Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday thanked the BRICS for inviting Egypt to join in as a new member state, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. “I highly value the BRICS’s invitation of Egypt to join the economic bloc as of January 2024, and we are proud of the confidence of all bloc countries in Egypt,” Sisi said. BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Sisi’s remarks came shortly after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on the final day of a BRICS summit that six countries including Egypt are to join the bloc as new members next year. “Egypt looks forward to cooperating with all BRICS member states and with the other countries invited to join the bloc, to achieve its objectives for boosting economic cooperation and raising the voices of the Global South.”READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

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Nigeria’s Mathew Obinna (22-0-0-22KO) is set to face Malawi’s Isaac Chilemba (27-9-3-11KO) for the vacant Universal Boxing Organisation world light heavyweight title. The Lagos-born 35-year-old pugilist will be in hostile territory as his clash with Chilemba holds at the Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe in Malawi September 30. Besides winning the IBO world title at Super Middleweight, “The Golden Boy” has also captured African Boxing Union, WBO Africa, WBC International and NABF titles at Light Heavyweight. This will be his third attempt to become a two-division world champion, after losing decisions to Light Heavyweight titlists Sergey Kovalev (IBF, WBA, WBO) and Dmitrii Bivol (WBA) in 2016 and 2018. Obinna enters the biggest stage of his career without a single defeat and having stopped all of his opponents inside the distance and will be hoping to clinch a first world title.

Court dismisses suits seeking to halt DSS and AGF from arresting Emefiele siblings, according to Naija247news. A Federal Capital Territory High Court has rejected two fundamental rights enforcement suits by siblings of the suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele. The brothers sought an injunction against the DSS from arresting or detaining them in connection with the investigation of the suspended apex bank governor. While the DSS counsel, Ibrahim Awo, suggested dismissing the case and imposing a N2 million cost, the AGF’s counsel, Maimuma Lami-Sheru, supported Awo’s plea. Justice Emmanuel Okpe, the presiding judge, struck out the cases without requiring the applicants to pay any costs.

Photos: Borno State GovernmentNigerians have expressed anger over the delay in the distribution of the palliatives by the state governors. According to him, NLC officials in states were not part of the committees involved in the sharing of the palliatives. How can we be involved with the governors to share the federal palliatives? He stated, “The issue of palliatives distribution to Nigerians in the form it is taking is not appealing to my union. The Kano State NLC Chairman, Kabir Inuwa, disclosed that the civil servants in the state had yet to receive any package.

Demola Odulaja, the estranged husband of the Chief Executive Officer of House of Phreedah Body Care, Farida Abdulkabir popularly known as Farida Sobowale, has explained the reasons why he parted ways with the Lagos socialite after about two months of their elaborate wedding. Odulaja in an interview with a Yoruba social commentator, ArewaTopeFamous, on Tuesday via Instagram Live alleged that the break-up was not unconnected to Sobowale’s alleged promiscuity, lies, and covetousness, among others. Sobowale said she could not endure the fallout of her crashed marriage and this prompted her decision to end her life. The London-based entrepreneur further alleged that Farida indiscriminately visited his brother who lived close to them often and even stayed there for hours without justifying her action. Continuing, he noted, “When I got back to Nigeria from London in 2009, Farida met me in Lagos in 2010.

Manufacturers have spent at least N7.9tn to import raw materials in the past three years, according to findings by The PUNCH. A breakdown of the data showed that in the second quarter of 2020, manufacturers imported raw materials worth N570.6bn. Further breakdown of the data showed that in 2021, raw materials imports by manufacturers was N2.9tn. It slowed to N2.4tn in 2022, while N555.4bn worth of raw materials was imported in the first quarter of 2023. In some areas, we cannot do backward integration because we do not have the raw materials or the technology to do it.

At least 17 labourers working on a railway bridge being built across a ravine in India’s eastern Mizoram state were killed when it collapsed on Wednesday, officials said, with others reported missing. Video footage posted by Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga showed a metal frame that had toppled off towering columns into a wooded valley below. “Under construction railway over bridge at Sairang, near Aizawl collapsed today; at least 17 workers died,” Zoramthanga, who uses only one name, said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Indian Express newspaper quoted a policeman as saying that 17 bodies had been recovered and “many others” were missing. “Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being given to those affected,” the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to host the next summit of the BRICS alliance of emerging economies. Putin made the offer after he could not attend the event in South Africa this year due to an arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Putin announced that there would be more than 200 political, economic and social events under Russia’s BRICS presidency in the coming year. The ICC warrant, for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, means that Putin would have faced a possible arrest had he attended in person because South Africa is a member of the ICC. Putin used a video address to the summit leaders to reiterate Russian justifications for cancelling a grain export agreement with Ukraine and made sharp criticism of the West and of Kyiv.

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Gagdi said any MDAs who failed to appear before the committee winds up its investigation should have itself to be blamed should the report of the committee indicted such MDAs. The lawmaker said, “We have made two different publications in two different national dailies inviting 200 agencies to appear before this committee. ADVERTISEMENT“The agencies have no excuses not to appear before this committee because they have a budget for newspapers publication and they are using it. He said the newspaper publications remained one of the mediums of communication that the National Assembly should use to reach out to MDAs. He added that the MDAs would be accountable if they refused to appear before the committee to submit its final report.

Media practitioners have called on the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and other scientists involved in developing and promoting Biotechnology in the country, to scale up sensitization among rural farmers. He expressed concern that peasants farmers toil day and night but in the end, the yield would be small. She said, “Let the farmers know that it is cheaper to farm the bt Compea and that it has more yield than the conventional and many people can benefit from it. Therefore the need to inform farmers is crucial since they are residents in rural areas”. She also made emphasis on the need for more sensitization, stressing that most farmers in rural areas are not aware of this significant technology.

says debt may hinder achievements of Tinubu’s administrationThe Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has lamented that the Federal Government is placing its N77tn debt burden on the manufacturers in the country. The association also said its members have been hit with high multiple taxes. It revealed that the depreciation of the naira is also caused by the servicing of external debts in foreign currencies. “The manufacturing sector which has always been at the receiving end has not felt any significant impact of the debt finance on the numerous challenges that have bedeviled its performance in many years. Further identify and amend the loopholes in the tax laws in order to reduce the leakage of tax revenues.

Authorities in India’s northeastern state of Nagaland have closed schools in the state until Aug. 26 following an increase in the cases of conjunctivitis (eye flu) among school children. According to the local government officials on Tuesday, cases of conjunctivitis have been reported in Dimapur, Chumoukedima, Niuland, and Mon districts. “Also to prevent the exponential surge of eye flu cases not only among students but also among teachers and parents,” an official said. Since July 1, over 1,000 cases of eye flu have been reported in the state. Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is an irritation or inflammation of the conjunctiva, which covers the white part of the eyeball.

Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has unveiled an interim plan to alleviate the effects of the recent fuel subsidy removal and ongoing economic challenges for the state’s residents. In response, Soludo announced a 10% salary increase for all public servants effective January 2023 to combat rising inflation. He also revealed that pensioners and public servants would receive a monthly non-taxable cash award of N12,000 for September to December 2023. Additionally, the government will distribute rice to over 300,000 households across the state and exempt vulnerable groups from taxation. In the long term, the government aims to distribute oil palm and coconut seedlings to households to create a sustainable agricultural ecosystem.