Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace announces

8 September 2022, 18:30 BST

Updated 9 minutes ago

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier on Thursday.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.

"The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

All the Queen's children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

Her grandson, Prince William, is also there, with his brother, Prince Harry, on his way.

Obituary: A long life marked by a sense of duty

Queen Elizabeth II's tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK's entry into - and withdrawal from - the European Union.

Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Liz Truss, born 101 years later in 1975, and appointed by the Queen earlier this week.

She held weekly audiences with her prime minister throughout her reign.

At Buckingham Palace in London, crowds awaiting updates on the Queen's condition began crying as they heard of her death. The Union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST.

The Queen was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, in Mayfair, London, on 21 April 1926.

Few could have foreseen she would become monarch but in December 1936 her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated from the throne to marry the twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson.

Elizabeth's father became King George VI and, at age 10, Lilibet, as she was known in the family, became heir to the throne.

Within three years, Britain was at war with Nazi Germany. Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, spent much of wartime at Windsor Castle after their parents rejected suggestions they be evacuated to Canada.

After turning 18, Elizabeth spent five months with the Auxiliary Territorial Service and learned basic motor mechanic and driving skills. "I began to understand the esprit de corps that flourishes in the face of adversity," she recalled later.

Through the war, she exchanged letters with her third cousin, Philip, Prince of Greece, who was serving in the Royal Navy. Their romance blossomed and the couple married at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947, with the prince taking the title of Duke of Edinburgh.

She would later describe him as "my strength and stay" through 74 years of marriage, before his death in 2021, aged 99.

To mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary on 20 November 2007, the Queen and Prince Philip re-visit Broadlands where 60 years ago in November 1947 they spent their wedding night — Image caption,
The Duke of Edinburgh was at the Queen's side for more than six decades of reign, becoming the longest-serving consort in British history in 2009

Their first son, Charles, was born in 1948, followed by Princess Anne, in 1950, Prince Andrew, in 1960, and Prince Edward, in 1964. Between them, they gave their parents eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya in 1952, representing the ailing King, when Philip broke the news that her father had died. She immediately returned to London as the new Queen.

"It was all a very sudden kind of taking on and making the best job you can," she later recalled.

Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, aged 27, in front of a then-record TV audience estimated at more than 20 million people.

Subsequent decades would see great change, with the end of the British Empire overseas and the swinging '60s sweeping away social norms at home.

Strike: FG yet to meet demands, says ASUU

6th September 2022

The ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan, Prof. Akinwole Ayoola, said on Monday that the Federal Government’s claims were lies.

The union stated that all its chapters that started the over six-month-old strike were still part of the ongoing action and were resolute to get what public universities needed from the government to survive and compete globally.

The union also said that lecturers in Nigerian public universities had been using their blood to run public universities and sustaining it saying that the union will not sacrifice her members’ welfare and will resist any effort to turn intellectuals to slaves of irresponsible leadership.

He said, “Nigerians should disregard the lies of the Federal Government. The Federal Government is far from meeting any of the union’s seven demands.

“The union gave 14-month strike notice to Federal Government before commencing the strike in 2022. Even the effort of the Nigerian Inter-Religious council in 2021 yielded no results before the union was forced to declare the strike on February 14, 2022.

“We waited for 14 months from December 2020 to February 2022 before declaring this strike. I am saying 14 months’ notice, 14months of engagements and the Nigeria Inter-Religious council intervened in 2021 when we would have declared the strike. We gave them one month with no result. Heroes are gone before they are appreciated but our union will not die. We will not die. We are going to be alive to see this struggle through.”

Akinwole disclosed that the N1.1trillion naira for revatilisation of universities was not for lecturers in public universities. He added the amount was arrived at by Federal government through her NEEDS Assessment report on the level of decay in Nigerian public universities.

Ayoola who thanked ASUU members for sacrificing and remaining resolute to reposition public varsity education in Nigeria added that irresponsible leadership is the reason for strikes in Nigeria.

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Centralised payment platform for varsities negates autonomy - Ex-The ASUU chair hinted that only strikes had forced government to spend money on her universities in the last 2Ayoola said, “If ASUU does not go on this struggle, there will be no university for new people to attend. In the last 25 years, Federal Government will not spend money on their university unless ASUU goes on strike. Does that show they are responsible?

“I am also a parent and my children are home with me. Most lecturers have to spend their money on their students’ projects for some students to graduate. I could give you the numbers of some of my students who can tell you how much I have had to support their projects.

“Lecturers retain Nigerian public universities with their blood. But it is right for Nigerians to say they should die on the job. I am saying they are owing us over eight years of verified earned academic allowances. Is it ASUU only that is on strike?

“Some sectors (research institutes) of the nation have been on strike for 13months and government has been paying their salaries. Is it an offence to become lecturers in Nigerian universities? What led to the strike? It is non-responsiveness of government that led to the strike.”

Ayoola who noted that Federal Government is not talking about the over eight years earned academic allowances owed lecturers in public universities.

He noted that the government lied to the union severally and that the Buhari government instead of paying N220 billion for meant for 2014 revitalization fund only paid N50 billion to over 50 universities in the last seven years.

He said government has to pay the balance of N170 billion to university management

Mother of 10-year-old Chrisland pupil in sex video with classmates speaks (video)

The mother of a 10-year-old Chrisland school VGC pupil who was filmed having sex with her classmates in Dubai and the video released online has come out to speak and seek justice.

