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Irish Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
West Clare's Vandeleur Festival reveals line-up for weekend celebration of music, culture and community spirit
Set in the beautiful surrounds of the Vandeleur Walled Garden and Visitor Centre, the festival promises a four-day celebration of music, culture and community spirit. The line-up, which festival organisers announced over the weekend, includes local and international acts. The festival opens on Thursday, June 26, with beloved Kerry comedian Bernard Casey taking to the stage. 'Known for his sharp wit and relatable humour, Casey has sold out major venues such as the INEC, Vicar Street, and The Everyman Theatre, as well as performing internationally in London, New York, and Boston,' festival organisers said. Clare's own award-winning trio, Socks in the Frying Pan, will headline the Friday night, with their 'energetic blend of traditional Irish melodies and modern rhythms' promising a great show. Cherish the Ladies are returning by 'popular demand', according to festival organisers - and they are hitting the stage on Saturday, June 28. Once again, this Irish American supergroup will 'dazzle audiences with their exhilarating mix of traditional Irish music, stunning vocals, and spellbinding step dancing'. Also on Saturday, there will be an opportunity to meet local makers, secure in-store promotions, and see special guests as the brand-new Gifts at Vandeleur Gift Shop by Kilkenny Design is launched. Closing the festival on Sunday, June 29 is country music sensation Gerry Guthrie. The Ballina-based singer and his five-piece band have been entertaining audiences across Ireland and the UK for more than ten years, with their show 'promising a high-energy finale' to this year's festivities. Beyond the headline acts, there will be music throughout Saturday and Sunday at the garden. All evening concerts begin at 7.30pm and are ticketed events. Festival organisers recommend early booking as capacity is limited, with demand expected to be high. A park and ride service will be established for the festival and will operate every fifteen minutes between Kilrush town centre and the festival venue each evening. The 2025 Vandeleur Festival is supported by Clare County Council, the Kilrush Town Team, Kilrush Amenity Trust CLG, and Kilrush Credit Union.
Sunday World
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Daniel O'Donnell reassures fans he'll return after break
'I haven't made this decision because of ill-health or anything, it's because I just feel that the continuous touring is not suiting me now and I need to figure out what to do' It follows Daniel's announcement this week that while he has no plans to retire, the performer is taking an extended break from touring when he completes his current 2025 schedule in December. He said in a statement this week that the decision was not made lightly. It's driven by the health challenges he has faced over the past few years, 'particularly with allergies and recurrent chest infections while touring extensively.' He also emphasised that 'this is not a retirement but rather a temporary break.' Daniel has told fans that he's 'absolutely fine' News in 90 Seconds - May 18th Daniel, who is currently on tour – he plays Killarney's INEC in August and has performed a string of nightly shows in the last couple of weeks - yesterday told the Sunday World: 'I've been fine doing the recent shows and I intend to complete all the shows that are currently booked up to the end of this year. 'I'm looking forward to them, but I just felt that I needed to take a break and recharge my batteries after this year. Daniel on Strictly with Kristina Rihanoff 'Because we're doing shows for the rest of 2025 in Ireland, the UK and America, I decided to make the announcement now so that if people want to get out to see a show before I take the break they are getting enough notice. 'For the past number of years I've had frequent chest issues, which wouldn't have bothered me if I wasn't singing. 'Loads of people have what I have and it doesn't bother them one bit. 'I function absolutely perfectly with the issues as well and I'm otherwise in perfect health. 'But because I'm singing it's more difficult with those problems. 'I haven't made this decision because of ill-health or anything, it's because I just feel that the continuous touring is not suiting me now and I need to figure out what to do.' Daniel, a native of Kincasslagh, Co Donegal, has had an incredible career going back to the 1980s when he became a sensation on the Irish country music scene. As he achieved global success, Daniel performed everywhere from London's Royal Albert Hall to Australia's Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as an annual residency in Branson, Missouri, as a top attraction. He's had hit TV shows, including the award-winning B&B Road Trip with Majella, and was a contestant on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. Daniel even received an MBE, awarded by the late Queen Elizabeth in her 2001 New Year's Honours list and presented to him by the then Prince Charles, for his contribution to the music industry and his charity work. Now in his 60s, Daniel cut back on touring in recent years, but yesterday he told how lots of shows and appearances still eat into his time off. Daniel performs on stage 'Even though I have cut back on my performances and tours in recent years, I never really get a long enough break as there's always the odd thing here and there, for a charity or whatever, that I do during my official time off,' Daniel tells me. 'So I'm never really off and that's something I now need to change for the foreseeable future. 'I really need a good break.' However, as one of Ireland's best-loved entertainers, fans will be happy to learn that he has no plans to retire from the stage anytime soon. 'People are asking me all the time, 'Are you ever going to retire?' I would say, 'Well I'm going to slow down'…and I did slow down, but just not enough. 'I started two weeks ago on this tour and this is the 11th show today and that's too much. I find that performing night after night after night is not suiting me now. 'After this year I'll figure out what works best for me doing the shows. But I'm certainly not retiring,' he adds.
