Author: Safiu Kehinde

A bullet failed to silence her, now Malala Yousafzai is lending her voice to the women of Afghanistan. In just a few years since the Taliban retook control of the country, women’s rights have been eroded to the point where even singing is banned. Malala has a personal history with the Taliban across the border in Pakistan, after a gunman from the hardline Islamist group shot her as she sat on a school bus. The speed of change in Afghanistan, if not the brutality, has surprised Malala, who since that near-fatal shooting in 2012 has campaigned for equality. “I never…

A “massive” Russian missile and drone attack has targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. At least 10 people were killed in the strikes, which hit the capital, Kyiv, as well as multiple targets in several regions including Donetsk, Lviv and Odesa. Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said its thermal energy plants had suffered “significant damage”, resulting in blackouts. The country’s state-owned energy operator, Ukrenergo, says it will enforce “restriction measures” for the whole of Ukraine on Monday. The co-ordinated assault overnight on Saturday was largest of its kind since early September, according to…

Hezbollah’s media chief Mohammed Afif has been killed in an Israeli strike in central Beirut, the Lebanese militant group has confirmed. A strike hit the headquarters of the Baath political party in the densely populated Ras al-Naba neighbourhood on Sunday, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. The country’s health ministry said four people were killed, but did not name the victims. Afif, one of the few remaining public faces of the group, was last seen on Monday, when he gave a press conference in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the group is based. Hezbollah confirmed the death on Sunday evening,…

Safiu Kehinde Former Kano state , Rabiu Kwankwaso, has accused the Federal Government of alleged plot to impose tax on the state and take generated revenue to Lagos. Kwankwaso made the allegation during his address at Skyline University’s third convocation ceremony in Kano. Speaking on the proposed tax reform, the ex-minister of defense faulted the plot, stressing that it is an attempt to make the poor poorer and rich richer. Highlighting the challenges facing the north, Kwankwaso warned of the danger the proposed tax reform poised on the cordial existence of the country “Today we are aware that the Lagos…

Safiu Kehinde Amnesty International has called for the release of woman, Hamdiyya Sidi Sharif, arraigned before a Sharia court for criticizing Sokoto state government. The humanitarian group made the call in a statement issued on its official X handle on Monday. According to Amnesty International, Sidi is set to be arraigned before a Sharia court in Achida area of the state after being charged by the state government for allegedly “inciting women against the government by telling them to forcefully take over government properties.” Since her video where she called out the state’s governor went viral, Sidi has been subjected…

Safiu Kehinde A yet-to-be identified truck driver is on the run after allegedly crushing revenue collector to death in Lagos. The General Manager of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Olalekan Bakare-Oki, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos. The statement was signed by Mr Taofiq Adebayo, Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA. According to LASTMA, an articulated vehicle (containerised truck) killed the revenue collector attempting to collect dues from the driver. Bakare-Oki said that the accident took place on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, near New Garage, inbound Lagos. He said that the articulated vehicle was marked…

Agency Report Residents of Imo and Abia in the South-East have blamed the persistently rising prices of food stuffs in the country on the hike in the cost of transportation of goods. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that prices of various food stuffs, especially farm produce, have continued to skyrocket notwithstanding the season of harvest. A cross-section of the people in Owerri said that the high cost of transportation was a direct impact of the fuel subsidy removal. A cassava farmer, Mrs Chikaodi Igbokwe, said that although this is the period of harvest, farmers were paying through their…

Agency Report President Bola Tinubu has arrived at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the 19th Heads of State and Government Summit of the Group of 20 (G20). The President, who arrived on Sunday at 11.03 p.m. local time, (Monday 3. 03 a.m. Nigerian time), was received by Amb. Breno Costa in the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil. He was accompanied by Mr Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Idi Mukhtar Maiha, Minister of Livestock Development, and Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Tourism, Culture and Creativity. Others are: Dr Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and…

President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use powerful long-range American weapons inside Russia, according to a senior US official familiar with the decision, as North Korean troops deploy in support of Moscow’s effort. The decision comes as Russia has deployed nearly 50,000 troops to Kursk, the southern Russian region where Kyiv launched its surprise counteroffensive in the summer, to prepare to take back territory. Thousands of North Korean troops have deployed to Kursk as part of the offensive. Biden and his advisers are concerned the entry of North Korea troops into the conflict could lead to a dangerous new…

Safiu Kehinde Former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, had accused Lagos of alleged plot to colonize the North. Kwankwaso laid the accusation while speaking at a recent event at Skyline University, Kano. The New Nigeria Peoples Party’s (NNPP) 2023 Presidential candidate, in his address shared on X on Sunday, further accused Lagos of preventing Kano from choosing its Emir. “The Emir is just being a stooge at this very difficult time in our country- especially this part of the country, Northern Nigeria. “Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of effort from the Lagos axis to…