now,” the FIRS boss said.

NNPCL Debunk Report On Adjusting Fuel Pump Price

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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0

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has denied claims that it has reduced the pump prices of petrol and diesel.

The NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement, described the claims as false, asking Nigerians to disregard same.

Our correspondent reports that some posts on various social media platforms on Tuesday and Wednesday had said that the NNPCL had reduced the pump price of petrol below N600, while that of diesel was adjusted below N900.

Pump Price: NLC Threatens Fresh strike

Reacting, the firm said: “The NNPC Limited wishes to clarify rumours suggesting a price adjustment for Premium Motor Spirit and Automotive Gas Oil at its retail stations nationwide.

“The company asserts that these reports are false and urges Nigerians to disregard them entirely.

“NNPC Ltd reaffirms its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in petroleum products supply across all its retail stations in the country.”

Lagos VIS Impounds 50 Rickety Commercial Vehicles

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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0

The Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) on Wednesday impounded over 50 rickety commercial vehicles that failed to meet the prescribed minimum road worthiness standards.

This is in a concerted effort to ensure road safety and regulatory compliance.

The VIS conducted a comprehensive enforcement operation on Wednesday targeting unroadworthy vehicles across the state.

Lagos State Task Force Impounds Vehicles, Demolishes Shanties

The impounded vehicles failed road-worthiness standard as seen in their brakes, wipers, lights, shocks and tyres, as stipulated in the State’s Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018.

During the enforcement exercise which spanned various key locations including; Costain, Ikorodu road, Ojuelegba, Yaba, Oyingbo, Ikeja, and Ojodu Berger, the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) while diligently scrutinising commercial vehicles to ensure compliance with safety regulations also enlightened the drivers on the danger embedded in non-compliance, majority of which was the cause of road accidents.

Debunking the misconceptions about the VIS’s enforcement focus which was said to target more on private vehicles, the Director, Vehicle Inspection Services, Engr. Akin- George Fashola explained that the road worthiness compliance is no respecter of particular categories of vehicles, saying “it is expected to be implemented on all vehicles that ply Lagos roads.”

Despite the professionalism displayed by VIS officers during the operation, some defiant commercial vehicle drivers resisted to be apprehended and in the cause of their high headedness damaged the patrol vans belonging to the VIS command.

Fashola said such acts of defiance would not deter the state government from persisting in enforcement efforts until the prevalence of rickety vehicles is significantly reduced.

The VIS Director advised all vehicle owners to adopt voluntary compliance with road-worthiness requirements for safety of lives and property.

Fashola further reiterated that the VIS would continue to uphold its commitment to conducting fair and unbiased enforcement drives, urging all vehicle owners and operators to prioritise regular maintenance and adherence to road-worthiness standards to ensure the safety of all road users.

Minimum Wage: TUC Advice Against Defaulting States

By
Rhoda Onuzulike
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0

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked the Federal Government to pay the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations of defaulting states to workers.

TUC President, Festus Osifo stated this in an interview on Channels Television.

Osifo said the union is designing a clause in the framing of a new minimum wage that will sanction state governments who fail to pay the revised minimum wage when approved.

Begin Food Importation To Curb Hardship- TUC

He said, “We are designing a system as part of this new minimum wage negotiation on sanctioning. That when a new minimum wage is passed; “…there must be sanctions to governors that are not being responsive, maybe their FAAC allocations, maybe the Federal Government can pay some monies directly to the workers instead of giving it to the states.”

Osifo said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater for the wellbeing of an average Nigerian worker.

He lamented that not all governors are paying the current wage award which will expire by April, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Osifo said inflation has affected the cost of living for an average Nigerian worker, noting that state governors can afford to pay every public servant N447,000 because they now get more monthly FAAC revenue allocation by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

The TUC boss said, “This is a demand that we have put forward. Look at the states, as at April (2023), what was shared as Federal Allocation was somewhere around N400bn but as at last month (February), what was shared was close to N2trn.”

But, according to FAAC, the three tiers of government shared N1.15 trillion last month and not N2trn.

Osifo said, “So, what that means is that the portion of money that is accruable to states has grown up astronomically. And the majority of that money is attributable to the exchange rate.

“If the money that is accruable to states from the Federal Account is about four or five times today, most of the state governors should be able to do much more.

“What we are asking is that these state governors must be responsive. Beyond the money they share in Abuja, Nigeria is a blessed country, these governors must be up and doing, they must put on their thinking caps.”

Recall that the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 is to be reviewed every five years to meet up with contemporary economic demands of workers.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC have at various times called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to hasten the upward review of wage awards.

Earlier in January, the Federal Government inaugurated a 37-man Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage with a mandate to recommend a new National Minimum Wage for the country.

While the TUC demanded N447,000 as the new monthly minimum wage per worker, the NLC requested N794,000 per worker.

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