user user – Page 95 – Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

Joint Operations Centre at Vasiliko moves into implementation phase, Justice Ministry says

The site for a Joint Operations Centre at Vasiliko has been selected and procedures are under way for its establishment, operation and staffing, the Justice and Public Order Ministry said on Thursday.

The announcement followed a second meeting chaired by the Ministers of Justice and Energy on the establishment of the Centre in the Vasiliko area, which the Ministry said has now entered the implementation phase.

The aim is to strengthen security and improve cooperation among all relevant services at the Vasiliko Energy Centre, described as ‘one of the most important critical infrastructure sites of the Republic of Cyprus.’

Staff from the services involved will be based at the Centre, providing a common operational picture and enabling an immediate and coordinated response to any incident.

It was also agreed to draw up an Action Plan and establish a Coordinating Committee, comprising one representative from each relevant service. The Police will coordinate the Committee, convene regular meetings and monitor the implementation of decisions and the progress of the work.

According to the announcement, the Vasiliko Energy Centre will be treated operationally as a single area, covering security and protection, health and safety, civil protection and environmental protection.

The overall planning will cover security on land, at sea and in the air, as well as the prevention and response to pollution incidents, including marine pollution, and rapid response in the event of an emergency.

The Ministry said the objective is to create a single, functional mechanism with clearly defined responsibilities and continuous monitoring of its implementation, aimed at protecting human life, the environment and the area’s critical infrastructure.

Nigeria targets $1bn space investment as Africa pushes space sovereignty

Nigeria is seeking more than $1 billion in investment to expand its space industry as African leaders push for greater technological sovereignty, stronger control of space resources and reduced dependence on foreign satellite capabilities.

Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, minister of Innovation, Science and Technology of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who represented Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, disclosed the investment potential to BusinessDay, at the International Space Summit in Paris, where he said Nigeria was seeking global investors and strategic partners to expand its space capabilities.

Djibouti launched its first two nanosatellites after training 10 young Djiboutians in space systems through cooperation with the Montpellier University Space Centre.

Ahmed said the rapid growth of satellite constellations and the number of objects in orbit meant Africa needed to protect its legitimate access to spectrum and orbital resources.

‘Africa is not asking for privileges. It is simply asking that its legitimate right be preserved for the future and to prevent an injustice of tomorrow,’ he said.

For Nigeria, the push is increasingly tied to both economic opportunity and national security.

Udeh said Nigeria was already deploying space technology for security and defence, although he declined to disclose sensitive details. He said the country was also deploying signal analytics and working to expand its space capabilities for national security.

‘Space technology is just an aspect of what could be leveraged to address insecurity in the country and improve our defence,’ he said.

The minister said the opportunity was not limited to Nigeria because the country was already a major player in Africa’s space industry and other African countries depended on Nigerian space capabilities.

‘This is not just for our consumption, but also for the use of other countries in Africa that depend on us,’ he said.

That regional role is also behind Nigeria’s plan to host Africa Space Economy, Conference and Exhibition in Abuja from November 23 to 27, 2026.

Udeh said more than 50 chief executives of African space agencies had indicated interest in attending the summit, alongside ministers responsible for innovation, science and technology and related sectors.

The objective is to move African space cooperation from declarations to joint projects that countries can develop and benefit from collectively, he said, adding that, ‘This is not a time we can afford to fragment. It is a time to collaborate and achieve what we can achieve as a whole, not achieve as parts.’

Félix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, similarly called for deeper African integration in space, arguing that the continent needed to develop its own capabilities rather than depend entirely on external systems.

Tshisekedi said space had moved from being a distant technological frontier to an essential platform for Africa’s development, security and sovereignty.

He proposed the creation of a space partnership for the Congo Basin, aimed at using satellite data and space technology to protect the region’s vast ecological resources.

The DRC also proposed the creation of a Congo Basin Space Observatory in Brazzaville, with a regional and cross-border mandate in partnership with the African Space Agency.

Tshisekedi said countries responsible for protecting the Congo Basin needed access to space data and the capacity to process it, alongside trained scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs.

He also proposed using space technology for conflict prevention, territorial monitoring and border management, arguing that an Africa dependent on foreign systems to observe its territory, manage data or anticipate crises would remain vulnerable.

‘An Africa that depends entirely on others to observe its territory, communicate, manage its data or anticipate its crises remains a vulnerable Africa,’ Tshisekedi said.

