Claims that Wike, PDP govs working for Tinubu baseless says Ologbondiyan
Kola Ologbondiyan, the former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed in strong terms the claim made by Ibrahim Masari, the placeholder of the All Progressive Congress (APC) that Nyesom Wike and some PDP governors are working hard for the success of the Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the APC at next year general election.
Ologbondiyan made the assertion during an interview with Channels Tv on Friday that Masari claims are all lies and shouldn’t be taken seriously, saying that it is false to believe that a political party that Nigerians are tired off is the same party that PDP would won’t to work for.
He claimed that PDP governors especially Wike have no basis to go and vote for the candidate of the APC in view of the fact that Nigerians have already distance themselves from the processes of the All Progressives Congress and Nigerians, upon whom the APC has become a burden in the last seven years, are looking for every way and means to reject them at the poll.
Read also: Wike back from London, admits meeting with Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, Obj
Food, fuel shortages hit Tunisian shops
As inflation bit harder globally following rising food and energy prices,Tunisia, once North Africa economic power house have reported that shops in Tunis, the capital city are rationing goods including cooking oil, sugar and butter. This is according to Reuters.
Added to the unfamiliar situation of food rationing, there have been scenes of long queues for petrol at petrol stations amid a fuel shortage as the government navigates a looming crisis in public finances.
A scene that is familiar to pre-world war era is the queuing up for food items as some grocery shops have restricted customers to single packs of items in short supply, while queues outside petrol stations have blocked traffic in parts of the capital.
President Kais Saied and his government have not commented on the shortages except by announcing an intention to target commodities speculators and hoarders. However, Saied on Friday sacked the head of Tunisia’s petroleum distribution company in reaction of the company to avoid this crisis.
Netflix set to charge $7-$9 per month for its ad-supported subscription
Bloomberg reported on Friday that Netflix Inc, online entertainment streaming giant is set to charge about $7 to $9 per month for its new advertising-supported subscription plan.
Bloomberg said that the company plans to introduce its budget-friendly option in the final three months of the year across at least half a dozen geographies. However, the full rollout may have to wait until early next year, the report said.
The company’s plan is to sell around four minutes of commercials per hour for the ad-supported service, showing ads before and during the shows, sources told Bloomberg.
The objective is to rival Walt Disney who had announced it will offer a cheaper, ad-supported version of its Disney+ streaming service later this year.
Added to producing an alternative service to rival Walt Disney, the company hopes to attract subscribers who are ready to watch shows with advertisements, at almost half of its current price plan that costs $15.49 per month.
Outlook of lower energy demand pushes WTI to close 3% higher
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures closed 3 percent higher as it traded above $93 per barrel on Friday, following uncertainty in the market as investors weighed on uncertain supply levels against the outlook of lower energy demand.
According to Trading Economics, Bin Salman, Saudi Energy Minister had earlier this week flagged the possibility that OPEC+ nations could cut production to counter the “disconnect” in the oil market and potential return of crude exports from Iran.
Another factor that played a crucial role in the uncertainty in the market is the decline in crude oil inventories of the US as reported by the US energy department.
The market also reacted to Jerome Powell, the Fed Reserve Chairman speech at Jackson Hole symposium where he said that monetary tightening will continue as inflation is still too high.
Lukashenko says Belarus warplanes modified to carry nuclear arms
In an effort to turn the tide in favour of Putin in his war against US-backed Ukraine, Lukashenko, an ally of Putin said on Friday that the Belarusian military’s SU-24 warplanes have been modified to carry nuclear weapons and that Minsk would react immediately if the West caused it any problems.
According to Belta news agency, Lukashenko the president of Belarus and a hardliner had agreed on a move to modernize Belarusian warplanes with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lukashenko – who has allowed Russian forces to use Belarusian territory to launch attacks against Ukraine – did not go into details about how a weapons transfer from Moscow might take place.
It is believed that Lukashenko was talking about a potential threat from NATO backed Poland.
