Churchill Choken

Update:: Slack has apologized after it shut down the accounts of users who have visited Iran following a poorly executed effort at complying with U.S. sanctions against the country. The company, which has eight million users of its productivity tool , has scrapped that first go at the policy. But it did confirm it will now block all activity in Iran and other sanctioned countries, although user accounts won’t be closed. As one of the world’s largest community services, that botched first implementation will have impacted significant numbers of users — both in terms of enterprise teams and free accounts which use Slack for membership of interest groups and communities. The victims affected included Amir Abdi, a machine learning scientist at the University of British Columbia (UBC) who is also the recipient of the Vanier scholarship for PhD talent. Abdi told Motherboard that his account was shut down without prior warning, and the same appeared to apply to a numbe...

Update:: The federal government received over N132 billion subscriptions from 2,073 investors for its N100 billion seven-year 15.74 per cent Sukuk offer, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said. The DMO, in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, announced the result and added that the bond would be due in 2025. It said that the high success rate of the Sukuk, which is the second by the federal government, showed investors’ appetite for government securities. The debt management office added that it showed the investors’ interest in the fact that the proceeds would be used to improve the state of road infrastructure in the country. The bond, which is aimed at funding road infrastructure across the six geo-political zones, is payable semi-annually. Subscription for the bond, which is guaranteed by government, closed on Monday. The government, had in 2017, raised a N100 billion seven-year debut Sukuk bond for the financing of 25 road projects across the six geo-political zone...

Update:: Nigerians have taken to social media to congratulate Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele Bello and her husband, AbdulRasheed–Bello aka JJC Skillz, on the birth of their twin boys Akindele-Bello has been trending on Twitter as Nigerians rejoiced over the reported birth of her twins. They have trooped to her Instagram page and that of her husband’s to drop their congratulatory messages. The birth of the twins was confirmed by Akindele’s publicist, Mr. Biodun Kupoluyi. He said, “the family just welcomed a set of twin. They are boys.” Meanwhile, Akindele has been posting cryptic messages on her insta stories, mostly in the Yoruba language, saying she has been given a new name and that God is great. The popular actress, fondly called Jenifa by her fans had suffered a pregnancy loss in 2017, after she was seen without her pregnancy bump, just months, after she was seen with one. The reported birth of Akindele-Bello’s twins is coming after a Lagos-based prop...

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on members of the National Assembly to apologise to Nigerians for their unruly behaviour during President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 budget presentation. National Assembly must apologize to Nigerians for booing Buhari, says Sen. Ayogu Eze The Public Relations Officer of NANS, Mr Azeez Adeyemi, made the call on Friday in Abeokuta. Adeyemi condemned the lawmakers’ behaviour, saying that it had further tarnished the external image of the country. He urged the lawmakers to always promote the integrity of the country, while according due respect to its leaders. He stressed that the legislators should jettison personal and political interests while treating matters of national interest. “Nigerian students believe that members of the National Assembly should be role models to Nigerian youths and students by displaying worthy and enviable character. “It is important to place respect for the honour and integrity of our...

Update:: The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill(PIGB) and other bills critical to national development. Saraki said this in his opening remarks at the 2019 budget presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari, the speech was however not delivered at the ceremony, but was made available to newsmen. He noted that in response to the economic recession, the National Assembly passed a number of bills to assist the executive mobilise investment into the country to stimulate economic activities. He said the PIGB alongside National Transport Commission Bill and Federal Road Authority Bill, had not been signed into law, contrary to the expectations of many. “Let me make it clear that the National Assembly appreciates Your Excellency’s assent to some of these bills. “We recognise the prerogative of the president to sign or not to sign these bills. “However, we believe that some of the is...

Update:: Will Ferrell only stopped thinking about possible career "plan Bs" seven or eight years ago. The 51-year-old actor is one of the most popular comedy stars in the movie business, but during the early part of his career, Will worried his success would evaporate and that he'd need to find an alternative job. He shared: "Up until seven or eight years ago, my wife and I still joked that if it all fell apart, what could we possibly do? Maybe open a business of kenneling dogs or be UPS drivers. "We finally stopped thinking of plan Bs." Will - who has kids Magnus, 14, Mattias, 11, and Axel, eight - also revealed that his children have inherited his love of comedy and making people laugh. He told Parade.com: "They're good kids and like to be funny, but they don't need to stand on their desk trying to get a teacher's attention. They just like making their friends laugh. That's the way I was too." Despite his success ...

Update:: The No Alternative To Buhari-Osinbajo 2019 (NATBO 2019), a polictical campaign group has expressed displeasure over the attitude of opposition lawmaker who jeered at the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the budget presentation. In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, National Coordinator of the Group, Vincent Uba, described the action of the lawmakers as not befitting of persons who are supposed to be honourable,\ He said that the jeering made the lawmakers seem like they were kindergartens, stressing that it was an embarrassment to the legislative arm and to the nation. “We view the action of the lawmakers as if they were kindergartens, exhibiting  political rascality and gangsterism capable of smearing the image, reputation and credibility of Nigeria that have continued to rise in the international community since the current administration assumed office. “In as much as democracy bestows freedom of expression on the citizenry, that freed...

