Cities and renewable electricity have, respectively, become the habitat and energy of choice globally. The two are increasingly inseparable. Urbanization and electrification trends have turned cities and the grid into leading platforms for human activity, presenting unique opportunities for today’s utilities to partner with municipalities to achieve their smart city goals.

For many low income college students, school closures due to COVID-19 has affected the way they feed themselves. Read more...

Last week, we announced a number of actions we are taking to support our people and community during the global COVID-19 crisis. Today, we’re pleased to provide more detail about one of those actions, which, with the help of registrars, will make it easier for domain name registrants worldwide to keep their domain names in […]

The post Verisign Will Waive Wholesale Restore Fee to Help Registrants Keep Their Domain Names During COVID-19 Crisis appeared first on Verisign Blog.

The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to open their mutual borders on 15 May for their residents, prime ministers of the countries said on Wednesday. However, people arriving from any other country to the Baltic three will have to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine. Most member states within the EU's passport-free Schengen zone have closed their borders in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

Stanford, Oxford and Georgetown universities have won praise for promising to purge their endowments of direct investments in coal, embracing the fight against climate change.

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Hot on the heels of our guide to credit hire essentials we find that the enforceability of the credit hire agreements themselves is back on the agenda. In the case of Wei v Cambridge Power and Light Company (2010) the court decided in an appeal hear...

On 23 April 2020, the President announced that from 1 May 2020, lockdown would be extended at level 4 – which provides for reduced restrictions. On 29 April 2020, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, published and is...

A document seen by SaharaReporters has exposed how serving and retired Nigerian judges are illegally preparing ways for their children and relatives to take over the country’s judicial system in future.

According to the document put together by Open Bar Initiative, out of the 33 names recently recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari by the National Judiciary Council for appointment as judges in the Federal Capital Territory High Court, only 11 met the criteria set out in the employment guideline of the council.

The NJC had on April 26, 2020 approved the appointment of 33 judges for the FCT High Court.

SaharaReporters gathered that 22 out of the 33 candidates presented to President Buhari made the list only because they were related to serving senior members of the judiciary or close aides and members of the NJC. 

Also, states that already have judges in the FCT High Court were reconsidered and given slots while no one was considered qualified for appointment in Ebonyi, a state that has no existing judge.

Section 255 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), pegged qualification for becoming a judge in the High Court of the FCT to a minimum of 10 years qualification as a legal practitioner. 

Also Rule 4 of the NJC appointment of judges’ procedure, indicated only four classes of lawyers, who are qualified to apply and be recommended to be appointed as judges of a high court.

These are legal practitioners in private practice, legal practitioners in public service, who are legal officers, chief registrar of a court, and chief magistrates.

Those listed in the document seen by SaharaReporters among the 33 nominees to be considered as judges by President Buhari but, who are not qualified include Njideka K. Nwosu-Iheme, a Grade 1 Magistrate, who is the daughter of Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court and daughter-in-law to Justice Nwosu-Iheme of the Court of Appeal, Agashieze Cyprian Odinaka, a Deputy Director at FCTA whose sister is the Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal in Akure, Ondo State, Fatima Abubakar Aliyu, a judiciary worker, who is the daughter of immediate-past President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Bulkachuwa, Kanyip Rosemary Indinya, a senior magistrate at FCT and wife of the President of the National Industrial Court and sister of a member of the National Judicial Council.

Others are Mimi Anne Katsina Alu-Apena, a senior magistrate and daughter of late Kastina Alu, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Enenche Eleojo, Assistant Director at FCT High Court and Personal Assistant to the Chief Judge, FCT High Court, Madugu Mohammed Alhaji, Josephine Obanor Enobie, Kayode Agunloye, Nwabulu Ngozika Chineze and Abubakar Babashani, who are senior staff of the FCT High Court but have not attained the rank of chief registrar as stipulated by the constitution.

The list also includes one one Aliyu Halilu Ahmed, a Deputy Chief Registrar from Adamawa State judiciary, who has not attained the rank of a chief registrar.

The rest are Aminu Muhammad Abdullahi, Nwecheonwu Chinyere Elewe, Ibrahim Mohammed, Sadia Mu’azu Mayana, Aliyu Yunusa Shafa, Mohammed Zubairu, Binta Dogonyaro, Christopher Opeyemi Oba and Hafsat Lawan Abba-Aliyu, all magistrates from the FCT judiciary, who are not up to the rank of a chief magistrate as stipulated in Rule 4 of the NJC appointment of judges procedure.

SaharaReporters also gathered that one Olufola Olufolashade Oshin did not participate in the processes leading up to selection, interview or obtaining recommendation from a Chief Judge of a state but her name was inserted into the final list transmitted to President Buhari at the instigation of some senior judicial officers believed to be top members of the Supreme Court.

Reacting to the development, Open Bar Initiative said, “The suggestion that judicial service in Nigeria is an inheritance transmitted from parents to children is not supported by the constitution or any other instrument under Nigerian law. 

“This is an abuse of the constitution by those who must nominate judges for appointment.”

Co-convener of Open Bar Initiative and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, while reacting to the situation, said, “These are not just unqualified nominees, they are bad nominees because only bad people will want to become judges through smuggling. They will make bad judges, we should resist them and their sponsors.”

Voicing his displeasure on Twitter, a user with the handle @AbdulMahmud01, said, “Have you seen the list of newly appointed FCT judges approved by NJC? It is a parade of children of former CJN, retired Supreme Court justices and judges. NJC is simply put: a corrupt council of corrupt interests.”

Another user, @KennyAdazie, while sharing her thoughts on the issue, said, “The only people that can take back Nigeria are the youth. 

“If we don’t come out to stop this madness, the charade will continue. When they strategically place their own, they pave way for #impunities and come 2023, there is nothing you can do! The reason our legal system is in ruins.”

German-Luxembourg cross-border commuters Luxembourg and Germany have concluded a mutual agreement (Verständigungsvereinbarung) for Covid 19 related home office activities (für Corona bedingte Home Office Tätigkeiten) on 3 April 2020,...

By Sunday Oguntuyi, Osogbo Residents of Ako community, Ikire in Irewole local government area of Osun state has expressed appreciation to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Commissioner for Finance, Mr Bola Oyebamiji for helping to restore electricity to the area after years of darkness. Speaking on behalf of the community,  one of their leaders, Pastor Raphael […]

The post Osun community lauds Oyetola, Oyebamiji for restoring electricity In their area appeared first on Hallmarknews.

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To mark Mother's Day 2020, the hosts and reporters of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network expressed their appreciation to their mothers and all the moms across America who are helping their families through the coronavirus pandemic. ......

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A top police officer told me an interesting story about the siege of Polytechnic University last year, when anti-government protesters of the militant persuasion had occupied the campus. He recalled intercepting and arresting a group of youngsters trying to flee the war zone and how he was struck by the reaction of a petrified teenager among them when she was being booked. “Absolutely terrified, shaking,” was how he remembered her. “She thinks I will take her around the back and shoot her…

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With the help of their webs, spiders are capable of foresight, planning, learning and other smarts that indicate they may possess consciousness