Aruna And Assar To Renew Rivalry In Nairobi

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April 25, 2023

Quadri Aruna and Omar Assar will again take their rivalry to Nairobi, Kenya when the 2023 Africa Cup kicks off on May 4 to 6 at Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, Kenya.

Aruna who missed out from the title in 2022 after suffering a thigh injury in the final to concede the title to Assar at 4-3 will be hoping to reclaim the title following his recent form at international tournaments across the globe.

Aruna, presently ranked the 12th in the world, is the highest ranked African in the world while Assar is rated 33rd as the second best rated African.

Current African best ranked female Dina Meshref is at present in fine form following her display at the just concluded WTT Champions in China will be up against compatriot and defending champion Hana Goda who claimed her first continental title in Lagos last year.

Each participating country is expected to present two players each in men and women events while Egypt as the defending champions in men and women will nominate two players alongside the two champions.

Kenya as host will present four players each in men and women events while Brian Mutua will lead the East African team against the visitors.

Once Upon A Time – April 25 – 1954 – Bell Labs Announces 1st Solar Battery Made From Silicon

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Angel Gimalo

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April 25, 2023

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1660 English Convention Parliament meets and votes to restore Charles II

1792 Guillotine first used in France, executes highwayman Nicolas Pelletier

1846 Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War

1915 First landings at Gaba Tepe and Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula by ANZAC forces during WWI

1920 San Remo conference establishes three League of Nations mandates: a French mandate for Syria, and British mandates for Mesopotamia and Palestine with effect to the terms of the Balfour Declaration

1945 “Elbe Day” – US and Soviet forces meet at Torgau, Germany on the Elbe River during the invasion of Germany in WWII

1953 Francis Crick and James Watson’s discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is published in “Nature” magazine
Magazine advert for Bell Labs’ new invention, the solar battery
First Solar Battery

1954 Bell labs announces the 1st Solar Battery made from silicon. It has about 6% efficiency.

1990 Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by space shuttle Discovery

Historical Events Today Events in 2023
Today in Film & TV
1964 11th National Film Awards (India): “Shehar Aur Sapna” wins the Golden Lotus

Today in Music
1926 Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Turandot” premieres in Milan

Today in Sport
1950 Chuck Cooper becomes the 1st African American to be drafted into the NBA (for Boston Celtics)

1507 German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller is the first to use the name America on his world map “Universalis Cosmographia”

1960 1st submerged circumnavigation of Earth completed by USS submarine Triton in 60 days, 21 hours

Famous Weddings
1972 Comedic actor Bob Denver (37) weds third wife Carole Abrahams

1973 Singer and actor Dean Martin marries third wife Catherine Hawn (divorced 1976)

1981 Maureen Reagan (40) marries 3rd husband, Dennis Revell (28)

Sudan Crisis: Ethiopia Denies Fleeing Students Entry

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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April 25, 2023

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Some Nigerian students caught in the crossfire in war-torn Sudan have been denied entry into neighbouring Ethiopia.

The development was made known by the federal government on Monday and it was also disclosed that while the fleeing students were blocked, the situation is being handled.

According to the federal government, Nigerian authorities in Ethiopia are tackling the issue as they have sought clearance for those involved, adding that it was risky for the students to have gone on the journey.

Air Peace Ready to Evacuate Nigerians From Sudan

Meanwhile, the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, revealed on Tuesday that the warring generals in Sudan have agreed to a three-day ceasefire.

The ceasefire begins on Tuesday (2200 GMT Monday) following failed previous attempts to pause the conflict.

“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours.

“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said.

Uganda Suspends Deployment, Transfer of Teachers

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Precious Obazee

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April 25, 2023

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The Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda has temporarily suspended the transfer and deployment of teaching and non-teaching staff with immediate effect.

The announcement came in a notice issued on April 17, by the permanent secretary Ministry of Education and Sports, Ketty Lamaro.

According to Lamaro, the suspension has been issued to enable the office of the Auditor General efficiently carry out nationwide payroll audit.

The audit exercise which is expected to end in June is aimed at ascertaining the exact number of public officers including the teaching and non-teaching staff.