Reuters
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Fact Check: Nigerian electoral commission chairman has not been fired, authorities say
The chairman of Nigeria's electoral commission has not been fired from his role, according to spokespersons for the voting body and the federal government, contrary to a claim made online. Posts, opens new tab on Facebook on April 7 said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu had replaced Mahmood Yakubu, opens new tab, the chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with Professor Bashiru Olamilekan. Some included a photo of the apparent new chairman and described him as 'an Ogun-born media guru'. However, an INEC spokesman and two presidential aides have all said the claim is false. The photo of a man shared by some posts shows a senator who has a different name and who says he is neither from the Nigerian state of Ogun nor a 'media guru'. There are also photos online of Yakubu representing INEC in public since the posts appeared online. YAKUBU REMAINS INEC CHAIR 'Please disregard the story. The INEC Chairman has not been sacked,' said Rotimi L. Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, who spoke to Reuters via email. On X, opens new tab, a senior special assistant to Nigeria's president said a legitimate change would be announced either by the secretary to the government, a powerful position that coordinates between ministries and the presidency, or another official source. The claim is 'fake news', he said. Daniel Bwala, a special adviser to President Tinubu, also went on X, opens new tab to say the claim was false and said any announcement of this type would be made through official channels 'not rumor mill'. Bwala did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Yakubu has represented INEC in public since the claim appeared online on April 7, as evidenced by official photographs posted on INEC's Facebook page on April 8, opens new tab and April 10, opens new tab. TRACING PROFESSOR OLAMILEKAN The INEC spokesman told Reuters he had never heard of a Professor Bashiru Olamilekan. The individual in the photo used by some of the Facebook posts shows Ajibola Basiru, a senator in the Nigerian state of Osun, opens new tab and national secretary of the ruling All Progressive Congress party. 'I'm neither a media guru nor born In Ogun! A full born Osogbo Oroki man has metamorphosed to another person in the minds of fake news merchants!!!' Basiru said in an April 7 X post, opens new tab, referencing one of the Facebook posts. Basiru did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reuters did not locate an Ogun-born professor and media guru called Bashiru Olamilekan. There is, however, an Ogun state blogger, opens new tab called Bashiru Hammed Adewale Olamilekan, who in 2022 was arrested and shortly later released, opens new tab after republishing an article that alleged the state governor, opens new tab had a criminal record, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, opens new tab. Olamilekan continues to publish, opens new tab on his website, though he has not said anything publicly, opens new tab about the INEC claim. He did not respond to a request for comment. VERDICT False. A spokesperson for the INEC chairman and two aides to Nigeria's president say the claim is false. Photos show Yakubu has publicly represented the INEC in his role as chairman since the claim appeared online. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
Arab News
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Tanzania opposition party barred from upcoming elections
DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania's main opposition party has been disqualified from upcoming general elections, the country's election chief said, after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct. The east African nation has increasingly cracked down on its opposition ahead of a general election due in October. The opposition Chadema party has accused President Samia Suluhu Hassan of returning to the repressive tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli. Chadema leader Tundu Lissu, who was arrested and charged with treason earlier in the week, previously said that his party would not participate in the polls without electoral reform. On Saturday, Chadema said the party's secretary-general John Mnyika would not attend an Independent National Elections Commission meeting to sign the government's electoral code of conduct. The decision was 'informed by the lack of a written response' to the party's 'proposal and demands for essential electoral reforms,' it said in a statement. INEC Director of Elections Ramadhani Kailima said following the meeting that 'any party that hasn't signed today will not be allowed to take part in the general election or any other elections for the next five years.' 'There will be no second chance,' he told reporters. He did not mention Chadema by name, and the party has not commented on the INEC's decision. Tanzania is scheduled to hold presidential and national assembly elections in October. President Hassan's party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi swept to victory in local elections last year. Chadema said those elections had been manipulated, and that it would petition the high court to demand reforms ahead of the upcoming polls. Lissu last year warned that Chadema would 'block the elections through confrontation' unless the electoral system was reformed. The opposition's demands have been long ignored by the ruling party. Hassan was initially feted for easing restrictions imposed by Magufuli on the opposition and the media in the country of 67 million people. But rights groups and Western governments have criticized what they see as renewed repression, with the arrests of Chadema politicians as well as abductions and murders of opposition figures.
