Ethiopia’s Hayla Worku Leads World Class Runners To Gold-Label Lagos City Marathon

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February 3, 2023

Hayla Worku

Ethiopia’s Hayla Bazu Worku, will be leading the team of foreign world class runners that will compete at the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on Saturday, February 4th.

Worku, is one of the fastest full marathon runners in the world, having ran six World class marathons in less than 2hours 9 minutes.

The 2014 Houston Marathon winner, ran his fastest time of 2:05:25 when he finished third place at the Berlin Marathon in 2010.

He ran a time of 2:06:16 when he finished second place at the Paris Marathon in 2009, ran 2:06:47 when he placed 6th at the Zurich Marathon in 2020.

He also ran 2:07:09 at the Dubai Standard Chartered Marathon in 2015 where he placed 6th. In 2014 ran 2:07:32 at the Houston Marathon where he was champion in 2014. And 2:08:48 at the Praha Marathon in 2017 where he finished second place.

Another worldclass foreign runner ready to burn the route at the February 4 Gold-Label Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is Kenya’s John Komen, a 2019 Athens Marathon winner at a time of 2:16:34.

The 42 years old Komen had recorded better time in past races; 2:07:13 in 2011 when he won the La Rochelle Marathon, 2:08:06 in 2008 at Reims Marathon, 2:08:12 at Paris Marathon and 2:08:13 when he won the Vanezia Marathon in 2009.

Kenya’s Barmasai David is another worldclass foreign runner with the biggest chances to prove a point at the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.

David, has a personal best of 2:07:18 when he won the 2011 Dubai Marathon, the same year he placed fifth at the World Marathon Championships.

The 2020 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon winner has a very rich resume and the brightest opportunity to stay tops following his familiarity with the Lagos City Marathon route, having won the 2020 race at 2:10:23 and placed second in 2022, at the 7th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon at 2:13:37. Its the same route and same weather.

David is also a winner of the 2010 Kenyan Standard Chartered Marathon where he ran 2:10:31.

In the women class, the top leading worldclass foreign runners include; Tinbit Didey, former champion of the Marrakesh Marathon, Esther Macharia, a former winner of Graz Marathon and winner of Bregenz Marathon. She has a personal best of 2:27:15 recorded in 2022 at the Grandma’s Marathon in USA.

Kenya’s Mercy Jerop Kwambai, is yet another worldclass runner, with the most recent performances that may change some expectations at the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.

Mercy Jerop in the last two years has been hot in her races across the world; at the Asics Firenze Marathon in 2021 she ran 2:27:32 and placed 3rd. In 2022, at the Sparkasse 3-Lander Marathon, she finished second place at 2:30:15 and 3rd place also at the 2022 Adidas Stockholm Marathon at 2:33:43.

A total of 76 foreign runners were invited by the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited, for the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, made up of 47 men and 29 women worldclass runners.

In the men’s class include; Julius Tuwei, Japhet Kosgei, Edwin Kibet Koech, Kiprotich Justus Kipkoech, Ezekiel Koech and Cosmas Kiplimo. Others include Francis Cheruiyot, Bernard Sang and Kibiwot Stephen Kipkoech among others.

For the women’s class, we have Jackline Chelai, Naomi Maiyo, Kebene Chala and Catherine Jerotich.

The foreign Elite athletes are from 22 countries from across the world and a total 50,000 runners in all will be running in the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on Saturday, February 4

UNIBEN Students, Soldiers Clashes Over Cash Withdrawal

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 3, 2023

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Students of the University of Benin clashed with some soldiers at the school premises on Thursday over cash withdrawal at one of the bank’s Automated Teller Machines.

Trouble was said to have started as attempts to jump the queue by the soldiers was met with stiff resistance by the students who had waited patiently on the queue for their turn.

According to a source, the students were said to be angry with the soldiers from the S&T Barracks who had done the same the previous day in an oppressive manner.

students who challenged them to lie on the ground. But today (Thursday) when they came again and wanted to do the same thing, the student resisted.”

While arguments ensued between the students and the military men, the Chief Security Officer of the institution who intervened was said to have been assaulted by the soldiers.

The development got the students aggrieved and blocked vehicular movement on routes to and fro the school which resulted in a gridlock.

It took the intervention of some spirited Nigerians and the Divisional Police Officer Ugbowo Division to appease the irate students to allow vehicular movements around the axis.

When contacted, the state Deputy Police spokesperson, ASP Jennifer Iwegbu, said peace had returned to the area after several appeals to the students, who demanded that a smashed phone of one of their colleagues be repaired.

