VP Radio

POLITICS2023: South East not meant for running mate – Gov Uzodinma on Muslim-Muslim ticket

The Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma has said the South East was more interested in producing the next president of Nigeria than angling to be a candidate’s running mate.

Uzodinma stated this on Tuesday, while speaking to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja

The Governor, however, said the choice of the running mate would be decided by APC presidential ticket, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and not governors.

Fielding a question on Muslim-Muslim tickets and the choice of a running mate, he said: “There are internal characteristics that the decision-maker may consider in the process of making his decision. The decision whether to choose Mr A or Mr B to be a running mate to a candidate is entirely that of the candidate.

US officials confirm Biden to visit Saudi Arabia, meet MBS

US president will make first Middle East visit next month, with stops in Israel, occupied West Bank, and Saudi Arabia.

The White House has confirmed details of US President Joe Biden’s first trip to the Middle East, including a controversial stop in Saudi Arabia and an expected meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that the trip, which had previously been reported by US media, would take place between July 13 and 16. Biden will also visit Israel and the occupied West Bank.

British man accused of murdering his terminally ill wife after 56 years together 'terrified' ahead of trial in Cyprus

David Hunter faces trial in Cyprus on Thursday over the death of his wife Janice. After a request for a charge of "assisting su***de" was rejected, their daughter tells Sky News she is urging the judges to show "compassion" and insists her father is "not a risk to society".

Dom Phillips: Second man arrested after disappearance of British journalist in the Amazon rainforest

The two men went missing in a remote part of the Amazon more than a week ago and volunteers and police are continuing to search for them.

A second man has been arrested after the disappearance of the British journalist Dom Phillips and his companion in the Amazon rainforest.

Mr Phillips and Bruno Pereira, a Brazilian indigenous expert, went missing more than a week ago on a remote stretch of the Itaquai River.

Police say the second man, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, is the brother of the first man who was arrested.

Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, who is nicknamed Pelado, remains in custody as the main suspect in the case.

Describing the latest arrest, police investigator Alex Perez said: "He did not resist arrest on suspicion of homicide based on witness accounts that placed the two suspects at the supposed scene of the crime."

Cost of living: Eight million households to start receiving support payments in July

Low-income households on benefits will get £326 next month as part of a £21bn support package to help with soaring bills, which was announced last month.

Eight million households will start receiving cost-of-living payments from 14 July, the government has said.

Low-income households on benefits will get £326 next month as part of a £21bn support package to help with soaring bills, which was announced last month.

Another £324 will hit their accounts in the autumn, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: "With millions of the lowest-income households soon seeing the first of two cash instalments land into their bank accounts, we are taking action to directly help families with the cost of living."

She said the payments - totalling £650 - are part of the government's plans to put an extra £1,200 "into the pockets of those most in need".

Imposition Of Candidates On Nigerians By Elites Will Soon End– Sowore, AAC Presidential Candidate

Sowore stated this on his Twitter handle, noting that Nigerian elites were following in the footsteps of the traditional chiefs during the colonial era by selling Nigerians into slavery.

Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, on Friday said the imposition of political candidates on Nigeria by the elites will soon stop.

Sowore stated this on his Twitter handle, noting that Nigerian elites were following in the footsteps of the traditional chiefs during the colonial era by selling Nigerians into slavery.

He tweeted, "Nigerian elites think they can always impose their candidates on Nigerians. They will soon be cured of this arrogance. Kings sold our people into slavery, and the political elites toed this line. NOW we've defined OUR path to FREEDOM!

Nigeria Army Says Its Troops Killed Several Boko Haram Terrorists In Borno, Recovered Vehicles, Arms

The Nigerian Army has said troops of the 115 Battalion on Thursday neutralised some members of the deadly Boko Haram/Islamic State West African Province terrorist group. This was made known in a statement on the official Twitter account of the Nigerian Army on Friday.

The Nigerian Army has said troops of the 115 Battalion on Thursday neutralised some members of the deadly Boko Haram/Islamic State West African Province terrorist group.

Nigerian Man Narrates How Armed Robbers Stormed His House Inside Police Barracks In Ogun
His house is located in C. A. C, Oke Ihinrere Area Command, Balufon, Ogun State.

A resident of Ogun State who simply identified himself as John has narrated how he was attacked in his house in police barracks on Wednesday night by three armed robbers.

His house is located in C. A. C, Oke Ihinrere Area Command, Balufon, Ogun State.
John, a tenant at the police barracks, disclosed this via a series of tweets, explaining that three men armed with machetes came to his house to rob him of his belongings.

