Category: iNTERNATIONAL

Uzbekistan arrests 4 over Indian cough syrup deaths

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

Uzbek state security service on Friday reported that Uzbekistan arrested four people in an investigation into the deaths of 19 children who consumed cough syrup made by Indian drug maker Marion Biotech. The state security service said two of the detained were senior employees of the Scientific Centre for Standardization of Medicines, who circumvented the proper testing procedures for the Doc-1 Max cough syrup. Two others were executives of the Quramax Medikal Company that imported the Marion Biotech drugs. Marion Biotech in December 2022 said shortly after the series of…

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Botswana ex-president Khama prays court to set aside arrest warrant

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
Botswana-map-boundaries-cities-locator

Botswana’s former president Ian Khama on Friday filed an urgent court application seeking to strike down an arrest warrant issued against him by a magistrate. Khama, whose father Seretse Khama was Botswana’s founding president, is in a dispute with his successor and incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi which resulted in him quitting the ruling Botswana Democratic Party in 2019. The warrant was issued after Khama, who has been living in South Africa since November 2021, failed to show up in court to answer charges laid against him in April. They include…

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Journalist arrested, more than 80 media workers detained in Iran

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

The head of the political editorial department at the reformist newspaper Etemad has been arrested in Iran, the paper reported on Friday, citing his wife. Mehdi Beyk was arrested on Thursday and his mobile phone and notebook confiscated. In recent weeks, numerous Iranian journalists have been detained as part of a wave of arrests. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York, more than 80 media workers have already been arrested. The possibilities for reporting are massively restricted in the country. Iran’s political leadership has been under enormous…

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Putin tells Ukraine he’s ready for peace talks, gives conditions

Aminu Imam

President of the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin, has told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan he was open to dialogue with Ukraine if Kyiv accepts territories occupied by Moscow as Russian, the Kremlin said yesterday. “Putin again confirmed Russia’s openness to serious dialogue, on the condition of Kyiv authorities fulfilling the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements of taking into account the new territorial realities,” the Kremlin said in a statement. Erdogan had called for peace talks in the phone call with Putin, his office said earlier. Russian troops occupy large…

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UK announces Covid restrictions for anyone arriving from China

Aminu Imam

The United Kingdom (UK) government has announced that passengers coming into the country from China will soon be required to show a negative Covid test. According to local newspaper reports, the authorities announced on Friday that those coming into the UK’s airports from China, including London’s Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, must prove they have tested negative. Travellers will have to test negative within 48 hours of departure. Anyone taking a PCR test in UK hospitals or care homes will be asked if they have recently travelled to China. Those samples…

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Trump should never hold office again – US insurrection report

Aminu Imam

Donald Trump should never be allowed to run for public office again after inciting an insurrection, lawmakers investigating last year’s assault on the US Capitol concluded in their watershed final report. The recommendation led a list of proposals from the 845-page document aimed at ensuring there is no repeat of the deadly riot the ex-president is accused of orchestrating in a failed bid to cling to power after losing the 2020 election. “Our country has come too far to allow a defeated president to turn himself into a successful tyrant…

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“I’ve signed my resignation letter in case of health failure” — Pope Francis

Aminu Imam

Pope Francis prays by a Nativity Scene during the weekly general audience on December 14, 2022 Pope Francis revealed for the first time in an interview on Sunday that he had signed a resignation letter nearly a decade ago should poor health prevent him from carrying out his duties. Francis — who turned 86 on Saturday — has said in the past that he would step down from the papacy should health problems keep him from his duties. In a Spanish newspaper ABC, the pontiff said he signed his resignation…

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‘Investigate mass abortion report’ – UN Secretary-General urges FG

Aminu Imam

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has urged the federal government to investigate allegations of systemic abortions reportedly perpetrated by the Nigerian Army. Guterres made this appeal, in an email to Reuters news agency, through the UN spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. The UN chief called on the federal government to thoroughly investigate the allegations and punish those involved. Dujarric, while briefing reporters during the weekend, said, “We call on the Nigerian authorities to fully investigate these allegations and make sure there’s accountability.” A US State Department spokesperson was also reported to have said…

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“We are worried 100 million Nigerians live below poverty line” – China

Aminu Imam

The Republic of China has expressed its concern that Nigerians, many living below the poverty line, continue to grapple with grinding penury. According to the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, “We have lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty in China; and in Nigeria, there are 200 million, with 100 million living below the poverty line; this is my great concern. And efforts that make me try to do things for Nigeria, and the most important thing now is agriculture”. The diplomat stated this on Tuesday when…

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UK: Buckingham Palace aide resigns over ‘racist questioning’ of black British guest

Aminu Imam

A Buckingham Palace household member has apologised and resigned over “unacceptable comments” made to a black British guest Ngozi Fulani, at a reception hosted by the Queen Consort. Ngozi Fulani, the founder of a charity, Sistah Space, which supports victims of domestic abuse, says she was repeatedly asked at the Buckingham Palace event by a royal aide where she was “really from”. She said she was asked where she was from in Africa. The palace said it was taking the incident “extremely seriously”. An eyewitness to the conversation, Ms. Mandu…

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