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Author: Cecilia Odey

  • Zelensky discusses EU accession with German Bundesrat president

    Zelensky discusses EU accession with German Bundesrat president

    Accession

    Kiev, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks in Kiev on Tuesday with the president of Germany’s upper parliamentary chamber, the Bundesrat.

    During their hour-long discussion, Manuela Schwesig spoke in favour of Ukraine joining the European Union.

    The meeting took place just before the official start of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations in Luxembourg on Tuesday.

    In addition to her role in the Bundesrat, Schwesig is also the premier of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

    The Bundesrat represents Germany’s 16 federal states at the national level.

    “This is an important day for Ukraine, but also for the European Union.

    “The states (of Germany) support this accession,’’ said Schwesig afterwards.

    The talks also covered the economy, regional partnerships and military support for Ukraine.

    Zelensky expressly thanked the German government for its help, said Schwesig, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats.

    She said that the Ukrainian armed forces must now be further supported, particularly with additional air defence systems.

    A Patriot missile system currently stationed in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for training purposes is to be delivered shortly.

    “It is now important that it arrives in Ukraine to further protect the population from Russian attacks.

    “This is urgently needed now,’’ said Schwesig.

    Schwesig announced a German-Ukrainian economic conference in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the autumn.

    The main focus would be on cooperation with her state’s partner region of Chernihiv, north of Kiev, which borders Russia and Belarus.

    Schwesig has been president of Germany’s Bundesrat since November 2023, making her the fourth-highest state office holder in Germany.

    She is the first head of the upper house of parliament to visit Ukraine.

    She had already met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Parliament Speaker Rusland Stefanchuk and Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Monday. (dpa/ NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

  • Worldwide alcohol consumption declining slowly — WHO

    Worldwide alcohol consumption declining slowly — WHO

    Alcohol
    Geneva, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) People around the world are drinking less alcohol than they used to but the World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning that the reduction is happening far too slowly.

    The WHO reported in Geneva on Tuesday that the organisation’s goal of reducing consumption by 20 per cent by 2030 compared to the 2010 level cannot now be achieved.

    The WHO’s figures suggest per capita consumption worldwide fell from 5.7 litres of pure alcohol in 2010 to 5.5 litres of alcohol in 2019.

    Moreover, it is calling for countries to do more to reduce drinking, including introducing advertising bans and sales restrictions, as well as raising prices through taxation.

    According to the WHO’s figures, Germany is one of the world leaders in alcohol consumption.

    It said that on the average every person over the age of 15 in Germany drank 12.2 litres of pure alcohol in 2019.

    WHO does not provide precise rankings of countries because, it says, there are margins of error in all the figures.

    The organisation is also reluctant to put a figure on how much alcohol can be drunk safely.

    “There is no such thing as risk-free alcohol consumption, ‘said Vladimir Poznyak, head of the relevant WHO department.

    However, the WHO does say that two glasses of wine or two bottles of beer every day is too much.

    According to the WHO’s figures, 22 Per cent of 15 to 19-year-olds worldwide drink alcohol.

    It said that in 2019, alcohol consumption caused 2.6 million deaths, while 209 million people were addicted to alcohol and a further 200 million had at least problematic alcohol consumption.

    Data from more recently than 2019 cannot be reliably analysed, said Poznyak, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

  • Suspect faces 1st-degree murder in Canada’s mass shooting

    Suspect faces 1st-degree murder in Canada’s mass shooting

    Murder

    Ottawa, June 25, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) 14 year old suspected boy was charged with two counts of 1st-degree murder in a mass shooting outside a school in Ottawa, the Toronto Police Service said.

    The shooting occurred earlier this month in the parking lot of North Albion Collegiate Institute, the police said in a news release.

    The motive of the 14-year-old suspected boy involved in the shooting remains unclear, the police said.

    The boy was scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice on Monday, the release said.

    Nine men gathered in the parking lot area after a soccer game and two suspects got out and began shooting at the group before fleeing the area, the police said.

    Delroy “George” Parkes, age 61, was pronounced deceased on the day of the shooting while 46-year-old Seymour Gibbs succumbed to his injuries three days later.