He said the assailants also threatened to kill him because he saw their faces.

He further alleged that this gave him the courage to attack them in self-defence, saying he brought down one of the robbers while the others escaped.

40 dead, over 80 injured in Owo attack – Ondo govt

The Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Banji Ajaka, has said that 40 people were killed in last Sunday’s shooting at a church in Owo.

Gunmen stormed the church on Sunday morning, opened fire on the congregation, and also detonated explosives as the worshippers scampered for safety.

Police said the gunmen got to the church at about 11.30 a.m.

Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, the lawmaker representing Owo Constituency I, who visited the scene shortly after the attack, had put the casualty figures at at least 70 people killed and injured.

On Tuesday, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu said 80 worshippers were victims of the attack, including 22 people who died.

On Wednesday, the state government reviewed the casualty figures to 127, including 40 dead.

“The situation report as at 12 midnight, on Tuesday 7/6/22 at St. Louis Hospital, Owo, 39 people were involved and 13 deaths (confirmed). At the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, a total number of persons involved is 84 and number of corpses in the FMC mortuary is 25; female, 17, and eight males,” Mr Ajaka said in a statement.

He also added that two deaths were recorded from two private hospitals in the state.

Meanwhile, the state governor has promised to immortalize all who died from the attack.

The governor said this while hosting a delegation of bishops in the southwest who had paid him a condolence visit on Wednesday.

He promised to build a memorial park in honour of the deceased persons.

“We will have a Memorial Park here, where those who died in the attack will be buried,” he said.

“My Bishop sir, we will find a good place as a Memorial Park. It will also be my suggestion that even if there are people who have retrieved their family or members of their family, we must still have a symbolic grave there for them. And it will be there forever, it is not something we can forget and we should never forget it.”

Missouri woman who caught STI in boyfriend's car wins $5.2m payout from his insurer

The woman, from Missouri, claims she suffered "injury" as a result of having s*x in her boyfriend's car, which was insured by the company Geico.
According to court documents, she claims this resulted in her catching HPV (human papillomavirus) because the man failed to tell her he had the infection.

HPV can lead to cervical cancer if left untreated and can also result in ge***al warts.

In February last year MO told Geico, a firm based in Maryland, she planned to sue them for $1m because the man's policy with them should have covered for her "injuries and losses".

Gunman opens fire at US factory, killing multiple people, police say

A state trooper was wounded in an exchange of gunfire while chasing the suspect.

A gunman has opened fire in a manufacturing plant in the US state of Maryland, killing three people, police say.

Officers were called to the unit in the town of Smithsburg around 2.30pm (7.30pm GMT) on Thursday.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office said three people have been killed and one critically injured. An officer who tried to chase down the gunman had also been shot in the shoulder.

Sgt Carly Hose said the suspect had fled the scene by the time officers arrived but was tracked down in a vehicle about five miles away from the plant.

Five people died and more than 100 police officers were injured during the Capitol riot last year - but was it orchestrated from inside the White House?

When the historians come to write this chapter of America's history, they'll find a good chunk of their work is being done for them over the next few weeks.

Last night we got the first glimpse of what these extraordinary hearings will look like.

For the first time since the Nixon's Watergate scandal, a conspiracy is being exposed to the American public, if they choose to tune in.

From a committee room in a building just a block from where the chaos unfolded on that day last January, never-before-seen footage was beamed live on primetime TV.

We heard from one-time Donald Trump loyalists, and we listened to the former president's own daughter.

Manchester stabbing: Boy, 14, killed and mother injured as police hunt suspect
Anyone who believes they have seen the suspect has been instructed by police not to approach him and to call 999. A few details about the man have been released but he has not been identified by officers.

A 14-year-old boy has died and his mother left with serious injuries after a "ferocious" stabbing in Manchester.

He has been described as an Asian man wearing dark clothing, aged in his mid-40s, with a medium build and of medium height.

Officers were called to reports of a domestic incident at a home in Miles Platting at about 9.30pm on Thursday, where the young boy was found with stab wounds.

He was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, where he died just an hour later.

The suspect, who is understood to be known to the victims, has gone on the run, with police warning the public not to approach him.

Girl, 10, arrested in Florida after 'shooting and killing woman who got in fight with her mother'
The girl has been taken into custody and placed with a juvenile justice centre with the Orlando Police Department saying she is facing a charge of second-degree murder.
A 10-year-old girl in Florida has been arrested after authorities say she shot and killed a woman who had got involved in a fight with her mother.

The Orlando Police Department said the girl is facing a charge of second-degree murder.

She has been taken into custody and placed with a juvenile justice centre.

