Taliban flies US helicopter for victory parade – Newstrends
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Taliban flies US helicopter for victory parade

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3 years ago

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The Taliban on Wednesday showed off dozens of American-made armoured vehicles along with newly seized weapons at victory celebrations in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

The CNN reports that fighters waved white Taliban flags from Humvees and armoured SUVs at the military parade, where many of the vehicles appeared in near perfect condition.

The Taliban also organised an air display with a recently seized Black Hawk helicopter flying past the militants along the road while also trailing a white Taliban flag.

The parade came the day after video footage showed the militants making their way through an abandoned hangar in Kabul airport strewn with equipment the US left behind.

In addition to the military vehicles, the parade also featured what appear to be captured police vehicles.

But Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN Tuesday he wasn’t “overly concerned about these images” of Taliban fighters examining the abandoned aircraft.

“They can inspect all they want,” Kirby said. “They can look at them, they can walk around — but they can’t fly them. They can’t operate them.”

He added that the US military had made “unusable all the gear that is at the airport — all the aircraft, all the ground vehicles,” leaving only some fire trucks and fork lifts operational.

Efforts to reopen Kabul airport resumed on Wednesday as a team of Qatari technical experts arrived in the Afghan capital, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

The source said that the technical team traveled to Kabul on a Qatari jet at the request of the Taliban, and that while no final agreement had yet been reached, “talks are still ongoing at the level of security and operation.”

“The objective is to resume flights in and out of Kabul for humanitarian assistance and freedom of movement in a safe and secure manner.”

Afghanistan is heavily reliant on foreign aid, and the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have already struggled to get critical food and medical supplies to the airport amid the mass evacuation operation.

Even before the political upheaval of recent weeks, Afghanistan represented the world’s third-largest humanitarian concern, with over 18 million people requiring assistance, according to UNICEF. But with no commercial aircraft currently permitted to land in Kabul, getting aid in will be difficult.

Restarting commercial flights will also be crucial for people still wanting to leave the country but who did not make it onto military evacuation planes.

More than 123,000 people were evacuated by American and coalition aircraft since August 14, US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie said Monday.

The Taliban have pledged to govern more moderately this time around, and said they would still allow foreign nationals and Afghans with proper documentation to leave the country after August 31. But many Afghans are skeptical of their claims, and huge question marks hang over the Taliban’s ability to run the country.

Standing on the Kabul airport runway on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a small crowd that: “This victory belongs to us all.”

He was joined by heavily armed fighters from the Taliban’s Badri 313 special forces brigade, kitted out in camouflage uniforms and desert boots.

Mujahid congratulated the Taliban fighters who had lined up, and indeed “the whole of the nation.”

Only one Afghan region is still holding out against the Taliban’s rule: the Panjshir Valley — a strategic slice of territory about 90 miles north of Kabul that was once a stronghold for the mujahideen fighting the Soviets and is now the seat of the resistance movement.

Ali Nazary, spokesperson for the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan, said Wednesday that NRF forces had inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban attackers attempting to fight their way into Panjshir via the Gulbahar area, damaging the militant group’s weaponry and sending them retreating.

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Ondo SSG Oluwatuyi dies weeks after surviving auto crash

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2 days ago

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January 4, 2025

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Ondo SSG Oluwatuyi dies weeks after surviving auto crash

Secretary to the Ondo State Government, Tayo Oluwatuyi, has died few weeks after he survived an auto crash.

Oluwatuyi, popularly known as ‘Tukana, was said to be receiving treatment in a hospital Akure before he died.

A statement by the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Wale Akinlosotu, said Oluwatuyi passed away on Saturday.

The statement read, “It is with profound sadness that the Government of Ondo State announces the passing of Hon. Temitayo Oluwatuyi, Secretary to the State Government, on January 4, 2025.

“He was involved in a ghastly car accident on Sunday, 15th December 2024, while travelling to Ibadan and was subsequently hospitalised.

“Hon. Oluwatuyi was a dedicated public servant whose unwavering commitment to administrative coordination, policy advisory, and implementation had a significant impact on Ondo State.

“He served with distinction and played a crucial role in the state government, working closely with the Governor and other top officials of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“Having served the government in various capacities, including as Chairman of Akure South Local Government, Commissioner and twice as SSG, Hon. Oluwatuyi will forever be remembered for his invaluable contributions to the development of Ondo State.

“The Government of Ondo State extends its deepest condolences to the Oluwatuyi family of Akure, friends, and associates during this difficult time.”

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Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

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3 days ago

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January 3, 2025

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Peter Obi and Felix Morka

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

One-time Anambra State Governor Peter Obi came under a scathing criticism yesterday from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over his assessment of the security and economic situation of the country.

At a news conference, Obi disagreed with the claims of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his New Year Day address which chronicled the feats attained by the APC-led administration.

Obi alleged that the political, economic and security situations in the country have worsened under the incumbent administration.

But the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka carpeted Obi, describing his assessment as jaundiced, misleading and an attempt to score cheap political points.

In a statement, Morka put a lie to Obi’s claims.

