COLU @ CONCEPTS

Written by  Editor The defence ministry of Russia has objected to calls by the United States for UN action on North Korea saying the missile tested by Pyongyang on Tuesday was of medium-range. Russia also wants the US to amend its statement after it stated its preparedness to defend itself and its allies in case of a possible attack by defiant North Korea led by Kim Jong Un, stressing that it’ll use force if need be. The Russian mission to the United Nations insisted it had not blocked the statement but rather suggested that the United States “make appropriate amendments to it”. “The Russian delegation could not agree to define the launch as an intercontinental ballistic missile test,” the mission said, adding that the Russian defense ministry believed, based on its tracking systems, that the missile was of medium-range. Read also:   US vows to use force against North Korea if need be Addressing an emergency council meeting on Wednesday, Russian Deputy...

Former Olusegun Obasanjo has been accused of plotting to assissinate leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu. The group says Nnamdi Kanu would be killed in a military coup that would also overthrow the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. IPOB claimed that Obasanjo plots to use the military to create coup that will lead to the assassination of Kanu. The group made the allegation while reacting to call by Obasanjo that Kanu should be made to put a stop to his agitation for Biafra. DAILY POST, reports that the group spokesman, Emma Powerful, in a statement released says Obasanjo’s remark is a “systematic way of telling the whole world that he has plans on the way to overthrow this present Government”, adding that this is the “only possible means he can justify the assassination of Nnamdi Kanu and others who are calling for the restoration of Biafra.” ‘Nnamdi Kanu Must Be Stopped By All Means’ – Obasanjo The members of the indigenous people of Biaf...

Written by  Editor Nigeria’s Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has apparently challenged the Senate to do its worst in the matter involving the Presidency and the lawmakers over Ibrahim Magu’s retention as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s acting chairman. Osinbajo on Thursday insisted that as long as he remains the Acting President and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration continues, that Magu will continue as EFCC boss. The Acting President made the declaration in Kaduna on at the commissioning of the Zonal office of the EFCC. Represented by Nasir el’Rifai, the Kaduna State governor, Osinbajo stated, “He (Magu) will remain the EFCC chairman as long as I remain the Acting President and as well as Muhammadu Buhari remains the President”. This is coming at a point the face-off between the Presidency and the Senate over Magus’s appointment seems to be heating up. Osinbajo had during an interview in April insisted that Magu, whose nomination the ...

Written by  Chidi Chinedu Today marks the 60th day since President Muhammadu Buhari left for London on medical vacation. And given the continued secrecy surrounding his health status, audible voices from around the country have been expressing strong opinions that the relevant constitutionally empowered bodies should activate the process for the president’s removal, or in the very least, a full disclosure on the president’s health be made by his team. Just recently, Concerned Nigerians, a pro-democracy group, issued an ultimatum to the president to address the nation via live video on or before Friday, July 8 or face a peaceful mass action across the nation. In a statement signed by the convener, Deji Adeyanju who is a former director of New Media for the PDP, and Secretary, John Danfulani, the group also demanded that a medical panel be set up to determine whether or not, the president is incapacitated. The 60-day mark which doubles as the stated maximum lim...

CAIRO (AP) — Cairo’s subway is perhaps the cheapest in the world. For a fare equivalent to 11 U.S. cents, you can ride as far as you want across the overcrowded, traffic-choked Egyptian capital. But even that feels like a burden for many of the millions who ride it each day, at a time when Egyptians are scraping to get by, their purchasing power gutted amid painful economic reforms being implemented by the government. The 30-year-old Cairo Metro typifies Egypt’s deep economic inequalities and the large distances between classes. Unlike subways in New York, Washington, Paris and elsewhere in the world where the well-off and the poor mingle to at least some extent, the passengers who push and shove in and out of Cairo’s metro cars each day are overwhelmingly poor or from the lower middle classes. Vital for those who take it, the subway is scorned by the upper crust that doesn’t need it. Its stations and cars are almost bare of billboards because advertisers dismiss the passe...

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Hamburg police are gearing up for a major protest by anti-globalization activists as Germany’s second-biggest city prepares to welcome leaders of the Group of 20 economic powers. Organizers of Thursday’s demonstration have titled the event “G-20: Welcome to Hell.” While protests so far have been largely calm, city police chief Ralf Martin Meyer told ZDF television: “We are skeptical as to whether this evening and tonight will remain peaceful.” Hamburg is boosting its police force with reinforcements from around the country for the summit, which takes place Friday and Saturday, and will have 20,000 officers on hand to patrol the city’s streets, skies and waterways. Leaders of the participating countries, among them U.S. President Donald Trump, are expected to arrive in Hamburg Thursday. Source: www.apnews.com 

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed congress on Wednesday, attacking opposition lawmakers during a special session coinciding with Venezuela’s independence day. Four lawmakers were injured and blood was splattered on the neoclassical legislature’s white walls. One of them, Americo de Grazia, had to be removed in a stretcher while suffering from convulsions. “This doesn’t hurt as much as watching how every day how we lose a little bit more of our country,” Armando Arias said from inside an ambulance as he was being treated for head wounds that spilled blood across his clothes. Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday, attacking opposition lawmakers. The attack led to several injuries. Warning: Graphic video. (July 5) The unprecedented attack, in plain view of national guardsmen assigned to protect the legislature, comes amid three months of often-...