Headline

NDC To Incorporate Msc Programme In Its Curriculum – Commandant

Published

4 years ago

January 27, 2022

Rear Adm. Murtala Bashir, the Commandant, National Defence College (NDC), says the institution has concluded plans to include master’s degree programme in the school’s curriculum.

Bashir disclosed this at the opening of the Steering Group Retreat of NDC with the theme, “Advancing by Retreating”, on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the college had considered the possibility of it awarding master’s degree for the participants on completion of the 11 months course.

According to him, participants of NDC usually had to go to University of Ibadan or the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) for another six months for them to get master’s degree.

He said the college felt that after 30 years of existence, it had come of age to award degrees to its participants after 11 months, adding that it was the global best practice.

“That is why we are having partners from the National Universities Commission (NUC), University of Ibadan, NDA and other stakeholders so that we brainstorm and see how we can factor master’s degree into the curriculum.

“In the long run, we will make the curriculum to be more robust and more responsive to our needs as a nation,” he said.

The commandant said the retreat was designed to take stock of the curriculum, most especially, to make it more responsive to current realities such as introduction of new courses.

He added that the retreat was also expected to enhance bonding and understanding of issues facing the nation, as well as supporting the whole of societal approach to addressing the issues.

The commandant said the dynamic nature of the world had continued to affect many things around the globe such as the COVID-19.

Others according to him include security challenges and resurgence of political instability in parts of the world.

“We are also seeing the advent of artificial intelligence that has birthed sophisticated technologies which are becoming game changers in almost everything that we do.

“This and so many other things would definitely dictate global events for some time to come.

“We need to factor all these things into our curriculum to make it more responsive to current realities on ground,” he added.

The Deputy Commandant, NDC, Maj.-Gen. Emeka Onumajuru, said the retreat was organised to take stock and reset for optimal performance, saying that an organisation either transform, innovate or dies.

Onumajuru said the retreat would undertake to approach the activities of the college in the context of its mission.

He said that to this effect, it was important that the college curriculum and programmes be tweaked to reflect contemporary demands in knowledge and research to meet global best practices.

“It is expected that this faculty retreat will assist in repositioning the college to better deliver its mandate to help educate this generation of strategic leaders,” he said. (NAN)

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

4 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

4 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

5 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP