The Mount Merapi volcano on Indonesia’s Java island spewed hot clouds down its slopes on Thursday, the country’s geological disaster agency said. The pyroclastic flow – a fast-moving mixture of extremely hot rock fragments, gas and ash – travelled two kilometres down to a nearby river, said the Research and Development Centre for Geological Disaster Technology, which monitors the volcano. There were no reports of casualties. More than 100 residents living near the mountain were transferred to temporary shelters after a series of similar eruptions on Wednesday, said the head of the local civil protection agency, Makwan. Hundreds of residents fled their homes near the volcano…
Author: Editor
Good afternoon, folks. I thank the Vice President for being with me today as well. In my campaign for President, I made it very clear that the moment had arrived as a nation where we face deep racial inequities in America and system- — systemic racism that has plagued our nation for far, far too long. I said it over the course of the past year that the blinders had been taken come off the nation of the American people. What ma- — what many Americans didn’t see, or had simply refused to see, couldn’t be ignored any longer. Those…
The Anambra House of Assembly on Wednesday shut the assembly complex for three weeks after some lawmakers and members of staff tested positive for COVID-19. The assembly invited the state COVID-19 team on January 19 to conduct compulsory test on members and workers. The measure followed the reported spike in the number of cases of the pandemic in the state. The Speaker, Mr Uche Okafor, adjourned the house after a resolution for a break was reached during an emergency plenary. Okafor said: “The COVID-19 team in the Ministry of Health came last Thursday to take samples of lawmakers and staff members. “Unfortunately,…
Iran’s nuclear activities are being conducted under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including Tehran’s preparations for uranium metal production, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Iranian Permanent Representative to international organisations in Vienna Kazem Gharib Abadi announced that Tehran had begun work on the production of uranium metal. “All nuclear activities in Iran are under the relentless control of the IAEA. “All the steps that were recently taken by Tehran, including the start of uranium enrichment to 20 per cent and the preparation of the infrastructure for the production of uranium metal,…
Niger Republic Chief of Air Staff, Colonel Amirou Abduolkader, has lauded the existing collaboration between his country and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in the fight against insurgency, urging for more synergy. Abduolkader made the call on Wednesday while fielding questions from newsmen during his visit to headquarters of the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri. Abduolkader, whose entourage had a closed door meeting with NAF personnel at the base, said his visit was to reinforce the cordial relationship between the two nations’ military. “Our relationship has been very good. We need to put our effort together…
British pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Wednesday signed a product transfer agreement for malaria vaccine with Bharat Biotech (BBIL) of India to boost its access in Africa. Thomas Breuer, the Chief Medical Officer of GSK Vaccines disclosed this in a statement in Nairobi. The agreement will facilitate seamless transfer of manufacturing of the protein part of the malaria vaccine from GSK to BBIL and boost action on the leading killer of African children and pregnant mothers. “With a child dying from malaria every two minutes, helping secure the long-term future of the only vaccine available by working with an established…
The Federal Government has scheduled the induction course for career and non-career ambassadors-designate and their spouses to hold between Feb. 8 and Feb. 10. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Gabriel Aduda, said this in a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, on Wednesday in Abuja. Aduda said that the induction course was tailored to prepare the appointed envoys for effective representation in their respective missions and countries of accreditation. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the induction course for career and non-career ambassadors-designate and their spouses has been scheduled for Feb. 8…
The President of MTN Group, Mr Ralph Mupita Wednesday in Johannesburg, said that he was proud to announce on behalf of the company the donation of US$25million to support the African Union COVID-19 vaccination programme. The donation according to Mupita will help secure up to seven million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent. This he said will contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). “The devastating impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented and profound, therefore, Public and private partnerships are needed if we are to succeed in…
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Value Added Tax (VAT) increased by N29.98 billion from N424.71 billion generated in third quarter to N454.69 billion in fourth quarter, 2020 (Q4 2020). The NBS said this in its “Sectoral Distribution of Value Added Tax (Q4 2020)” obtained from its website on Wednesday in Abuja. The bureau said that the figure represents 7.06 per cent increase Quarter-on-Quarter and 47.39 per cent increase Year-on-Year from the N308.48 billion generated in Q4 2019. The report said that professional services generated the highest amount of VAT with N42.38 billion generated and closely followed by other…
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday in Abuja approved N995million for road rehabilitation and procurement of an information and communication device that would enhance highway management system for roads across the country. Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of the Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. He stated that N203 million of the amount would be expended on the procurement of an information and communication device while the remaining N792 million was meant for rehabilitation of roads in Zamfara. “The Ministry of Works and Housing presented two…