Oriontimes

  The Olowu of Kuta Kingdom, HRM Oba Oyelude Makama has beseeched members of Osun Online Publishers Association to advance their current trend of professionalism in their work. The royal father who is the Patron of the Association, made the assertion on Sunday during the visit of the New Executive members of the association at his Kuta palace. Oba Makama applauded the Jare Tiamiyu led-administration, urging the new leadership led by Mukhtar Ajelogbon to continue the proactiveness in their work for the progress and development of Osun State, adding that all eyes on the media for professional and balanced reportage as the Osun 2026 governorship trend is drawing closer. He promised not to relent in supporting the association wholeheartedly in the capacity of Patron, as he always proud of the association. Olowu-Kuta, however, prayed for the successful tenure of the new OOPA leadership.

  Thousands of people gathered outside Israel’s Parliament yesterday in one of the largest demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the start of the war in Gaza. He has faced increasing pressure, abroad and at home, over Israel’s handling of the war, and many Israelis are calling for him to resign. Close allies like the U.S. have criticized the war’s heavy civilian toll and have urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. And many Israelis have demanded that Netanyahu prioritize the release of the hostages held by Hamas as part of a cease-fire deal. Thousands demonstrated against Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The protests in Jerusalem, which were expected to continue through Wednesday, came as in-person talks about a potential cease-fire resumed in  Pro tests against Netanyahu over his plan to overhaul the judiciary largely subsided after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel, but public dissatisfaction with the war has now driven Israelis...

   Founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried,who was convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his customers, was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in prison. His sentence was a fraction of the maximum penalty of 110 years he faced, but it still ranks as one of the longest imposed on a white-collar defendant in recent years, NYT reports. The sentencing signified the finale of a sweeping fraud case that exposed the rampant volatility and risk-taking across the loosely regulated world of cryptocurrencies. In November 2022, FTX imploded virtually overnight, erasing $8 billion in customer savings. At a trial last fall, Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Bankman-Fried vowed to appeal his conviction, but in remarks after his sentencing he appeared to recognize that he would be in prison for some time. “My useful life is probably over now,” he said.

  The Insight Initiative for Community and Social Development, a nonprofit organization in Osogbo, welcomes the setting of Action Committee on cyber crimes and cyberbullying by the Osun State Government under the leadership of Senator Ademola Adeleke. We welcome the development as we believe that the media space in the state should be sanitised and made secure for all stakeholders in the state to feel safe. The need to halt the torrent of fake news circulated in the media space can not be more urgent than now.  However, we want to call on the government to ensure the committee is peopled with persons of impeccable character, integrity, and most importantly, understanding of the ethics and professional workings of the media. We advise that the panel should be a tripartite committee that will consist of Civil Society Organizations, media practitioners, and representatives of relevant agencies of the government (including security agencies).  We also urge the state governmen...