NewsReports

The West African Examinations Council has released the examination date, time and duration for subjects to be taken in the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, The PUNCH can confirm. According to a copy of the timetable obtained by our correspondent from WAEC Nigeria, candidates would sit for Mathematics on August 17 and write English Language papers on August 26. It …

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) – A massive explosion ripped through central Beirut on Tuesday, killing dozens of people, injuring thousands and blowing out windows in buildings across the city.The blast near Beirut’s port sent up a huge mushroom cloud-shaped shockwave, flipping cars and damaging distant buildings. It was felt as far as Cyprus, hundreds of miles away, and registered as a …

NEW JERSEY — Citing a coronavirus transmission rate nearly double what it was a month ago, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday he was limiting indoor gatherings to 25 people and to 25 percent capacity per room, reversing a previous increase to 100 people. He said the reversal would not apply to weddings, funerals, or any religious or political activity protected by the First Amendment, …

ACROSS AMERICA — Some states in the Midwest that had not previously seen high coronavirus infection numbers are now reporting surges in case counts. Missouri, Montana and Oklahoma are among the states seeing the largest percentages of case surges over the past week, according to data analyzed by the Washington Post. This comes as only “slight progress” has been made on a second …

Bristow Helicopters has announced the sack of over 100 pilots and engineers in its employ. The aviation company also said it had engaged with the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) to negotiate a fair and equitable redundancy compensation for those affected. Industry sources said this might be a reaction to the picketing and grounding of the company’s …

The federal government says it spent about N523.3 million on school feeding programme during the coronavirus induced lockdown. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Farouq, said this on Monday during the Presidential Taskforce briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja. Ms Farouk said about 124,589 households benefited across the FCT, Lagos and Ogun states. The minister spoke against the backdrop of allegations of corruption …

The Niger Delta Development Commission has said the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, stands by the list of contractors he released in which he named some lawmakers, including ex-governors as NDDC contractors. It said the names emanated from files in the possession of the forensic auditors, adding that it was part of the volume of 8,000 documents handed …

The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd.), on Tuesday said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has again expressed his dissatisfaction over the security situation in the country. He said the President has therefore ordered “an immediate re-engineering of the entire security apparatus.” Monguno disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents of the outcome of a meeting …

The West African Examinations Council has released the timetable for the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, The PUNCH has learnt. The Federal Government had announced the resumption of graduating pupils beginning August 4, noting that WASSCE would begin effective August 17, 2020 through September 12, 2020. WAEC Nigeria in a statement on Tuesday signed by its Head of Public Affairs, …

More than one week following incident, global outrage and condemnation continue to trail the politically motivated attack launched against PDP dignitaries, among them governors who were at the Benin Palace to pay obeisance to the Great Benin King, Oba Ewuare II. The latest of such reactions is coming from Concerned Edo State Indigenes in Toronto, Canada who condemned the attack …