SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture, recovering from a recurrence of a groin injury that’s kept him out almost all year, said Friday he will not play again this season and remains uncertain if he’ll be healthy enough to return this fall.
“I hope (I can play next season). Nothing’s ever guaranteed, obviously,” Couture said Friday, just hours after Tomas Hertl was traded by the Sharks to the Vegas Golden Knights.
“This injury has lingered for a long, long time already. So I’m going to try and be ready. I mean, I couldn’t imagine not playing hockey. So, we’ll see.”
Couture missed all of training camp and the first 45 games of the regular season with an often painful and debilitating condition called osteitis pubis, described as inflammation in the joint between a person’s left and right pubic bones.
After some setbacks earlier in the season, Couture began working with a San Francisco-based physiotherapist in December and started to see some improvement. He rejoined the Sharks’ lineup on Jan. 20, but his symptoms soon returned, and he was able to play just six games before he was shelved again in February.
Couture, who has three years to go after this season on an eight-year, $64 million contract, said he just wants to feel normal again and isn’t thinking about his long-term future with the rebuilding Sharks.
“I’m realistic. I’m not sure who’s going to trade for a guy who’s 35, makes $8 million, and plays six games in a season,” Couture said. “You’re not going to find any takers out there.
“I’m trying to get healthy, I’m trying to live a normal life away from hockey and then once I start to feel better and get back to playing the game of hockey, we’ll go from there.”
Just six weeks remain in the NHL regular season and the Sharks (15-40-7) only have 20 games left.
“The timeline isn’t going to match up with how many games are left and I haven’t been skating,” said Couture, who turns 35 later this month. “At this point, it doesn’t make any sense for me to push it.”
Couture, who had one assist in those six games as he averaged 18:45 in ice time per game, said surgery is not necessarily an option for him with this kind of injury.
“It’s an injury that can linger,” Couture said. “I think older athletes it maybe takes a little bit longer for a recovery. What I’ve done got me onto the path to returning and playing some games and I hope to do that again.”
Ngannou before his fight against Ciryl Gane during UFC 270. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — The worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts have become entwined in recent years, with the stars of both sports meeting in the boxing ring to display their various talents.
Francis Ngannou is arguably the fighter who has taken the swap of disciplines most seriously, clashing with world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury last year in his boxing debut and more than holding his own in a controversial defeat.
And the former UFC heavyweight title holder will once again step into the ring to take on another British former world heavyweight champion, this time in the shape of Anthony Joshua.
With a possible future title fight on the line – reports have suggested the winner could face the victor of the highly-anticipated Fury-Oleksandr Usyk unification fight – there’s a lot riding on Joshua and Ngannou’s clash.
Here’s everything you need to know.
How to watch
Ngannou and Joshua will exchange blows on Friday, March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the location of Ngannou’s previous fight against Fury.
They will take part in a 10-round clash, with their ring walks expected at around 6 p.m. E.T. / 11 p.m. UK time.
Fans in the US and around the world can watch the event on DAZN pay-per-view, while Sky Sports will show the event in the UK.
Switching sports
Ngannou’s switch to boxing perhaps shouldn’t have come as a surprise given he began his fighting career in the ring.
Even before that, Ngannou underwent a remarkable journey – leaving Cameroon with just a backpack and traveling north through Africa to reach Europe – just to train as a fighter.
Ngannou battled crossing the Mediterranean by sea and was even detained in Spain for two months in a migrant center for illegally entering the country, according to the Guardian, before eventually reaching Paris where he found a gym to train. He remembers what he asked the owner at that time.
“I have no money, I have nothing, but I want to be a world champion.”
However, the French-Cameroonian later moved to the octagon and went on to have huge success with the UFC.
He won the UFC heavyweight title in 2021, taking off of Stipe Miocic and later defended it against Frenchman Ciryl Gane.
