Kenya set for trade talks with Britain

Kenya will soon start negotiations on a second bilateral trade pact with the United Kingdom following its exit from European Union (EU).

The two countries have previously been trading through the EU. However, Kenya lost market access after Britain left the union in what was known as Brexit.

Under the EU, Kenya benefited from duty-free and quota-free market access to all member states for industrial and agricultural products, including beef, fish, dairy, cereals, fresh and processed fruits and vegetables |||READ MORE

Zindzi Mandela, daughter of Nelson Mandela, has died - ANC spokesman

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zindzi Mandela, daughter of former South African president and liberation hero Nelson Mandela, has died, the spokesman of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said on Monday.

Zindzi Mandela, whose mother was anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, rose to international prominence when she read out Nelson Mandela's rejection of then-president P.W. Botha's offer for freedom in 1985.

State broadcaster SABC said the 59-year-old, who was serving as South Africa's ambassador to Denmark, died in a hospital in Johannesburg. It did not say why she had died |||READ MORE

I didn’t campaign for Buhari while with Jonathan – Dasuki

A former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has denied campaigning for the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), while serving as ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s NSA.

Dasuki said this in a statement on Sunday titled, ‘I never campaigned for APC or Buhari as NSA to President Jonathan’.

He said, “The truth is that I was involved in an attempt at forging an alliance between the Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change, among others, prior to the 2011 elections, which was not successful |||READ MORE

 

Nigeria set to review Air Agreements with UK, others after Air Peace snub

The Federal Government said it will review its air agreements with various countries as a result of the unacceptable treatment of Nigerian carriers.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known via his verified twitter handle on Sunday following the denial of landing rights to Air Peace at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Onyeama, however, urged aggrieved Nigerians not to protest, but be grateful to Air Peace for providing alternative arrangements to ensure their successful evacuation in spite of the challenges |||READ MORE

 

Lagos doctors embark on 3-day warning strike amid COVID-19 pandemic

Despite the coronavirus pandemic raving the country, medical doctors in Lagos state under the aegis of the Medical Guild are set to embark on a 3-day warning strike from Monday, July 13.

The action is being taken by doctors in the guild who are under the employment of the Lagos state government over issues that affect their safety and welfare.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the chairman of the guild, Dr. Oluwajimi Sodipo at a briefing also said doctors working in coronavirus isolation centres are exempted from the strike |||READ MORE

COVID-19: Private schools defy FG, prepare to participate in WASSCE

Private schools across the country have said they are ready to participate in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) being conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) despite the stance of the federal government that no Nigerian school would participate in the exams.

The minister of education, Adamu Adamu, had announced that Nigerian schools would not participate in the (WASSCE) scheduled to hold from August 5 to September 5, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But private schools across the country have differed with the ministry of education over the issue, Premium Times reported |||READ MORE

Why Buhari suspended Ibrahim Magu – Presidency

The Nigerian presidency has made its first official statement about the suspension of Ibrahim Magu, the former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Garba Shehu, a media aide to the Nigerian president in a statement on Saturday, July 11, said the allegations against Magu and other several other members of his staff prompted the investigation by the presidential panel into the affairs of the commission.

He said the former acting chairman was suspended to allow a transparent and unhindered investigation into the allegations made against him according to proper procedure |||READ MORE

Attack at church in South Africa leaves 5 dead

At least five people are dead and more than 40 people arrested in South Africa Saturday following an attack at a church in Zuurbekom, a town in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.

Four people were found shot and burnt to death in a car while a fifth victim, a security guard, was also fatally shot, local authorities said.

The National Commissioner of Police General Khehla John Sitole said the quick response by authorities averted even more destruction and death |||READ MORE

Let’s reclaim our continent from corruption, Buhari tells African leaders

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), on Saturday urged African leaders to recommit themselves to reclaiming the continent from corruption.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President made the call in a letter he wrote to South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is the Chairman of the African Union, in commemoration of the Anti-Corruption Day. The statement was titled ‘On Africa Anti-Corruption Day, President Buhari Calls for Operationailsation of Common Position on Assets Recovery.’

Buhari also urged African leaders to ensure the immediate actualisation of the Common African Position on Assets Recovery |||READ MORE

World Bank rates Niger best in rural road rehabilitation

The World Bank and the French Development Agency for Nigeria has commended Niger State for the rehabilitation and maintenance of rural road network across 120 communities in the state.

In a letter of commendation addressed to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, jointly signed by the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri and the Country Director of French Development Agency for Nigeria, Mr. Pascal Grangereau, the development partners rated the government of Niger State as the best in the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP-2).

In the letter, the development partners noted that The physical and financial progress of RAMP 2 in Niger State is at 84 and 91 per cent while a total of 176km of roads has been rehabilitated in the state, including another 404km under rehabilitation, in addition to 29 river crossings, consisting of culverts and bridges, which have also have been constructed |||READ MORE

Are breathing techniques good for your health?

Alan Dolan couldn’t afford market research when he started out as a breathing instructor in 2005. Instead, he took soundings from London taxi drivers. “I’d tell them I taught people to breathe for a living – they’d be in hysterics and say: ‘What a great scam!’” says Dolan. Recently their reaction has changed: “Now they tell me about their sleep apnoea or their wife’s panic attacks, ask me how that relates to breathing and often download my app.”