She added that the purpose of the notice is to inform all the heads of institutions to inform their respective members of staff.

This year, the Ministry of Finance, embarked on an audit into the government payroll in a bid to rectify the recurrent challenges in remittances of pensions, gratuity and salaries of public servants.

The move comes on the backdrop of concerns over increasing number of non-existent workers also known as ghost workers in the public service who are illegally accessing government salaries and pensions.

Last month, the Minister for Public Service, Wilson Muruli Mukasa asserted that the finance ministry had undertaken the audit exercise to scrutinise the payroll in a bid to get accurate figures of people on the payroll.

He said that will help government estimate and have an idea of how much monetary commitment can be made for salaries and other expenses.

This he said will help government plan better so that these issues of salaries can be handled effectively.

IHF Tourney: Team Nigeria arrive Bulgaria

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Emenike Agu

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April 25, 2023

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Nigeria’s male u-24 handball team have arrived in Bulgaria ahead of the IHF emerging nations championship.

The IHF emerging nations championship will hold in Vana, Bulgaria from April 25 to 30 and Nigeria will be playing in group d alongside the host Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.

The teams have been training intensively for weeks in Abuja under the watchful eyes of Coach Solomon Yola ahead of the international handball federation’s organized championship and left the shore of the country via the Muritala Muhammed international airport on Sunday evening.

Read Also: Edo State To Host NUGA Trials

According to the statement from the media team of the handball federation of Nigeria, the team landed in Bulgaria on Monday evening.

Nigeria will play their first match in the competition against highly favored host Bulgaria on Tuesday before facing Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

Ganduje Begs For Forgiveness As He Prepares To Sign Out

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faith Jegede

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April 25, 2023

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Kano state governor, Umar Ganduje has appealed to residents of the state who he may have offended in any way during his tenure as their governor, to forgive him.
His appeal was contained in a statement released by Muhammad Garba, the state’s commissioner for information and internal affairs, via the governors Eid-el-Fitri message.

According to the statement, Governor Ganduje whose two-term tenure of eight years will end on May 29, said he is not holding grudges against anyone.

He said and quote -“I’ve forgiven anyone who at one time disparaged my person and my character for whatever reasons, and on my part, i equally beg or seek for your forgiveness for all that I’ve done wrong to you. For those who we have wronged, forgive us, on my part, I’ve forgiven those who wronged me no matter the weight of the offence.”

Ganduje’s two-term tenure of eight years as the chief helmsman of Nigeria’s most populous state tick to an end on May 29, 2023, when he is expected to hand over the reigns of power to the opposition New Nigeria People’s Party’s governor-elect, Abba Kabiru.

Fake Art Dealer Extradited After Dodging For Decade

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Koko Lawrence

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April 25, 2023

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A380 trains in Leipzig — 22 April 2023, Saxony, Leipzig: A Lufthansa Airbus A380 aircraft against the backdrop of a cherry tree in bloom at Leipzig/Halle Airport. After a three-year break, the aircraft type is scheduled to return to service in June. To this end, several hours of touch-and-go maneuvers will be practiced in Leipzig, during which the crew will practice the manual approach on sight and the aircraft's takeoff. Photo: Christian Modla/dpa (Photo by Christian Modla/picture alliance via Getty Images)

An art dealer who fled the United States 13 years ago after being charged for selling counterfeit artwork online will finally face jail time.

The Department of Justice announced that Angela Catherine Hamblin, 74, had been extradited from Germany to the U.S.

Hamblin had been charged with one count of mail fraud in 2007 after selling an estimate $410,000 in fake works on the online platform eBay and in private transactions that were attributed to British artist Joseph Mallord William Turner, Spanish Cubist artist Juan Gris, as well as American abstract painters Milton Avery, and Franz Kline. Hamblin was facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the charge.

Prosecutors said that Hamblin had been selling fake art works for years. “She continued her fraud relentlessly,” they said in an interview. After discovering the paintings were fake, buyers would routinely demand their money back. On the few occasions Hamblin did refund money, she would re-sell the painting.”