In a video shared online by Ubi Franklin, the distraught mother said about a month ago, she received a call from one Mrs. Azike, the headteacher at Chrisland school VGC, who told her she needed to see her. She said she was already on her way out of Lagos when she received the call and that two days later, she visited her daughter's school where she met with Mrs. Azike and two other officials. She said Mrs. Azike told her that her daughter who was left in their care was caught kissing another boy and that it was discovered that they got the kissing game from ''Truth and Dare''.

The distraught mum said Mrs. Azike told her that what they wanted her to do was to retrieve the phone she gave to her daughter from her so that she wouldn't keep practicing kissing. She said one of the school officials, Mrs. Kemi, who was also in the meeting, appealed to her not to tell her husband about the kissing incident as it is not everything women should tell their husbands.

''I said no problem. As long as this is just kissing, I will caution my daughter. So I left them. I didn't hear anything from them again. The girl was going to school. I thought everything was fine. Not until after two to three weeks that we had the conversation, Mrs Azike, the head teacher sent me a link that she wanted us to have a zoom meeting by 5pm. I said I was going to join them.'' she said

She said she had a meeting with some persons including the board of directors of the school where one of them started talking to her about forgiveness.

''We had the meeting. There were many people, boards of directors. I was even the one asking them what is your name? Can you introduce yourself? One particularly said that his name is Akin. The Akin was the person leading the meeting. He began by saying if there is no sin there cannot be forgiveness. He was speaking in parables.
At a time I had to scream 'what are you people talking? what are you people discussing?' He now said they just wanted to do a follow up to ensure that I have withdrawn Juliann's phone and to check on how Juliann is doing. I said Juliann is fine but he now made a comment. He said ''when it happened". I said 'Sir what happened? He said Juliann did not tell you? I said no Juliann did not tell me anything.
I was screaming at them ''Tell me what? Juliann did anything happen? Juliann said no''. I said Okay as it is now I don't even know what you people are talking about but if it extends more than this that my husband would definitely know about it. The way you people are calling me I am not comfortable with it. At the end, we finished the meeting and we left. They didn't tell me anything. I went on my own'' she said

Juliann's mum said she received a call from another parent of a pupil in the school who informed her of what had happened to her daughter.

''The day after, a parent called me after we had that zoom meeting..the next day that she needed to see, that it is very very urgent. So I had to go her house. When I got to her house, she said something has been trending in Chrisland which I am not even aware, that she has told them that she doesn't think that I am aware of this incident.
The woman now called me and said look at this video. See what is trending in Chrisland. All the parents are aware.
So immediately I informed my husband. We began to call Mrs Azike. She refused to pick her call. I called her more than 20 times she didn't respond to the call but later I think she spoke with my husband and told him that she doesn't know anything if such a thing existed. That was how I began to beat my daughter that why would this happen? What is going on?
As we were beating her, the girl now said Mummy please can I talk to you? She said Chrisland, Mrs Azike threatened her not to speak out. She narrated how it happened. How they abandoned them in a hotel, how the school left them and how she got into this thing that is happening now.''

The distraught mum said the school authorities had all the while been sending delegates from their headquarters to have meetings with her 10-year-old daughter without her daughter.

''They have been coming to have meetings, sending delegates from their headquarters to have meetings with my daughter without my consent. I was not aware. We were not informed. Please I am begging Nigerians to help me. Help me because Chrisland was trying to hide this issue. They were trying to push us out of the way and my daughter was going psychologically in sin. I am begging fellow Nigerians to help me.''she said

Speaking further, she said

''As a mother and the part that Chrisland played to cover up this rape issue...On the day of mother's day, I was in the school. We were all there, not knowing that they had other delegates that came to interrogate my daughter. As soon as we finsihed that mothers day, I left and they took my daughter elsewehere to go and interrogate her without my consent.
Secondly they have been threatening my daughter that if she speaks out they are going to kill her, that it is a man's world. That she should keep quiet and shouldn't disclose it to me and my daughter was dying in silence I didn't know. Everyday when she is going to school I will be forcing her, I will be telling her come out, come outside. This child will not want to go to school.
Even her class teacher, Mr Timothy was calling her ''stupid girl, useless girl'' in the midst of other children.
Please help me. They took this girl to go and do pregnancy test without me or the father knowing and lied to us that they were taking her for COVID test. They took her almost three times for COVID test. Please is it possible? Do they use blood sample for COVID test? Do they use urine for COVID test? I did not know not until when this thing came up.
To crown it all, because we have started confronting them and started telling them we are aware of what happened, they now sent her a suspension letter''

She said when she asked her daughter how she was allegedly raped, she said

''My daughter said that they went out in the morning to have breakfast and one of the boys, Kachi, begged her that she should borrow him her phone charger. So she gave Kachi the charger. Then later in the evening after they had dinner, the Kachi now called her room that she should come and pick up her charger.
So she went to the place to get the charger. When she got there they opened the door and one of them asked her to take her charger from the toilet. It was when she entered the toilet they now hijacked her and told her to drink a substance. So they were all under the influence of drugs and after that she did not know what she was doing again. That was what she narrated to me and they told her to be climbing them and somebody stood and was videoing them and was posting it out''

DOWNLOAD VIDEO HERE:

Download video here

Watch the video of her speaking below