Churchill Choken

For the second time in a row, Japan has topped the list of the world's most powerful passports. This is according to the Henley Passport Index, which periodically measures the access each country's travel document affords.  Japan retains its top spot as the world's most travel-friendly passport thanks to the document's access to 190 countries.  Below is a full list of the world's top ten which contains no African country. 1. Japan (190 countries) 2. Singapore, South Korea (189) 3. France, Germany (188) 4. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden (187) 5. Luxembourg, Spain (186) 6. Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States (185) 7. Belgium, Canada, Greece, Ireland (184) 8. Czech Republic (183) 9. Malta (182) 10. Australia, Iceland, New Zealand (181)

Update:: President Muhammadu Buhari has named the Managing Director of the Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane as the chairman of the 24-man Presidential Advisory Committee on the New Minimum Wage. The Director General of the Budget office, Ben Akabueze is to serve as the secretary of the committee. The panel is given a month to submit its report on the new minimum wage. Members of the committee selected from the private sector are former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, Sulieman Barau, Dr. Ayo Teriba, and Prof. Akpan Ekpo. Those selected from government institutions are Chairman of FIRS, Dr Babatunde Fowler, a representative of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission; Richard Egbule, Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office of the Head of Service of the Federation; Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, Permanent Secretary of General Service Office, Office of the Secret...

We all know about seniority in secondary schools but who knew corps members will one day claim seniority and ask to be respected by those who began service months after them. A batch A corp member was filmed confronting a batch C corps member and demanding that she respects her because her batch began serving the nation first. The confrontation took place in Ekiti state on Monday, January 7, 2018, during the CDS meeting of dance and drama CDS and soon degenerated into a fist fight. According to reports, batch A and B corps members in the local government have been demanding respect from batch C corps members on the grounds that they are their junior and ought to show them respect. This demand for respect has reportedly led to various fights in the past but on Monday, it turned physical.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has said that it had no option but to continue its strike action in the new year because the Federal Government failed to release the N15bn revitalisation fund for the polytechnics promised in 2017. The National President of ASUP, Usman Dutse, stated this in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, noting that the government, in the 2009 agreement, had promised about N603bn to polytechnics but it was agreed in 2017, that due to paucity of funds N15bn should be released to show the government’s commitment. The polytechnic union said it hoped that on January 10, 2019, when its leaders meet with the Federal Government to review negotiations, there would be positive responses and commitment from the government. ASUP began its nationwide strike on December 12, 2018, citing the failures of the Federal Government to implement the 2009, 2013 and the 2017 agreements which it reached with the union. Dutse, told our correspondent that some s...

Update:: Ngige The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have reached agreement on Monday toward resolving the ongoing lecturers’ strike. Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, said this after a reconciliatory meeting with ASUU in Abuja. Ngige said the meeting was fruitful as an agreement had been reached between the Federal Government and the striking university lecturers. According to him, the Federal Government has released N15.4 billion for the payment of the salary shortfalls, which was one of the major demands of the union. “On the issue of salaries in tertiary institutions, especially in universities, the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant- General provided evidence that as at December 31, 2018 the Federal Government had remitted N15.4 billon. Ogunyemi “Also on the issue of Earned Allowances in the universities system, they also showed us evidence that Mr President has approved the N20 billion to ...

Update:: US President Donald Trump is set to argue that an immigration "crisis" requires his long-promised wall along the Mexican border. Mr Trump will make his case in his first speech from the Oval Office at 21:00EST (0200 GMT Wednesday), ahead of a trip to the border on Thursday. A partial government shutdown has been in effect for 17 days after lawmakers failed to break a budget impasse. The president is insisting that $5bn (£4bn) be included for the border wall.

Update:: The official appointed by the French government to lead a national debate over the grievances raised by ‘yellow vest’ protesters quit on Tuesday following a controversy over her salary. Former sports minister Chantal Jouanno said she could not guarantee conditions for a calm debate as she had become a focus of attention after a news magazine revealed she was paid 14,700 euros (13,225 pounds) per month to head France’s National Commission for Public Debate.

Update:: At least three people were killed and around 300 injured on Tuesday after two trains collided in the South African capital Pretoria, an emergency services official said. The crash, which occurred at 9:30 a.m. (07:30 GMT), left 82 passengers with serious injuries after a packed train careered into a stationary train at Mountain View station. “We do not rule out the possibility of additional fatalities as we search under the wreckage,” emergency official Charles Mabaso told Reuters.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, the Saudi Arabian woman who fled her family and is now under UN protection in Thailand, has been sustained through the “terrifying” ordeal by thousands of online messages of support that probably saved her life, a friend has said. Nourah Alharbi, 20, told the Guardian: “Yesterday, they [social media supporters] made the difference in Rahaf’s life. You saved Rahaf’s life yesterday: the people, the media.” Speaking on Tuesday morning, Alharbi said Qunun was buoyed when she saw how many messages about her were being posted online. “She couldn’t believe it. Today when I was calling her ... [she said] she can see the thousands of messages, all of them supporting her. She’s terrified and stressed, and when she saw the messages it really made a difference for her.” Now based in Sydney, Alharbi said she fled Saudi Arabia herself after suffering abuse from her family, and is seeking asylum in Australia. She has kept in close contact with Qunun throughout her or...