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 The Deputy Governor of Kaduna state Hadiza Balarabe has participated at a virtual meeting of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (#UNODC) The Deputy Governor says the invitation reflects the strong and growing partnership between UNODC and Kaduna State, a partnership that has supported the efforts to confront the complex challenges of substance use with clarity, compassion and courage as for many years, the global response to substance use disorder has relied heavily on punishment.  This approach filled  prisons but failed to heal our communities. That is why  Kaduna State is  choosing another path. recognizing  that the cycle of addiction and incarceration is not a moral failure. It is a public health challenge that demands a humane, integrated answer. That answer is what we call “The Kaduna Model”. A foundation rests firmly on human rights replacing restrictive colonial-era laws with the Kaduna State Mental Health Bill, which affirms mental heal...

 Chinese Ambassador visits President Tinubu President Bola Ahmed Tinubu received in audience the Chinese Ambassador, H.E. Mr Yu Dunhai, and another official of the embassy , Mr Zhu Songbo, on Friday. Photo State House.  More details later and more photos below. 

 STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE President Tinubu constitutes the boards of NADF, Bank of Agriculture and UBEC President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced the constitution of the boards of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, appointed in July, continues to serve as chair of the UBEC Board. Uchendu Ikechi Mbaegbulem has been appointed to represent the South East, while Gift Ngo represents the South South. Mrs Ibiwunmi Akinnola will represent the South West on the board, Dr Meiro Mandara the North East, Dr Abdu Imam Saulawa the North West, and Professor Paul Ibukun-Olu Bolorunduro the North Central. The chairman and members of the board shall hold office for a term of four years in the first instance. President Tinubu confirmed the appointments of Muhammad Babangida as chairman and Ayo Sotinrin as managing director of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), as previously an...

 Congo fighting flares within hours of Trump's peace deal ceremony Fighting raged in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Congolese and Rwandan leaders in Washington to sign new deals aimed at ending years of conflict in a region rich in minerals. Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's Paul Kagame on Thursday reaffirmed commitments to a U.S.-brokered deal reached in June to stabilise the vast country and open the way for more Western mining investment, Reuters reported. "We're settling a war that's been going on for decades," said Trump, whose administration has intervened in a string of conflicts around the world to burnish his credentials as a peacemaker and advance U.S. business interests. On the ground however, fierce fighting continued with the warring sides blaming one another. The Rwandan-backed AFC/M23 rebel group, which seized the two largest cities in eastern Congo earlier this ye...

 Theodor Pištěk, Czech Oscar-winning costume designer, dies at 93  Theodor Pištěk, the celebrated Czech costume and stage designer, painter, and Academy Award winner best known for his work on the film Amadeus, has died at the age of 93. He passed away on Wednesday at his home in the town of Mukařov, east of Prague, with the news confirmed by his family. Born Oct. 25, 1932, in Prague to parents who were both actors, Pištěk grew up immersed in the arts and later graduated from Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts in 1958. He began building his reputation in Czech cinema in the late 1950s, creating striking historical costumes for films directed by František Vláčil, including Marketa Lazarová and The Valley of the Bees, which are now regarded as classics of Czech filmmaking. Pištěk’s international breakthrough came through his longtime collaboration with director Miloš Forman, whom he befriended during their mandatory military service in communist Czechoslovakia. Despite Forman emigrat...

Russia tightens control of online communications with FaceTime restrictions Russian authorities announced new restrictions this week on Apple’s video calling service FaceTime, marking another escalation in the government’s long-running campaign to tighten control over online communications. The country’s state internet regulator claimed the platform was being used to organize terrorist activity, recruit individuals for crimes, commit fraud, and carry out other illegal acts. Alongside the FaceTime restrictions, officials confirmed that the messaging app Snapchat has also been blocked, a move that was quietly carried out in early October but only publicly disclosed now. Apple has not publicly responded to the allegations. These steps come as Russia continues to expand its digital crackdown following years of growing pressure on foreign tech companies and online platforms. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, the government has steadily restricted public access to global social ...