Hundreds of shops were burnt to ashes following a fire outbreak at Katsina Central Market on Monday. The fire started at around 8 a.m., on Monday, from some shops located at the centre of the market, before it spread to other parts. The fire is still raging as at about 12:30 pm, in spite of efforts of firemen to contain it. The inferno had destroyed property worth billions of Naira, mostly belonging to traders selling clothings, shoes, kitchen utensils, carpets, plastics among others. Some of the traders affected said they had no idea how the fire started, but added that…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
A newborn in Japan is believed to have contracted COVID-19 from the mother in what may be the first case of mother-to-baby coronavirus transmission in the country, the NHK reported on Monday. According to the Japanese broadcast media outlet, researchers from the Japan Paediatric Society studied 1,124 medical facilities across the country, which have paediatric departments. It said the survey results indicated that 52 newborns at 31 facilities were born to coronavirus-positive mothers last August, of whom one baby was said to be infected. The child reportedly did not have health problems, the broadcaster added. According to Morioka Ichiro, a…
New technology that can rapidly detect whether a positive COVID-19 test sample contains a known variant was being trialled by the British Government. Genotype assay testing could halve the time it takes to identify coronavirus mutations, which indicate if a variant was present, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. It currently takes around four to five days to detect known variants from positive samples through a process called genomic sequencing. Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, described the technology as “ground-breaking’’ and said it was the ambition to eventually test every COVID-19 positive sample for new mutations. It was…
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, has condemned “the growing undemocratic clampdown, unchecked impunity and dictatorial moves by authorities in Niger Republic”, following protests by disgruntled citizens in the country. The Centre also described Nigerien government’s action as suppression of “citizens’ fundamental rights and freedom through secretive arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention of peaceful protesters, human right activists.” This is contained in a statement by the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani made available to ASHENEWS on Sunday. According to Rafsanjani, “We are disappointed that the authorities positioned basically to protect the citizens autocratically embark on an unlawful mission…
I sniff anarchy on the horizon. And to the discerning mind, the handwriting is bold on the wall. “The handwriting on the wall” is an English expression used whenever an inevitable result or imminent danger has become, or is becoming, apparent, a presentiment of disaster, in our case, anarchy. It is also expressed as “mene mene”, a shortened form of the Aramaic phrase “mene mene tekel upharsin”. It originated from the story of Belshazzar’s feast (Daniel 5) in the Old Testament. The Muslims call the Old Testament al-Injil (Injila). Though some scholars recognise it as a work of historical fiction,…
The Northern Governors Forum, NGF, on Sunday condemned Saturday’s attack on Benue’s Gov. Samuel Ortom’ motorcade by bandits as disturbing. The bandits attacked Governor Ortom’s motorcade on Saturday at Tyo-Mu community near Makurdi. Chairman of the forum and governor of Plateau, Simon Lalong, said the incident must be investigated thoroughly. Lalong said in a statement issued by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr Makut Macham in Jos that the attack was another attempt by criminals to cause mayhem in Benue and in the nation as a whole. He tasked all relevant security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation…
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says the 2,500 Barrels Per Day modular refinery being established at Egbokor, Edo State, would be ready for inauguration by the fourth quarter of 2021. A statement posted on the NCDMB Twitter account, on Sunday, by its Corporate Communications Department, said the Executive Secretary of the Board, Mr Simbi Wabote, gave the assurance after a visit to the project site. Wabote said the refinery, which was being established by Duport Midstream Company Ltd., in partnership with the NCDMB, had reached 80 percent completion. He said the operational phase of the refinery would…
Mr Yakubu Mohammed, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Benue Command, has warned FRSC personnel in the state against receiving bribes from motorists. The warning, contained in a statement signed by him and issued to newsmen in Makurdi on Sunday, said that a machinery was put in place to check such erring personnel for punitive measures. It also charged road users to be conscious of all safety rules and regulations to avoid traffic breaches such as overloading, reckless driving and speeding. The statement also reiterated the Commissions commitment to public education, rescue of road traffic victims and strict enforcement…
Former Plateau Governor, Jonah Jang and Sen. Istifanus Gyang have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to facilitate the release of former Gov. Joshua Dariye from prison. The duo made the appeal on Sunday at the finals of Sen. I. D. Gyang Peace, Unity and Reconciliation Football Tournament in Jos. The Supreme Court had, on March 12, upheld Dariye’s conviction over criminal breach of trust, which attracted a 10-year jail. The apex court, however, quashed the charge bordering on criminal misappropriation of public funds. Although offence of which the former governor was discharged attracted two years imprisonment, it had no impact…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has vowed not to surrender to what it called ‘electoral banditry’ aimed at discrediting the electoral process and retuning pre-determined outcomes. Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, made the vow in an interview in Abuja on Sunday. Okoye was speaking on the decision to indefinitely suspend the Saturday Ekiti East State Constituency 1 election held in Ekiti State. He said that the decision was necessary to preserve the integrity of the country’s elections, as well as safeguard the lives of citizens. Okoye said that for the commission…