Hiicy Blog

Tinubu launches e-market portal, integrity brigade for women

Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has said President Bola Tinubu will, March 7, launch e-market portal, transparency and integrity brigade for women.

She said the portal will link manufacturers, buyers, sellers and others in the marketing chain to encouraging entrepreneurship, skill acquisition and self-reliance, while the brigade will monitor and ensure safety of women and children against abuse.

The minister spoke at a conference for commissioners of ministries of Women Affairs organised by Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC), supported by European Union and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

She said Federal Government will bring on board the brigade of which the commissioners are part of.

Lagos state will will formulate policies and implement programmes to promote growth of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) to consolidate the state’s position as industrial and commercial capital of the country,

Cooperatives, Trade and Industry (CCTI) Commissioner, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, spoke during the maiden stakeholders’ meeting with Business Membership Organisations (BMOS) to navigate the economic challenges.

She said the meeting would seek solutions in the face of global challenges. “Together, we need to discuss what we can do to promote diversification among small businesses by focusing more on achieving hundred per cent local content in production, to grow foreign exchange earnings,” she noted.

Seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the murders of well-known South African rapper Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA, and his close friend, celebrity chef and entrepreneur Tebello "Tibz" Motshoane.

The two were gunned down outside a restaurant in Durban a year ago, in a killing that shocked South Africans. Police said hitmen were paid to target AKA but no motive was revealed.

The suspects, all aged below 36, are due to appear in court on Thursday. "It was clear that AKA was monitored from the airport and Tibz was not the intended target in the murder on Florida Road in Durban," Lt Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, said in a press briefing on Tuesday night.

"We know they were paid for this," Lt Gen Mkwananzi added. He said that the accused men played different roles in the plot to kill AKA.

The suspects who are behind bars include two gunmen who allegedly fired several rounds at the victims, three spotters who are accused of following AKA from Durban's airport, someone who allegedly sourced the fi****ms which were used in the ambush, as well as the alleged mastermind.

India and South Africa on Wednesday blocked a China-led initiative on investment facilitation at the WTO, in a move that will make it unlikely for the proposed Investment Facilitation Development to be part of the WTO agenda and outcome.

Officials said the two nations protested and filed a formal objection as China brought in the issue at a session on development. Around 52 countries made statements at the session and the proponents have sought separate deliberative sessions on the issue.

India and South Africa's objection was on three grounds - exclusive consensus is needed to bring in any issue on the agenda, it's debatable if the proposed pact is a trade agreement and it can't be called an agreement since the signatories haven't ratified.

Ghana’s parliament on Wednesday unanimously passed a controversial anti-homosexuality bill that has drawn international condemnation.

“After three long years, we have finally passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act,” said Sam George, one of the main sponsors of the bill on social media.

The bill, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes LGBTQ relationships, but also those who support LGBTQ rights.

African countries still widely criminalize same-sex activity, mostly because of colonial era laws. But a raft of recent bills and proposed laws across Africa have looked to clarify and, in some cases, strengthen those laws.

A recent CNN investigation uncovered alleged links between a US nonprofit and the drafting of the homophobic laws. The group denied those links.

The bill in Ghana still needs to be signed off by the country’s president before it becomes law.

The United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk called parliament’s passing of the bill “profoundly disturbing” and urged the government not to sign it into law.

“The bill broadens the scope of criminal sanctions against le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and q***r people – simply for being who they are – and threatens criminal penalties against perceived allies of LGBTQ+ people,” he said.

The Mauritania Football Federation has appointed Spanish trainer Aritz Lopez Garai (43) to lead the U20 national team.

Lopez Garai was hired by Mauritanian champions FC Nouadhibou in February 2023 and guided them to the CAF Champions League group stage for the first-ever time.

South Africa knock Morocco OUT

⌚️ FULL-TIME!
Mohamed Bayo's last minute header wins it for Guinea. 🇬🇳

AFCON2023

⌚️ FULL-TIME!
DR Congo wins the game after dramatic penalty shootouts.

AFCON2023

Jonathan Majors Dropped From Dennis Rodman Movie After Assault Conviction

Jonathan Majors has lost a buzzy upcoming film role after his recent assault conviction. The actor will no longer be playing controversial basketball player Dennis Rodman in a film with the working title “48 Hours In Vegas".

The film is set to document the true story of the Bulls’ power forward’s notorious trip to Las Vegas in the middle of the 1998 NBA finals

Jonathan Majors was convicted on Dec. 18 of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault during a domestic dispute with his former partner, Grace Jabbari. He is set to be sentenced on Feb. 6 and faces up to a year in jail, but he could also be sentenced to a lesser punishment, like probation.

Welcome