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Author: Cecilia Odey

  • Russia says NATO conducting nuclear strike drills near its border

    Russia says NATO conducting nuclear strike drills near its border

    Nuclear

    Moscow, May 28, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) NATO is practising nuclear strikes against Russia, Army General Vladimir Kulishov, first deputy director of Russia’s Federal Security Service and Head of the Border Service, said on Tuesday.

    “Near the Russian border, NATO reconnaissance activity is increasing, and the intensity of operational combat training of the alliance’s troops is increasing.

    “During which scenarios for conducting combat operations against the Russian Federation are being practised, including launching nuclear strikes on our territory,’’ he said in an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti.

    “All this requires us to take adequate measures to protect and secure our borders,’’ Kulishov said.

    The Russian military earlier launched military drills involving tactical nuclear weapons as a “response to provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation,’’ according to the defence ministry. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Buhari Bolaji

     

  • German law easing path to dual citizenship comes into force

    German law easing path to dual citizenship comes into force

    Law

    Berlin, June 27, 2024 (dpa/NAN) A long-debated citizenship law took effect in Germany on Thursday, easing the pathway to a German passport, including making it easier to hold dual citizenship.

    The naturalisation reform put forward by Germany’s three-party centre-left coalition government allowed people to become German while retaining their original citizenship.

    People can now apply for citizenship after living in Germany for five years, instead of the previous requirement of eight years, provided they meet all conditions.

    Children born in Germany to parents from abroad would also be granted German citizenship if one parent has been a legal resident in Germany for five years rather than eight.

    If applicants demonstrate “special integration achievements’’ through particularly good performance at school or work or civic engagement, they may be able to be naturalised after only three years.

    An important aspect of the new rule is that people who obtained their German citizenship would not have to give up the citizenship of their native country.

    Previously, it was only possible for residents from other EU countries in Germany to be given citizenship.

    Likewise Germans who wish to become citizens of another country would no longer need special authorisation from the German authorities.

    Previously, without authorisation, they would have lost their German citizenship if they acquired another one.

    “Many people have been waiting for this for decades,’’ said Germany’s Commissioner for Integration Reem Alabali-Radovan, a member of the ruling centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

    With the reform, Germany finally has a citizenship law that is in line with the times, she added.

    Germany’s liberal Free Democrats (FDP), a junior partner in the coalition government, said that the waiting time for naturalisation would be reduced.

    The overall requirements for obtaining German citizenship would not be lowered with the new regulations.

    “Obtaining a German passport will be faster in the future, but it will be more challenging due to significantly stricter naturalisation requirements,’’ said FDP lawmaker Stephan Thomae.

    Thomae said that a higher number of applications may not lead to a significant increase in naturalisations in the long term.

    “This is due to new requirements stipulating that applicants must be financially independent as well as stricter tests to prevent the naturalisation of individuals with anti-Semitic views or conflicting values,” Thomae said. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey

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  • AI transforms poultry farming in China’s mountainous village

    AI transforms poultry farming in China’s mountainous village

    Farm

    Guiyang (China), June 27, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) In a remarkable advancement in China’s technology sector, consumers of Chishui Silkie chickens will soon be able to monitor the process of fostering chickens using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

    The one ultimately destined for their dinner table is fed and raised on remote farms, all from their mobile phones.

    Xu Qiyong, owner of a chicken farm in Tiantaishan Village in Chishui City in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, has conceived a new application based on an AI-based smart breeding system.

    The technology, developed by Tencent Cloud and students of the Tencent Class of Shenzhen University a programme launched by the university and tech giant Tencent has been installed on Xu’s farm.

    This has spanned 256 sheds spread across 1,000 mu (about 66.67 hectares) of bamboo-covered hillside.

    Managing flocks of free-roaming chickens across such a vast farm came as a challenge for breeders, with predators like wild dogs posing a threat.

    Occasionally, infections have potentially led to massive outbreaks before they could be detected.

    The AI-based system has transformed the poultry farm in terms of mitigating disease outbreaks.

    It helped keep the chickens safe from attacks by wild animals and boosted the share of chickens finally delivered to butcher houses by about 30 per cent.

    In Xu’s farm, every chicken has a chip affixed to its leg which serves as a pedometer, detecting early signs of disease by identifying inactive chickens.

    The chicken farm is also equipped with surveillance sensors that continuously monitor intrusions by wild dogs or breaches in the fence in real time, Xu explained.

    He noted that he had planned to launch the “foster chicken’’ application in July.

    Chishui boasts a long history of breeding black-feathered and black-boned Silkie chickens, prized for their amino acid-rich meat and eggs, which were increasingly sought after by health-conscious consumers.

    Xu, a seasoned media professional, quit his job at the end of 2022 and leased the chicken farm to start his own business.

    His confidence in the industry was reinforced by Chishui a city home to one million mu of bamboo forests is committed to developing a non-timber forest-based economy.

    Xu reached out to Tencent for potential cooperation after learning about AI-enabled goose breeding carried out by the same team in Shenzhen, leading to a successful partnership deal.

    Since implementing AI technology on his farm last year, Xu has sold around 100,000 Silkie chickens and 300,000 eggs.

    The AI-powered Silkie chicken breeding project has even garnered attention from outside China, as the developer team has received inquiries from research institutes in Pakistan and ranchers in Australia.

    This is according to Feng Yuhong of the College of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Shenzhen University.

    At the moment, the Tencent Cloud and students of the Tencent Class of Shenzhen University, in partnership with Guizhou University and other institutes, are developing a large language model for poultry breeding.

    It includes a question-and-answer database based on a large language model that can assist breeders in navigating through various challenges.

    Feng said the team also plans to enact an industry-wide standard for digitalised and intelligent breeding of poultry based on the large language model which can help expand the market reach for more poultry breeds like the Silkie chickens in Chishui. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    (Edited by Cecilia Odey/Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Vatican to be supplied with solar energy in future, pope decides

    Vatican to be supplied with solar energy in future, pope decides

    Solar

    Rome, June 27, 2024 (dpa/NAN) The Vatican is to be supplied entirely with solar power in future after Pope Francis ordered the construction of agrivoltaic plant on a site north of Rome that is controlled by the Vatican.

    The plant in Santa Maria di Galeria is intended to supply not only the Vatican Radio broadcasting centre there with electricity but also the entire Vatican.

    The pope wrote in a letter entitled “Brother Sun’’ dated Wednesday.

    “There must be a transition towards a sustainable development model that reduces the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, to achieve climate neutrality,’’ a letter signed by Francis indicated.

    Humanity has the technological means to manage this ecological change and its harmful social, economic, and political consequences: Solar energy has a key role in this, he added.

    With the construction of the plant, the pope set to contribute to the efforts of all states to find an appropriate response to climate change by their respective responsibilities and capabilities.

    It initially remained unclear when exactly the agrivoltaic system in Santa Maria di Galeria would be installed and go into operation.

    Pope Francis attaches great importance to environmental protection.

    In the spirit of his environmental encyclical “Laudato Si (Praised Be) from 2015 and his apostolic letter Laudate Deum’’ (Praise God) from 2023, the Vatican wants to become climate neutral.

    Last year, for example, Francis decided to completely replace the Vatican’s vehicle fleet with electric cars by 2030. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    (Edited by Cecilia Odey/Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Russia sent around 10,000 immigrants to Ukraine front- Official

    Russia sent around 10,000 immigrants to Ukraine front, official says

    Immigrants

    Moscow, June 27, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Russia has so far conscripted and sent around 10,000 naturalised men to fight in its more than two-year-long war against Ukraine, a senior official said on Thursday.

    “We have already caught more than 30,000 (immigrants) who received citizenship and did not want to register for military service, and sent about 10,000 of them to the special military operation zone.’’

    The head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said at the St Petersburg Lawyers’ Forum.

    Bastrykin was a fellow student of President Vladimir Putin and is considered a close confidant of the Kremlin chief.

    The conscripted men were primarily responsible for digging trenches and building fortifications, according to Bastrykin.

    “You need really strong hands for that,’’ he said.

    In recent months, the security forces repeatedly carried out raids on businesses with migrant labourers primarily from the post-Soviet states in Central Asia.

    Russian media reported that those who already received Russian passports were then often forcibly recruited.

    Others were promised an easier naturalisation process if they are sent to the front.

    According to Putin, a total of 700,000 Russian soldiers are currently on the front line in Ukraine.

    Some of these were recruited in a partial mobilisation in autumn 2022.

    As the measure was unpopular, the Kremlin wants to avoid further waves of mobilisation and find other ways to replenish heavy battlefield losses. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

     

  • China to review anti-dumping measures on toluidine imports from EU

    China to review anti-dumping measures on toluidine imports from EU

    Dumping
    Beijing, June 27, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Thursday that it will launch an expiry review of anti-dumping measures on toluidine, an organic chemical imported from the European Union (EU).

    China in 2013 imposed anti-dumping duties on toluidine imported from the EU, with rates ranging from 19.6 to 36.9 percent.

    In 2019, China opted to extend these duties for another five years, according to a statement from the ministry.

    Toluidine is widely used in the production of dyes, medicines and farm chemicals.

    The expiry review, requested by domestic toluidine producers, will determine if terminating anti-dumping measures will lead to continued dumping and harm, the statement said.

    The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said it will maintain the anti-dumping duties during the review, with scope and rates remaining unchanged.

    Currently, the rates are 19.6 per cent for toluidine imports from LANXESS Deutschland, GmbH, and 36.9 per cent for those from other EU companies, the statement said.

    Toluidine imports from Britain would be exempted from anti-dumping measures starting June 28, according to the statement. (Xinhua/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

     

  • Bolivian general arrested after military tries to storm government

    Bolivian general arrested after military tries to storm government

    Arrest
    Rio de Janeiro, June 27, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Juan  Zúñiga, the General Commander of the Bolivian army, has been arrested following an apparent coup attempt, local media reported on Thursday.

    Zúñiga, who led the apparent attempt to storm the government palace in La Paz, was accused of terrorism and armed insurrection against the security and sovereignty of the state.