Update:: A new British law banning all ivory sales has been welcomed by a dozen African states, and by campaigners who say poachers have been using the legal trade in antique ivory to cover their own activities. The law has been described as the best Christmas present for the world’s threatened elephants, and a significant blow for the world’s ivory smugglers. For years, Britain has been at the centre of a flourishing international trade in antique ivory. But there’s evidence that the legal trade has fuelled demand, and provided cover for criminal gangs smuggling fresh tusks to China.

Update:: U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis abruptly said he was quitting on Thursday after falling out with President Donald Trump over his foreign policies, including surprise decisions to yank troops from Syria and start planning a drawdown in Afghanistan. Mattis announced plans to depart in a candid resignation letter to Trump that laid bare the growing divide between them, and implicitly criticized Trump for failing to value America’s closest allies, who fought alongside the United States in both conflicts. He released the letter after a face-to-face meeting with Trump in which the two men also aired their differences, a senior White House official said.

THE All Progressives Congress, APC national peace and reconciliation committee set up over crisis in the Southwest submitted its report to the national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in Abuja with a recommendation for persuasion to reconcile aggrieved tendencies. More than 70% of the complaints in the region as learnt, came from Ondo State where party leaders variously complained of the attitude of the governor. Chairman of the committee, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State who served as chairman of the committee in presenting the committee’s report thanked Oshiomhole for the passion he has brought to bear in pursuance of peace in the party. The committee had Governors Nasiru El-Rufai and Akinwunmi Ambode, former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, former deputy governor of Ekiti State, Professor Modupe Adelabu, the D-G, NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside and Barrister Sa’ida Sa’ad Bugaje and members. Bolarinwa-led APC appeals Kwara High Court judgment Committee sources...

Update::   A candidate in upcoming presidential elections in DR Congo said Thursday that the national election commission had confirmed the long-delayed vote would be postponed again. Theodore Ngoy, one of 21 candidates vying to succeed President Joseph Kabila on Sunday, said the Independent National Election Commission (CENI) had informed him the poll was being postponed "for technical reasons." "CENI says that it is technically unable to organise the December 23 elections," he told AFPTV. "We are going to meet in the light of this information," Ngoy said. On Wednesday, a senior source in CENI said the panel would order a one-week postponement after a warehouse fire destroyed thousands of electronic voting machines earmarked for Kinshasa, the nation's capital. CENI chief Corneille Nangaa met in parliament Thursday with Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala and other candidates, ahead of a scheduled press conference. But opposition leaders immed...

Update:: Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna central, has mocked speculations that the reason why the Electoral Amendment Bill wasn’t signed, is because Russia will meddle or temper with our elections. The senator said the reason is simply an excuse and very untenable. The senator added that the government must submit to free and fair elections, saying “the world is watching. ” Shehu Sani, said this via Twitter on Thursday. However, some of his followers while responding to his statement said such “allegations against Russia for meddling in US elections or others is a western concocted media campaign to damage Russia’s image.” He wrote: The conjecture that Russia will meddle or temper with our elections if the electoral bill is signed & applied is baloney. Its an untenable mythical tale adopted & advanced as an excuse.The Government must commit & submit itself to free elections as ‘The World is watching us’. The conjecture that Russia will meddle or t...

Update:: Russian President Vladimir Putin threw doubt on American troops’ withdrawal from Syria, citing Afghanistan. Making the remarks Thursday in his annual press conference in Moscow, Putin said that he is not sure about the withdrawal of the American troops, citing the example of Afghanistan, where US troops have been deployed for over 17 years despite Washington’s consistent announcements of plans to leave the country. He also elaborated that the US military presence in Syria was illegitimate. Elsewhere in his remarks, the Russian President regretted that the tendency to underestimate the threat of a nuclear war in the world is increasing. “The danger of the situation escalating is being downplayed. It now seems to be impossible, something of not critical importance. But if something like that happens, that might lead to the collapse of the entire civilisation, and maybe even our planet. “They [the US] are withdrawing from the INF Treaty. It’s hard to imagine what wil...

Update:: Ogun State governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) Prince Dapo Abiodun said he once prostrated to his estranged friend Governor Ibikunle Amosun to accept the governorship ambition of Senator Solomon Adeola, a son of Yewa from Ogun West. He made the disclosure at a meeting with Yewa Traditional Council in Ilaro, debunking rumours that he was aversed to the idea of having a governor from the area for Ogun. “Let nobody think that we are not sensitive to the long time yearnings of Ogun West to also produce governor for the state. As a very strong believer in this cause, I personally took your son, Sen. Adeola to Gov. Amosun, begged and prostrated for him to support his governorship ambition but he refused. That I am the governorship candidate of APC today in our dear State remains a testimony of God’s awesomeness and that He is the only one who has the power to enthrone,” he said. Senator Adeola, from Pahayi, Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government but repres...