Although Ngannou later left the UFC over a contract dispute and moved to the Professional Fighters League, he has yet to compete in the PFL and instead focused on his boxing career.
His debut fight against Fury came with a lot of fanfare, and Ngannou lived up to it as he traded blows with one of the greats of the sport, knocking down the British fighter in the third round of their clash. Despite losing on points, many scored the fight in Ngannou’s favor.
Ngannou has said that he thought that he won the fight with Fury and called himself the “underground king” of boxing.
Joshua himself was also impressed by Ngannou’s display. “I was watching the Fury and Ngannou fight from home, and from what I saw, I thought he won,” Joshua told Sky Sports.
“It’s not a gimmick, it’s not something that’s benefiting the broadcasters, it’s not just a fight for entertainment purposes,” added Joshua.
“This is a serious fight with someone who is prepared and understands the dynamic of boxing and he’s putting up a good fight against the apparently generational great. So I look at it now as something completely different.”
And ahead of his second professional boxing fight, Ngannou is confident of victory against Joshua, also questioning his opponent’s ability to withstand his power.
“I heard that he doesn’t have a chin,” Ngannou said, per Reuters.
“I don’t know if it’s true or not. We’re going to find out. I hope I have the opportunity to test that out, that’s my wish.”
A path back to the top
For Joshua, the fight is the next stage on his road to redemption.
Having burst onto the boxing scene with a 22-fight unbeaten streak, a defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. and two to Usyk have dented his reputation as a serious title contender.
The 34-year-old has achieved a three-fight win streak to put himself back in contention, but he still hasn’t yet returned to his previously untouchable status.
While some suggested Fury didn’t take Ngannou seriously enough before their fight, Joshuya is making no such assumptions.
“I don’t put that pressure on myself and I don’t have that thought about anything. I just think about winning and doing what I need to do, that’s my mentality,” Joshua said.
“It’s a fight, it’s a 50/50 fight. Anything can happen. Crazier things have happened before. It is what it is. It’s a great opportunity for me to go back to work. If I didn’t take this opportunity that’s presented to me, when would I be fighting next?
“When you look at it, I’m not at the start of my career, I’m not at the middle of my career, I’d say I’m probably towards the end of my career.
“Call it whatever you want to call it, I’m just happy to be at work and doing my job and I can’t wait for the next opportunity that presents itself.”
A clash between the two British heavyweight boxing stars – Joshua and Fury – has been tipped for years now, but has never taken place.
If Joshua was to win against Ngannou, promoter Eddie Hearn isn’t ruling out the long-clamored bout finally taking place.
“The dream for Joshua has always been to be undisputed,” Hearn told the BBC. “If AJ beats Ngannou and Fury beats Usyk, the whole world will be calling for Fury vs. Joshua.
“It’s probably one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport. Certainly the biggest fight in boxing now.”
Tension is brewing in Iree Community, Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, as two claimants to a traditional stool have emerged, with kingmakers divided over the legitimacy of the obaship rites.
In 2022, during the administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Oba Ademola Ponle was appointed as the Aare of Iree after being nominated by kingmakers and some warrant chiefs. However, the process was challenged in court by other chiefs who were not part of the nomination.
After assuming office, Governor Ademola Adeleke suspended Oba Ponle and set up a committee to review his appointment. In January 2024, Adeleke issued a White Paper nullifying Oba Ponle’s appointment and ordering a fresh selection process.
On Wednesday, Adeleke appointed Prince Muritala Oyelakin from the Oyekun ruling house as the new Oba-elect for Iree, instructing kingmakers to commence rites for his installation.
Protests erupted on Thursday as some residents opposed the government’s decision. On Friday, gunshots were reported in the community, causing tension and prompting some business owners to shut their shops.
