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Singapore on Thursday inaugurated its first female president amid stinging criticism that she is taking office without a vote. Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the Malay Muslim minority, won the presidency in a walkover after authorities decided her rivals did not meet strict eligibility criteria. While the role is largely ceremonial, the president has veto powers on key government appointments and safeguards the country’s substantial financial reserves. In her first speech as president, Halimah, 63, addressed the racial tensions that have sprung up as a result of the process and vowed to be president of all Singaporeans “regardless of race, language or religion”. “I look forward to the day when we will no longer need to… have reserved elections, and Singaporeans naturally and regularly elect citizens of all races as presidents,” she added. The president also pledged to be independent in exercising her custodial powers over th...

The 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, on Thursday said it has commenced investigations to ascertain the veracity of a video clip, currently trending on the social media, which shows troops humiliating some members of the Indigenous People of Biafra at a check point in Aba, Abia State. Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Col. Sagir Musa, disclosed this in a statement which was made available to journalists in Enugu. Musa disclosed that, if the video clip is found to be factual, the soldiers involved in the incident would be punished according to military justice system. “The attention of the Headquarters, 82 Division, Nigerian Army, has been drawn to a video clip trending on social media and other platforms purportedly showing troops humiliating some people at a check point in Abia State, Nigeria. “The issue is being investigated with the view to ascertain the source and the actors in the clip. “Our Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement ...

Ten Nigerians have been arrested by the cyber department of India police for fake fund transfer. According to the police, eight laptops, twenty-six mobile phones, one ipad and thirty- five sim cards were recovered from the fraudsters. Online sources state that a 36-year-old victim who works as a Nurse in India accepted a friend request to one Augustin William, who claimed to be a pastor working from Northern Ireland. After chatting for three months, the accused promised to send the victim gifts worth $50,000 along with an Iphone, a wrist watch and a gold set with pearls. In March, however, the victim received a call from a man who said he was a custom official working at Delhi Airport. He asked the victim to deposit Rs 27,500 as registration fee to claim the courier and then continued to persuade her to spend money. After the victim paid Rs 9,37,000, she grew suspicious and approached the Cyber Cell, which registered a complaint and began investigations. Based on the co...

The US government banned the use of Kaspersky security software in federal offices Wednesday, saying the Russian company has risky ties to Russian intelligence that threaten US national security. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke ordered all government offices to remove and replace any of the company’s popular anti-hacker software in use within 90 days. “The department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies,” Duke said in a statement. She also expressed concern that Russian intelligence agencies can by law request or compel assistance from Kaspersky, including in intercepting communications transiting Russian networks. “The risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalize on access provided by Kaspersky products to compromise federal information and information systems directly implicates US national...

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, on Wednesday backed out of planned talks between the secessionist group and the South-East Governors Forum. The IPOB leader had met with the governors at the Enugu State Government House on August 30, and both parties agreed to hold further talks to seek an amicable resolution of issues raised by the pro-Biafra group. Another meeting was scheduled to hold between Kanu and the governors on Friday, September 15, but, in a statement he personally signed, which was made available to journalists, the IPOB leader said he would no longer continue with the talks. He blamed the development on an alleged plot by soldiers to assassinate him while on his way to the meeting with the governors. He also disclosed that he was currently attending to his injured and bereaved followers, who had fallen victim to attacks by the military in the course of the ongoing ‘Operation Python Dance 2’, launched by the Nigerian Army in the South...

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Wednesday, described as illegal, the deployment of soldiers in the family house of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in Umuahia, Abia State. Falana, in a statement on Wednesday, said as there was no legal basis for the involvement of soldiers in the place, President Muhammadu Buhari should direct the armed troops “to withdraw and return to their barracks forthwith.” He said the Commissioner of Police in Abia State should be allowed to take over Kanu’s case in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the Police Act. Tracing the involvement of the military’s involvement in civil issues since successive military regimes in the country, Falana said, “regrettably, no conscious efforts have been made by the civilian government to demilitarise the country since power was transferred from former military dictators to the civilian wing of the political class in May 1999....