The push for greater African space sovereignty comes against the backdrop of a wider global race for strategic autonomy in space. European leaders at the Paris summit are themselves seeking to reduce dependence on external satellite and launch systems, while coordinating national programmes to compete more effectively with the United States and China.

The International Space Summit, held in Paris on September 9 and 10, brought together governments, space agencies, companies, scientists and other stakeholders to discuss the economics, security, technology and regulation of the rapidly changing space sector. France said 90 countries and international organisations were represented, with nearly 1,100 space companies attending.

For Nigeria, however, the central question is increasingly how to convert its position as one of Africa’s established space players into a commercially viable industry.

Udeh said the country’s planned investments should not be viewed only as government spending, but as an opportunity to build a market capable of generating revenue while supporting security, communications, agriculture, transportation and other sectors.

‘We understand that we have a market for space technology. So it is not just investing in it as a social good, but also what will generate revenue, improve on livelihood, security and technology generally,’ he said.

The strategy places Nigeria’s planned six-satellite programme, rocket development and proposed $1 billion-plus investment opportunity within the wider African push to build indigenous space capabilities and ensure that the continent has a stronger voice in determining how the global space economy develops.

Badejo resumes as LASU Vice Chancellor September 21

Professor Ayodeji Olawunmi Badejo will on Monday, September 21, 2026, assume office as the 10th substantive Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU).

Badejo will take over from Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, whose five year tenure as Vice Chancellor ends on Sunday, September 20.

Her appointment was approved by Lagos State Governor and Visitor to LASU, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in line with the provisions of the LASU Law.

Badejo will serve a single five year term as Vice Chancellor.

She is a Professor of Counselling Psychology with more than three decades of experience in teaching, research, university administration, mentorship and academic development.

The new Vice Chancellor obtained her NCE in 1983, Bachelor of Education degree in 1986, Master of Education degree in 1988 and PhD in Guidance and Counselling in 1998.

Before her appointment as Vice Chancellor, Badejo held several positions at LASU, including Dean of the Faculty of Education, Chairman of the Senate Curriculum Committee and member of the university’s Governing Council.

As Dean of the Faculty of Education, she played a major role in academic development. About 20 academic staff were promoted to professorial positions during her tenure, while all programmes in the faculty secured full accreditation from the National Universities Commission.

Badejo also served as Chairman of the LASU International School Board, where she was involved in efforts to improve the institution’s finances and operations.

Under her leadership, the school’s capital reserves reportedly rose from about N88 million to N121 million, while financial deficits were eliminated.

The professor has also built a strong record in academic mentorship. Between 2012 and 2026, she supervised 23 PhD graduates, including a recipient of the 2024 Best PhD Thesis Award.

Badejo has published more than 80 major academic works, comprising four books, 17 book chapters and over 60 peer reviewed journal articles.

She has also served as Chairman of the LASU Research Ethics Committee, where she helped strengthen ethical standards in research and improve the capacity of committee members.

Beyond LASU, Badejo has contributed to the counselling profession in Nigeria and is a Fellow of the Counselling Association of Nigeria and the Association of Professional Counsellors in Nigeria.

She has received several recognitions for her contributions to education and professional development, including the Key to the City of Niagara Falls, New York, and a Distinguished Personality Award for excellence in higher education in Africa.

Badejo is expected to bring her experience in academic leadership, research, curriculum development and university administration to her new role as she begins her five year tenure at LASU on Monday, September 21, 2026.

Datti Baba-Obasanjo v Peter Obi

The man I picked as my running mate, my number two. If I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him

– President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007)

When Datti Baba-Ahmed ran with Peter Gregory Obi in the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), they were hardly given any chance, but they surprised virtually everybody, including the world, with their strong showing. Many put it down to the unpreceeented following Obi enjoyed then among the youths and Christendon.

Then too, Datti, as we will take the licence to call him in this article for ease of reference, was somehow blind to the flaws of his principal. Obi was the all in all to him. A man that could do no wrong and who has what it takes to turn Nigeria around in a short time. He chose to forget that what Nigeria needed was not a gambler, but a thinker and a reformer.

A man with the strongwill to act and do things and stand by them, not a faint-hearted fella who is unsure of what to do until goaded into action by a mob that he is ever willing to listen to. The scale has now fallen off Datti’s eyes and he spoke his mind some days ago without minding whose ox is gored. In doing that, he spoke like former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the one and only Baba who takes people to the shredders, including his own biological children, whenever it catches his fancy.

