Beijing authorities have banned Zion Church, one of the largest unofficial Protestant churches in the city and confiscated “illegal promotional materials”, amid a deepening crackdown on China’s “underground” churches.The church had for years operated with relative freedoms, hosting hundreds of worshippers every weekend in an expansive specially renovated hall in north Beijing.But since April, after they rejected requests from authorities [...]
"Any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation violates fundamental rights. "The constitution is a living organic document; pragmatic interpretation has to be given to combat rigorous inequality and injustice."Social morality cannot be used to violate the fundamental rights of even a single individual; constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality."The verdict sparked celebrations among members of the [...]
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, co-chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, says fighting climate change can add $26 trillion to the world economy by 2030.The former Nigerian minister of finance said addressing climate change issues could generate more than 65 million new low-carbon jobs and avoid more than 700,000 premature deaths from air pollution.Speaking at the 2018 Global Commission [...]
Kehinde Omosebi and Titilayo, his wife, have been arrested by the Reedsburg police department in Wisconsin, US, following the death of their 15-year old son.Ayanfe, their teenage son, was found dead in the family house and another child, an 11-year old was hospitalised following what the father described as a week-long religious fast.According to Wisconsin State Journal, the 49-year old [...]
The international donor conference on Boko Haram has pledged $2.52 billion to help countries in the Lake Chad Basin in the fight against insurgency.The conference, currently holding in Berlin, Germany, made the pledge on Monday.Germany’s foreign ministry said the aid will be disbursed “in the coming years” to Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, where Boko Haram insurgents have continued to [...]
Chinese funds are not to be spent on “vanity projects” in Africa but in places that count the most. President Xi Jinping said this on Monday at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing summit of the forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).He said China's friendship with Africa was time-honoured, adding that the country's investments on the continent have no political strings [...]
President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Beijing for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit.The summit, which will be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other African leaders, is scheduled to hold from September 3 to 4.Nine ministers and four state governors are among the top government officials on the president’s entourage.Buhari’s first engagement in Beijing will be an interactive [...]
Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, departed Nigeria on Wednesday, after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari; Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state; and business leaders in Lagos and Abuja.The Prime Minister made the visit, 30 years after Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister of the UK, visited the country to make deals with the former head of [...]
Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, has expressed gratitude to former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his mediation role in ensuring smooth political transition in Liberia.Guterres made the remarks in his speech to the security council’s debate on the ‘Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Mediation and the Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts’ at the UN headquarters in New York.He said the UN has [...]
Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has announced additional 100 Chevening scholarship slots for African students -- about 30 percent increase in existing slots.The Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship scheme which enables students with leadership and networking skills from 144 countries and territories to undertake postgraduate study or courses in universities in the United Kingdom.Speaking in Cape Town, South Africa, the prime minister [...]