Meanwhile, the doors of the seclusion house, where the obaship rites are traditionally conducted, were forced open for Oba-elect Oyelakin’s rites, despite being previously locked since Oba Ponle’s emergence. However, the head of kingmakers, Chief Taiwo Oguntobi (Asalu of Iree), and other traditional chiefs boycotted the process, citing their recognition of Oba Ponle as the legitimate king.
Speaking on the development, Chief Oguntobi explained that, “I am the head of the traditionalists in Iree town, I am not part of the process for the selection of the new king appointed by the government. The traditional rites for any king should commence from the deity that I am in charge of but nothing of such. They used cutlasses to break into the house of Odofin(seclusion) today. The family of Odofin were opposed to that.
“We, the representatives of the community who ought to be there are not present for any rite for the newly appointed king. If they want to make anybody king in Iree, Asanlu, Odofin and Olu-Ode must be present. The Oogboni, Olosun group must be represented, including the six Iwarafa. But with this new king, nothing of such, none of these people were present.
“The authentic king for Iree town is Oba Ademola Ponle, we all supported him. We have performed all rites for him any other person aside from him is fake. The rite that authenticates kingship on anybody has been given to Oba Ponle, and another one can’t be reproduced unless he dies.”
However, the Oba-elect, Oyelakin, has claimed that the rites were witnessed by community members and traditional chiefs, including the Odofin (seclusion chief), and that the residents were happy about his appointment.
“The rites were witnessed by sons and daughters of the Iree community. The president of the Iree Progressive Union was also present. The rite was led by the Odofin of the town. I visited the Odofin house, but I did not enter, I just step my feet at the entrance three times. There was no crisis in town at all, the residents were happy about my appointment. The gunshots are just part of our tradition. I have plans to bring investors into the town,” he said.
On the other hand, Oba Ponle maintained his position as the authentic king, stating, “I am the authentic king of Iree, I have all the instruments of office with me, all what you are seeing is just jamboree. There is still a pending case in court and any action on the matter amounts to contempt.”
Tensions Rise As 2 Kings Emerge In Osun Community is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
A recent Instagram clip showed President Joe Biden speaking about where he and former President Barack Obama stand on something that sounds like gibberish — and misleads about the date he said it.
The Feb. 29 Instagram video showed former Fox News host Tucker Carlson describing Biden’s quote: “In a rally in Michigan on Saturday, Biden muddied the waters for the very first time. He announced his support for something called ‘badacafcar.’ In fact, he said it’s a fundamental human right.”
The video cut to a clip of Biden speaking. “Barack and I think it’s a right for people to have ‘badacafcar,’” the caption accompanying Biden’s speech read.
Some of the post’s top comments showed people questioning why he mentioned Obama, who stepped down from office in 2017.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Biden did stumble over his words, but the incident isn’t recent; it’s from an excerpt of a “Tucker Carlson Tonight” episode that aired Nov. 1, 2020.
Biden was speaking at a rally in Flint, Michigan, on Oct. 31, 2020, three days before the 2020 election. At the 57:35 mark in this C-SPAN video, he says, “Donald Trump thinks health care is a privilege,” and then says the quote shown in the clip. C-SPAN’s transcript reads, “Barack and I think it is a right for people to have health care.”
This clip of Biden stumbling over his words isn’t from “a rally in Michigan on Saturday.” We rate that claim False.
RELATED: Biden’s verbal blunders: Separating the real from the fake
Para leer en español, vea esta traducción de Google Translate.
The latest ad from the pro-Donald Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. puts the issue of President Joe Biden’s age front and center. It features a clip of Biden appearing to fumble and grasp for words and ends with the narrator questioning whether Biden will live long enough to serve a second term.
We think a fuller clip of this moment may give viewers a different impression — that perhaps Biden was pausing for effect to express incredulousness at a comment Trump made about Russia and NATO. We’ll let readers/viewers decide for themselves.
The ad begins with Biden speaking on Feb. 16 at the White House, after the death of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who had died that day in a Russian prison. In the video clip, Biden appears to stammer and search for his words. “I guess I should clear my mind here a little bit,” Biden says.