    The public prosecutor’s office had previously issued an arrest warrant.

    The Bolivian military on Wednesday occupied the square in front of the government palace in the de facto capital with armoured vehicles and tried to breach doors, live images on Bolivian television showed.

    “Enough of the impoverishment of our homeland, enough of the humiliation of the military.

    “We have come to express our displeasure,’’ Zúñiga told media representatives, speaking of attacks on democracy without elaborating. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Sadiya Hamza

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  • EU nations bordering Russia, Belarus ask bloc for financial boost

    EU nations bordering Russia, Belarus ask bloc for financial boost

    Boost

    Brussels, June 27, 2024 (dpa/NAN) EU member states Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are calling on the bloc to provide more support for military and civilian protection for their borders.

    The call is in the light of their geographical proximity to Russia and Belarus.

    In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, the four Eastern European countries, that either border Belarus and Russia or both.

    According to the letter, our countries can feel what it means to be the EU’s frontline states, more than two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    Stressing their unwavering support to Ukraine, the countries said, ”We need to spend more and coordinate on defence initiatives within the EU and with NATO.

    “This remains the foundation of collective defence, combining our capabilities to protect, deter and defend our people and our territory.

    “We are fierce supporters of Ukraine’s military efforts and invest massively in our armed forces, defence production and protection of our borders with Russia and Belarus.’’

    The letter still, much more needed to be done and in a more concerted way.

    Among other things, they named instrumentalisation of migrants, sabotage, disinformation as well as cyber-attacks as specific threats coming from Russia and its ally Belarus, issues that ultimately affect the entire EU.

    They said in the letter signed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina.

    Poland and the Baltic states have been some of Ukraine’s most outspoken supporters following the Russian invasion.

    Their plea came ahead of an EU leaders’ summit scheduled for Thursday and Friday where they are to agree on the package deal.

    The package deal would be to divide up the European Union’s top jobs following the recent European elections.

    EU leaders would also debate the Israel-Hamas war, financing the defence industry, economic competitiveness, as well as adopt a strategic agenda for the next five years.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected in Brussels to sign a security agreement with the EU and to brief EU leaders on the situation on the front line in Ukraine. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani

     

  • 3 killed in Israeli strike on outskirts of Damascus

    3 killed in Israeli strike on outskirts of Damascus

    Strike

    Beirut, June 27, 2024 (dpa/NAN) At least three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, a war monitor reported on Thursday.

    It added that 11 others were wounded as a result of shrapnel that fell on houses from a Syrian air defence missile that was launched to confront the Wednesday night attack.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources across the country, said the strike targeted the Jihad al-Bina Foundation, which is affiliated with the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and Iranian groups.

    The target was about 700 meters from the Sayyida shrine, an important Shiite religious site frequently visited by Iranian and Lebanese loyal to Hezbollah.

    It also said explosions were heard at the Tal Sahn radar site, east of the town of Malah in the eastern countryside of Suwayda.

    It is not known whether it was the result of Israeli targeting or from Syrian rockets which were launched from the site to confront Israeli missiles.

    There was no comment by the Israeli army.

    Israel’s air force repeatedly bombs targets in neighbouring Syria in an attempt to prevent Iran and its allied militias from expanding their military influence in the country.

    There have been more attacks since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Buhari Bolaji

  • EU leaders to finalise deal on package of top jobs

    EU leaders to finalise deal on package of top jobs

    Final

    Brussels, June 27, 2024 (dpa/NAN) EU leaders are set to agree on a package deal to divide up the European Union’s top jobs at a two-day summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

    The pre-packaged pact, informally agreed among EU leaders, and confirmed by dpa, would see current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen nominated for a second term.

    Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa should be the next European Council president and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is to be the EU’s new foreign policy chief.

    The agreement on the top jobs was negotiated among the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group and the liberal Renew Europe group.

    The EU’s top jobs were shared out after European Parliament elections in an intricate process that was meant to account for the results of the vote, according to the EU treaties.

    In practice, the path to power is more complicated, and national and European politics took over, with EU leaders haggling over their preferences to fill the bloc’s most important policy positions.

    Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni has pushed hard for her far-right party’s results in the European elections to be recognised and has harshly criticised the process to divide up the jobs.

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also hit out at the deal.

    In a post on X, the conservative prime minister said “EU top officials should represent every member state, not just leftists and liberals.’’

    The three names were the front runners for the roles over a week ago in Brussels the last time EU leaders tried to reach a deal amongst themselves.

    But they did not reach the finish line.

    After her nomination by EU leaders, von der Leyen needed to be elected to the commission by a majority in the European Parliament in the coming weeks.

    The EU legislature must also approve Kallas for the role of EU foreign policy chief.

    Costa does not require parliamentary approval to assume his role as European Council president.

    EU leaders are also set to debate the Israel-Hamas war, financing the defence industry, economic competitiveness, as well as adopt a strategic agenda for the next five years.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected in Brussels to sign a security agreement with the EU and to brief EU leaders on the situation on the front line in Ukraine. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Buhari Bolaji