A detachment of soldiers from the Nigerian Army has surrounded the Afaraukwu country home of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. The soldiers arrived the community on Tuesday barely 48 hours after the clash between the Army and IPOB members on Sunday evening. The soldiers returned with about 10 Armoured Carrier Vehicles and seven Hilux vans.

Tension has returned to Umuahia, the Abia State Capital, as a detachment of soldiers from the Nigerian Army has surrounded the Afaraukwu country home of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. The soldiers arrived the community on Tuesday barely 48 hours after the clash between the Army and IPOB members on Sunday evening, which left three people injured. The soldiers returned with about 10 Armoured Carrier Vehicles and seven Hilux vans. The development has caused panic in the area, forcing shop owners to close immediately. Some of the soldiers also invaded the Abia State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists on Aba Road, Umuahia, and destroyed laptops and other valuables. According to journalists at the secretariat, the soldiers claimed they saw somebody taking photographs of them from the building. The Chairman of Council Mr. John Emejor has confirmed the incident. Emejor who expressed disappointment over the incidents said a National officer of the ...

President Muhammadu Buhari has been scheduled to address the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in the United States on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. The President of Nigeria is listed as number seven on the provincial list of speakers. Buhari is expected to speak after the leaders of Brazil, the United States, Guinea, Switzerland, Jordan and Slovakia. Since his return to Nigeria on August 20, 2017, after 103 days of medical leave in London, Buhari has not attended any public event outside of Aso Villa and his country home in Daura, Katsina State. Also, he has attended only one Federal Executive Council meeting since he returned three weeks ago. Acting on the President’s instruction, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo recently visited flood-ravaged Benue State where thousands have been displaced. Osinbajo, while representing the President, has also received members of the United States Congress as well as the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Comm...

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has vowed to fight corruption like never before if given the chance to preside over Nigeria’s affairs. Atiku also challenged those he described as his self-righteous political enemies to either prove his alleged corrupt activities or keep quiet. The APC chieftain said this during a facility tour of the new ultra-modern Yaliam Press Limited in Jabi area of Abuja on Monday. This was contained in a statement by his Media Office in Abuja. Atiku was quoted as saying, “he would fight corruption like never before if he is given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of the country.” The former Vice-President said, “It is sickening to continue to regurgitate allegations of corruption against me by people who have failed to come forward with a single shred of evidence of my misconduct while in office.” He noted that people who lacked initiative, personal resourcefulness and ideas about wealth creation, “always ...

The Abia State Government has urged the Nigerian Army to undertake its Operation Python Dance II with caution and urged the state residents to desist from confronting armed men in uniform while performing their duties. In a statement signed by the Deputy Governor of the state, Ude Oko Chukwu, and sighted by one of our correspondents on Monday, he said the state government had the responsibility to ensure the safety of all persons resident in Abia State. He said Abia had been a peaceful state and it was the desire of the government to ensure that it remained so. The Deputy Governor advised all persons living in the state to go about their lawful business without fear of molestation. Chukwu said, “Abia State is a peaceful state and we want it to remain so and that is why the state government condemns Sunday’s unfortunate incident. We also want to warn Abia State residents to desist from confronting security men who are on a lawful duty of protecting the people of the sta...

President Muhammadu Buhari says he is thankful for the improved rainy season in the country in the last two years, admitting that he would have run away from the country if there was no rain. Buhari said this on Monday when he received the National Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad SAbubakar III, in Aso Villa, Abuja. He said, “We are lucky this year that last year and this year the rainy season is good. If it were not good, I must confide in you that I was considering which country to run to. But God answered the prayers of many Nigerians. The rainy season last year was good and this year with the report I’m getting is good. We thank God for that otherwise there would have been a lot of problems in this country.” Buhari said the mismanagement of resources over the years was responsible for the current economic hardship. The President said that he would continue to pursue programmes that would improve the lives of Nigerians. Earli...

