SWING

South Africa S Africa anti-racism protests over ‘whites-only graduation party’ Tear gas fired outside Cape Town school after ‘private’ graduation party to which only white students were invited. ©2020 Samuel Oni  

Donald Trump faced growing pressure from Republicans on Sunday to drop his chaotic, last-ditch fight to overturn the US presidential election, as victor Joe Biden prepared to start naming his cabinet and a Pennsylvania judge compared Trump’s legal case there to “Frankenstein’s monster”. Despite Republican leadership in Washington standing behind the president’s claims that the 3 November election was stolen from him by nationwide voter fraud, other prominent figures, including two of his former national security advisers, were blunt. Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton said that Biden would be sworn in in January and added: “The real question is how much damage Trump can do before that happens.” The president’s efforts were designed mainly to sow chaos and confusion, he told CNN’s State of the Union show, as a demonstration more of “raw political power” than a genuine legal exercise. Trump one of the 'most irresponsible presidents' in US history, Biden says – vid...

       Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has described as embarrassing Federal Government’s plan to import petroleum products from Niger Republic. Onuesoke, a former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant said that the pronouncement sounded unbelievable to him because Nigeria has four refineries while Niger Republic has only one. Recall that Ministry of Petroleum Resources announced on Thursday that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Niger Republic to import petroleum products from desert country. Reacting to the pronouncement while addressing aviation correspondents at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Onuesoke said it is a shame that Nigeria will import fuel from desert Niger Republic because Nigeria cannot maintain its four refineries, adding that what the pronouncement meant is that Nigeria could soon import cassava for her garri consumption. “ What a sad commentary. I watched Timipre Silva on television desc...

The federal government has concluded plans to slash the levy to be paid on imported cars from 35 percent to five percent. This is contained in the draft bill of the 2020 finance bill to be presented to the national assembly. The bill becomes law after it is passed by the legislature and assented by President Muhammadu Buhari. Details of the bill shared by the presidency also show that the import duty of tractors and motor vehicles for the transportation of goods has been slashed from 35 percent to 10 percent. The bill also grants tax relief to companies that donated to the COVID-19 relief fund under the private sector-led Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID). To improve ease of doing business, the bill also proposes that software acquisition now qualifies as capital expenditure. Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, had previously explained that the reduction in import duties and levies is targeted at reducing the cost of transportation. “The reason for ...

     Conservative  government says agreement paves the way for new bespoke deal with Canada Mattha Busby  The UK and Canada have agreed to continue trading under the same terms as the current EU agreement after the  Brexit  transition period ends. The Conservative government said the agreement paved the way for negotiations to begin next year on a new comprehensive deal with  Canada , which has long been trumpeted as one of the benefits of the UK leaving the EU. Labour urged the government to secure continuity arrangements with other key trading partners before the end of the year. Boris Johnson and his Canadian counterpart,  Justin Trudeau , made the “agreement in principle” in a video call on Saturday, the Department for International Trade (DIT) said. The UK prime minister said that work would begin from early next year to negotiate “a new, bespoke trade deal with Canada that will go even further in meeting the needs of our economy”. The d...

Proverbs 21:21    He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness, and honor. This proverb shows the rewards of obedience to God.  When we live righteously and show mercy, the result will be blessings from God (Proverbs 15:9; Psalm 23:6). Whether or not those blessings are physical, they most certainly are spiritual. Our lives are enriched and often prolonged when we follow God’s law (Proverbs 3:1-2). Jesus Christ taught that we show love to God by keeping the commandments of God (John 14:15). Because of our obedience, God shows His love toward us—often with blessings and honor (Psalm 91:14-16; John 12:26). Yet the blessings God grants us are not just limited to this life. In the  world to come , God will give us eternal life, share His divine nature and honor us as kings and priests reigning with Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7; Revelation 5:10).  To read about the ultimate reward for living righteously, read our past Daily Bible Verse Blog “ My ...

   Breathing  pure oxygen may help to reverse the ageing process, scientists claim. Researchers used oxygen therapy to reverse two key indicators of ageing; 35 healthy adults aged 64 and older were placed into pressurised chamber, Sessions lasted 90 minutes and took place for five days a week for three months.  Scientists claim they have successfully reversed the human ageing process in a group of elderly adults in a breakthrough study. Oxygen treatment altered the elderly people's bodies at a cellular level to how they were 25 years earlier, researchers claimed. In a unique study, scientists used oxygen therapy to reverse two key indicators of biological ageing - telomere shortening and an accumulation of malfunctioning senescent cells. As humans age, their bodies experience the shortening of telomeres - the protective caps on chromosomes - which leads to illnesses including cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Senescent cells, or so-called zombie cells, prevent re...