The girl's mother was arrested last week on charges of manslaughter by culpable negligence, child neglect, negligent storage of a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm, the authorities said.

Police officers said the mother got into a fight with Lashun Rodgers, 41, outside an apartment complex.

Russia says no agreement reached with Turkey or Middle East on grain exports, but "work is underway"

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that no agreement had been reached yet on exporting Ukrainian grain to Turkey or the Middle East.

“No agreements have been reached yet. Work is underway,” he said on a regular conference call with journalists, commenting on possible grain deals with Turkey or the Middle East.

Peskov couldn’t confirm to CNN that the first rail cars carrying Ukrainian grain from the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol have departed, saying he had “no information” about it.

A leader in the Russian-backed military administration of the occupied portion of Zaporizhzhia region said Wednesday that the first railway wagons with grain had left from Melitopol and went through Crimea “in the direction of the Middle East.”

The Ukrainian Agrarian Council accused Russia of stealing about 600,000 tons of Ukrainian grain, which Russia denies.

Global leaders have condemned a months-long blockade by Russian forces at key ports in Ukraine — including Mariupol on the Sea of Azov and Odesa on the Black Sea — which has left more than 20 million tons of grain stuck inside the country.

xKremlin-appointed leader: Integration of Kherson into Russia underway
Russia's war in Ukraine
European Central Bank to hike rates for the first time since 2011 as inflation hits new record

The European Central Bank (ECB) plans to raise interest rates from historic lows in order to counter record high inflation fueled by the war in Ukraine.

ECB kept rates unchanged in today’s meeting but confirmed plans to hike rates when it next meets in July. It said today it is looking at a 0.25% increase next month.

“The Governing Council intends to raise the key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points at its July monetary policy meeting. In the meantime, the Governing Council decided to leave the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.50% respectively. Looking further ahead, the Governing Council expects to raise the key ECB interest rates again in September,” ECB said in an announcement Thursday adding that “beyond September, based on its current assessment, the Governing Council anticipates that a gradual but sustained path of further increases in interest rates will be appropriate.”
The announcement comes as annual inflation among the 19 countries that use the euro reached 8.1% in May, an all-time high.

“High inflation is a major challenge for all of us. The Governing Council will make sure that inflation returns to its 2% target over the medium term,” said ECB.

The European Central Bank also significantly cut its eurozone growth outlook compared to its March projections. It now expects annual real GDP growth at 2.8% in 2022 and 2.1% in 2023. In its March meeting it had projected that the economy would grow at 3.7% in 2022 and 2.8% in 2023.

“Russia’s unjustified aggression towards Ukraine continues to weigh on the economy in Europe and beyond. It is disrupting trade, is leading to shortages of materials, and is contributing to high energy and commodity prices. These factors will continue to weigh on confidence and dampen growth, especially in the near term,” said ECB. “Once current headwinds abate, economic activity is expected to pick up again."

More than 700 people shot US

More than 650 incidents have resulted in 730 deaths since 24 May, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

Twenty-three of those who died were children, more than the total number who died in Uvalde, and 66 were teenagers.

The figures provide the deeply troubling context for politicians on Capitol Hill as they struggle to find common ground over how, or even if, to reform America's gun laws.

Politicians will hear testimony from the parents and survivors of the school shooting in Uvalde two weeks ago.

The witnesses will include 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo who smeared her dead friend's blood on herself. She played dead to survive.

The hearing by the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee is titled 'The Urgent Need to Address the Gun Violence Epidemic' and comes as Republican and Democratic politicians remain divided over the extent to which gun laws should be changed.

COVID-19: Two million people in UK estimated to be suffering from long COVID, Office for National Statistics says

Fatigue continues to be the most common symptom - experienced by 55% of those with self-reported long COVID - followed by 32% with shortness of breath, 23% with a cough and 23% with muscle ache.

A record two million people in the UK are estimated to be suffering from long COVID, the Office for National Statistics has said.

Of the two million, 1.4 million said they first had coronavirus, or suspected they had the illness, at least 12 weeks previously, while 826,000 first had it at least a year earlier.

Another 376,000 said they first had COVID-19 at least two years previously.

The condition is estimated to be adversely affecting the day-to-day activities of 1.4 million people - around seven in 10 of those who reported having it.

A total of 398,000 - one in five - say their ability to undertake day-to-day activities has been "limited a lot", the ONS found.

Japan to allow tourists for first time in two years as it eases COVID-19 restrictions - but visitors will need a chaperone
One of the last nations to lift restrictions, Japan will begin allowing tourists to enter from Friday, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) said.