So, in a way, by that act, Obi’s former running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has become Datti Baba-Obasanjo for sharing this trait of shooting straight like the general. Datti fired from all cylinders. It was not his first time of doing so. In the heat of the LP leadership crisis, he had advised Obi against dumping the party for another. Obi did not listen to him. He spurned the advice, treating it as, ‘who is this one, a mere running mate who would have been my spare tyre if I had won the election to tell me what to do’.

In the end, Obi moved, first, to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), thinking that he would be offered its 2027 presidential ticket on a platter. Not on his life, with Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi thrown into the mix. He quickly read the mood within the coalition and fled to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which welcomed him and former Kano strongman Rabiu Kwankwaso with open arms. Obi was offered NDC’s presidentiaal ticket without a contest, but the party’s leader remains Seriake Dickson, who makes it known time and again that he is as good a presidential material as well.

He has never ceased saying it that being NDC’s standard-bearers does not make Obi and his running mate, Kwankwaso, more qualified than him and many others in the party. Drawing that line has put Obi, his rancorous supporters as well as Kwankwaso’s mob in check. Datti is bemused by it all. The former Obi man cannot imagine how his principal left what he called ‘a comfort zone (referring to LP)’ for ADC and later NDC. In assessing Obi’s political odyssey, Datti waxed Obasanjoic, pardon the coinage:

‘When he was going to join ADC, I had to go to Yar’Adua Centre ahead of him, so I called him aside… I told him tbis is not a place… Peter Obi moved out of his comfort zone against my advice…Besides, like others contesting against Tinubu in 2027, none of them will improve Nigeria. All those people contesting against him too they were all in bed together at some point or another. Including Peter Obi, I’m sorry to say’.

Datti did not mince words as he made a mincemeat of his principal and the man’s penchant of jumping from one party to the other in the desperation for power. Some wondered why he spoke the way he did, saying that if he knew this about Obi all along why did he agree to be his running mate. I am not here to defend Datti Baba-Obasanjo. But certainly, he cannot be crucified for changing his mind about Obi. What offence has he committed by saying that Obi, Atiku, Adewole Adebayo, Donald Duke and others in the 2027 presidential race cannot do the job?

He has simply said what he thinks about Obi and others and he is entitled to his opinion. People may be right in asking him why he spoke out about Obi now? Is there a rift between them? Well, it is never too late to see the light. For Datti to have seen the light now and asked the electorate to look well at Obi and others seeking to wrest power from President Bola Tinubu in 2027 before making their choice does not make him a sell out.

He simply came out to say the truth about Obi and cautioned the electorate against backing a wrong horse. As Obi’s running mate in 2023 nobody can know him better than Datti. Rather than call Datti names, the public should hail him for doing the character sketch of Obi and bringing out the man’s lack of capacity to discharge the onerous duty of office of the President.

Datti might have spoken like Obasanjo. So what? He has done his job. It is left for the electorate to make a wise decision in 2027, Datti knew the truth and at last the truth has set him free. Now that the electorate also know this truth, hopefully it will set them free too so that they are not misled the second time.

Merali family enters glass business eyeing pharma

The Merali family is venturing into glass manufacturing by acquiring a 50 percent stake in a proposed Sh330.36 million pharmaceutical glass bottle plant at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), as it seeks to revive its fortunes in manufacturing.

The Meralis own a 50 percent stake in Milly Glass Works Limited, whose affiliate, Milly SEZ Limited, will build the plant on six hectares within the Dongo Kundu SEZ in Mombasa County, according to information from the Business Registration Service (BRS).

The facility is expected to produce 290,000 tonnes of glass bottles annually. Milly Glass Works Limited, which has long been associated with the family of Mombasa businessman and former Kanu-nominated MP Rashid Sajjad, also fully owns Milly SEZ Limited.

However, a search at the BRS shows that the Meralis also have a shareholding in the glass manufacturer through their investment vehicle Zaigham Investments Limited.

Zaigham Investments owns a 50 percent stake in Milly SEZ Limited, giving the Merali family an indirect 50 percent equity interest in the proposed glass-making plant.

Information from the registrar of companies shows that Sameer Telkom Limited owns a 99.9 percent stake in Zaigham Investments Limited, while Sameer Group Chief Executive Sameer Naushad Merali, the son of the late Naushad Merali, owns one ordinary share in Sameer Telkom Limited.

Naushad Merali, the founder of Sameer Group who died in July 2021, was in 2015 ranked by Forbes as the third richest man in Kenya and 48th in Africa with a net worth of $370 million. His heirs, including the son Sameer, have continued to play important roles in managing the family empire.