Zawya
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
EU-funded study highlights challenges affecting state electoral commissions elections in Nigeria
DAI, on Tuesday in Abuja, launched a European Union (EU)-funded analytic study, highlighting the challenges faced by State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) in the discharge of their statutory mandate to conduct local elections in Nigeria. The study titled 'The state of the State Independent Electoral Commissions in Nigeria,' while highlighting some challenges that SIECs face in conducting local elections, including partisan appointments, inadequate funding, and lack of autonomy, also identified several opportunities for reform and improvement, especially in the context of the Supreme Court judgment regarding funding and democratic elections in Local Government Councils, which has led to several local government elections being held since July 2024. It further identified six key reform areas to strengthen SIECs in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities. They include: Creating a Coalition for Local Election Administration Reforms, implementing legal and technical reforms, and promoting the institutional development of SIECs and Forum of State Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria (FOSIECON), their umbrella body. Others are: Enhancing election observation by civil society, fostering collaboration between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and SIECs, and improving knowledge production and dissemination on SIECs. These reforms aim to secure SIECs' independence, improve their functionality, and promote credible local elections. Speaking during the official launch and presentation of the study, Team Leader, Governance, Peace and Migration, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ruben Aguilera, explained that local elections are the most important election because they are the closest to the people. He said, 'Today, we've come together for one of the activities of one of the EU's flagship programmes – the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN). We would like to see local elections being conducted everywhere in Nigeria, so people can actually choose their local representatives, making sure that they are also closer to the people and can be held accountable. This way, they (Local Government Chairmen and Councillors) can bring solutions to people's problems, including health, education, and others.' Related News EU vows to support steel sector as US trade tariffs rise EU defends Zelensky amid Trump's criticism EU accelerates investment in Nigeria's digital space Reiterating the EU's commitment to supporting the strengthening and improvement of local elections and local democracy in Nigeria, Aguilera said, 'There is a window of opportunity now because there is a Constitutional reform process ongoing and we will continue to support this process by strengthening platforms of civic engagement.' In his remarks, Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, while highlighting the importance of local government elections, noted if the country does not get it right at the local government level, it is unlikely that it will ever get it right at the top. He, therefore, commended the efforts of DAI with funding support from the EU, for coming up with the analytic study on the state of SIECs in Nigeria. He said, 'The SIECs and INEC are creations of the Constitution. But the Constitution saddles the SIECs with the responsibility for conducting local government elections. The Constitution at the same time saddles INEC with the responsibility of conducting national and state elections. While INEC conducts elections at all levels, the SIECs only conduct local government elections. 'To this extent, INEC has been interfacing with the SIECs for a long period of time, to the extent that there is a forum called FOSIECON, and we have been meeting with them. 'I have noticed that there has not been any serious study on the conduct of local government elections by the SIECs. I am excited by what DAI has done, and I'm excited that the EU-SDGN is supporting this initiative.' The Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Honourable Adebayo Balogun, added, 'SIEC is a creation of the Constitution just like INEC. But in any country, there must still be some guiding principles. As much as SIECs should be able to regulate some of their own activities, there must be basic laws that must guide every one of them. 'INEC should, as at today, have the power to enforce the guidelines being used at the general election to be the basis for other elections at the local government. Therefore, if they want to have their election, there should be a regulations that they must obey. 'Part of the way to strengthen SIECs is to make them really independent. If there is no financial independence, then we are not talking about independence.' In his address, DAI's Team Lead, Rudolf Elbling, noted that free, fair, and credible local government elections are the foundation of a functioning democracy at the grassroots level, as local government elections help to build strong, responsive, and accountable institutions that can effectively serve the community on the local level. He said, 'This study has the objective to investigate the impediments and difficulties SIECs face to organise credible government elections and produce recommendations for national and international stakeholders for cooperation and support, especially the National Assembly, State Assemblies, INEC, and international partners. 'Local governments play a critical role in addressing the everyday needs of citizens, such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Fair elections ensure that the best candidates, who understand the local issues and have the community's best interests at heart, are elected.' In his remarks, Election Administration Expert for DAI, Prof. Okechukwu lbeanu, stated that among the challenges SIECs face in conducting local elections include political interference, limited financial autonomy, and capacity constraints. 'State governments often impede their independence, impacting the credibility of elections. Despite challenges, the Supreme Court's recent judgment supports Local Government Councils' autonomy, prompting reforms,' he said.
