Programs

Spain’s prime minister on Friday has called an early general election for April 28 that will likely highlight the deep political divisions in the country. The news that Spaniards are having to go to the polls for the third in less than four years came after the minority Socialist government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, lost a budget vote in Parliament. Sanchez, who was already under pressure from within his own party ranks to…

COMMERCIAL OIL production in Ghana is projected to increase to 500,000 barrels per day by 2024. The Finance Ministry is said to have made the announcement to investors in Oslo, Norway on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is leading a government of Ghana delegation to Norway, and Finance Ministry press release made available to DGN Online indicated that overall crude oil production from Ghana was expected to more than double over the…

Zimbabwean authorities are expected to start retrieving trapped illegal gold miners on Friday but none are expected to have survived flooding in the shafts and the number of casualties could be about 50, state media reported. The accident in Battlefields, 175 km (109 miles) west of Harare, has highlighted the safety issues in illegal gold miners, who last year contributed significantly to the record bullion output of 33 tonnes in the southern African nation. The…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday dissociated himself and his government from the comments of his aides and allies who have been issuing threats to members of the diplomatic corps and foreign election observers over the general elections. He said such threats did not represent the position of the Federal Government. Buhari said this in his nationwide broadcast ahead of the Saturday’s presidential election. Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; the Chief of Staff to the President,…

The Federal government has announced the closure of all land borders from 12 noon on Friday, February 15, 2019, till 12 noon on Sunday, February 17, 2019.   According to a statement by Muhammad Babandede, Comptroller General of Immigration (CGI), the closure is to restrict movement across the borders and prevent foreigners, who may attempt to participate in the elections, from entering the country.   The CGI said: “Further to the presidential election taking place…

Belgian airports cancelled almost all flights on Wednesday due to a national strike over pay and working conditions that halted activity at ports, hit public transport and led to blockades outside factories. Belgian air traffic control body Skeyes shut Belgian airspace for 24 hours from 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Tuesday because it could not guarantee enough staff would turn up. Brussels Airport, the country’s busiest hub, said it had planned to handle 591 passenger…

All 78 inmates of a prison in southern Haiti have escaped from captivity, according to the country’s police. The detainees reportedly made their escape from Aquin prison while police were distracted by anti-government protests nearby Haiti’s national police force said it has launched an investigation into the incident. It comes after days of demonstrations against President Jovenel Moise, which have left at least four people dead. Speaking with Haiti newspaper Le Nouvelliste, Chief Inspector Ralph…

The International Court of Justice on Wednesday will give its decision on a bid by Iran to recover $2 billion in frozen assets that the United States says must be paid to terror victims. The US Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that Iran must give the cash to survivors and relatives of victims of attacks blamed on Tehran, including the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut. Iran said the US decision breached…

PROGRESSIVE Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has petitioned the High Court seeking an order to reverse last month’s 150% fuel price hike made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, arguing that the move was illegal and unconstitutional. PTUZ filed the urgent chamber application alongside its secretary-general Raymond Majongwe, who filed in his personal capacity, while Mnangagwa, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, Energy minister Joram Gumbo and the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority were cited as co-respondents. The move to…

A top American general is claiming that Washington is “right on track with” its supposed Syria withdrawal. US Army General Joseph Votel, head of the US Central Command, made the comments Monday long after President Donald Trump ordered withdrawal of ground forces from war ravaged Syria. “In terms of the withdrawal … I think we’re right on track with where we wanted to be,” Votel told reporters travelling with him during a trip to the…