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, has lamented the constant harassment of the Senate by Nigerians, adding that the upper legislative chamber cannot disclose its salaries and allowances. Abdullahi said this during a live programme on Channels Television  titled, ‘Politics Today.’ The Senate spokesman also refused to state how much the lawmakers earned in salary and allowances. When asked to say how much he earned, Abdullahi said it was rude of the presenter to ask him how much each senator earned. Abdulahi said, “You don’t expect me to come out on national television to say this is what I earn. It is not done. I cannot ask you as a journalist how much you earn. It is not done. “If anybody is interested in how much we are getting paid, you know where to get the information. The documents are available. If Nigerians won’t believe that, is it what I will say that they will believe?” The...

Authorities recovered more bodies Monday from the rubble of the Mexico’s huge earthquake, bringing the death toll to 96 as the president prepares to visit the worst-hit region, his office said. The latest deaths were reported in the southern state of Oaxaca, which bore the brunt of Thursday’s quake and which President Enrique Pena Nieto was expected to visit on Monday. Mexican authorities gave a toll of 90 on Sunday. Pena Nieto’s spokesman said the president would supervise the delivery of food aid and blankets during his trip, but did not specify where. The defense and navy ministries had organized an airlift to Oaxaca and neighboring Chiapas and were bringing in heavy machinery to remove rubble, presidency spokesman Eduardo Sanchez told Televisa. He acknowledge that the distribution of food and shelter is complicated as both regions are mountainous and the worst-hit areas were “very difficult to reach.” Oaxaca’s governor Alejandro Murat said...

The Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted 1,100 rifles which were imported into the country from Turkey under false declaration. The Comptroller-General of NCS, Retired Col. Hameed Ali, told journalists in Lagos on Monday that the seizure was the third interception of ammunition at Lagos ports within nine months. See photos:

A man who donates free sperm to infertile couples has fathered 60 children, while his wife remains ignorant of the weird fact. In a  BBC3  documentary featuring the world of in-vitro fertilisation, one anonymous donor revealed that donations could take place in the unlikeliest of locations, saying: “Sometimes, it’s somebody’s home, sometimes it’s a hotel. Sometimes it’s a railway station, a pub toilet has been used, just as McDonald’s, Costa Coffee…” Another described it as ‘a perk’ when women opted for ‘natural insemination’ (unprotected sex). The demand for sperm donors sometimes far exceeds supply and many donors are travelling the country fathering scores of children, with many offering their services on Facebook groups for a fraction of the cost of a trip to a medical clinic — which can run into hundreds of thousands. The serial father, Jason, explained: “My preference is probably na...

Patience, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has recovered her N2bn hotel which was sealed off by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in June, The PUNCH has learnt. In June, the EFCC placed the red inscriptions, ‘EFCC Under Investigation’ all over the hotel which is located near Setraco Construction Company, off the Mabushi Kado Expressway. However, when our correspondent visited the five-storey building recently, the EFCC inscriptions had been covered with patches of grey paint. When our correspondent knocked on the gate, three men who attended to him said they acted on the instruction of Mrs. Jonathan. When asked if they had the right to enter the building, one of them said, “Go and ask the EFCC if they had the right to put their sign all over the building in the first place. If you want more information, go and ask madam.” The spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said he did not know much about the seizure of the building a...

Nollywood actor, Ramsey Nouah, has cleared the air on his real nationality, despite speculations among movie fans in the country that he is a foreigner. While fielding questions as a guest of  Classic 97.3 FM  radio recently, the actor, who was the subject of a death rumour that went viral on the social media in July, insisted that he would prefer to be addressed as a Nigerian and not as an Israeli He said, “I am Nigerian. Although I am also partly Israeli and Lebanese, I carry only the Nigerian passport. I was born and raised in Nigeria. All my life I have lived in this country and I have never been to either Israel or Lebanon where my paternal grandparents come from. Basically, this is my home and where I have found myself.” However, anyone who has seen Nouah’s latest comic film,  My Wife and I , in which he co-stars with Omoni Oboli for the first time in nine years (since the production of Kunle Afolayan’s  Figurine ), may be having ot...