In a statement signed by the Vice Chancellor of the School, Prof. Lilian Salami on Friday, she described the incident as unfortunate and called for calm.

The statement reads, “The unfortunate incident of the clash between some students of our university and soldiers on Thursday 2nd February, resulting from alleged resistance of students to the soldiers’ attempt to jump ATM queue on campus has been brought under control and the management of the University is in discussions with the hierarchy of the S&T for amicable resolution.

“The management acknowledges that these are challenging times for everyone and enjoins all to remain calm while efforts are being made to avert a re-occurrence.

“Management also calls on the students to constantly engage dialogue in resolving issues that concern them rather than taking to protests, at any provocation, thereby causing more injury and damage to themselves and other citizens,” the statement added.

Four Kidnapped School Pupils In Nasarawa Rescued

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 3, 2023

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The remaining four pupils of the six kidnapped school pupils of the Local Government Education Authority primary school, Alwaza in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, have been rescued unhurt.

The pupils who were kidnapped in the school premises two weeks ago and have been in captivity since then were rescued through the combined efforts of the police and hunters.

The victims, Awazi Emmanuel, Success Ogah, Dominion Alhaji and Success Emmanuel, were rescued at Doka village on Friday in Doma LGA of the state.

Two of the six pupils had earlier been rescued by the police in Obi Local Government Area of the state.

The victims who are between the ages of 5 and 7 years are currently receiving medical attention at the Dalhatu Specialist Hospital in Lafia, the state capital.

VP Osinbajo Advocates Education For Young Girls

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 3, 2023

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Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has said the education of young girls should be a top priority, even as children are taught the highest standards of honesty, piety and hard work in order to build a healthier, happier and more prosperous society.

The Vice President expressed these views at the virtual inauguration of the school-based Management Board of Adawiyya Girls Academy, Minannata community, in Sokoto State, Northern, Nigeria.

Osinbajo acknowledged the initiator of the Academy, Rabiatu Adawiyya, from whose name the school is endowed, adding that despite the fact that she did not undergo formal education, she “understood a reality that even the best minds are only just realizing, that when you educate a girl, you educate a whole society.”

According to the Vice President, “ignorance has no benefit, ignorance is darkness but education is the bright light of knowledge that can help us to live healthier, happier and more prosperous lives.”

He said “education is dangerous without morals and uprightness,”emphasizing that “we must teach our children the highest standards of honesty, piety, and hard work.“I am glad that the students of Adawiyya Girls Academy Sokoto have this great opportunity of being offered both conventional and religious education using the most advanced modern teaching tools available in our time.”

Prof. Osinbajo said Rabiatu Adawiyya was passionate about the education of girls from less-privileged families.

“Her dream is today a reality and has started a movement that will bring about the education of millions of girls from poor families across Nigeria,” he stated.

He further observed that the people of the Minannata, a low-income community, understood the importance of education.

“Education is the ladder by which even the poorest can climb to the top in the society, but the ladder of education is a special ladder, it is not only the educated person who climbs, their family members and others around them can learn from them and also begin to climb the ladder to the top.”

Acknowledging the school’s STEM-based approach, he noted that “a lot of thinking has gone into designing the curriculum for the school and we have ensured that we have the best teachers anywhere in the country.

“Technology and technology tools for teaching and learning are a fundamental part of our pedagogy. The school’s technology facilities are state-of-the-art and the school, in keeping with best practice, has an intentionally optimized teacher-to-student ratio,” he said.

The Vice President thanked the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, the Mutawalle of Sokoto, for the consistent support he has given to the school, especially in enrolling the teachers of the school into the State Civil Service.

He also commended the leadership of the Minannata community, especially the traditional chiefs led by Maigirma Ardo, Alhaji Aminu Riskuwa, for his selfless service to the people.

“The parents and guardians of the girls have also been outstandingly cooperative, in some cases their enthusiasm and commitment to the education of their children has gone perhaps even beyond the call of duty.”

The VP mentioned the example of Malama Zali Bala, the mother of Hafsat Bala, “who when teased about having only female children, will point to examples of great women from within the community and express pride and hope that, with education, Hafsat will one day join that same league of great amazons.”

He also recalled his own experience saying “I value education and one of the things I enjoyed then was taking my young daughters to school.”

Alongside members of the management board, those present at the virtual event included teachers, students, staff of the school, and traditional rulers, who joined in from the School’s environs.

Dr. Balkisu Saidu, who is also the daughter of the endower (Adawiyya), thanked the VP for his selfless service to humanity.

