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The seven states that will decide the US presidency

US Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are hurtling toward their November 5 election showdown, one of the closest contests in modern American history.

And in the handful of critical states framing the 2024 race, there is little daylight between the rivals with barely a week before Election Day.

Under the US Constitution, America’s founding fathers established that each of the 50 states would hold its own vote for president.

Under the complex Electoral College system, each state has a certain number of “electors,” based on population. Most states have a winner-take-all system that awards all electors to whoever wins the popular vote.

With candidates needing 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win, elections tend to be decided in the hotly contested “swing states” with a history of alternating between Republican and Democratic candidates.

This year, there are seven such battlegrounds, and everyone is a toss-up within the margin of error. Here is a look:

– Pennsylvania (19 Electoral College votes) –

Pennsylvania was once reliably Democratic, but these days, they don’t come much tighter than the Keystone State.

Republican Trump won the most populous battleground, with 13 million residents, by 0.7 percentage points in 2016. Joe Biden claimed it by 1.2 percentage points in 2020.

Known for its “Rust Belt” cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been blighted for decades by the steady decline of its industrial manufacturing base.

Trump and Harris have campaigned repeatedly in the eastern state, where the pair held their one and only presidential debate. Trump, who survived an assassination attempt at a July rally in Pennsylvania, is courting the rural white population and warning that migrants are overwhelming small towns.

Harris is touting recent infrastructure wins, and in Pittsburgh, she outlined plans to invest $100 billion in manufacturing, a key issue for state residents.

– Georgia (16) –

This southeastern state was an election flashpoint at the end of Trump’s first term, and the controversy simmers.

Prosecutors in Georgia indicted Trump in an election interference case after he called state officials urging them to “find” enough votes to overturn Biden’s narrow 2020 victory.

But in a boost for Trump, the case is paused until after the election.

Biden was the first Democrat to win the Peach State since 1992. Demographic changes are likely to benefit Harris, who has courted minority voters across Georgia.

– North Carolina (16) –

The southeastern state has voted Democratic only once since 1980, but Harris believes it’s back in play.

The population, now over 10 million, is expanding and growing more diverse, benefiting Democrats.

Complicating matters for Trump, a scandal involving the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate has infuriated party officials who worry it could sink Trump in a close race.

As in neighbouring Georgia, one wild card is how the devastation from storm Helene, which recently laid waste to towns in western North Carolina, might impact the vote.

– Michigan (15) –

Trump flipped Michigan, a former Democratic stronghold, on his way to defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Biden returned it to the blue column in 2020, buoyed by unionized workers and a large Black community.

But this time, Harris risks losing the support of a 200,000-strong Arab-American community that has denounced Biden’s — and by extension her — handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

– Arizona (11) –

The Grand Canyon state was among 2020’s tightest races, with Biden triumphing by just 10,457 votes.

Trump hopes frustrations over the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policy will swing Arizona, which shares a border with Mexico, back in his favor.

Harris visited Arizona’s border in September vowing to crack down on migration and work on reviving last year’s bipartisan border bill, which she said Trump “tanked” for political purposes.

– Wisconsin (10) –

Clinton lost Wisconsin after giving the state a wide berth during the 2016 campaign.

As with Midwestern neighbour Michigan, it was a different story when Trump’s opponent was Biden, who turned a 23,000-vote deficit into a winning margin of 21,000 for Democrats.

Trump considers it winnable, and his party held its summer national convention there.

While Trump led early against Biden, Harris has made the state race a nailbiter.

– Nevada (6) –

The Silver State, with a population of 3.1 million, hasn’t voted Republican since 2004. Conservatives, buoyed by Trump’s headway with Hispanic voters, are convinced they can flip the script.

Trump held a significant lead here against Biden.

But within weeks of becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris — promoting her economic plans to help small businesses and combat inflation — has erased that advantage in the western state, whose largest city Las Vegas is dominated by the hospitality industry.

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Over half of Nigeria’s cyber attacks target government, finance — Report

A recent research by Positive Technologies, a leader in result-driven cybersecurity, has revealed that over half of cyber attacks in Nigeria target the government sector and financial companies.

