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Dozens of people are injured after several carriages of the Amtrak train came off the tracks.

Oleksandr Usyk shook up the heavyweight division to become a two-weight world champion with a stunning win over Anthony Joshua for the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles on Saturday.

The Ukrainian dominated much of the fight, rocking Joshua in the third round and the seventh round, and won by the judges' scores of 117-112, 116-112, 115-113.

Usyk improves to 19-0 (13 KOs) while Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) tasted defeat in London for the first time in his career in front of a 68,000 home crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Joshua, the naturally bigger man who has lost the titles for a second time in two years, is now counting the considerable cost of another shock defeat which ends his hopes of fighting English rival Tyson Fury for all four world heavyweight titles next year.

Oleksandr Usyk was crowned as the new unified world heavyweight champion after a unanimous decision win over Anthony Joshua.

Anthony Joshua earlier said he had no intention of vacating any of his heavyweight belts.

The British boxer put his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts on the line against the WBO mandatory challenger from Ukraine in London on Saturday.

Usyk has become the third boxer after Evander Holyfield and David Haye to win world titles at cruiserweight and

The 34-year-old won heavyweight gold at the London 2012 Olympics while Joshua triumphed in the super-heavyweight division.

Before the fight, Joshua weighed in 19 pounds heavier than Usyk.

Britain’s Joshua, 31, tipped the scales at 240 pounds (109 kilograms), with the Ukrainian challenger coming in at a career-high 221.25 pounds.

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Reality Check takes a look at the facts and figures behind the world's nuclear weapons

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A crucial climate change summit is being held in the UK- who's going and what's at stake?

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Ethiopian and Eritrean food is well known globally, but this is your chance to discover Somali cooking.

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The election race could barely be tighter as voters decide who will run Europe's biggest economy.

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Bagosora was serving a 35-year sentence for his role in the massacre of 800,000 people.

The Nigerian Military has captured a dreaded bandits’ leader and cattle rustler, Alhaji Goma Sama’ila.

Samaila was arrested in Kaduna State on Friday evening.

Eyewitnesses’ reports indicated that Sama’ila was responsible for organising several thefts of cows in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and other North-West states of Nigeria.

He was said to have participated in several abductions across the states.

Kaduna State has been plagued with several high profile kidnappings, mass murder and cattle rustling by bandits.

A source said, “Nigerian troops arrested Goma Sama’ila, one of the “most wanted” and notorious bandits’ leaders terrorising Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and other north western states in Nigeria.”

The development comes amid military interventions in the region.

SaharaReporters had reported how the Nigerian Communications Commission in a letter to all telecom operators suspended mobile communications in Zamfara and other states.

In the memo signed by the NCC and directed at the telecos, the suspension of services lasted between September 3 through September 17 in the first instance.

The commission had also said the directive was to enable relevant security agencies to carry out required activities towards addressing the security challenge in the state.

Katsina, despite being the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, has witnessed sporadic attacks by bandits and kidnappers that have claimed the lives of many.

Over 700 people have been reportedly killed by the gunmen in Jibia, Kankara, Dutsinma, Musawa, Danmusa and Safana LGAs of the state in the last five months.

Sokoto State Government had also shut down telecommunications networks in 14 of the 23 local government areas of the state as part of the efforts to check banditry.

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As the 2023 polls draw near, the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has perfected a strategy to impose her younger brother, Mr Mohammed Halilu Modi, as the next Governor of Adamawa State, SaharaReporters has gathered.

SaharaReporters learnt that the First Lady's machination which has torn the Adamawa chapter of the All Progressives Congress apart enjoys the full support of the Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Malam Mai Mala Buni, who is also the Yobe State Governor.

Aisha Buhari

The former Vice-Chairman, North-East Zone, Comrade Mustapha Salihu, and the Financial Secretary of the party, Mr Saidu Naira, were identified as the foot soldiers manipulating the congresses in Adamawa State to facilitate the emergence of the First Lady's brother as the governorship candidate of the APC in the state.

A source noted that the First Lady's brother has not held any known public office, neither has he worked as a civil servant his entire life.

SaharaReporters was told that as part of the preparation to ensure that her brother was tutored for the job of a governor, Aisha recently sent Modi to the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State, to study, while the President's wife perfected the taking over of the APC's structure in Adamawa.

There are concerns that the first lady's desperation to assume full control of the party's structure in Adamawa State is not going down well with aggrieved stakeholders.

At the just-concluded Local Government Congresses of the APC in the state, the First Lady used her influence to intimidate perceived political opponents of her brother such as Senator Dahiru Binani, Senator Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow (former Governor of the state) and Senator Ishaku Abbo (who represents Adamawa North Senatorial zone) in the Senate to hijack the party structure in the state.

A source conversant with the development, explained further, “There is a serious problem brewing at the Adamawa APC, which if not resolved quickly, may cost the party the seat of governor again like it did in 2019.

"Recall that in 2019, the party lost the governorship contest to the incumbent and member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Ahmadu Fintiri, over this same power tussle between Mrs Buhari, Bindow, Binani and other opponents in the quest to make her brother become the governor.

"In the same vein, security chiefs in the state were threatened with sack if they did not cooperate by facilitating Modi’s aspiration."

It was also revealed that the first casualty of the threat was the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Aliyu Adamu Alhaji, who was said to have insisted on fully supervising the congresses in Yola South.

As a result, the First Lady's candidate lost to Senator Binani’s candidate.

Aisha, who was enraged over the turn of events, was said to have immediately seen to the transfer of the CP out of Adamawa.

He had since been replaced by a new CP, Mr Mohammed Ahmed Barde.

"As things stand today, all the heads of federal agencies in the state, whose line of duty relate to supervising party congresses, are living in fear of the unknown, should they attempt to work against the interest of the First Lady's brother", another party official said.

Sources further revealed that most of the names from the ward and local government congresses sent to the national secretariat of the APC were altered by the quartet in Abuja, which led to aeries of litigations challenging the alterations.

Aisha, who is not hiding the fact of her deep involvement in the ongoing manipulation, was quoted to have said, “I will not repeat the mistake of 2019 where we allowed Governor Bindow to have total control of the party to the disadvantage of many of us.”

Sources said Aisha had vowed that she could not afford to leave office with her husband in 2023 without any of her family members taking over Adamawa State in a bid to sustain their political relevance in the years ahead.

“Except something is done urgently to amicably resolve the grievances from the ward and local government congresses, especially that the state congress is close by, many stakeholders may defect to the PDP.

"If this is allowed to happen, it is the APC that will be the big loser again in 2023, just like it happened in 2019. The way they are going, they can only help the PDP and governor Fintiri to win re-election in 2023", a top party official stated.

Incidentally, the current manipulation in Adamawa is going on at a time the general feeling in the state is that the governorship seat should rotate to another zone outside Adamawa Central in order to engender fairness and give a sense of belonging to all the geopolitical zones in the former Gongola State.

Although the First Lady is rooting that the Central Zone has yet to produce a governor and believes it is the turn of the zone to do so in 2023, APC stakeholders are opposing her position on the grounds that her zone produced the post of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation since 2015.

“This is in addition to the fact that Aisha being the First Lady of the Federation and coming from the Central Zone as well, the zone has had its own fair share of the power equation and should hands off the governorship seat for another zone in 2023,” the source added.

Similarly, the Northern Senatorial Zone had produced a governor for a record six times and the feeling is that the zone had benefitted adequately.

"Such fairness can never be achieved if the congresses are manipulated against the wishes and aspirations of the people", another party source added.

"Now, during the local government congresses, this was what happened. While the election of party officials of Yola-South, the home local government of Sen. Binani and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, was held at the state secretariat of the party in Jimeta amid heavy security operatives as against the Yola South party secretariat, Sen. Bindow and Sen Abbo did not even know where the congresses of Mubi North and Mubi South, their home local governments, took place till date.”

The spokesperson of the First Lady, Aliyu Abdullahi, who said he is in New York, declined comment when contacted on the phone, he simply said “Please I have nothing to comment on that story.”

 

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President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, departed New York, United States, for Nigeria.

The President arrived in the United States during the week for the 76th United Nations General Assembly, held at the UN Headquarters.

Buhari's visit to the US had been riddled with protests and counter-protests.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that a “One Nigeria” group, allegedly paid by the government clashed with the anti-Buhari protesters and self-determination groups which were protesting against bad governance and asking for a referendum in the country.

The groups had converged at the Nigerian House on 42nd Street, 2nd Avenue, airing opposing views about the issues of insecurity in Nigeria and its unity.

The One Nigeria group members carried placards on which were written, “Stronger together”, “Unity in diversity”, “Genocide in Eastern Nigeria plain propaganda”, “Nigerians want national unity, not secession”, “Nigerian Christians not targets of genocide or ethnic cleansing”. See Also News Buhari's Speech At UN Assembly Lacked Personal Commitments, Contained Lies — Federal Lawmakers 0 Comments 58 Minutes Ago

They were, however, opposed by some anti-Buhari protesters who had been organising protests for days calling for a referendum to determine the fate of the country.

The protesters who are calling for self-determination alleged that the members of the One Nigeria Group were “fake” Nigerians hired to carry the flags and take pictures.

On Friday, the president spoke at the high-level General Debate of the summit ongoing at the UN Headquarters in New York.

He took to the podium to address the world leaders after President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus gave his speech.

The theme for this year’s UNGA is, ‘Building Resilience Through Hope – To Recover from COVID-19, Rebuild Sustainably, Respond to the Needs of the Planet, Respect the Rights of People and Revitalise the United Nations’.

