News Digest: INEC Postpones Elections till 23 February; Egyptian President May Rule until 2034
1. INEC postpones elections till 23 February
The Independent National Electoral Commission has decided to shift Saturday's presidential and National Assembly elections till next week 23 February.
The Governorship and state assembly elections will take place on 9 March, instead of 2 March as initially scheduled.
It was one of the decisions reached early today in a crunch talk between between INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and 12 national commissioners in Abuja, according to sources close to the meeting.
Professor Yakubu will be briefing the media later today on the decision, amidst reports of logistics problems faced by the commission.
2. Egyptian president may rule until 2034
Egypt's parliament has overwhelmingly voted to approve draft constitutional changes that could extend President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's time in office by another 12 years.
Mr Sisi is due to stand down in 2022 when his second four-year term ends.
But 485 of the country's 596 lawmakers voted on Thursday to lengthen presidential terms to six years and let Mr al-Sisi serve another two.
Several Egyptian human rights groups have spoken out against the decision.
The changes, first proposed earlier this month, will now be drafted into legislation and put to another parliamentary vote. If approved again, Egypt will then hold a referendum.
3. Namibia decriminalises dumping newborn babies
Namibia's government has now decriminalised the act of abandoning a newborn baby, which gender activists say is usually the result of difficulties in procuring legal terminations.
Safe places will be put up where unwanted children can be left without prosecution of the mothers.
Statistics from the Namibian police show that in 2017 - 2018, only 25 cases of baby dumping were reported, but about 7,300 cases of abortion were recorded, The Namibian newspaper reports.
4. Dozens killed in northern Nigeria
Officials in north-west Nigeria have reported the discovery of the bodies of 66 people, 22 of them children and 12 women, killed by "criminal elements".
The victims were found in eight villages in the Kujuru area of Kaduna state, the state government said.
Security forces have made arrests, state governor Nasir El-Rufai said.
He called on communities to avoid reprisal attacks but did not identify suspects or give reasons for the killings.
5.Trump declares emergency for border wall, House panel launches probe
President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency in a bid to fund his promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval, an action Democrats vowed to challenge as a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Hours after Trump’s announcement, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee said it had launched an investigation into the emergency declaration.