This was contained in the firm’s analysis of the current cyber threats on the African continent for 2023–2024.

According to the experts, these attacks are often carried out by organised hacker groups aiming for financial gain and espionage, as well as by hacktivists.

In Africa, government and financial institutions make up 29 cent and 22 cent of all successful attacks on organisations, respectively.

The analysis of messages on the dark web forums confirmed that these sectors attract cybercriminals the most: they account for 19 per cent and 13 percent of all the darknet listings.

Anastasia Bezborodko, an analyst from the International Analytics Group at Positive Technologies, noted: “The share of attacks against the government sector among all attacks on organisations in Africa is twice as much as was found in our previous research. “Most often, government institutions are targeted by APT groups (46 percent) aiming to collect data and perform cyberespionage, as well as by hacktivists (18 percent ).

” Cybercriminals primarily target government institutions in Nigeria (27 percent ), Algeria (17 percent ), Ethiopia (12 percent ), and South Africa (12 percent), according to dark web data.
“Attacks on the financial sector also increased, rising from 18 percent to 22 percent of all successful attacks.

“On the dark web, posts related to Africa’s government sector typically mention free distribution of information (66 percent), while those related to financial institutions focus on selling data and access (64 percent).”

According to Positive Technologies, more than half of the databases related to African countries are distributed for free on the dark web, while access to corporate networks can be bought for an average of $2,970.

One in 10 successful cyberattacks on organisations in the region targeted the industrial sector.
The main goal of these attacks was to disrupt production processes and steal confidential information.

Another 10 percent of attacks targeted telecommunications: cybercriminals are drawn to vast amounts of personal data and customer payment information. In attacks on organisations, criminals most often targeted computers, servers, and network equipment (65 cent).
This points to weak infrastructure protection, such as vulnerabilities.

The report covered the period from Q1 2023 to Q3 2024. network perimeters and poorly configured services that are accessible externally.

Attacks targeting web resources surged from 15 per cent to 27 percent with DDoS attacks accounting for half. Malware was the most common method used in cyberattacks, accounting for 43 percent of attacks on organisations and 53 percent of attacks on individuals. In almost one-third of successful attacks on companies, cybercriminals used ransomware, and in one out of every four attacks, they deployed spyware.

In 18 percent of attacks on organisations, hackers exploited vulnerabilities. The most common result of cyberattacks on organisations (61 percent ) and individuals (53 percent) was hackers accessing confidential information.

Another common issue was disruption of core business operations, which occurred in 18 percent of successful attacks.

According to open-source data, a significant share of cyberattacks happened in South Africa (22 percent ) and Egypt (13 percent). Meanwhile, analysis of posts on the dark web forums revealed that these messages primarily targeted South Africa (25 percent ), Nigeria (18 percent), and Algeria (13 percent ).

Most often, dark web listings feature databases (61 percent), and more than half of these databases (64 percent) are given away for free. Criminals also sell data for accessing the networks of major African companies (38 percent of all analysed dark web messages). Most of these posts (74 per cent) are about selling access, with an average price of $2,970.
In recent years, digital technologies have been implemented across various sectors in Africa, opening up new opportunities for cybercriminals.

To increase the region’s cybersecurity and thwart future cybercrimes, experts at Positive Technologies recommend adopting protective measures, such as developing and timely updating cybersecurity strategies and identifying critical information infrastructure, the disruption of which could cause non-tolerable events at industry and national levels.

To ensure cyber resilience, experts recommend that organisations conduct risk analysis, put together a list of events that could cause irreparable damage, regularly update systems and applications, and continuously check the effectiveness and relevance of security mechanisms and tools in place. Organisations should also host educational events to teach employees basic security rules and allocate budgets for training cybersecurity specialists. To improve cybersecurity, experts recommend forging strong partnerships between the government and private sectors.

Strengthening international collaboration, sharing knowledge, and exchanging experiences on current cyberthreats and protective measures are also crucial.