Hamblin told the judge she turned to art fraud because of mortgage payments. After she pled guilty in 2009 to two counts of mail fraud and one of wire fraud, Hamblin was sentenced to one year and one day in prison as well as ordered to pay $65,000 in restitution to gallery owner Jeffrey Bergen of ACA Galleries. However, she failed to report to authorities and fled to the United Kingdom.

According to a press release from the Justice Department, Hamblin was re-arrested last May while changing flights at an airport in the German city of Frankfurt on her way home to Scotland from a trip to Vienna. She had been living in the Scottish village of St. Boswells with her husband.

“Hamblin went to great lengths to avoid accountability for her crimes, but this Office and the FBI have long memories and benefit greatly from our cooperation with international partners,” United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, recently said in a statement.

Houston Rockets to hire former Boston Celtics head coach Udoka

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Emenike Agu

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April 25, 2023

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Udoka lost his Celtics role last off-season after they discovered him to have been in an inappropriate relationship with a fellow team employee

The Houston Rockets have made a deal to makeIme Udoka the franchise’s next head coach.

Media reports in the U.S. on Monday say the Houston Rockets had, before committing to Udoka, talked to the league office and the Boston Celtics.

The talks were about the circumstances of the end of the coach’s tenure with the Celtics.

The Celtics fired Udoka last off-season after the franchise discovered he was in an inappropriate relationship with a fellow team employee.

Best known in his playing days for his defensive stopper role with the San Antonio Spurs, Udoka’s only season of head coaching experience came in 2021/2022.

That was when he led the Celtics to a 51-31 record and an NBA Finals appearance.

At the end of the regular season, the Rockets declined to pick up an option on Stephen Silas’ contract, officially opening a head coaching vacancy.

Silas had a combined record of 59-177 in his three seasons leading Houston through a full roster teardown and rebuild.

The Rockets will be one of three teams with a 14 per cent chance of landing the top overall pick in the 2023 draft.

This will be as the team looks to build around a very young core of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason.

At full strength, the Rockets had the second-youngest starting lineup in the league this season, averaging 21 years and 147 days old.

President Joe Biden announces 2024 re-election bid

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Doreen Jemi

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April 25, 2023

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President Joe Biden, announced Tuesday he is running for re-election in 2024, plunging at the record age of 80 into a ferocious new White House campaign “to finish the job.”

Biden wrote on Twitter, along with a video, “Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms,”

“I believe this is ours. That’s why I’m running for re-election as president of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job.”

President Biden to deepen Africa relations with visit next year

After a series of big legislative wins and momentous foreign policy struggles in his first two years in office, there is yet no real challenger for Biden from within the Democratic Party.

The veteran Democrat would be 86 by the end of a second term. Even if a medical exam in February found him “fit” to execute the duties of the presidency, many including in his own voter base believe he is too old.

An NBC News poll released over the weekend found that 70 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of Democrats, believe he should not run.

Sixty-nine percent of all respondents who said he shouldn’t run cited concerns over his age as a major or minor reason.

Biden likes to answer those concerns by saying, “watch me” — meaning that voters should focus on his policy wins at home and his marshalling of an unprecedented Western alliance to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion.

Edo State To Host NUGA Trials

By

Emenike Agu

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April 25, 2023

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According to the Nigerian university games association, Edo state, in collaboration with the university of Benin, will host the 2023 NUGA trials for athletes to the world university games.

The trials are scheduled to take place from may 8 to 14 in Benin city, the Edo state capital.

A statement signed by Chidiebere Ezeani, acting secretary general, NUGA, the trials will feature seven sports, namely athletics, badminton, judo, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo and tennis at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium in Benin city.

The event will feature athletes who performed exceptionally well at the 26th NUGA games, as well as new athletes who will compete for spots on the team that will represent Nigeria at the world university games.

According to the Edo state deputy governor Philip Shaibu, the state has the best facilities in Nigeria, and are happy to accommodate NUGA and University athletes because the state intends to lead sports development in Nigeria.

The vice chancellor of the university of Benin Prof. Lillian Salami also expressed delight in hosting the trials, stating that the university remain at the forefront of university sports development in Nigeria, having sent over 200 students to the NUGA games. According to her, she believes these events go beyond competition and are experiences that most students cherish from their academic years.