The Merali family has interests mainly in real estate, agriculture, building and construction, transport, energy and power, industrial parks, telecommunications and insurance through companies like Sameer Africa which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Merali made his wealth by first purchasing unprofitable companies and turning them around in his formative days as an investor. He would then exit at a profit -sometimes attracting criticism when the new buyers failed to profit from the deal.

In recent years, he divested from ICT firms including Swift Global, Kenya Data Networks, KenCell and Equatorial Commercial Bank -raking in billions of shillings in the process.

The family exited its tyre manufacturing business due to high production costs and stiff competition from cheaper imports from China and India. However, the family appears to be warming up to the manufacturing sector.

Milly Glass SEZ says the expansion into specialised glass packaging reflects the rising demand for high-quality packaging within the pharmaceutical sector in East and Central Africa, where local manufacturing capacity remains relatively limited.

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report shows the project will leverage advantages such as proximity to the Port of Mombasa, the Standard Gauge Railway and Moi International Airport, and a growing road network, making it ideal for an export-oriented manufacturing model.

‘The project proponent proposed the development facility based on market analysis of demand growth of pharmaceutical glass bottles and the opportunity to construct a new facility that will strengthen their existing glass bottle manufacturing facility in Mombasa,’ reads the ESIA report.

The firm explained that the proposed plant would produce type III glass amber-coloured pharmaceutical glass bottles, which are used for storing, protecting, and transporting the medicine.

The bottles are used for liquids, tablets, capsules, vaccines, and parenteral (injectable) preparations.

VIDEO: Nigerian president should spend vacation in Zamfara, Borno, not Europe – Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 general elections, Peter Obi, has strongly condemned the practice of Nigerian presidents taking vacations abroad, promising to mandate domestic holidays if elected.

Speaking during an exclusive interview on Arise Television on Thursday, the former Anambra State Governor argued that a sitting president should spend their vacation time directly engaging with citizens and understanding local challenges, especially in flashpoint states.

‘Nigeria’s President must spend his vacation in Nigeria. We cannot continue with this nonsense. Where does other countries’ own send their vacation?’ Obi questioned.

‘Nigeria President should go to Zamfara, to Borno, to Anambra, to anywhere. As President of Nigeria, I will visit other countries, but I will not take my holidays there’.

When prompted about the security risks of vacationing in states dealing with insurgency like Borno, Obi remained adamant that the president must remain in the country he leads.

‘It doesn’t matter. Because that’s the country he lives. That’s why he takes the money to Europe,’ Obi declared.

Drawing a comparison to Western leaders, he added, ‘Do you know what it means for the British Prime Minister to say he’s going for vacation in Germany? That will be the end of him’.

Using the opportunity to reiterate his support for a change in Nigeria’s governance structure, Obi noted that a parliamentary system would foster greater accountability regarding such matters.

The NDC candidate also directed sharp criticism at President Bola Tinubu, alleging that the current leader has failed to spend extended time engaging with local communities. ‘President who has not slept three nights anywhere in Nigeria,’ Obi claimed.

He criticized the brief nature of recent presidential visits to troubled areas like Jos and Benue, arguing that the president should have committed more time to understand the root causes of the crises.

‘He should go to Benue and say ‘I’m here for the next three days, I want to see these stakeholders in the state,” Obi stated.

Jigsimur trademark war, brand rights shift to Federal High Court

The battle for control of the Jigsimur health drink brand in Nigeria is heading to the Federal High Court, after the Administrative Panel Division of the Patents and Designs Registry ruled in favour of Jigsimur SA (Pty) Limited.

The dispute pits South African company Jigsimur SA (Pty) Limited against another South African company, Jigsimur SA Original Pty Limited, and its Nigerian representative, Jigsimur Plus Limited, over ownership and protection of the Jigsimur trademark, industrial design, packaging, and distribution rights in Nigeria.

The Panel’s ruling, delivered on September 2, 2026, affirmed Jigsimur SA (Pty) Limited’s right to distribute the health drink in Nigeria and stopped Jigsimur Plus from relying on the disputed patent rights.

The Panel, however, described its ruling as a first-level alternative dispute resolution (ADR) decision aimed at resolving the dispute without prolonged litigation. It also stated that any party dissatisfied with the decision could appeal to the Federal High Court.

Jigsimur Plus, which maintains that it introduced the product to the Nigerian market, has taken steps to challenge the decision.

At the heart of the dispute is a clash of competing claims over when and how rights to the Jigsimur brand were acquired and whether rights established in South Africa can affect a Nigerian registration.