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The Independent Corruption Practices and other related offences Commission said it has uncovered empowerment items meant to be shared since 2019 to youths and women in Oyi/Anayamelum Federal Constituency in Anambra State.

The ICPC said it made the discovery during the ongoing Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Exercise in the state.

ICPC officials claimed that the items were stored in a warehouse belonging to the lawmaker representing the constituency.

The items, which were bought in 2019 and 2020, included grinding machines, sewing machines, driers, clippers, among others.

According to the ICPC officials, the listed beneficiaries disclosed that they had not received the items and all efforts to access the warehouse were frustrated by the lawmaker’s agents.

The officials, who pleaded anonymity, said they were denied access to the warehouse after three attempts due to the reluctance on the part of the lawmaker`s team to take them to the facility.

“We have the list of the intended beneficiaries but those we called said they did not receive the items,” the officials said.

The ICPC team also said nobody was around to show them the evidence of the rural electrification project awarded through the Projects Development Agency.

In Ogbaru Federal Constituency, the anti-graft agents said they were able to verify that functional solar-powered streetlights had been installed in Okpoko and Umunankwo.

In Orumba North and South, the ICPC officials also verified the donation of an 18-seater bus to a community in Akpu as approved for the lawmaker in 2019.

In the Anambra North Senatorial Zone, the ICPC officials verified and interacted with some market women who got training and a start-up capital of N80,000 each.

The women said the money helped them to expand their various businesses which yielded income for their families.

Still in Anambra North, the ICPC officials confirmed that some youth were trained on ICT and got N20,000 each as transport fare.

Only one of the beneficiaries said he got a computer set and a printer, while none of the 22 trainees was paid the N120,000 that was approved in the bill of quantity.

Tricycles were said to have been distributed to youth but the ICPC officials said no single beneficiary could be produced as evidence that the project was executed.

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The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has flayed the speech delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.

A statement signed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, said the speech was a great disservice to Nigeria by failing to present the true picture of affairs in Nigeria.

Elumelu highlighted cases of human rights abuses, undemocratic governance, injustice, insecurity among other menace ravaging the country which the President ought to have made mention of.

He took a swipe at the President for making claims of building “isolation centers and emergency hospital wards, all over the country in record time” in the fight against COVID-19 which was in fact, a lie.

The minority leader pointed out that Buhari's speech conveyed no personal commitments that   could guarantee an end to poor and undemocratic governance neither did it portray a decisive roadmap towards economic recovery.

The statement read, “The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has extensively reviewed the address presented by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

“The caucus is distressed over claims in President Buhari address which are in complete disagreement with the ugly reality of the failures of his administration, as well as the economic, security and social ruins that have confronted the nation under his watch.

“Our caucus holds that President Buhari’s speech is a great disservice to our nation by not presenting the true picture of affairs in our country; the human rights violations, corruption and incompetence in his administration; the excruciating hardship, escalated insecurity, national divisiveness and infrastructural decay under his watch, thereby blocking avenues for desired intervention in our various ailing sectors.

“The Minority caucus was alarmed by President Buhari’s report to UNGA that terrorists have been so weakened in Nigeria that they are now preying on soft targets, when in reality, insurgents have become so emboldened under his watch, that they are now attacking military formations, kidnapping and killing our gallant officers while overrunning communities and murdering our citizens without restrain.

“As representatives of the people, the Minority caucus is depressed that President Buhari’s speech did not reflect on the kidnapping and killing of students and school children in Nigeria.

“The speech did not reflect on the closure of schools and crippling of education in many parts of our country, where normal life has been destroyed by terrorists, neither did it show any empathy towards the victims of terrorism attacks

“Our caucus is worried that in reflecting on violent conflicts, Mr. President’s address conveyed no personal commitments that can guarantee an end to poor and undemocratic governance, human rights abuses, poverty, ignorance, injustice and inequalities, that are prevalent under his watch, even after identifying such as the causes of conflicts.

“Also, the minority caucus is shocked by the claims in Mr. President’s speech that his administration “built” isolation centres and emergency hospital wards, “all over the country” “in record time” in the fight against Covid-19; a claim that is in conflict with the infrastructural reality in the country.

“Moreover, our caucus is worried that Mr. President’s speech did not portray any decisive roadmap towards economic recovery and food security; had no personal commitment to end corruption in his administration; had no personal commitment to end borrowing or show a clear-cut plan to repay the huge debt being accumulated by his administration.

“The speech also lacked definite personal commitments towards credible electoral process especially as the nation approaches 2023 general election. 

“The Minority caucus, after due consideration, urges President Buhari to always cross-check the content given to him by his handlers so as to ensure that his position, especially on the world stage, captures the reality as well as aspiration prevalent in the country.

“This is because such addresses ought to serve as unblemished working document for interventions and solutions at various levels of governance.”

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