These are the stories you should be monitoring today.
Saudi Arabian authorities are threatening to block Nigerian pilgrims from attending this year’s Hajj exercise.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Monday said Saudi Arabia is taking the decision because of reports of Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria.
The outbreak of Lassa fever has been reported in a number of states.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the withdrawal $462 million from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to the United States for the procurement of 12 Super Tucano aircraft, without a prior approval of the National Assembly, ThisDay newspaper reported.
A new letter by the president to the National Assembly, says the U.S. government had given a payment deadline for the aircraft purchase, hence, the need for the hasty approval and payment.
Buhari transmitted the letter to the National Assembly leadership on April 13 and it was received in the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives on April 17.
The letter shows that Buhari had already given anticipatory approval for the withdrawal of $496,374,470 (N151 394, 421, 355) from the ECA for the purchase of the aircraft and was only seeking the inclusion of same in the 2018 Appropriation Bill that the National Assembly is currently finalising.
The Federal Government says it has set up a committee to review the ‘technical and financial’ related aspects of the demands by the striking Joint Health Sector Unions.
According to the government, this was part of the decisions reached at a meeting of top officials held on Sunday night aimed at finding ways of ending the ongoing strike.
The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Sulaiman Kazaure, says the increase in corps members monthly allowance would be determined by the new national minimum wage “when it takes effect.”
The DG said this on Monday while fielding questions from journalists newsmen shortly after the swearing-in ceremony of the 2018 Batch ‘A’ corps members at the NYSC orientation camp in Kusalla, Karaye Local Government Area, Kano.
According to him, “our efforts to ensure that the monthly allowance of the corps members is increased have yielded a very good result following series of discussion with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige.”
The presiding and principal officers of both the Senate and House of Representatives held a marathon meeting on Monday night over last Wednesday’s invasion of its chamber and snatching of its mace by suspected thugs, Punch Newspaper reports.
Journalists were not allowed to cover the meeting and none of them spoke with the press on the outcome of the meeting.
And… stories from around the world.
Former US President George H W Bush has been hospitalised with an infection the day after his wife Barbara’s funeral.
US media report that he is in intensive care. In a statement, a family spokesman said he had contracted an infection that spread to his blood but was “responding to treatments“.
The 93-year-old was admitted to hospital in Houston on Sunday morning.
Western nations want to end the months-long paralysis at the United Nations over Syria by referring the issue of chemical weapons use to the entire UN general assembly, where Russia’s security council veto would not apply.
The idea is to draw on a rarely used route first established in the cold war to transfer responsibility for aspects of the crisis to the 193-member general assembly.
Russia has used its security council veto powers 11 times to block action targeting its ally Syria. A UN mechanism to attribute responsibility for chemical weapons use came to an end in November after Russia vetoed a resolution to extend its mandate, complaining that the mechanism was prejudiced against the Syrian government.
US and North Korean expectations for a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un appear set on a collision course after the North Korean leader pledged to keep his country’s nuclear arsenal for generations.
Over the weekend, Trump celebrated the North Korean announcement that it would suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing, closing down its nuclear test site, as a big diplomatic victory.
The gunman accused of killing four people at a Nashville-area Waffle House was arrested Monday after a manhunt, police said.
Former President Barack Obama will deliver a high-profile address in July marking the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela‘s birth as he continues to shape his post-White House platform.
The July 17 speech, which was announced on Monday, will be paired with a five-day gathering of young African leaders that will include workshops and training, as well as a town hall with Obama. The Obama Foundation said it had received 10,000 applications for the 200 available slots in the program.
Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram
Leave a reply