Good day! Below are Summary of News Stories Across Nigeria and Abroad:
1. A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday fixed May 22 for hearing in a suit instituted by a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ugochukwu Uchenwa, seeking to stop the conduct of elections and examinations on Saturdays in the country. Justice James Omotosho fixed the date when the matter was mentioned before him. At Wednesday’s proceedings, the court granted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), permission to regularize their processes filed against the suit. DAILY POST
2. At least seven people have been reportedly killed by bandits in a fresh attack on Langsom village in Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The latest attack comes barely four days after 17 people were killed by suspected militia herders at Ungwan Wakili community also in Zango Kataf, including a woman and her newborn baby among other victims made up of mostly women and children. CHANNELS
3. Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi says his country will further strengthen relations with Nigeria across all sectors following the transition to a new administration. Kazuyoshi said this at an event organised by the Japanese embassy in Abuja to commemorate the 63rd birthday of the Emperor of Japan, Hironomiya Naruhito. According to the Japanese envoy, Japan aspires to be a development partner with Africa, with a focus on investing in people and the country’s economy for quality growth. VANGUARD
4. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a “decisive victory” over Russia in a UK court after judges ruled Wednesday that a long-running financial dispute can go to a full trial. The Supreme Court in London rejected a bid by a Russian-backed investment trust to throw out the case, which concerns a $3 billion loan taken out in 2013, without a trial. “Today Ukraine secured another decisive victory against the aggressor, this time in the UK Supreme Court in the $3bn bonds case,” Zelensky tweeted. He said the court had ruled that Ukraine’s defence based on Russia’s “threats of aggression will have a full public trial”. PUNCH
5. Comedian Mr Macaroni has filed a ₦50 million lawsuit against actor, Adams Kehinde, also known as Lege Miami. The latter made this known in a now-deleted Instagram post in which he shared the letter with the public. The actor who was accused of making defamatory and derogatory comments about the comedian informed Falana and Falana’s chambers, who issued the lawsuit, that he is friends with Mr. Macaroni and believes the comedian did not mean his statements. PULSE
6. The 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico will feature 104 games, including a new last-32 stage, with plans for three-team groups abandoned for revised four-team groups format. With the approval of the format by the FIFA Council at a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on Tuesday, the 2026 World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams. The FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32. LEADERSHIP
7. China will once again start issuing a range of visas to foreigners as of Wednesday, the country’s foreign ministry said, in a major easing of travel restrictions in place since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The move marks the latest step towards reopening China to the outside world, as Beijing breaks with the strict zero-Covid strategy that defined its pandemic response until a few months ago. In addition to new visas being reviewed and approved, those issued before March 28, 2020 that remain valid will once again allow entry to China, said a notice posted Tuesday on a social media account affiliated with the foreign ministry’s consular affairs bureau. CHANNELS
8. Nigeria inflation rate has risen to 21.91%, compared to January 2023 inflation rate which was 21.82%. The percentage represents a 0.09% point increase. This was disclosed in a recent Consumer Price Index report by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. The rise in the inflation rate followed the naira crisis across the country and uncertainties relating to the just concluded presidential election. The NBS said the rise in food inflation was caused by increase in prices of oil and fat, fish, meats, vegetable, yam and other tubers, bread and cereals, and other foods. PUNCH
9. Nigerian award-winning songstress has joined the other fans who have showered Nigerian superstar Asake with praises following his impressive showing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Simi took to her Twitter account on Tuesday, 14th March to express her delight after watching Asake perform on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show. According to the revered singer, she finds Asake to be a unique artist whose music was representative of Nigerians. She also hailed him for putting up an impressive performance on the international stage that has featured notable global music heavyweights. PULSE
10. Olympic Eagles head coach, Salisu Yusuf has invited 15 foreign-based professionals for the side’s 2023 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea. According to SCORENigeria, the foreign-based Stars are expected to start arriving in camp on Wednesday (today). They will fight for a place in a team along with the home-based players. The first leg will take place at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja next week Wednesday. The reverse fixture will hold in Morocco three days later. The overall winners will qualify for the U-23 AFCON to be staged in Morocco in November. DAILY POST
PROCYON NEWS