The ad’s narrator then says, “We can all see Joe Biden’s weakness. If Biden wins, can he even survive until 2029? The real question is, can we?” The ad is interspersed with video images of Biden stumbling on stairs.
But a fuller clip of Biden’s comments taken from a C-SPAN video may give viewers a different impression. Biden was talking about comments Trump made at a rally in South Carolina in which Trump said that when he was president he told the leader of a large NATO country that if the country was “delinquent” in its payments to NATO and Russia attacked it, “I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.” (As we wrote, Trump misconstrues what he calls “delinquent” payments from alliance members to NATO.)
Biden clearly paused after he mentioned Trump’s comment, and seemed to be at a loss for words — or trying to give the appearance of being at a loss for words — before saying, “I guess I should clear my mind here a little bit and not say what I’m really thinking. But let me be clear: This is an outrageous thing for a president to say.”
NBC News wrote that Biden “paused for dramatic effect, expressing exasperation with Trump.”
In an email to us, Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, called the ad a “sick and deranged stunt.”
Biden at 81 is the oldest president in history, and polls show that many voters are concerned about his age. Trump is 77. We take no position, of course, on the president’s age or fitness to serve another term. But we think seeing Biden’s comments in context may — or may not — give viewers a different impression of the long pause during his Feb. 16 remarks.
According to NBC News, MAGA Inc. is spending $500,000 to air the ad nationally on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and Newsmax.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org does not accept advertising. We rely on grants and individual donations from people like you. Please consider a donation. Credit card donations may be made through our “Donate” page. If you prefer to give by check, send to: FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104.
The Warriors are not expected to deliver an official update Friday on star guard Steph Curry’s ankle injury, but an early report suggests they believe he avoided serious harm.
Those around Curry and the Warriors have “optimism his absence will not be lengthy,” The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweeted Friday afternoon, noting that he will miss at least a game and possibly more. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said an MRI on Curry’s ankle “returned clean.”
As of 1 p.m. Friday, the Warriors had not yet submitted an injury report ahead of Saturday’s game against the Spurs.
Curry rolled his right ankle in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ loss Thursday night to the Bulls as he collected a pass and looked to move the ball while cutting toward the Chicago basket. He left the game with just under four minutes remaining and did not return.
Curry, 35, struggled with ongoing ankle issues early in his career but gained enough traction to become a two-time MVP and the offensive catalyst for the Warriors’ four championship teams over the last decade.
He has played in 59 of the Warriors’ 62 games this season. Golden State faces San Antonio at Chase Center at 5:30 Saturday night, then will play the Spurs on the road Monday before facing the Mavericks in Dallas on Wednesday.
The Warriors are solidly in the play-in tournament at this point, percentage points ahead of the Lakers for ninth place. They are 3.5 games behind the Suns for sixth place and 5.5 games ahead of the Jazz in 11th place. Dallas is 1.5 games ahead in the No. 8 seed.
Oprah Winfrey, here in December, will host “a sit-down conversation around the radical impact of prescription weight loss medications.” (Arturo Holmes/The Hollywood Reporter/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Oprah Winfrey may have stepped away from Weight Watchers, but she’s not staying out of the conversation about weight.
The mogul will host “a sit-down conversation around the radical impact of prescription weight loss medications” in “An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution,” scheduled to air on ABC on March 18 and the next day on Hulu.
The special will take place in front of a live audience with medical experts to explore “prevailing questions and concerns surrounding the impact on our health care, economy, lifestyle and culture,” a press release for the event states.
“It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity,” Winfrey said in the announcement. “This special will bring together medical experts, leaders in the space and people in the day-to-day struggle to talk about health equity and obesity with the intention to ultimately release the shame, judgment and stigma surrounding weight.”
In October, Winfrey hosted her Oprah Daily’s “The Life You Want Class: The State of Weight” and talked about sharing her weight journey over the years.