Update:: Flights at Britain’s second busiest airport, London Gatwick, remained suspended on Thursday after several sightings of drones flying near its airfield, causing disruption to thousands of people travelling before Christmas. Planes were unable to take off and a number of flights scheduled to land were diverted to other airports, Gatwick said, with the plans of at least 20,000 passengers already affected and thousands more facing disruption on Thursday and Friday. Over 100,000 passengers a day fly to and from Gatwick Airport each day. Gatwick’s Chief Operating Officer Chris Woodroofe said police were looking for the operator of the drone. “We also have the helicopter up in the air but the police advice is that it would be dangerous to seek to shoot the drone down because of what may happen to the stray bullets,” he told BBC radio. Gatwick apologised on Twitter here to affected passengers, adding that safety was its “foremost priority”. “My advice to those passenge...

Update:: Fresh reports have indicated that Nigerian singer, Douglas Jack Agu, better known as Runtown has been banned from entering the United States. According to Johnson Adumike, the General Manager of his erstwhile record label, Eric Many Entertainment, Runtown and his brother’s secured the US visa through the label but his brother’s refused to come back, thus staying in the United States illegally on expired visa. In his words, ‘the P-3 visa (which allows an artist or entertainer, individually or as a group, to enter the U.S) that Eric Many got for Runtown and his brothers to enter the United States has expired and Runtown’s brothers did not come back causing their visas to expire. Eric Many reported this incident to United States immigration, so when Runtown and his mother went to reapply for their visas, they found out that they have been banned from traveling to the US simply because America believes that both him and his mother may decide not to come back again just a...

Update:: Senator Bukola Saraki called for a 2019 financial bill following the budget presentation of President Buhari - The Senate president noted that the country's economy was still fragile - Saraki said the dip in oil price has greatly affected the country Senate president Bukola Saraki has spoken hours after President Muhammadu Buhari’s budget presentation saying the economy is still fragile. Saraki in a statement on Wednesday, December 20 noted that the dip in oil price played a major role in the country’s economy while also noting that the recession the country experienced affected businesses. He said: The last three-and-a-half years have been eventful ones at the global level and in our domestic economy. From dips in oil prices to major shifts in the economic landscape, crude oil production shut-ins and security challenges, the economy and Nigerians have been directly impacted by these events. “Many businesses closed down and many people lost their jobs during...

Update:: Access Bank Plc to gain 19 million customers from Diamond Bank The Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, said the bank had finalised plans to raise $250m Tier 11 capital. During a press briefing on the merger between the two banks in Lagos on Wednesday, Wigwe said the bank’s customer base would hit 29 million after the merger with Diamond Bank Plc. He said, “Access Bank has already finalised terms and obtained regulatory approvals for a Tier II capital issuance, which will raise $250m, available for drawdown in January 2019. “Access Bank has also obtained “No objection” from the Central Bank of Nigeria to undertake a rights issue to raise up to N75bn ($ 207m) in H1 2019. Shareholder approvals and other regulatory approvals will be obtained before the offer opens. This accelerates the capital management plan to support retail growth, previously set out in the bank’s five-year strategy.” The Access Bank boss put Diamond Bank’s current customer ...

Update:: South Africa's state prosecuting authority has issued an arrest warrant for Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe's former first lady, local media reports a lobby group as saying. Mrs Mugabe was accused of assaulting a young model, Gabriella Engels, in a hotel in South Africa's main city, Johannesburg, in 2017. She was allowed to return home after she applied for diplomatic immunity - but in July this year a court annulled a government decision to grant her immunity. Mrs Mugabe said at the time that she had acted in self-defence after the "intoxicated and unhinged" model attacked her in a hotel room where her two sons lived.

Update::  of Africa's top musicians - Diamond Platnumz - has been banned from performing in Tanzania. Basata, the regulatory arts board in the East African nation, said it had taken the decision because he had performed one of his songs that had been banned a few weeks ago. On Sunday the singer, who popularised "bongo flava", Tanzanian hip hop, performed the song Mwanza to big crowds during a festival in the port city of the same name. Mwanza was banned as the lyrics contained the Swahili word for “horny” and because the authorities considered some of the dance moves in the video to be lascivious.

Update:: The Islamic police force in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano has told the BBC it is going to charge two women with planning an illegal wedding. The Hisbah said the planned gathering by the suspected lesbian couple was considered immoral. The women are in custody and were arrested on Monday along with 10 of their guests and the owner of the venue. The ceremony was to take place in the Sabon Gari suburb, an area set aside for non-Muslim residents of the bustling commercial centre. Under federal law, homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years in jail, while gay marriage and displays of same-sex affection are also banned.