The United Nations and the Government of Botswana are hosting the second global workshop to support the 45 countries conducting voluntary national reviews of SDG implementation. The workshop is for countries presenting Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the July 2022 United Nations High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF). It will focus on peer-to-peer learning and exchange of experiences related to the preparations of the VNRs and their presentation as well as to emerging findings. It will also provide an opportunity to share good practices, lessons learned, and issues faced by the VNR countries in the preparations of the VNR…
Author: Newsdesk
A new report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria and 72 other countries are at high risk of debt distress. The report, ‘Restructuring Debt of Poorer Nations Requires More Efficient Coordination’ was released on Thursday. “Low-income countries face fewer debt challenges today than they did 25 years ago, thanks in particular to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative, which slashed unmanageable debt burdens across sub-Saharan Africa and other regions. “Although debt ratios are lower than in the mid-1990s, debt has been creeping up for the past decade and the changing composition of creditors will make restructurings more…
A Nigerian Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out eight of the 15 counts against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. The Nigerian government filed the 15 charges bordering on terrorism. When the case came up before Justice Binta Nyako on Friday, she struck out eight of the charges while delivering a ruling on the validity of the charges. She held that the instant preliminary objection application, counts six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, and 14 did not discloss any offence by the defendant. The judge however acknowledged that counts one, two, three,…
A 16-year old daughter has told the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court how her 43-year-old father allegedly violated her many times. She testified at her father’s trial while being led in evidence by Lagos state counsel, Ms Bukola Okeowo on Thursday. According to her, the father’s violation began after her mother had relocated to South Africa in 2014. She testified that her father had been having sex with her since she was 14 years, claiming the “Holy spirit” instructed him to keep doing so. “I was 14 years old when the incident happened. It started with him touching…
The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd (NGX) extended its bearish trend on Thursday, causing market capitalisation to dip further by N120 billion. Specifically, the All-Share Index (ASI) at the close of trading, declined to stand at 47,543.51 points, representing 0.48 per cent when compared to the 46,766.16 points recorded on Wednesday. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value lost N120 billion to close at N25.092 trillion from N25.212 trillion recorded on Wednesday. The market’s negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; Veritas Kapital, EcoBank Transnational Incorporated(ETI), UACN and among others. The…
The Nigerian military says its troops arrested 22 Boko Haram spies even as one of the wanted terrorist commander, Ibin Kathir has surrendered. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Benard Onyeuko briefed newsmen on the operational activities in various theatre of operations between 25 March – 7 April 2022 on Thursday. Read the highlights below: OPERATION HADIN KAI In the last 2 weeks, the land component with the support of the air component conducted offensive operations at different locations of the theatre such as: Ukuba/Camp Zairo, Sabil Huda, Ba Masaa, Wulgo, Marta, Fulatari village, Uraha Crossing Point, Mbalala, Gamboru…
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) has voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council in response to Russian forces’ alleged killings of civilians in Ukraine. The resolution received a two-thirds majority in the 193-member Assembly, with 93 nations voting in favour and 24 against. Fifty-eight, including Nigeria abstained from voting. Thursday’s historical vote on the floor of the UN makes Russia the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to have its membership revoked from any UN body. The meeting marked the resumption of a special emergency session on the war in Ukraine and followed reports of violations…
A group known as ‘Igbonnie’ has condemned what it called ‘insensitive killings’ in the Southeastern Nigeria as it proffers solutions to the menace. The Diaspora Director, Prof. Marcel Ezenwoye condemned the development at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday. According to Ezenwoye, the group is a cultural and socio-economic non-governmental organisation, focused on Igbo welfare and “Onye aghana nwaneya – be your brothers’ keeper” philosophy. “The current trend of killing and kidnapping people using tinted SUVs, especially in Anambra State, must be condemned and stopped by perpetrators of such evil acts. “A trend which was seen during the campaign…
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, says major reason for the security challenges in the country is religious manipulation targeted at the gullible ones to perpetuate conflict and disunity in the country. The minister stated this at a national policy roundtable on the network of policymakers to support reconciliation, peace and security on Monday in Abuja. The event was organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), in collaboration with International Center for Inter-religious; Intercultural dialogue, and Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. According to him, the communal lifestyle of Africans is largely expressed in religious beliefs, which…
The U.S Senate on Thursday confirmed President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson who will historically become the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the nation. The Senate vote tally was 53-47, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining Democrats to vote in favor. The confirmation represents a significant victory for Democrats, which they can tout as bipartisan, and a way for the President to deliver on a campaign promise at a time when the US faces a number of challenges at home and…