“My highest weight was 237 pounds,” she said. “I don’t know if there is another public person whose weight struggle has been exploited as much as mine over the years.”
Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, expressed excitement about the project.
“I can think of no one better to lead this meaningful conversation about such a critical issue that touches all of our lives.”
‘It’s time for us to say enough is enough,’ says Independent presidential candidate.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. responded to Democrat Joe Biden’s divisive State of the Union Thursday with a message promoting unity and a return to the values that once made America a beacon of hope and liberty for the rest of the world.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) March 8, 2024
RFK’s epic message slammed America’s descent into a third-world nation where poverty and crime run rampant, while acknowledging the US was once a land of innovation and wealth that was viewed by other countries with respect.
Here are the top 21 issues noted by RFK in his message, courtesy of VigilantNews.com:
#1 – “We’ve become a nation of chronic illness, of violence, of loneliness, depression, and division and poverty.”
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#2 – “Our great cities are becoming tent encampments.”
#3 – “Modern-day Hooverville is filled with undocumented immigrants and dispossessed Americans and people living in their cars, plagued by mental illness and addiction and despair.”
#4 – “Our border has come under the control of criminal drug cartels that traffic in desolation and fentanyl — and in busloads of desperate human beings.”
#5 – “Our children are drowning in a crisis of alienation, of dispossession, and complete disconnection from their communities.”
#6 – “We’ve lost far more of our young people to drugs in the last decade than in the 20-year Vietnam war.”
#7 – “We’ve printed nine centuries’ worth of money in a little over a decade and spent $8 trillion on regime change wars. Those wars have made America less safe, our country less strong, and the world far less stable, while sending prices through the roof.”
#8 – “As our infrastructure falls apart, tens of millions of young Americans no longer even dream of owning their own home.”
#9 – “All the new wealth of the last generation has gone to the billionaires and to transnational corporations while our tattered middle class, our infrastructure, our industry, have been hollowed out from the inside.”
#10 – “The public debt has gone from about $5 trillion under President George W. Bush to $34 trillion today.”
#11 – “US household debt is at a record high of $17.3 trillion.”
#12 – “Our true unemployment rate is 23%.”
#13 – “Young parents face housing, grocery and childcare costs that are unaffordable.”
#14 – “Too many Americans are living bleak and hopeless lives.”
#15 – “We rank 40th globally in our people’s health and wellness.”
#16 – “Out of the richest countries in the world, the United States is 35th in child poverty rates.”
#17 – “We rank 36th in literacy and 45th in press freedom.”
#18 – “We have one of the highest cancer rates in the world, and our life expectancy now ranks 59th, according to the World Bank.”
#19 – “We now have the worst health outcomes in the rich world, the highest maternal mortality rates, the highest number of gun deaths per capita, and the highest number of teen pregnancies.”
#20 – “According to CDC, 60% of Americans have at least one chronic condition. When my uncle was president, only 6% of Americans had chronic disease.”
#21 – “And all of these plights fall heaviest on our young people:
• Four in ten of them suffer from depression.
• Half of them have considered suicide.
• One in ten has anxiety.
• One in ten has ADHD.
• One in five is obese.
Read a transcript of RFK’s message below:
I’m Robert F. Kennedy Jr and I’m running as an independent candidate for president of the United States.
I grew up in an America that seemed to have achieved its promise as an exemplary nation. Modern democracy had spread from one nation, ours, in 1776 to six by 1865 and to 190 by the 1960s. We had become the city on the hill, we were a moral authority around the globe. Our government institutions, our Congress, the court, the regulatory agencies and even the American Press were renowned for their integrity and they were revered worldwide. Other nations wanted our American leadership, they knew the difference between leadership and bullying, which is something our current leaders seem to have forgotten.
