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Good morning. About 875 brands, including Heinz, using the royal coat of arms must now reapply under King Charles III and prove the royal family uses their products, or else change their packaging.
Space. A new study revealed that Saturn may have gotten its ring after a moon got too close and shattered about 160m years ago. The moon pieces went on to orbit Saturn and eventually flattened into the ring we see today. Saturn may have been ringless for almost all of its 4.5bn-year existence.
Hungary. The European Parliament no longer classifies Hungary as a full democracy. EU lawmakers voted to back a resolution that referred to Hungary as a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy.” Lawmakers said it had become an "illiberal democracy" that no longer aligns with the values of the EU bloc.
Haiti. Protests broke out as fuel prices doubled following the lowering of a government fuel subsidy. Private residences and public buildings were looted. The bodies of two journalists were set on fire. Burning tires are being used to block roads in the country's capital city of Port-au-Prince. Protestors are calling for Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.
NATO. Portugal's parliament voted to support Finland's and Sweden's bids to join NATO. Both countries applied for membership in the alliance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey are the only members yet to support entry to the alliance. Unanimous approval from all of 30 member states is required for a new country to enter the alliance.
1893 First Country Allows Women to Vote
With the signing of the Electoral Bill by Governor Lord Glasgow, New Zealand becomes the first country in the world to grant national voting rights to women. The United States granted women the right to vote in 1920, and Great Britain guaranteed full voting rights for women in 1928.
NIGERIA
Ghosts Feeding Kids
The Story
The federal government school feeding program has discovered 349 non-existent schools in the list of the program's beneficiaries in Nasarawa state.
How did this come to light?
The program's enumeration committee, led by Mallam Abdullahi Usman, made the disclosure during a courtesy call on Governor Abdullahi Sule at the Nasarawa state Government House, Lafia. Usman said 1,203 public primary schools in the state were captured as beneficiaries when the program began, but after verification, the committee found that 349 of the schools were non-existent, but were smuggled into the list by officials who pocketed the funds meant for those schools.
Have the culprits been punished?
Usman explained that two key officials of the program in the State - the state program officer and the consultant - were suspended and replaced. He added that in response to the discovery, top officials in the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in Abuja considered the removal of Nasarawa State from the scheme, but the decision was overruled to avoid punishing the poor school children that should benefit from the scheme. Source
AFRICA
Paracetamol Problems
The Story
Gambian authorities have suspended the sales and import of paracetamol syrups in response to recent deaths of children under the age of five.
Have the deaths been linked to the medicine?
Investigations are ongoing to determine if the medicines are responsible for the deaths. But according to the country’s health service director, Mustapha Bittaye, autopsies conducted on dozens of the children who have died within the last three months “suggest the possibility of paracetamol.” Doctors are said to be suspecting a link as the deaths have followed kidney injuries in children who took paracetamol syrups to treat fever.
Did the children all take the same brand of syrup?
That's not stated, but the chances of that are slim. The complete ban on all types of the medicine is to tackle the problem from the source, to identify any incidence of poor quality or outright counterfeit syrups flooding the country, and to prevent avoidable deaths since no specific type has been identified as the cause of the deaths. This again highlights the lingering challenge of counterfeit drugs which the West African region has not been able to successfully eradicate.
As much as a third of medicines sold in some parts of Africa are fake, according to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC). Poverty, access to over-the-counter sales without prescription, and the absence of a clear distinction between fake and genuine products have been identified as factors driving the crisis. Stakeholders are hoping that innovative health tech startups can help support governments' efforts in addressing the menace. Source
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NORTH AMERICA
No Flo'rry of Space
The Story
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has reiterated his position that there's no space for migrants in the state, and he's ready to exhaust the $12m budget for relocating migrants from the state.
There's a budget for that?
Yes, there's a provision for $12m in the state's 2022 budget for transporting "unauthorized aliens”. On Friday, DeSantis disclosed his intention to use “every penny” of the allocated funds. "These are just the beginning efforts. We’ve got an infrastructure in place now. There’s going to be a lot more that’s happening", the Republican governor said at a news conference in Daytona Beach, where he disclosed that the state has deployed officials to Texas to prevent migrants intending to cross to Florida from doing so.
Where is he sending the migrants to?