FEC Approves N4.078B On Universities Projects

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 3, 2023

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Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council has approved over four billion naira for the execution of contracts in three universities in the country.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of Wednesday’s meeting of the Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He revealed that the Council approved a total sum of N4, 078,903,692 for three contracts in the Osun State University, Osogbo: the Federal University, Lokoja and National Commission for Nomadic Education.

Adamu also disclosed that the Council approved a memorandum that sought the takeover of the David Umahi University of Medical Sciences, Ebonyi, by the federal government, as well as the change of the name of the institution to David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences.

He said: “We presented four memos, three of them were contracts. The first is for the construction of the Senate Building in Osun State University, in Osogbo. This is at a cost of N2, 134,686,307.88, with a completion period of 76 weeks.

“Second one is another Senate Building. This one is at the Federal University, Lokoja and it is at the cost of N1, 607,471,754.77, with a completion period of 50 weeks.

“The third one is a contract for the erection of a radio antenna for the National Commission for Nomadic Education. It is 50-kilowatt AM radio and the contract sum is N336, 745,631.70. The completion period is 14 weeks.

“The last one is a memo for the takeover of David Umahi University of Medical Sciences, Ebonyi, by the federal government. What we brought in the memo is for Council to ratify the agreement that has been entered between the Ebonyi State government and the federal government and then to approve the renaming of the university from David Umahi University of Medical Sciences to David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences.”

The Minister said the Council has already approved a draft bill for the renaming of the university as well as its transmittal to the National Assembly for enactment into an Act.

Retirement Age Strike Hits Schools, Trains In France

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 3, 2023

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A nationwide strike is under way in France in a second wave of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Eight big unions are taking part in the strike, which is disrupting schools, public transport and oil refineries.

Protests are taking place across France, after a first day of action attracted more than a million people.

The unions said half the country’s teachers had joined the strike.

“The Macron government is pushing ahead with its pension age reforms in the face of opinion polls that suggest two-thirds of voters are opposed to the changes, which begin their passage through National Assembly next week.”

Without a ‘majority’ in parliament, the government will have to rely on the right-wing Republicans for support as much as the ruling parties’ own MPs.

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said France was at a crucial point and predicted an even greater number of protesters than on the first day of action on 19 January. Street protests are expected in “at least 200 towns and cities and a reported 11,000 police have been deployed to cover the demonstrations.”

Ahead of the main protest in Paris, big turn-outs were reported in Toulouse, Marseille and Nice in the south, and Saint Nazaire and Nantes in the west.

There was severe disruption to transport, with one in three high-speed trains running and only two driverless metro lines operating normally in Paris. Large crowds were reported on one of the main overground lines in the capital.

High school students took part in the protests on Tuesday in support of the strikers.

The CGT union said at least three-quarters of workers had walked out at the big TotalEnergies oil refineries and fuel depots. Power plants reported reduced production after workers went on strike at the main electricity company EDF

One of the main teachers’ unions said some 55% of secondary school teachers had walked out. High school pupils staged protests outside some schools and students said they would occupy Sciences Po university in Paris in support of the strikers.

Jewish doctors, scientists tell Sunak to withdraw anti-Semitism accusations levelled at Andrew Bridgen

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Henry Williams

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February 3, 2023

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25 leading scientists, doctors and researchers from Israel, the UK, Canada and the USA sent a letter to Installed Prime Minister Sunak to protest the weaponisation of anti-Semitism in what is clearly a political assassination of Member of Parliament Andrew Bridgen for raising well-established concerns regarding harms caused by covid injections.

The letter from the group of Jewish doctors and scientists backs up an article in which Mark Pickles makes the point that using the false charge of anti-Semitism as a means to deflect debate is in itself a dangerous trivialisation of anti-Semitism:

The label “anti-Semite” that the Conservative Party evidently wants to attach to Bridgen is a merely a confusion tactic, Pickels noted. Any other smear would have done, such as “racist” or “homophobe” or “bully.” It seems that Bridgen was asking too many questions of the Establishment’s covid vaccine narrative, and an ad hominem attack was needed urgently.

In his article, Pickles compared Mr. Bridgen to Colonel Picquart – whose eventual unveiling of ideological anti-Semitism running through all parts of the French Establishment led to a crisis in the Third Republic and a complete restructuring of France, not least the definitive separation of Church and State in 1905.

“I realise that it might now seem ironic that I compare the French colonel, who exposed systemic anti-Semitism, to an English MP who is now accused of anti-Semitism,” Pickles wrote. But “I still compare Bridgen to Picquart, even more so now that Bridgen has been publicly humiliated by the Prime Minister on trumped-up charges of ‘anti-Semitism’.”