We were the template of Liberty, proof that for a country to thrive its people must be free: free to speak, free to worship, free to build great companies, free to start small businesses. We were the freest country in the world and by no coincidence also the most prosperous. Working Americans could provide for their families on a single salary, they could buy a home, raise a family, save for retirement without mountains of debt. We made the best music, we made the best movies, we made gold standard automobiles that everybody in the world wanted, we made blue jeans, we reconstructed Europe, we put men on the moon. We had the world’s healthiest, best educated children. Our productivity, ingenuity, our can-do Spirit where the Envy of the world. We had confidence in our strength, our capacity, and the limitless potential of our country. Yeah, we had serious racial and environmental problems, but in the hey days of my youth, the environmental movement and the Civil Rights Movement were picking up steam. My father and some of his allies were fighting to eliminate the last pockets of hunger in Appalachia, in the Mississippi Delta, and on the Indian reservations, and we became, for the first time, a true constitutional democracy in this country with all Races voting and holding political office. Other countries aspired to be like us and our children grew up proud of their passport, proud of their flag.
My uncle President Kennedy left us a legacy of peace and the hope of ending the arms race and winding down the Cold War. Those were the traditions of freedom, prosperity, and peace that my father, my uncle, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were striving to protect in advance.
In the half century since their deaths, we’ve lost touch with that vision for our country.
I want to tell you right now that we can still restore that America, the America that almost was and yet may be, but we have to start by being honest with ourselves. Neither my uncle nor my father would recognize the version of America that we have today. We’ve become a nation of chronic illness, of violence, of loneliness, depression, and division, and poverty. Our great cities are becoming tent encampments, modern-day Hoovervilles filled with undocumented immigrants and dispossessed Americans and people living in their cars plagued by mental illness and addiction and despair. Our border has come under the control of criminal drug cartels that traffic in desolation and fentanyl and in busloads of desperate human beings. Our children are drowning in a crisis of alienation, of dispossession, and complete disconnection from their communities.
We’ve lost far more of our young people to drugs in the last decade than in the 20-year Vietnam War. We’ve printed nine centuries worth of money in a little over a decade and spent $8 trillion dollars on regime change wars. Those wars have made America less safe, our country less strong, and the world far less stable, while sending prices through the roof as our infrastructure falls apart. Tens of millions of young Americans no longer even dream of owning their own home. What happened to America, the land of opportunity, where you could be sure that if you worked hard and played by the rules that you would have a decent life? All the new wealth of the last generation has gone to the billionaires and to transnational corporations while our tattered middle class, our infrastructure, our industry have been hollowed out from the inside. Instead of promise, we’ve left our kids sick and drowning in debt. The public debt has gone from about $5 trillion under President George W. Bush to $34 trillion today and US household debt is at a record high of $17.3 trillion. If you include discouraged workers, our true unemployment rate is 23%. Young parents face housing, grocery, and child care costs that are unaffordable. Too many Americans are living bleak and hopeless lives, dreading the one medical emergency or the car repair that will tip them over the edge into homelessness.
We ranked 40th globally in our people’s health and wellness. Out of the richest countries in the world, the United States is 35th in child poverty rates, just above Mexico. We rank 36 in literacy and 45th in press freedom. We have one of the highest cancer rates in the world and our life expectancy now ranks 59th according to the World Bank – that’s right behind Algeria, which spends less than one-thirtieth per capita of what we spend. But even these grim figures hide the full picture of our dire health crisis. We now have the worst health outcomes in the rich world, the highest maternal mortality rates, the highest number of gun deaths per capita, and the highest number of teen pregnancies. We lead the world in obesity and chronic disease. According to CDC, 60% of Americans have at least one chronic condition. When my uncle was president only 6% of Americans had chronic disease. And all of these plights fall heaviest on our young people. Four in 10 of them suffer depression and half of them have considered suicide, one in 10 has anxiety, one in 10 has ADHD, one in five is obese.
It’s time for us to say enough is enough.