The illegal immigrants are being sent to states controlled by Democrats, designated as sanctuary states. To highlight the record influx of illegal immigrants at the southern border, a situation that has overwhelmed many border towns, DeSantis recently sent two planes carrying 50 illegal immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, a summer vacation spot in Massachusetts that is popular among wealthy elites, and where president Biden got majority of the votes in 2020. "We’re continuing to use every tool at our disposal to insulate the state of Florida from the negative ramifications of his [Biden] reckless border policies", DeSantis said in response to criticism from the president.
The influx of illegal immigrants at the southern border has sharply divided Americans and is set to be a major factor in the midterm elections in November. "States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as ‘sanctuary states’ and support for the Biden administration’s open border policies," DeSantis spokesperson Taryn Fenske said in defense of Florida's anti-immigrant policy. Source
QUORA QUESTION
Quora Question: How is Victoria Beckham able to stay slim for so many years?
Luise
That's what David Beckham has told now and it's really badass. He says that unfortunately he is married to a woman who has been eating the same every day for 25 years. Namely, fish and steamed vegetables.
David is a passionate cook and gourmet. And he says that he can never share a meal with her. She has only tried something from his plate once, when she was pregnant with Harper, their daughter.
David says that was the best night of their marriage.
"Sharing food" creates oxytocin, the love and cuddle hormone.
And to get along without enjoying the meal together, I imagine that would be terrible.
He must really love her incredibly to accept that for 25 years.
Nigeria, Morocco begin 5,600km gas pipeline project
Many Nigerians ‘stranded’ in UAE are ex-convicts, says Dabiri-Erewa
Court declines FG’s request for ASUU resumption
Osinbajo, world leaders bid Queen Elizabeth farewell Monday
Students to ground Lagos airport, police threaten showdown
ADC expels presidential candidate, over ‘anti-party activities’
Police teargas Obi’s supporters at rally in Ebonyi
FedEx is in serious damage control mode
Elon Musk is now the only person richer than India’s Gautam Adani
Biden says US forces would defend Taiwan from Chinese invasion
ENTRY LEVEL RECRUITMENT
Graduate Trainee Recruitment at Creditville Limited
Creditville Limited is looking for confident, highly motivated and self-driven young graduates wishing to make a career in the financial services sector of the economy. Selected candidates will be hired as Management Trainees, and undergo a structured training and competence-building program to equip them for top-level performance.
Creditville has evolved into a proprietary fintech firm offering a variety of services (loans, leases, finance, investment, asset management, banking, foreign exchange, and real estate).
Applicants should be no more than 28 years old, and hold a Bachelor's Degree, passed at minimum of Second-Class Upper division level in Social Sciences, Management Sciences, Information Technology, Humanities and Arts. Previous work experience is not required.
Salary: N100,000 monthly.
Method of Application: Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV to: recruitment@creditville.ng using the Job position as the subject of the email.
FEATURE
2023: Another Chance To Right The Wrongs
The role of politics in the life of a country is unrivaled. As a matter of fact, everything - good or bad - in a country is a direct result of the kind of politics in the country. Vernon Van Dyke, in his definition of politics, said politics is the struggle among actors pursuing conflicting interests on public issues.
From this definition, Dyke limits politics to the public realm, and while his definition is correct, politics is not restricted to the public realm, as it takes place everywhere, including in the private sector and even in our private lives. But that's not our focus here, our focus is on the struggle among actors pursuing conflicting interests on public issues.
The interests of political actors are the basis of any outcome of political activities. The interest of the founding fathers of the United States of America was to build a country that can reach its full potential and become unrivaled on the international stage. Their interest was for the country, not for themselves, and that interest for the country shaped their actions and inactions that birthed an America that has been the greatest country in the world in the last century.
EXPLAINER: Buhari and Osinbajo will be abroad on Monday — who will be in charge of Nigeria? The Cable
The 20 biggest banks in the world. Fxssi
Actors who refused to return for sequels. Ranker
Here’s a guide to interrupting colleagues without annoying them. Harvard Business Review
This 30-year-old makes $114,000 a month in passive income. CNBC
TRIVIA
- People with poor mental health are violent. True/False?
- Mental illness is caused by..?
WORD FOR THE DAY
OUR ARCHIVE
Written by Seun, Mercy, Kingsley, and Tosin.
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