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 INEC RELEASES FINAL LIST FOR KANO STATE ASSEMBLY  BYE ELECTIONS  Ahead of the bye elections to fill vacant seats at the Kano State House of Assembly for Ungoggo and Kano Municipal consiteuncies the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano has released the final list of candidates and political parties contesting the elections. Resident Electoral Commissioner Abdu Zango disclosed this during a media briefing, where he assured residents of the commission’s commitment to conduct a free, fair, and credible electoral process. Aisha Uba Ali reports reports that the bye elections are scheduled to hold on the 21st of February.  The Kano state house of assembly  bye election  is aimed at filling the vacant seats of two members who passed away late last year. Resident electoral commissioner,  Abdu Zango says nine political parties have duly submitted their candidates, adding that the published list represents the final list for the elections. De...

 Maldives rejects UK-Mauritius Chagos deal, moves to reclaim lost maritime zone The Maldives said that it objected to a UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Islands to transfer Chagos sovereignty to Mauritius from the UK. Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu told parliament that the government formally submitted objections to the UK on November 8, 2024, and January 18, 2026, expressing “rejection of this decision.” A statement from the presidential office said Muizzu noted that during a December 15 call with British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, “he conveyed the Maldives' desire for further consultations on the matter.” Muizzu told lawmakers that legal proceedings have commenced to recover the maritime area lost following the ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, TRT Afrika reported. He also announced the government’s decision to rescind a letter sent by former Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Mauritius on August 22, 2022, which recognised Mauritian s...

Teen swims for four hours to rescue family stranded at sea off Australia   A 13-year-old boy in Western Australia swam for four hours through rough seas to get help for his family, a feat rescuers called “superhuman.” Austin Appelbee covered roughly 2.5 miles of ocean after his mother and two younger siblings were swept out to sea while kayaking and paddle-boarding on Friday afternoon. The teen told reporters he was terrified but focused on surviving and reaching shore. He initially swam with a life jacket but later removed it to move more freely. To keep his spirits up, he thought of friends and even sang the “Thomas the Tank Engine” theme song while battling massive waves using a mix of breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke. Upon reaching the beach, Austin called emergency services and reported that his family was stranded at sea. Marine rescue volunteer Paul Bresland said the boy’s efforts saved his family, who were found clinging to a paddleboard off Quindalup. Bresland ...

Comedians reach settlement in copyright lawsuit against Pandora      A group of stand-up comedians, including Bill Engvall, Lewis Black, and the estates of George Carlin and Robin Williams, has reached a settlement in their consolidated copyright infringement lawsuit against Pandora Media over the streaming of their routines without licenses for the underlying written material. The settlement was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court, though the terms were not disclosed. Pandora’s lead counsel, Paul Fakler, noted that the company did not pay for the literary rights to the comedians’ written jokes and will not acquire a license for them moving forward. Fakler described the resolution as ending a “multi-year hard-fought litigation” and sparing both sides further expense and distraction. The lawsuit followed claims that Pandora streamed routines without proper rights to the written works behind the performances. A court-appointed special master had previously recom...

 New York judge blasts Trump’s timing in attempt to overturn hush money conviction A New York federal judge on Wednesday indicated he is unlikely to approve President Donald Trump’s request to move his so-called “hush money” case from state court to federal court in Manhattan, where Trump hopes to argue presidential immunity could overturn his 2024 conviction for falsifying business records to conceal payments meant to bury negative press before the 2016 election. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Bill Clinton appointee, told Trump’s lawyers during nearly three hours of oral arguments that simply being unhappy with the outcome in state court does not justify moving the case. “The fact that someone is unhappy with the strategic decision they got does not render it good cause,” Hellerstein said. Trump was convicted in May 2024 on 34 felony counts after a Manhattan jury found he directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels and d...

 Tropical storm kills 8, displaces thousands in Philippines after flooding and landslide  A tropical storm unleashed widespread flooding and triggered a deadly landslide across parts of the southern Philippines, killing at least eight people and forcing more than 28,000 residents from their homes. The storm made landfall late Thursday in the southeastern province of Surigao del Sur, bringing torrential rain that inundated low-lying communities and left some residents trapped inside their houses in heavily flooded villages. By Friday night, the system had weakened into a tropical depression as it moved toward the central Philippines, but dangerous conditions persisted across multiple provinces. Four members of a family — a couple and their two children — were killed when a landslide struck their makeshift home in a quarry area of southern Cagayan de Oro city after intense rainfall destabilized the hillside. Elsewhere, three people drowned in floodwaters in Iligan city, while an...