We were once a free and thriving nation, the healthiest and strongest in the world. What we once were, we can be again. How do I know that? It’s because everywhere I go in this country, I see a profound determination among Americans to heal. We might have become the sickest country on Earth, but we also have the most ingenious healers both inside and outside conventional medicine. We may have sky high levels of depression and addiction, but we also have innovators who have opened up new frontiers in recovery. We have some of the world’s most depleted agricultural soils, but also some of the world’s most innovative and energetic regenerative farmers. We have serious economic problems, but we also have the brightest and most ambitious entrepreneurs. We face hunger and homelessness and yet we meet it with the highest philanthropic rates in the world and bottomless kindness and compassion. We may be on the mat today, but we can be on our feet and happy and healthy and strong again with good leadership tomorrow. Our people and our system were built for resilience and here’s the most important thing I want to tell you about the State of our Union:
Our nation seems more divided than ever but Americans everywhere want to heal that divide. Our nation has become artificially divided by political forces that can survive only when We the People are at war with each other. People are tired of being manipulated by fear. We learned that lesson during COVID, we recognize that the same techniques of manipulating fear are being used by elites today to corral us into voting for one political candidate or the other. Americans are tired of these dire warnings that to preserve democracy itself, you better vote for our guy. I can tell you that in every state of this Union, people are rejecting fear mongering. 80% of Americans say they don’t want to be forced to choose in this election between the lesser of two evils. They’re tired of voting against something or someone. I see it in the crowds of mixed Republicans and Democrats and Independents who attend my rallies, that a growing number of Americans are rejecting divisiveness. They’re ready to unite, to rebuild this country and to fulfill the promise of the America of my youth. They’re ready to vote for something and for someone they like, for someone who represents hope and healing, for someone with an inspiring vision for America’s future, for a future that they can believe in.
So that’s the State of the Union that I want to bring you today. It’s a nation that hungers to heal, it’s a nation ready to face reality, to rebuild, to end the forever foreign wars, to clean out the corrupt Washington establishment, and to turn again toward peace, freedom, good health, and prosperity. When we unite in that vision, we’re going to be unstoppable. Thank you, and God bless you.
The federal government has suspended the $10,000 and $15,000 expatriate levy imposed on employers.
The development is coming after stakeholders criticised the newly introduced levy by the Ministry of Interior.
On February 27, 2024, the federal government launched the Expatriates Employment Levy (EEL) Handbook.
The levy is a government-mandated contribution imposed on employers who employ expatriate workers in Nigeria.
It imposes $10,000 for an expatriate worker and $15,000 for a director.
But in a twist of event, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), in collaboration with key stakeholders, announced a temporary step down of levy which is administered by the Nigerian Immigration Service.
This was part of resolutions reached at the meeting attended by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Minister of Interior.
Others in attendance were the president of NACCIMA Mr. Dele Oye, the President of Petroleum Technology Association, the President of Special Economic Zones Association, the Director General of The Nigerian Turkiye Business Council, the European Union Trade delegation head, the NACCIMA Chair of Digital Trade Group and the representatives of the National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises NASME.
The meeting held that “The implementation of the Expatriate Employment Levy will be paused, allowing for further consultations with NACCIMA and other vital stakeholders.
“A joint committee comprising members of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Ministry of Interior, NACCIMA, and other stakeholders will be formed to review the EEL policy.
“The rollout of the EEL, as initially proposed, will be deferred in accordance with the resolutions made.”
THE WHISTLER had reported that the President and Chairman of the Council of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Gabriel Idahosa warned that foreign investors were suspending their projects in Nigeria over the levy.
Idahosa said, “Since the announcement, a couple of investors put a hold on various projects that are in the pipeline. We know because they are our members. They are saying they have to see if they can continue doing business in Nigeria going forward.”
FG Suspends $15,000 Expatriate Levy To Avert Mass Exit Of Foreign Investors is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
