President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the heinous murder of Adamawa State politician, Hon. Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, Imo State capital, by yet-to-be-identified gunmen yesterday.He vowed that the federal government would spare no efforts in bringing the killers of Gulak, an All Progressives Congress chieftain, to justice.The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abutu Yaro, says a combined team of operatives of the command’s Tactical Units, Intelligence Response Team, and Police Mobile Force had killed the suspected killers of Gulak.Gulak was a consultant to the Constitution Review Committee whose assignment to Owerri ended last Thursday after a two-day public hearing.

The WHO says Africa needs at least 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine within six weeks if those who have had their first shot are to get the second in time.The World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti in a statement says Africa needs vaccines nowIt says any pause in the vaccination campaigns will lead to lost lives and lost hope.The WHO statement underlined the importance of respecting the recommended interval of eight to 12 weeks between doses to ensure a recipient’s prolonged 81-per cent protection rate.The statement added that another 200 million doses of any WHO Emergency Use Listed COVID-19 vaccine are needed so that the continent can vaccinate 10% of its population by September 2021.

US President Joe Biden has called for a ceasefire in Ethiopia's conflict in the northern region of Tigray.His comments are the strongest yet from the US about the conflict in Tigray and come as relations between Washington and Addis Ababa continue to deteriorate.The US announced visa restrictions against unnamed current or former Ethiopian and Eritrean officials that it sees as responsible or complicit in rights abuses as well as hindering a peaceful resolution to the fighting.Ethiopian says if the US continues to interfere in its internal affairs, it could be forced to reassess its ties with Washington.

Ex-President Jacob Zuma has failed in his attempt to recoup the personal costs he has incurred while challenging the constitutionality of the ongoing corruption inquiry against him.South Africa's Constitutional Court struck his application off the roll on Thursday when his legal team missed a deadline to file the appeal record.It means the former president will have the shoulder those costs of 10m rands himself.The State Capture Commission of inquiry was set up in 2018 to investigate corruption in state institutions.

The German government has confirmed more than a billion dollars in development aid for Namibia in a statement that recognised the genocidal killings carried out by colonial settlers against indigenous people in the first years of the 20th Century.Germany's Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, says his country bore historical and moral responsibility for the atrocities.He says Germany would ask forgiveness from Namibia and the victims' descendants.

Nigeria has signed an offshore oil deal with Shell, Exxon, Total and Eni, that the state says will generate millions, settle disputes and open the way to a $10 billion investment.The Execution of Oil Mining Lease 118 Agreements was signed Tuesday by the local subsidiaries of the four oil majors and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.NNPC head Mele Kyari says the agreement also brings immediate income for the government in the excess of $780 million and an opportunity to resolve a $9 billion which he did not specify.Kyari says that he hoped the agreement would be an opportunity for investors to see that this country is open for business.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has denied allegations suggesting that N2 billion was paid to his office from the recovered funds.The Minister noted that it was on the basis of the application of the said funds in line with the agreements that Nigeria earns a reputation among the international committee of nations which translated into further recoveries.He said the Federal Government has a designated account at the Central Bank of Nigeria for all recovered assets, adding that neither he as a person nor as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has in any way received any funds from the recovered assets.

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff.A statement signed and released by military spokesperson Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu.The statement says Major-General Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counterterrorism, Counter-Insurgency military outfit in the North East code-named Operation HADIN KAI.President Buhari had described the late officers as heroes who paid the ultimate price for peace and security in the land.

EU leaders welcomed the introduction of a bloc-wide COVID-19 pass that they hope will unlock a tourist surge this summer. The 27 member states want the EU Digital Covid Certificate, to be launched July 1, to turn the page on coronavirus restrictions that have crimped Europeans’ cherished freedom of movement.European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a media conference after the summit that more than 300 million Covid-19 vaccine doses will have been delivered by the end of this week, rising to 400 million next month.

The UK government has warned of the risk of famine within months in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, calling the situation catastrophic.Special envoy on famine prevention, Nick Dyer, made the assessment during a visit to the region, which is being devastated by conflict.Mr Dyer says atrocities were continuing, citing harrowing reports of killings and rapes.He described the destruction of farm tools, seeds, and indeed of whole villages. Mr Dyer warned that ill health was as much a threat to people as starvation.Troops from neighbouring Eritrea are still fighting in the region – having been invited in by Ethiopia to help their army defeat a rebellion by local Tigrayan forces, which are now labelled terrorists by the Ethiopian authorities.