Japan is opening up to foreign tourists after two years of strict COVID-19 travel restrictions, but visitors will have to be chaperoned throughout their stay.

The country had imposed some of the toughest pandemic border controls in the world, banning the entry of almost all non-residents.

One of the last nations to lift restrictions, Japan will begin allowing tourists to enter from Friday, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) said.

However, only visitors on package tours will be allowed in during the first phase and they will be required to wear masks, take out private medical insurance and be chaperoned throughout their stay.

The JTA said: "Tour guides should frequently remind tour participants of necessary infection prevention measures, including wearing and removing masks, at each stage of the tour.

Two people missing after boat capsizes in Devon lake

A search is under way for two people missing after a boat capsized in a lake in Devon.

Emergency services were called at around 1.30pm to Roadford Lake in Lewdown, Okehampton.

A number of people were reported to have been on the vessel at the time. All were adults and believed to be from the county.

Police, fire, ambulance, the air ambulance, coastguard, and search and rescue teams were sent to the area.

Four people have been rescued from the water - including two who were taken to Derriford Hospital for treatment. Their conditions are not known.

Brett Kavanaugh: Armed man who wanted to kill US Supreme Court justice arrested near his house in Maryland

The man told police he was upset by a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court is about to overrule landmark abortion case Roe v Wade and the Uvalde school shooting.

An armed man who wanted to kill Brett Kavanaugh, one of the judges on the US Supreme Court, has been arrested near his house.

Nicholas John Roske, 26, carried a gun, a knife and zip ties and was dressed in black when he arrived by taxi just after 1 am outside Mr Kavanaugh's home in a Washington suburb.

Roske, of Simi Valley, California, was identified in a criminal complaint charging him with the attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice.

He had a G***k 17 pistol, ammunition, a knife, zip ties, pepper spray, duct tape and other items that he told police he would use to break into Kavanaugh's house and kill him, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in federal court in Maryland.

Roske said he purchased the gun to kill Kavanaugh and that he also would kill himself, the affidavit added.

Texas school shooting survivor tells Congress: 'He told my teacher 'goodnight' and shot her in the head'

Miah Cerrillo and the parents of multiple young Americans killed and wounded in recent mass shootings has testified at the US House Oversight Committee hearing as lawmakers work to find a compromise gun safety bill.
A fourth-grade survivor of last month's Uvalde school shooting has told a hearing how she dabbed blood on herself and pretended to be dead after the gunman murdered her teacher and friends.

Miah Cerrillo and the parents of multiple young Americans killed and wounded in recent mass shootings have testified at the US House Oversight Committee hearing as lawmakers work to find a compromise gun safety bill.

"He told my teacher 'goodnight' and shot her in the head," the 11-year-old Robb Elementary school student said in a pre-taped interview played for the committee.

"And then he shot some of my classmates and the whiteboard," she said, adding: "He shot my friend that was next to me... and I thought he was going to come back to the room. I got the blood and put it all on me."

Summit of the Americas snubs threaten to overshadow Biden-hosted gathering
The event also puts a spotlight on Vice President Kamala Harris and her most difficult, politically challenging task: tackling the root causes of migration.

LOS ANGELES — The Biden administration confirmed Monday that Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have not been invited to the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas this week, a widely expected decision that led Mexico's president to boycott the gathering of Western Hemisphere leaders.

A senior administration official said that the United States, which is hosting the triennial summit for just the second time, has “wide discretion” on invitations and has spent weeks “engaged in broad and candid discussions with regional governments on the question of inviting Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.”

But, “the U.S. continues to maintain reservations regarding the lack of democratic space and the human rights situations in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. As a result, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela will not be invited to participate in this Summit,” the official added.

Just hours later, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador followed through on his threat to snub the summit, announcing at a news conference that he would dispatch Mexico’s foreign minister in his place.

The Biden administration has hoped this week’s gathering of leaders from the Western Hemisphere would be a showcase for its under-the-radar efforts to develop what officials call “regional solutions to regional challenges” in the U.S.'s backyard, especially migration that has led to a political crisis for the administration, with record numbers of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Publicly, the foreign policy focus of the Biden administration's first 15 months has been heavily devoted to Afghanistan, Russia and China, but officials have spent months preparing to host leaders from as far north as Canada to the southern tip of Chile. A source familiar with the planning said that while the list of invitees and potential boycotts have generated much of the attention around it, the administration is eager now to move the conversation toward “strong deliverables” that the U.S. and other nations plan to unveil this week.