Businessman Aka Udofia has offered the Super Eagles the sum of $20,000 for every goal scored in Monday’s 2018 World Cup qualifer against Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions in Yaounde. The businessman from Akwa Ibom State made the promise as he briefly greeted players and officials inside the chartered ARIK Bombadier CRJ 1000 aircraft just before the team took off at the Ibom International Airport, Uyo. “I am a very good friend of the Nigeria Football Federation president, AmajuPinnick, and I am happy that I am here in time to see you guys before take-off for Yaounde,” Udofia told the Eagles on Sunday. “I watched the game against the Cameroonians on Friday and I am sure you have the ability to conquer them again in their own territory. I promise to reward you with $20,000 for every goal scored in Yaounde,” Udofia announced to the applause of players and officials. Three-time champions Nigeria play Cameroon on Monday in Yaounde in a Day 4 encounter of t...

No fewer than 19 persons, including an infant and three children, have been killed in a fatal road accident at Igoneki in Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State. The incident was said to have occurred on Isi road, off the Benin-Agbor road at about 5 pm on Thursday. It was gathered that tragedy struck when a commercial bus, marked ABD 206XA and en route to Auchi, had a head-on collision with a truck laden with livestock to Benin, the state capital. Sixteen passengers were said to have died on the spot, as the bus was severely wrecked, while eight other sustained varying degrees of injuries. It was, however, learnt that three of them later died in a hospital. A source in the area, who did not want to be mentioned, said that some of the deceased comprised a family travelling for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. The state police command could not be reached for comments as calls put across to the telephone line of the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Moses Nkombe, went unans...

A 93-year-old widow from the United States has donated $22 million to the zoo in Cologne, Germany, saying she wanted to give back to the city where she and her husband met during World War II, German media reported Friday. “We never forgot Cologne,” Elizabeth Reichert told the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper by phone from her home in Philadelphia. She said she and her Jewish husband Arnulf Reichert both grew up in the western German city. They met in 1944, she recalled, when Arnulf lived in hiding to avoid being discovered by the Nazis. They married a year after the war ended and briefly moved to Israel before settling in the US, where they lived the American dream and made their fortune. Reichert said she worked as a hairdresser, while her husband took a job for a wholesaler selling pets and pet supplies, before setting up his own business and making millions. Shortly before her husband died in 1998, the childless couple agreed to bequeath their money to the Cologne...

The Nigeria Union in South Africa has confirmed the killing of a member, Kingsley Ikeri, at Vryheid town in KwaZulu Natal Province on Aug. 30. Ikeri, 27, was a businessman and native of Mbaitolu in Imo. In December 2016, Metropolitan Police in Cape Town had suffocated to death a man, Victor Nnadi, also from Imo. The Chairman of the union in the province, Mr Bartholomew Eziagulu, said in Durban on Friday that Ikeri was allegedly tortured to death by the police. He said the union’s investigations revealed that the police arrested the deceased and a friend on suspicion that they were carrying hard drugs. He said while interrogating him, the police used plastic to cover his face to extort information from him. “In the process, they suffocated the deceased suffocated. When the police took him to the hospital, he was confirmed dead,” he said. Mr Adetola Olubajo, the Secretary General of the union, said the national secretariat had been informed about the death of th...

US billionaire Michael Dell and his wife Susan announced Friday an initiative to raise $100 million in private funds for Hurricane Harvey recovery. The Dells, both Houston natives, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” program that they were donating $18 million to kick off the fund, and for every $2 raised by others over the US Labor Day holiday weekend, they will match the donation with a dollar of their own. “Susan and I were both born and raised” in Houston, said the CEO of Dell Technologies. He expressed dismay at seeing the neighbourhood where he grew up “underwater on television and — literally, I saw a street I rode my bike on every day riding to school.” His wife Susan said that growing up, their families vacationed in the hurricane-ravaged coastal cities of Corpus Christi and Rockport. “We want to basically bring the power of private contributions to the recovery efforts,” she said. Her husband has a net worth of ...

Kenya’s Supreme Court on Friday declared the results of last month’s presidential poll “invalid, null and void” and ordered the election be re-run within 60 days. “The presidential election held on August 8 was not conducted in accordance with the constitution,” said Chief Justice David Maraga, ruling in favour of the opposition which challenged the declaration of President Uhuru Kenyatta as the winner. Maraga said this was a majority decision, with two judges dissenting. The shock ruling was a rare example of a poll result being overturned, with Maraga saying the election commission (IEBC) “failed, neglected or refused to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution”. He validated opposition leader Raila Odinga’s argument that there had been “irregularities and illegalities”, notably in the transmission of election results. Maraga said this had compromised the ...

Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga on Friday hailed as historic a court decision nullifying an election won by President Uhuru Kenyatta and calling for a re-run. “This is a historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension for the people of the continent of Africa,” said Odinga, adding it was the first time a presidential result had been overturned in Africa. “We are ready for elections but we don’t have confidence” in the electoral commission (IEBC), he added. “Those commissioners must go,” said Odinga. “Most of them belong in jail.”

More than 100,000 people have had to flee their homes after heavy rains and flooding in Nigeria’s southeastern Benue state, President Muhammadu Buhari said late Thursday. “I have received with great concern reports of the flooding in Benue State, displacing, from early estimates, more than 100,000 people,” Buhari wrote on Twitter. Helen Teghtegh, the head of a local NGO, the Community Links and Human Empowerment Initiative, said the region had been battered by heavy rains over the past two weeks with the level of the Benue river rising. Many residents in the state capital Makurdi have fled their homes since Wednesday, she added, launching an appeal for donations. “We are still trying to get accurate data, we don’t know the number of casualties, but we are having a meeting tomorrow with local groups and emergency services, so we should know better,” she said. Photographs of inundated Makurdi began spreading on social media Thursday, showing cars...

In a retaliatory move, the U.S. has given Russia 48 hours to close three of its missions in San Francisco, Washington D.C. and New York. The spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Heather Nauert, said in a statement on Thursday that the move was to achieve parity in diplomatic missions. Moscow had asked Washington to reduce its missions officials in Russia in retaliation for the seizure of property belonging to Russians and expulsion of dozens of Russian nationals by President Barack Obama. Obama took the decision on the eve of the end of his tenure in January in retaliation against Russia’s alleged meddling in the Nov. 8, 2016, U.S. presidential election. “The United States has fully implemented the decision by the Government of the Russian Federation to reduce the size of our mission in Russia. “We believe this action was unwarranted and detrimental to the overall relationship between our countries. “In the spirit of parity invoked by the Russian...

A bus crash on Friday killed 12 people in Iran, all but one of them schoolgirls travelling to the southern city of Shiraz for a sporting and cultural event, state media reported. The bus overturned at around 4:00 am, the IRNA news agency cited Said Ejraie, the emergency services chief in Darab where the accident occurred, as saying. Besides the schoolgirls, the other person who died was the driver. Thirty other people were injured, and 13 of them were in serious condition, according to state television. Despite its roads being in good condition, Iran has a poor record on traffic safety, with accidents caused by reckless drivers killing thousands of people each year.

A 35-year-old farmer, Franklyn Ndife, has emerged the governorship candidate of the Independent Democrat in the November 18 poll in Anambra State. Ndife was elected unopposed by 243 delegates who participated in the primary of the party conducted at its secretariat in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Thursday. The Chairman of ID in Cross River State, who doubled as the party’s primary election chairman, Sunday Michael, declared Ndife the candidate of the party for the November election. The National Chairman of ID, Chief Edozie Madu, tasked the youth in the state to mobilise and ensure the party’s victory at the poll. Michael stated that ID had the interest of youths and women at heart, saying it would field a female deputy governor to further boost the party’s chances of winning the election. In his acceptance speech, Ndife said he had come to make a difference in the political landscape of the state. He added, “The old people have failed us. We can n...

The Polytechnic, Ibadan, on Thursday, said two of its members of staff had been dismissed from service while 32 students were expelled from the school. The Registrar of the school, Hezekiel Fehintola, said in a statement that the members of staff were dismissed after being found guilty of gross misconduct by various committees set up to investigate allegations against them . He added that the action of the institution was in line with the terms and condition of service set by the polytechnic’s management. Fehintola added that the expelled students were found guilty of examination malpractices during the first semester examinations in the school. He said the students were found culpable after appearing before a disciplinary committee of the school. The registrar urged members of staff to be committed to their work, warning that the school would not condone any act of indiscipline from the workers and the students. “We also appeal to parents and guardians to continue t...