US President Joe Biden is “absolutely” staying in the White House race, his campaign chair said Friday, despite mounting pressure from Democratic allies to step aside over worries about his age and health. “Absolutely the president’s in this race,” Jen O’Malley Dillon told MSNBC’s Morning Joe program. “Joe Biden is more committed than ever to beat Donald Trump.” AFP
Protesters vandalise vehicles during the ongoing anti-quota protest in Dhaka on July 18, 2024. Bangladeshi students set fire to the country’s state broadcaster on July 18, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network seeking to calm escalating clashes that have killed at least 32 people. (Photo by AFP) Student protesters in the central Bangladeshi district of Narsingdi stormed a jail Friday and freed hundreds of inmates before setting it on fire, a police officer told AFP. “The inmates fled the jail and the protesters set the jail on fire,” the police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I don’t know the number of inmates, but it would be in the hundreds.” Moushumi Sarker, a senior government official in Narsingdi district, confirmed the jailbreak to AFP but did not give further details. A resident of Narsingdi who lives near the jail and gave his name as Ripon told AFP he saw at least 20 men leaving the facility carrying their belongings in handbags. At least 50 people have been killed in Bangladesh this week after police heightened a crackdown on student protests calling for reforms to public service hiring rules.
The Chief Executive Officer of Vaccine Alliance, Gavi, Dr Sania Nishtar has disclosed that cholera vaccines would arrive in Nigeria soon. Nishtar who announced this on her X handle on Thursday, said the vaccines would help curb the deadly and ongoing disease outbreak. The development follows the outbreak of the deadly disease across the country. Nishtar tweeted, “Encouraged to learn that #Cholera vaccines from the #Gavi-funded global vaccine stockpile will soon arrive in Nigeria to help curb the country’s deadly and ongoing outbreak. We stand ready to work with our partners #UNICEF and #WHO to support Minister #muhammadpate, #Fmohnigeria, and #NCDCgov’s timely efforts to contain this outbreak and protect those at the highest risk. “Despite the large number of cholera outbreaks this year, our stockpile is now fully replenished, and production continues at maximum capacity. We hope to keep supporting cholera-affected countries with their control plans. #stopcholera.” Cholera, a highly contagious food and waterborne disease, is caused by the ingestion of the organism, Vibrio cholerae, in contaminated water and food. The primary cause has been linked to the consumption of contaminated water and inadequate sanitation, exacerbated by the onset of the rainy season, which often leads to increased cholera cases due to flooding and compromised water sources. While reacting to the outbreak, on June 27, 2024, Nishtar stated that the body was concerned about the cholera outbreak in Nigeria, and was ready to support the country in its response, including requesting emergency vaccine doses where needed. As of July 15, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 3,623 suspected cholera cases and 103 deaths across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The current outbreak has spread to 187 Local Government Areas, with a cumulative case fatality rate of 2.8 per cent since the beginning of the year. Responding to her post, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate thanked Gavi’s CEO for facilitating the vaccines. Pate tweeted, “Thanks #SaniaNishtar for facilitating our early access to #gavi-funded #Cholera vaccines. We will deploy the vaccines efficiently and effectively in response to the ongoing outbreak. “Thanks also to President Tinubu #officialABAT for his astute leadership in setting up a multi-sector cabinet committee to support the Emergence Operations Centre led by #NCDCgov to work with our 36 states in a national response to the outbreak. We are seeing early signs of slowing down but we’ll not relent as the situation can reverse. So, the cholera vaccines strengthen our hands.” The minister also affirmed that the Federal Government is accelerating efforts to improve the water and sanitation situation in the country.