Positive Technologies is an industry leader in result-driven cybersecurity and a major global provider of information security solutions.

Our mission is to safeguard businesses and entire industries against cyberattacks and non-tolerable damage. Over 4,000 organisations worldwide use technologies and services developed by our company.

Positive Technologies is the first and only cybersecurity company in Russia publicly available on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX: POSI), with 205,000 shareholders and counting.

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FG to diversify economy through creative industry

The FG is set to diversify Nigeria's economy through the creative industry

The Federal Government (FG) has expressed its readiness to diversify Nigeria’s economy through the development of the creative industry.

Vice President, Kashim Shettima made this known in a statement he shared on his official X account on Sunday morning.

“President Bola Tinubu yesterday (Saturday) identified the creative economy as a cornerstone of his administration’s economic diversification agenda,” Shettima said.

“Tinubu has also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to positioning Nigeria’s creative sector as a key driver of the country’s global influence.”

The president who was represented by his vice stated this during the launch of the 2024 Abuja International Carnival at the Eagle Square, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

“We are not here just to celebrate a carnival but to reaffirm the essence of who we are as Nigerians, a people of culture, a people of art, a people of colour and a people of shared values,” Shettima said on behalf of Tinubu.

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ICPC tracks 5,000 uncompleted projects valued at N74b

The ICPC has tracked 5,000 uncompleted projects valued at N74 billion

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has revealed it has tracked over 5,000 uncompleted projects since 2019 valued at N74 billion.

The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu made the disclosure at the weekend after the commission and BudgIT Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Aliyu said the ICPC and BudgIT Foundation have decided to sign the MoU to further enshrine integrity in the execution of publicly funded projects.

He added that the commission has directed the contractors involved to return to the site and ensure the completion of the uncompleted projects.

The MoU was signed at the commission’s headquarters on Friday when the BudgIT delegation, led by its Country Representative, Mr. Gabriel Okeowo paid a courtesy visit to the ICPC.

The ICPC Chairman expressed his satisfaction with the terms of the agreement, adding that it is a testament to a shared vision between the commission and BudgIT Nigeria.

Aliyu explained that the two organisations have continued to ensure that the country’s scarce resources are deployed appropriately.

“The Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Group (CEPTG) has tracked over 5,000 projects since 2019 and successfully directed contractors to return to uncompleted projects valued at N74 billion,” he noted.

He said that ICPC would continue to hold defaulters accountable, just as it had arraigned others in the past, maintaining that the commission and other relevant authorities would deal with any issues that Nigerians report regarding their constituency projects.

Aliyu said: “The MoU will stabilise our core working relationship with BudgIT to ensure that we help Nigerians.

“I call on Nigerians to follow the work of CEPTG and also get a copy of the Nigerian budget, track and monitor their constituency projects in order to hold the government accountable.”

Earlier, in a brief address, the Country Representative of BudgIT, Gabriel Okeowo stated that the MoU demonstrated the two bodies’ mutual commitment, as certain clauses within the agreement were already being implemented even before it was officially signed.

Okeowo acknowledged the Commission’s project tracking activities, ongoing simultaneously across the country, and shared that the MoU would add credence to the collaboration of both parties.

The collaboration is coordinated through BudgIT’s investigative arm, TRACKA, which will be useful in sharing relevant information, data, and intelligence concerning fraud in publicly funded project execution.

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Ogun Customs hand over drugs worth N117.5m to NDLEA

The Ogun State Customs have handed over drugs worth N117.5 million to the NDLEA

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun Area Command, Idiroko has handed over illicit drugs worth N117.5 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The NCS made the announcement in a press statement it shared on its official Facebook account on Sunday morning.

According to the statement, Comptroller James Ojo of the Ogun Customs Area Command, Idiroko has reaffirmed his commitment to disrupting the supply chain of illicit drugs and safeguarding youths, families and communities.

Ojo said this on Friday, November 22, 2024 while handing over 6,504 parcels of Cannabis Sativa (weighing 7,217.7 kg) and 362 packs of Tramaking tablets (225mg Tramadol) to the NDLEA in Abeokuta.