In its written address before the Panel, counsel to Jigsimur Plus, Chief Anthony George-Ikoli, SAN, argued that his client’s Nigerian rights predated those claimed by the Petitioner.

He argued that Jigsimur Plus applied to register the Jigsimur trademark in Nigeria in 2018. According to him, the 2018 application date was critical because it preceded the subsequent registrations and assignments relied upon by the opposing side.

George-Ikoli argued that trademark rights were territorial and that the history of the Jigsimur brand in South Africa could not, without more, confer proprietary rights in Nigeria.

He said that Jugsimur Plus dealt at all material times with Jigsimur SA Original Pty Limited and that the said entity supplied the products, supplied the regulatory documentation, possessed SAHPRA-related recognition/documentation in South Africa, authorised Nigerian distribution, granted powers relating to trademark/design registration and, in fact, empowered Jugsimur Plus to protect the intellectual property in Nigeria.

He further argued that CAN AFFORD Products and Projects (Pty) Limited obtained Nigerian registrations for the Jigsimur name, logo and label on May 14, 2021, under Trade Mark Nos. 43580 and 43581, three years after Jigsimur Plus’s 2018 application.

According to him, Jigsimur Plus had already built substantial goodwill in Nigeria through continuous importation, nationwide distribution, marketing, dealer networks and customer recognition.

George-Ikoli also challenged the opposing side’s reliance on a 2016 Power of Attorney and Distribution Agreement, arguing that authority to protect intellectual property did not amount to proof of a pre-existing proprietary right in Nigeria, and there was no record of any application for registration in Nigeria by the opposing side prior to 2018.

He maintained that a 2024 South African judgment cited by the applicants could not determine ownership of intellectual property rights in Nigeria, which must be decided under Nigerian law.

The applicants, however, presented a different account of the brand’s history.

In his written address, counsel to the applicant, Chief Muoneke Paschal Oluchukwu, said CAN AFFORD Products and Projects (Pty) Limited, owned by Perumal Chetty, was appointed the Nigerian distributor in 2012, with the relationship formally documented on January 1, 2016.

He added that Christian Onunkwor Ekene, a director of Jigsimur Plus, approached Chetty in 2014 seeking to become the sole distributor in Nigeria and was subsequently introduced to Rouxnel Ungerer to obtain the product for NAFDAC approval.

According to him, CAN AFFORD secured the Nigerian trademark registrations in 2021, but the relationship with Jigsimur Plus later deteriorated over the production of different product sizes allegedly without approval from the South African parent company.

With the dispute now moving to the Federal High Court, the competing claims over ownership, registration, distribution and protection of the Jigsimur brand in Nigeria are set for a fresh legal battle.

Afthermath (IV)

Indeed, ‘don yau gobe ta ke’ – tomorrow exists because of today. What you do today determines what you reap tomorrow. The chickens we have been tracking in this series are not just the skeletons in political closets. They are the chickens of our own making, the consequences of a nation that has spent 66 years groping in the dark after the colonisers left, never quite deciding what we wanted our Republic to be.

The political developments of recent weeks have been nothing short of theatrical. The FBI has formally acknowledged that President Tinubu was a subject of a criminal investigation in the early 1990s. The agency has produced 399 pages of records, with portions redacted under exemptions covering personal privacy, confidential sources, and law enforcement methods. Atiku has hired lobbyists to dig for more, spending $1.2 million on a 12-month retainer. But as the Presidency rightly pointed out, this is a civil records-disclosure dispute, not a criminal case, and no court has found the President guilty of any criminal wrongdoing .

The opposition is fragmented like a broken mirror. Peter Obi and Kwankwaso have jumped ship to the NDC, earning Peter Obi the epithet of ‘a political rolling stone that gathers no moss’. The APC controls 32 out of 36 states, a dominance that has led political analyst o warn that this could open the door for a military takeover, drawing parallels to the First and Second Republics. The ADC has accused the APC of systematically shrinking Nigeria’s democratic space, engineering crises in opposition parties to entrench a one-party state.

But here is where I differ from the doomsayers. The narrative that Nigeria is condemned to an eternal abyss is a lazy suggestion, not an order.

We were so eager to kick out the colonisers that we never really made plans beyond the handover of power. There was no elite consensus about what we wanted out of our new Republic and how to get there. As one academic study put it, Nigeria’s crisis has been driven by a ‘toxic and extractive elite consensus and failure of leadership across the board’. We largely groped in the dark, and partly because of that, we never developed a consciousness about the definition and responsibilities of both the demand and supply sides of leadership. Plutocracy became the default in the absence of a functional covenant.