Dolan, whose company is called Breathguru, teaches people to breathe deeply from their diaphragm, inhaling for longer than exhaling, without pausing between the two. He says this can, among other things, release stress, alleviate depression, tackle sleep issues, ease respiratory conditions, boost energy and the immune system and eject emotional baggage. Until Covid-19, his retreats in Lanzarote were, he says, fully booked. Such is the level of demand that Dolan has taught 24 trainees to lead sessions like his.

Other “breathwork” practitioners report similar surges in interest, YouTube and Instagram Stories are teeming with breathing courses, and publishers clearly agree it’s a wave worth surfing. Books called Breathe Well, The Power of Breathwork, The Breathing Book and Breathing for Warriors have already been publishedthis year. Still to come in 2020 are Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor, Exhale, by Richie Bostock, AKA The Breath Guy, and The Wim Hof Method (see box) by Wim Hof |||READ MORE

Russia's Nornickel reports another fuel leak in Arctic

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A subsidiary of Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel said on Sunday that up to 20 tonnes of aviation fuel had leaked from its pipeline in the Arctic.

Arctic environment security has been in the spotlight at Nornickel's assets since another leak of 21,000 tonnes of diesel from Nornickel's power plant near the city of Norilsk on May 29.

"A pipeline owned by Norilsktransgaz was depressurized while pumping aviation fuel in the area of Tukhard settlement," Norilsktransgaz said in a statement |||READ MORE

Trump's push to reopen schools part of bid to boost suburban standing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's demand for U.S. schools to fully reopen this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic is central to an emerging re-election strategy that seeks to resuscitate his flagging support in the nation's critical suburbs.

Trump in recent weeks has taken stances on hot-button issues his campaign hopes will appeal to suburban voters, particularly women, who have soured on the Republican president since his 2016 election and continue to move away as the virus rages across the country and the economy sputters.

Along with aggressively pushing for students to return to classrooms - "Schools must be open in the Fall," he tweeted on Friday - Trump has warned of rising urban crime rates and threats to civil order in the wake of protests over racial injustice while pointing to the vibrant stock market as a marker of economic health |||READ MORE

 

You could end up in jail, US warns its citizens in China

The US has warned its citizens in China to “exercise increased caution” because of a heightened risk of arbitrary detention and exit bans that prevent foreign citizens leaving the country.

Citizens could face prolonged spells in jail, without US consular support, or access to details of any alleged crime, the state department said. The warning, sent in an email to US citizens in China, comes after Beijing passed a national security law for Hong Kong, with the legislation drafted to cover people “from outside [Hong Kong]”, including non-residents.

Lawyers and activists have warned China could use this assertion of extra-territorial jurisdiction – the legislation could theoretically be used to bring charges against any person from any country – to mute critics around the world. The state department did not specify what prompted the alert, but it did warn that criticism of the Chinese government, even in private communications, could be used against foreign citizens |||READ MORE

Dengue prevention efforts stifled by coronavirus pandemic

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — To slow the spread of the coronavirus, governments issued lockdowns to keep people at home. They curtailed activities that affected services like trash collection. They tried to shield hospitals from a surge of patients.

But the cascading effects of these restrictions also are hampering efforts to cope with seasonal outbreaks of dengue, an incurable, mosquito-borne disease that is also known as “breakbone fever" for its severely painful symptoms.

Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Indonesia have dealt with concurrent outbreaks of dengue and coronavirus this year. In Brazil, where there are over 1.6 million COVID-19 infections, at least 1.1 million cases of dengue have been reported, with nearly 400 deaths, according to the Pan American Health Organization |||READ MORE

 

BREAKING: Buhari signs revised N10.8trn 2020 budget into law

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the revised N10.8 trillion 2020 budget into law.

The appropriation bill was sent to the National Assembly for approval after it was revised to comply with the current economic realities caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The budget had to be revised due to the impact of the coronavirus on the nation’s economy and to ensure a strict compliance with the January to December budget cycle |||READ MORE

 

NIPC Senior Staff demand sack of Executive Secretary

The Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission Chapter of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has called for the sack of its executive secretary, Yewande Sadiku.

The body accused her of disloyalty to the President, embezzlement and deviating from the core mandate of the NIPC.

The Nigeria investment promotion commission is a federal government Agency, established by the NIPC Act to promote, co-ordinate and monitor all investments in Nigeria |||READ MORE

Meet the new Acting EFCC Chairman, Mohammed Umar

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday approved the immediate suspension of the acting Chairman of the Economic and Fiancial Crmes Commisson, Ibrahim Magu.

The president also approved the appointment of Mohammed Umar as acting chairman pending the completion of the ongoing investigation of the allegation against Ibrahim Magu.

This is contained in a state statement issued by the media aide to the Minister of Justice |||READ MORE

 

2,191 COVID-19 Cases Yet To Turn Up For Admission – Lagos Govt

The Lagos State government has called on residents to take responsibility in the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.

This comes as the Commissioner for Health in Lagos, Professor Akin Abayomi, decried the action of some residents who are not supporting the government’s effort to flatten the curve of the virus in the state.

In a series of tweets on Friday, Professor Abayomi revealed that a total of 2,191 active cases of COVID-19 in various communities have yet to turn up for admission in the government’s treatment centres |||READ MORE

 

Buhari Affirms Magu’s Suspension, Directs Mohammed Umar To Take Charge

President Muhammadu Buhari has affirmed the suspension of Mr Ibrahim Magu as acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Magu’s suspension by the President, which takes immediate effect, was announced on Friday in a statement from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

The minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Umar Gwandu, who signed the statement explained that the presidential directive was to allow for an unhindered inquiry by the Presidential Investigation Panel under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act and other relevant laws |||READ MORE