Addressing journalists, Comptroller Ojo disclosed that the interception of the items, valued at N117,587,405 in Duty Paid Value (DPV) was made possible through effective collaboration with intelligence units, local informants and sister agencies.

He described the scale of illicit drug smuggling as “alarming and worrisome,” adding: “These landmark operations reflect the Nigeria Customs Service’s unwavering commitment to protecting public health, ensuring community safety and upholding the rule of law.”

He assured the public that the command would continue to enhance intelligence gathering and strengthen cooperation with relevant agencies to combat smuggling and related criminal activities.

The seized items were officially handed over to NDLEA representatives as part of inter-agency collaboration.

The Commander of the NDLEA Idiroko Special Command, Olusegun Adeyeye commended the synergy between the two agencies.

“This collaboration underscores the collective effort to fight drug abuse. We will continue to intensify our campaign against illicit drugs,” Adeyeye said.

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Simon Ekpa’s loyalists say arrest won’t stop Monday’s sit-at-home in Southeast

Ngozi Orabueze, a staunch loyalist of separatist leader Simon Ekpa, has declared that the sit-at-home observed on Mondays in the Southeast should continue, despite Ekpa’s recent arrest by Finnish authorities.

Orabueze, who identifies herself as the Chief of Staff in the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), reaffirmed her support for the controversial protest action. Ekpa, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of BRGIE, was arrested on charges related to terrorism and violence.

Ekpa has been a vocal advocate for enforcing the sit-at-home protest, purportedly in solidarity with the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. His social media platforms have frequently featured posts supporting the violent implementation of the action.

Reports indicate that the Nigerian government is seeking Ekpa’s extradition, despite his Finnish citizenship.

In a recent post on X, Orabueze expressed gratitude to the Finnish government for what she described as protecting “our Able Prime Minister, H.E. Simon Ekpa, from the terrorist Nigeria state headed by President Tinubu, Christopher Musa, and Godswill Akpabio.”

She further stated, “As Biafrans all over the world converge in Finland next week for the Biafra Independence Re-Declaration on December 2nd, we wish to inform Biafrans that the Monday Sit-at-home in all Biafraland, voluntarily agreed upon by all Biafrans, must be maintained.”

Orabueze also praised the Biafra Defence Forces for their efforts to “eliminate terrorists wearing Nigeria army and police uniforms in our land.”

She commended Biafrans for raising awareness globally about alleged atrocities committed by the Nigerian government, including what she described as “gross human rights violations, terrorism, forced disappearances of innocent citizens, and the killing of peaceful protesters in Nigeria and Biafraland.”

According to her, Finland had received evidence supporting these claims, which, she said, highlighted violations of international human rights laws by the Nigerian government.

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Edo: Gov Okpebholo unveils 14-man panel to probe Obaseki

Gov. Monday Okpebholo of Edo has constituted a 14-man state Assets Verification Committee to probe the administration of former governor Godwin Obaseki.

A statement by the chief press secretary to the governor, Fred Itua on Sunday in Benin, said the committee members would be inaugurated on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

Itua listed the members to include: Dr Ernest Umakhihe, Chairman, Anslem Ojezua- Deputy Chairman, Frank Edebor, Secretary, while Prince Kassim Afegbua, Patrick Ikhariale and Taiwo Akerele, are members.

Others members are, Patrick Idiake, Rasaq Bello-Osagie, Fredrick Unopah, Mrs. Abdallah Eugenia, Patrick Obahiagbon, Kenny Okojie, Mrs Lyndsey Tes-Sorae and Abass Braimoh.

The statement noted that the committee became imperative to set the state on the path of development and accountable leadership.

“Despite repeated calls for a more holistic database of the Assets and Liabilities of the previous administration, the Godwin Obaseki-led government came up with very scanty and limited assets and liabilities of the state.

“In line with the governor’s campaign promise to ensure probity, accountability and transparency in government, and to deepen the governance process, committee made up of respected sons and daughters from Edo State has to be constituted,” the statement said.

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