But consider this: our current leadership philosophy is almost entirely foreign, sometimes even antithetical to the ideas of leadership and followership developed and practiced in this part of the world. Scholars have documented the clash between imported notions of liberal democracy and traditional African systems of governance, where consensus-oriented decision-making and sacred kingship once held communities together. For instance, in Yoruba tradition, the Oba receives his authority from Olódùmarè rather than from the electorate, yet the people held him accountable through councils and rituals. In Hausaland, the Sarakuna ruled with the counsel of elders and the consent of the governed. These systems were not perfect, but they understood something we have forgotten: leadership is stewardship, not ownership.

So, naturally, there would be a long learning curve characterised by painful trials and errors. The question is whether we are learning anything at all. Many have argued that we deserve the kind of leaders we have, or that leadership is a socio-anthropological reflection of a given society. Both points are false. No one deserves the yoke of evil. And if the second point were true, every square inch of this earth would still be a jungle. Leaders can be born and made. Either way, they come into being. A leader is the material echo of a society-its principles, values, and ambitions.

Again, by the law of equilibrium, natural phenomena will always seek equilibrium automatically if not effected deliberately. Necessity is the mother of invention. A crisis of leadership will sooner or later spontaneously produce the leader the time and place require. This suggests that a rotten society is in fact in a better position to produce the best of the best of leaders-given enough time. And as followers of Abrahamic faiths, this should be an epistemological no-brainer to us. All the prophets sent by Allah or Jehovah as the Judeo-Christian came at a time when society was lost or on the verge of doom.

Recently, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria warned that a weakened democratic space makes it increasingly difficult for citizens to hold government accountable. But accountability is not just the job of institutions; it is the job of citizens. The first installment of this series noted that the boys are not smiling under T-Pain. The second installment discussed the aftermath of Osun. The third installment tracked the FBI files. This fourth installment concludes the first arc by reminding us: Nigeria is not condemned to an eternal abyss so we must metaphysically reject that notion as the 2027 elections loom on the horizon.

The APC will almost certainly win the presidency in 2027, not because they are popular, but because there is no viable alternative. The opposition is fragmented, the ruling party has the advantage of incumbency, and the game is rigged in ways both subtle and overt. But victory in 2027 is not the end of the story. It is just another chapter. The chickens will keep coming home to roost, and if the APC thinks they can stuff the closet forever, they are in for a rude awakening.

I think about the generation that lived through the civil war, through military coups, through the slow erosion of hope. A popular refrain among them is, ‘kowa ya san inda ruwa ya kai sai ya tsaya’ – everyone knows where the water has reached and must stop. The water has reached the neck. But we are still breathing. And as long as we are breathing, we have a choice.

Cyprus Stock Exchange

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) All Share Index closed at today`s stock exchange meeting as follows:

MEETING DATE: 10/09/2026

INDICES BASE VALUES: FTSEMed=5000, OTHERS = 1000

EURO (pound )

TRADED VALUE 83.666,89

INDEX

VALUE

%DIFF.

VALUE

FTSE/CySE 20

186,750

-0,230

82.392,630

MAIN MARKET INDEX

249,380

-0,050

57.628,750

INVESTMENT COMPANIES MARKET INDEX

2.744,910

-0,350

20.733,040

CSE GENERAL INDEX

317,830

-0,220

82.541,430

HOTELS INDEX

2.065,200

0,000

998,800

ALTERNATIVE MARKET INDEX

2.138,820

-0,680

25.911,480

* The second column presents the percentage variation of the indices as compared to the last meeting.

CNA/ME/EPH/2026S, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

Bukidnon’s Valencia City tests worst-case earthquake scenario in drill

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) elevated local disaster response protocols during the 3rd Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill on Thursday.

June Ray Valero, CDRRMO chief, noted that this quarter’s simulation tested high-level emergency mechanisms by executing a worst-case scenario featuring the live extraction of simulated victims from buildings.

Sirens sounded across the city at 2:00 p.m., driving participants from all 31 barangays, schools, hospitals, private establishments, local police personnel, and national line agencies to simultaneously execute the ‘Duck, Cover, and Hold’ protocol before transitioning to coordinated rescue operations.

Valero emphasized that active collaboration among barangay DRRMO personnel and institutional safety officers was vital in evaluating the city’s overall disaster preparedness and interagency coordination efficiency