He noted that Obi’s assessment was at variance with all indicators that showed that the nation’s economy is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors.

Dismissing Obi’s claims, Morka said: “While Nigerians celebrated the New Year with hope for a more glorious 2025, Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, was seemingly stuck in replay of his jangling, gloom-ridden wish-list for our country.

“Obi’s new year message, in which he claimed that the political, economic and security situation of our dear country is worsening daily, is misleading and appears intended to score cheap political points.

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“This claim, at a time when all indicators show that our country is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors, casts Obi, squarely, as Nigeria’s leading doomsayer.”

Morka, who reeled out the achievements of the APC-led administration, said: “In reality, 18 months later, the economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, has showed steady record of progress.”

He listed the landmarks as:

The ruling party further argued: “Despite these and other initial beneficial outcomes of ongoing unprecedented reforms, the administration is doubling its effort to ensuring that the reforms deliver their fullest benefits for the sustainable growth and transformation of our country.”

The ruling party said that the Presidential New Year message acknowledged that the “cost of food and essential drugs remained a significant concern for many Nigerian households. And to reverse this trend, Mr. President assured that his administration was committed to lowering food prices by boosting food production and promoting local production of drugs.”

The party also highlighted Tinubu’s resolve to crash the current inflation rate from 34 per cent to 15 per cent in the course of this fiscal year as a move to addressing the threat inflation poses to the country’s economy.

The statement further reads: “With the vigour in the administration’s war on corruption, evidenced by ongoing investigations and trial of  well-heeled Nigerians, Obi’s pontification on the urgent need to tame corruption is a clear case  of carrying coal to Newcastle.”

Faulting Obi, the party said: “It is a thing of irony that Peter Obi, who now arrogates to himself to be omniscient and philosopher’s stone, when it comes to our nation’s challenges, left no record of significant achievement, let alone transformation of any kind, in his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra State.

“Like his co-travellers in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obi’s obsessive pessimism and endless but futile effort to incite public outrage against the administration is borne out of their realisation that President Tinubu is unwittingly cementing their ultimate political irrelevance by his visionary and full-throttle reform and transformation of the fundamental pillars of our national life.”

Appealing for citizens’ support and patience, the APC spokesman assured Nigerians that “under the banner of the Renewed Hope Agenda (RHA), President Tinubu is dutifully turning our nation’s fortunes around.

“He (Tinubu) deserves the support  and patience of Nigerians in order to consolidate on the deep economic foundation he has laid, and deliver a vibrant, prosperous new Nigeria for the good of all.  We urge Nigerians to remain confident of better days ahead.”

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

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Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

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6 days ago

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December 31, 2024

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Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

Currency in circulation has reached an all-time high of N4.8 trillion as of November 2024, recording over seven per cent increase from the previous month.

Also, currency outside banks grew significantly in the same month hitting an all-time high of N4.6 trillion from the N4.2 trillion in the month of October.

These figures were contained in the money and credit supply data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The currency in circulation is the amount of cash–in the form of paper notes or coins–within a country that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses.

It represents the money that has been issued by the country’s monetary authority, minus cash that has been removed from the system.

Similarly, currency outside a bank refers to cash held by individuals, businesses and other entities that is not stored in banks.

The currency outside the bank represents about 96 per cent of the currency in circulation.

Nigerians have in recent times been facing acute cash shortage with banks limiting daily withdrawal at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to N20,000 irrespective of the number of accounts held by an account owner.

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According to the latest data, the currency in circulation grew by seven per cent to reach 4,878,125.22 from 4,549,217.51 in October.

Currency in circulation has grown steadily in the outgoing year 2024 with over one trillion naira added to cash in circulation after starting the year with N3.65 trillion in January.

In February, the currency in circulation slightly increased to N3.69 trillion representing an increase of N43 billion or 1.18 per cent from the January figure.

March also saw an appreciable increase to N3.87 trillion while it further increased to N3.92 trillion in the following month of April.

The growth trajectory continued in May with the currency in circulation increasing slightly to N3.97 trillion, an increase of N42 billion or 1.07 per cent while it reached an all-time high of 4.04 trillion, an increase of 2.11 per cent from May.

The July figure also rose marginally with the currency in circulation settling for N4.05 trillion before growing to N4.14 trillion in August and N4.43 trillion in September and N4.5 trillion in October.

In the same vein, currency outside banks grew from N4.2 trillion in October to N4.6 trillion in November, showing increasing preference for other means of storing outside bank deposits.

Economist, Dr. Paul Alaje attributed the development to the expanding money supply, adding, “Money supply is expanding but this may not necessarily be in cash. As it is expanding, it will necessarily induce inflation. But you can’t blame the people. People must look for money. How much was bottled water last year, how much is it today? All of this will induce inflation. If you now ask, what is the cause of inflation? Is it money supply itself or a devaluation policy? It is a devaluation policy. Money supply is an offshoot. So the Central Bank is raising interest rates to actually reduce money supply but the more they try the more money supply expands.”

He stated that the floatation policy of the CBN has created inflation, adding, “It is like chasing one’s tail and I don’t know if you are going to catch it.”

Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

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