Ali Ndume has broken the silence on his removal as the Chief Whip of the Senate, saying, having reviewed the conversation that prompted his ouster, his action did not warrant his sack. Ndume was removed as the senate chief whip after his criticism of the President Bola Tinubu government’s handling of the nation. About two days after the decision, the lawmaker said he has also declined the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Tourism, arguing that he lacks the experience and exposure to lead such a sensitive group. The Borno South lawmaker said this in his country home of Maiduguri on Friday about 48 hours after he was removed as the Senate Chief Whip. Ndume said that he never wanted to be a senate whip after serving as the leader in the eight Senate. The lawmaker said he was given the chance to choose which committee to serve as the vice chairman having successfully led the campaigns that brought about the emergence of Godwill Akpabio as president of the Senate. On the charge to resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC), the senator said he is a founding member of the party. According to him, he was one of the twenty-two senators from the PDP that formed the APC when the current national chairman of the party Abdullahi Ganduje was a deputy governor in Kano State. He, however, stated that when former President Muhammadu Buhari in the company of President Bola Tinubu ordered him to sign a document to join APC at the Imo House in Abuja, he informed his people before going public as such, he would consult his people before deciding on whether to leave the APC or not. Senator Ndume said he could not speak up immediately after his sack because he was mourning the death of a family member.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted another batch of seven containers with 1,229,400 bottles of codeine worth N9, 835,200,000.00. The shipments were seized at the Onne Ports in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State. The seizure comes barely three weeks after 6,125 cartons of codeine syrup worth N7, 350,000,000.00 were intercepted in Rivers. A statement on Friday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said the latest seizure is the fourth and last set of such consignments that had been under the watch list of the Agency’s Maritime Special Operations Unit Targeting Team. Babafemi said, “Barely three weeks after seizing 6,125 cartons of codeine syrup containing 1,050,000 bottles of the opioid worth over N7, 350,000,000.00 in street value, at the Port Harcourt Ports complex, Onne, Rivers State, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have again intercepted another batch of seven containers bearing one million two hundred and twenty-nine thousand four hundred bottles of the same substance worth over N9,835,200,000.00 at the Onne ports. “The latest seizure made on Thursday, July 18, 2024, is the fourth and last set of such consignments that have been under the watchlist of the Agency’s Maritime Special Operations Unit Targeting Team, which worked in partnership with the Port Harcourt Ports Command of the Agency and other security agencies including the Customs Service for a 100 per cent joint examination of the targeted containers. “ Babafemi said during a joint examination with other security agencies on Thursday, seven containers were found to contain 8,774 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup, totalling 1,229,400 bottles and weighing 184,410 kilograms. He said, “This followed credible intelligence and months of diligent tracking of the consignments from their port of departure. At the joint examination of the containers with other security agencies on Thursday, all seven containers were found bearing a total of 8,774 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup with 1, 229, 400 bottles weighing 184,410 kilograms. “A breakdown of the shipments that came from India via the Maersk Vigo Vessel shows that the container marked SEKU 6439421 has 875 cartons with 175,000 bottles of codeine weighing 26,250kg. Other items in the container include 70 cartons of chilli cutters and 55 cartons of Hyregra tablets weighing 1,100kg.” He added, “Another container marked CMAU 9410422 contains 875 cartons of codeine with 175,000 bottles weighing 26,250 kg. Other items in the container include 15 cartons of chilli cutters and 60 cartons of Hyregra tablets weighing 1,200 kg. Also, the container marked TLLU 7595503 has a total of 1, 754 cartons of codeine syrup containing 179, 400 bottles weighing 26,910kg. “Four other containers marked: TRHU 515117; CMAU 7877125; CMAU 8533700; and CMAU 3882205 contain 175,000 bottles of the same substance each in addition to other items such as chilli cutters, cartons of hyregra tablets and diclofenac used to mask the shipments.” In his response to the latest seizure, Chairman/ Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig Gen Buba Marwa (retd) commended all the officers, men and women of the various formations of the Agency that had been working on the targeted containers for months for their diligence, vigilance and professionalism. Babafemi said, “Marwa equally praised the support received from other stakeholders at the ports that enabled the seamless and successful operations in the course of targeting the shipments. He said the operation, which had inflicted heavy losses on the cartels behind the shipments has further degraded their capacity and financial base.”
Multiple US airlines have said they were beginning to resume operations Friday following a major worldwide computer systems outage that grounded or delayed thousands of flights across the country. The IT issue has wrought global havoc at airports, grounding flights in Europe and the United States, while also derailing television broadcasts in the UK and impacting telecommunications in Australia. At Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, Evyn Garson told AFP she and her family had been trying to travel to Florida for a wedding, but now “feel kind of stuck.” “We definitely considered just driving down there. But now it looks like they are checking bags so we might stay.” American Airlines said in a post on X that it had been able to “safely re-establish our operation” as of 5:00 am EST (0900 GMT) following a “technical issue with a vendor.” United Airlines also said on X that “some flights are resuming” as it worked to restore full operations. And Frontier reported that it was “gradually normalizing” and “in the process of resuming flight operations,” with its ground stop now lifted. The issue was apparently caused by an update to an antivirus program, with Microsoft saying in a technical post on its website that the problems affected users of its Azure cloud platform running the cybersecurity software CrowdStrike Falcon. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which had earlier Friday announced the grounding of US carriers over communication issues, said later it was “closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines.” It said several US airlines had requested its “assistance with ground stops for their fleets until the issue is resolved.” More than 1,040 US flights were canceled and approximately 1,700 delayed as of Friday morning, according to tracking service FlightAware. AFP
Airlines’ operations in countries like Singapore, the United States and Australia have been disrupted due to a major global cyber outage affecting services. The massive information technology (IT) outage, which began in the early hours of today, also affected banks and media outlets. According to international media, several airports and airlines have reported issues with their IT systems, as outages spread. Flights have been said to be grounded at Sydney airport, United Airlines has stopped flying, while the London Stock Exchange Group’s platform is reportedly experiencing outages. The Sky News channel is also off-air due to the outages. The disruption has been linked to a downtime experienced with Microsoft internet services and issues with Cloudstrike, a cybersecurity software firm. David Rhodes, Sky News executive chairman, said the channel has not been able to broadcast live this morning. “SkyNews have not been able to broadcast live TV this morning, currently telling viewers that we apologise for the interruption,” Rhodes posted on X. “Much of our news report is still available online, and we are working hard to restore all services.”
