President Bala Ahmed Tinnubu on Monday in Maidugedi Boronu State Capital commissioned a fleet of 107 gas and electric powered buses as well as taxis in the second phase of Governor Babagana Umar Zulu's metro transport scheme. The scheme is aimed at cushioning the effects of the petrol subsidy removal on the citizens. The commissioning ceremony took place around the She'hu of Boronu's palace, but before the event, President Tinnubu, a company by Zulu, had paid homage to the She'hu Ababa Gabai Umar Gabai Al-Amin Al-Kanemi. President Tinnubu was in Maidugedi for this year's Chief of Amistath Annual Conference, but he took time to commission Zulu's vehicles after visiting the She'hu. Hello, hope you enjoyed the news. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.


From VOA Learning English, welcome to Economic News in Special English. Economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific region is expected to reach 7.9 percent this year. That is higher than in any other part of the world. But that is only part of the story. The other side of East Asia's success includes conflicting territorial claims in the area and trade imbalances with the rest of the world. Competition for natural resources is an increasingly important issue. This has led to territorial disputes. For example, the islands known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan are thought to be rich in oil. Areas around the islands are said to be good fishing grounds. China and Japan have competing claims for the territory. Kenneth Lieberthal is an Asia expert with the Brookings Institution here in Washington. He says he has not seen evidence that either China or Japan is willing to reduce tensions over the islands. That means territorial disputes will likely continue. China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines are involved in territorial claims with neighbors over West Pacific islands. Trade imbalances are another issue. East Asia has long been a source of exports. China's big trade imbalance with the United States has concerned U.S. lawmakers for years. Some blame China's control of its currency for America's big trade deficit. But Kenneth Lieberthal does not think so. He notes other policies. One is China's direct support for many of its important industries with government aid or subsidies. Mr. Lieberthal says Chinese rules at home also hurt countries seeking to export to China. He says these and other issues, such as the abuse of intellectual property rights, have a much bigger effect on America's trade deficit with China. For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman.


Benin Republic has filed fresh charges against Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Adeymo, popularly known as Sunday Bohu, who was arrested in the country last Monday. Ibrahim Salami, one of the Quotonu Benin Republic-based lawyers of Sunday Bohu, disclosed the new charges after Monday's hearing, where Ibrahim was ordered to remain in police custody in Benin Republic. Before the hearing, Salami had said that the legal team was expecting extradition from the Nigerian government against the activists. However, he said Sunday Ibrahim was confronted with fresh charges when he appeared on Monday.