The most vociferous and public charge of anti-Semitism came from Midazolam Matt, also known as Matt Hancock. On 13 January, Mr. Bridgen tweeted “Matt Hancock has still not removed his defamatory tweet falsely alleging that I am antisemitic. I will allow Matt three days to apologise publicly for calling me an antisemite and racist or he will be contacted by my legal team.

Mr. Bridgen is now suing Midazolam Matt for £100,000. Mr. Bridgen wants Hancock to pay damages to a legal fund for “people seeking collective redress for vaccine harms.”

In a letter to Hancock, seen by The Telegraph, on 18 January, five days after his tweet, Mr. Bridgen’s legal team set out the claim against Hancock and the demand for damages. It said: “By inclusion of the phrases ‘anti-Semitic’, ‘anti-vax’, ‘anti-scientific’ and ‘conspiracy theories’ the words are defamatory at common law.”

Midazolam Matt’s spokesman told The Telegraph: “What Matt said was obviously not libellous, and he stands by his comments. Rather than wasting his time and money on an absurd libel case he will undoubtedly lose, let’s hope Bridgen does the right thing and apologises for the hurt he’s caused and keeps his offensive view to himself in future.”

What would be good to hear from Midazolam Matt’s spokesman is about Hancock’s role in the use and abuse of midazolam to end people’s lives during the “pandemic” in the spring of 2020.

Pollution: Thousands Of Nigerians File Cases Against Shell

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Angel Gimalo

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February 2, 2023

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More than 13,000 people from two communities in Nigeria have filed individual claims against the oil company Shell at the High Court in London.

Residents from the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta want Shell to clean up oil spills and compensate them for the damage to their land.

The claims, which were filed on Friday, are the latest development in a seven-year legal battle.

Abimbola Essien-Nelson added that the illegal refining of stolen crude oil also happened on a large scale in these areas and was a major source of oil pollution.

But the British law firm representing the communities says that no clean-up has taken place and that there have been 55 new oil spills in the Ogale community since September 2011.

A press release from the Leigh Day firm states Shell has filed a legal defence claiming that the communities do not have the legal right to enforce a clean-up against Shell.

Both communities are in Ogoniland, one of the most polluted regions in the world.

Despite a 2011 UN report recommending that the area be cleaned up immediately, residents still don’t have access to clean water and farmland.

In 2021 Shell announced it was leaving Nigeria and selling its onshore assets in the country after operating in the country for 80 years.

Shell has reported record annual profits after energy prices surged last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It made $39.9bn (£32.2bn) in 2022, the highest in its 115-year history.

UNESCO Receives Formal Bid For Scotland’s Flow Country Status

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Angel Gimalo

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February 2, 2023

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UNESCO has been formally asked to consider awarding World Heritage Site status to 469,500 acres (190,000ha) of Scotland’s Flow Country.

The area of Caithness and Sutherland contains the most intact and extensive blanket bog system in the world.

World Heritage status is an internationally-recognised designation given to places of cultural, historical or scientific significance.

A decision on the Flow Country’s nomination is expected next year.

Scottish locations with the Unesco status include the St Kilda archipelago, Skara Brae prehistoric village and the Antonine Wall. Globally, the sites include Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Egypt’s Historic Cairo.

The Flow Country Partnership, a collaboration that includes Highland Council, NatureScot, RSPB Scotland, University of the Highlands and Islands and Wildland Ltd, handed its 250-page nomination dossier to the UK government.

It was then submitted to UNESCO, a UN organisation promoting cooperation on education and science, for consideration.

Shell Reports Highest Profits In 115 Years

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Angel Gimalo

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February 2, 2023

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Oil and gas giant Shell has reported record annual profits after energy prices surged last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Profits hit $39.9bn (£32.2bn) in 2022, double last year’s total and the highest in its 115-year history.

Energy firms have seen record earnings since oil and gas prices jumped following the invasion of Ukraine.

It has heaped pressure on firms to pay more tax as households struggle with rising bills.

Opposition parties said Shell’s profits were “outrageous” and the government was letting energy firms “off the hook”. They also called for the planned increase in the energy price cap due in April to be scrapped.

Energy prices had begun to climb after the end of Covid lockdowns but rose sharply in March last year after the events in Ukraine led to worries over supplies.

The price of Brent crude oil reached nearly $128 a barrel following the invasion, but has since fallen back to about $83. Gas prices also spiked but have come down from their highs.