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says it has identified sponsors of the proposed nationwide protest. There have been reports that some Nigerians, under various bodies, are planning a nationwide protest between August 1 and 10 against the rising cost of living and the economic hardship in the country. In a statement on Thursday, Paul Odenyi, deputy director of press at NOA, said the agency has “successfully” identified the sponsors of the proposed nationwide protest and likely flashpoints where it may occur. Odenyi quoted Lanre Issa-Onilu, director-general (DG) of the agency, as saying that the protest promoters intend to “project Nigeria as an unstable country to the international community”. Issa-Onilu urged the promoters of the proposed nationwide protests to pursue dialogue instead of recourse to disorder. “The identities of many of the brains behind the protest have been known, along with their collaborators who are safely residing abroad, and the government is taking necessary actions to stop their subversive plans,” the statement reads. “The intentions of the elements behind the planned protest are not about governance or the state of the economy but a decoy to destabilise the country, cause mayhem, and carry out arson, killings, and maiming of innocent citizens for narrow political reasons. The NOA is intensifying efforts in civil intelligence gathering and sensitisation of community leaders, parents, and youths across the 774 local governments on the need for vigilance and collective preventive actions.” On July 3, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said a “shadowy group” was organising a protest against its operations. Subsequently, NOA announced that it had mobilised 4,000 of its personnel nationwide to track the activities of the group organising the protest.
As Operation Lake Sanity 2 progresses, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) said it has witnessed a substantial surrender of 263 Boko Haram terrorists and their families in the Sector 1, Cameroon, from 10 to 17 July 2024. A statement signed by the Chief Military Public Information Officer, HQ MNJTF N’djamena Chad, Lieutenant Colonel, Abubakar Abdullahi, on Friday, said the wave of surrenders started on 11 July 2024, when five terrorists surrendered to MNJTF troops in Wulgo, Nigeria-Cameroon border. Preliminary information indicated these individuals hailed from Tumbuma and Kutumgulla in Marte Local Government Area in Nigeria. It said, “On the same day, Malum Kori Bukar, a 50-year-old, escaped from the Jibilaram hideout and surrendered to the troops. “Additionally, on 11 July, 19 terrorists surrendered in the village of Madaya, extreme North Cameroon, and another 11 surrendered in Wulgo from the Tumbuma hideout in 2 waves. “On 12 July 2024, 64 individuals surrendered in Bonderi, Cameroon, including 6 adult males, 20 women, and 38 children. Moreover, On 13 July, 27 terrorists surrendered. “The trend continued on 15 July 2024, with another 102 individuals surrendering in Bonderi, Extereme North Cameroon including 20 adult men, 40 women, and 42 children. Additionally, 5 individuals surrendered in Wulgo, with 2 coming from the Tumbuma hideout, southern Lake Chad. On 16 July 2024, 2 more terrorists surrendered. The following day, 17 July 2024, saw the surrender of a total of 48 terrorists and their families, comprising 10 adult males, 15 females, and 23 children.” According to the statement, preliminary investigation also revealed that all the surrendered individuals are Nigerians. It added, “Consequently, they were handed over to the troops of Operation HADIN KAI for further action.”
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has described as “unverified claims”, reports that he had proposed to pay a minimum wage of ₦80,000 to workers in the state and local government areas. The denial came following reports circulating online, that the governor had promised to pay the said sum. A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, on Friday described the report as false. The statement read, “The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to claims circulating in an online media that the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has proposed to pay a new minimum wage of N80,000 for civil servants in the state and local government areas. “Ordinarily, we would not have responded to this fake news, but for the wrong impression it would create in the minds of the public, especially civil servants in the state. “Therefore, it is important to state that the unverified claims being circulated by Newsweekng.com, and titled: ‘Breaking News: Governor Fubara Proposes N80,000 minimum wage’ are totally false and misleading. “The general public, and particularly civil servants in the state, are advised to discountenance the false claims in the online media platform. The Rivers State Government will make its position on the issue known in due course.”