Another official noted these actions will include commitments from nations whose heads of government have threatened to boycott if Cuba and other nations were not invited. And while leaders from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua were not invited, nongovernment representatives from each nation have registered to attend summit-related events, and the United States “recognizes and respects the position of allies in support of inclusive dialogue,” the official said.

British PM Boris Johnson faces confidence vote that could oust him from power
The Conservative Party vote, which is due to be held between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET, was triggered after dozens of lawmakers submitted letters of no confidence in his leadership.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a vote Monday that could remove him from power as a growing number of lawmakers in his own ruling Conservative Party turned on their leader after months dominated by scandal.

The vote, which is due to be held between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET, was triggered after dozens of Conservative lawmakers submitted letters of no confidence in his leadership.

If he loses, Johnson will be out.

The prime minister has caused fury across the country after the revelation of a string of Covid lockdown-busting parties inside his No. 10 Downing St. residence and office over the past two years. He and dozens of others have been been fined by police for the parties — having previously denied breaking any rules.

It is a remarkable situation for Johnson, less than three years after he secured a Brexit deal with the European Union, swept to victory in a 2019 election and garnered predictions that his rule could last a decade.

But the nationwide anger has crucially divided Johnson's Conservative Party, many of whom are worried about polling that suggests the 'partygate' scandal has caused millions of voters to turn against them.

The government has awoken with this almighty hangover following a Platinum Jubilee weekend in which the country celebrated the apolitical and widely popular Queen Elizabeth II.

In truth, though, Johnson was rarely allowed to forget his own dismal public standing.

In a statement, Johnson’s office said the confidence vote was “a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on.” The prime minister will make his case to lawmakers beforehand, telling them that “when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters, there is no more formidable political force,” the statement said.

Like much of British politics, the vote of confidence is an arcane and secretive process. And until now, the total number of letters has only been known by one man, Graham Brady, chairman of a group called the 1922 Committee, which represents backbench Conservative lawmakers.

On Monday, he confirmed the threshold for a vote had been reached. Now there will be a secret ballot in Parliament between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time (1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET). Johnson needs more than 50 percent of Conservative MPs to support him, currently 180 votes.

"We are holding a vote of confidence and it will take place today — and you will have a result this evening," Brady told reporters outside Parliament on a wet, gray morning in the British capital.

If Johnson loses, there would then be a leadership contest among party rivals to replace him, although he would remain prime minister until the winner was chosen.

If Johnson wins the secret ballot, he will be safe from further challenge for 12 months — officially at least. Brady noted Monday that these rules can be changed, and in reality the ruthless Conservative Party has a history of deposing leaders despite them winning votes of no confidence.

In 2019, Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, won such a vote, but the sizable minority that came out against her made it clear that she could no longer carry on. Under slightly different rules in 1990, then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher defeated a challenge from her own finance minister but withdrew after consulting with her Cabinet, who made it clear to her that she no longer had the party's support.

And it is clear that there are growing numbers within the party who think Johnson must go.

One of them, Jesse Norman, tweeted his letter Monday saying that Johnson had “presided over a culture of casual law-breaking.” The prime minister had previously said that he had been “vindicated” over the parties — a claim that Norman described in his letter as “grotesque.”

The level of nationwide anger at the parties is hard to overstate.

Map: Track the Covid hot spots across the U.S.
NBC News is following Covid-19 case numbers in states and territories in the United States. The data will be updated daily.

America's Covid outbreak looks different today than it did a year ago.

New cases are rising again after a decline following a significant increase at the beginning of January.

The places where COVID-19 cases have increased the most, least in the last two weeks
Case numbers for the previous two weeks are compared to the two weeks before.

Fewer Americans now say Trump is responsible for Jan. 6, NBC News poll finds
First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter.

WASHINGTON — If it’s Monday ... Mass shootings across the country leave at least 12 dead over the weekend. ... It’s officially the surgeon (Mehmet Oz) vs. the patient (John Fetterman) in Pennsylvania Senate, per NBC’s Dasha Burns and Abigail Brooks. ... The next round of 2022 primaries is just a day away. ... A New UC Berkeley poll shows Karen Bass and Rick Caruso are headed to a likely runoff in LA mayoral race. ... And meet “Meet the Press NOW” (which begins streaming weekdays at 4:00 p.m. ET on NBC News Now), and also meet our brand-new look for First Read.

But first: It appears the House’s Jan. 6 committee has some work to do with the American public as it begins a new round of public hearings this week on its findings.

Just 45 percent of Americans say Donald Trump is “solely” or “mainly” responsible for the rioters who overtook the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, versus a combined 55 percent who say the former president is only somewhat responsible or not really responsible, according to results from the latest