Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has said that the All Progressives Congress lost the Ekiti State governorship polls due to fraud but maintained that it was impossible to rig him out in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun. The governor spoke in Ikirun on Tuesday during the continuation of his campaign which was held in the town. Aregbesola, who was obviously excited by the large turnout of his supporters at the campaign, said that it was impossible to oust him from power in Osun State because he still enjoyed the support of the masses. The candidate of the APC, who spoke in Yoruba language, urged the people of the state to vote and protect their votes from being manipulated. He said, “They perpetrated fraud in Ekiti but we are looking at them. They said that my days in office remain 43 days and I just laughed. What they did in Ekiti is not possible here in Osun. Osun is different and they know it. In 2011, all Yoruba states voted for Peoples Democratic Party...

North Korea, US North Korea has promised “merciless” retaliation if a forthcoming Hollywood movie about killing Kim Jong-un is released, say agencies. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said in state media that the movie’s release would be an “act of war”. He did not mention the title, but a Hollywood movie called The Interview with a similar plot is due in October. Hollywood actors James Franco and Seth Rogen star in the action-comedy film. They play a talkshow host and his producer who are invited to interview Kim Jong-un, and are subsequently recruited by the US Central Intelligence Agency to assassinate the leader. The film’s teaser trailer, posted on Youtube, shows a lookalike actor playing Kim Jong-un, as well as fight scenes involving what appear to be North Korean tanks and helicopters, and a nuclear missile launch. The North Korea spokesman was quoted by the state KCNA news agency as saying: “Making and releasing a movie on a plot to hurt our top-level leadershi...

BRAZIL VS CAMEROON Stuttering Brazil will look to clinch their berth in the last 16 of the World Cup as they host already-eliminated Cameroon in their final Group A match at the National Stadium in the capital Brasilia on Monday. Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side have beaten Croatia and drawn with Mexico in their two games to date, struggling to convince in either match, but both the coach and his players have claimed in recent days that the World Cup hosts are “evolving” as the tournament goes along. Brazil head into their final group game — their 100th at the World Cup — still not certain of a place in the knockout rounds, but goalkeeper Julio Cesar insisted during the week that the quality of opposition they have come up against so far has helped the Selecao. “This is a tough group, but that’s great for us. We prefer to play against these sides and face these difficulties because it gets you focusing right from the start, which is important in short-term competitions,” he said. T...

A senior Afghan election official at the centre of fraud claims in the presidential run-off vote has resigned. Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail said he was stepping down “for the sake of national unity”, denying allegations of ballot box-stuffing earlier this month. His resignation comes after audio tapes were released allegedly revealing that Amarkhail was trying to influence the outcome of the vote. They were published by the camp of one of the candidates – Abdullah Abdullah. However, his rival Ashraf Ghani has also made allegations of fraud. The official results of the June 14 run-off are yet to be published. In a dramatic turn of events on Monday, Amarkhail tendered his resignation on national television. He vehemently denied any wrongdoing, saying he had been the victim of a “plot”. He also described the tapes as “fake” and blamed the country’s security services for interfering in the election. In an apparent reference to ballot box stuffing, the tapes appear to show Amarkhail urging a co...

The EU says it is ready to impose new sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not act quickly to stop arms and militants flowing into eastern Ukraine. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Russia that if it failed to act the EU “will be able to take further measures, further sanctions”. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support for Ukraine’s peace plan must be “translated into action”. Ukraine says armed pro-Russia militants are ignoring Kiev’s unilateral truce. On Friday Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a 15-point peace plan and declared a unilateral week-long truce. President Putin welcomed the move, but said Kiev must negotiate and make compromises with the pro-Russian rebels, who remain in control of key state buildings in eastern Ukraine. EU foreign ministers are discussing the Ukraine crisis in Luxembourg with the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Pavlo Klimkin. The crisis will also be high on the agenda of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, where EU le...

The US has imposed sanctions against separatists in eastern Ukraine, as the crisis there shows no sign of easing. The sanctions include asset freezes against seven pro-Russian leaders. The move was announced as Western leaders threatened additional sanctions against Russia, which they accuse of stoking tension in Ukraine. Both Russia and the separatists have dismissed a unilateral ceasefire called by Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko, the first step of his peace plan. The US and European Union (EU) leaders have previously imposed sanctions after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March. On Friday, the US Treasury Department said it had blacklisted seven rebel leaders, including self-proclaimed mayors, governors and commanders in chief of cities under siege by Ukrainian forces. Their assets in the US will be frozen and US firms will be banned from dealing with them. US officials also said “scalpel” sanctions against Russia’s defence, finance and high-tech industrie...

Thirteen assailants have been killed in an attack on a police station in China’s restive western province of Xinjiang, officials say. The attackers drove a car into the station and set off explosives on Saturday morning, the local government said on its website. Three police suffered minor injuries but no civilians were hurt, it added. The Chinese authorities blame Muslim Uighurs from Xinjiang for an increasing number of attacks in the province. “On the morning of 21 June, a group of thugs drove a car into a police building in Yecheng County, Kashgar province and detonated explosives,” the local government website said. “Police shot dead the 13 attackers,” it reported. It provided no further details. Verifying reports from the Xinjiang region is difficult because access for journalists is restricted and the flow of information is tightly controlled. The authorities have tightened security in Xinjiang in recent months. On Monday, China executed 13 people in Xinji...