    Another three men suffered gunshot wounds, the police added. (Xinhua/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Ekemini Ladejobi

  • UN launches global principles to combat online hate, urges action

    UN launches global principles to combat online hate, urges action

    Principles

    New York, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Technology companies must take responsibility and mitigate harm to society, UN Secretary General António Guterres said on Monday, as he launched a set of global principles to combat online hate.

    The principles form a framework for coordinated international action to make information spaces safer and more humane, “one of the most urgent tasks of our time,” the UN said in a statement.

    According to the UN, misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and other risks to the information ecosystem were fuelling conflict, threatening democracy and human rights and undermining public health and climate action.

    “Their proliferation is now being supercharged by the rapid rise of readily available Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, increasing the threat to groups often targeted in information spaces, including children.”

    Guterres said that the principles would empower people to demand their rights.

    “At a time when billions of people are exposed to false narratives, distortions and lies, these principles lay out a clear path forward, firmly rooted in human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and opinion.”

    The principles, however, called on governments, tech companies, advertisers and industry to take responsibility for the spread and monetisation of content that results in harm.

    “Government, tech companies, AI developers and advertisers should take special measures to protect and empower children,” the UN said.

    Those involved in AI development are urged to ensure that applications are designed, deployed and used safely, securely, responsibly and ethically, and uphold human rights.

    A free and independent media and strong protections for journalists, researchers and civil society are also called for, according to the principles. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

     

     

  • Australia offers assistance as Assange trial drags on

    Australia offers assistance as Assange trial drags on

    Trial

    Sydney, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said his country was providing assistance to Julian Assange following the news that the Wikileaks founder agreed to plead guilty.

    He agreed to plead guilty in a deal with the U.S. and that he has left the UK.

    “The government is certainly aware that Australian citizen Assange has legal proceedings scheduled in the United States,’’ Albanese told Australia’s parliament during Question Time, calling the news a welcomed development.”

    According to court documents filed earlier on Monday, Assange was set to plead guilty to one charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defence documents.

    This was in return for being spared further imprisonment in the U.S., in a deal with the Justice Department.

    Assange is expected to attend a hearing on the Pacific island of Saipan on Wednesday before returning to Australia, the court documents state.

    Saipan, part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan, is under U.S. administration.

    The deal is still to be approved by a U.S. federal judge.

    Albanese said that he would not provide “further detailed comment as the proceedings were ongoing, but did confirmed that UK High Commissioner Steven Smith travelled with Mr Assange.

    He said they travelled when he left the United Kingdom, while Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., Kevin Rudd was also providing assistance.

    “The case has dragged on for too long. There is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia,’’ Albanese said.

    “I will have more to say when these legal proceedings have concluded, which I hope will be very soon, and I will report as appropriate at that time,’’ the prime minister said.

    Wikileaks said Assange left the high-security Belmarsh prison in London on bail on Monday morning and departed the UK from Stansted Airport at 5 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).

    Assange was accused of having stolen and published secret material from U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan together with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, putting the lives of U.S. informants in danger.

    His supporters saw the Wikileaks founder as a journalist who brought war crimes to light.

    British police arrested Assange in 2019 at the Ecuadorian embassy, where he had taken refuge for seven years, for failing to surrender to an earlier warrant linked to Swedish charges that were eventually dropped.

    The police swooped in after Quito revoked Assange’s asylum status. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

     

  • EU extends protection rules for Ukrainians fleeing war until 2026

    EU extends protection rules for Ukrainians fleeing war until 2026

    War

    Brussels, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) The European Union has extended emergency rules to shelter people who fled the war in Ukraine until at least March 4, 2026.

    “Day after day, Russia terrorises the Ukrainian people with its bombing,” Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor, who led talks to prolong the rules, said in a statement.

    “Those who fled from Russia’s aggression can continue to count on our solidarity,” she said.

    Ukrainians, who fled to the European Union after the full-scale invasion of their country by Russia in 2022, were granted immediate protection.

    The protection granted was after EU member states set up a temporary regime designed for cases of mass influxes of people.

    However, the existing regime was set to end in March 2025.

    The proposal was designed to avoid the lengthy national asylum-seeking procedures required to process large numbers of displaced people.

    Extensions of the temporary rules were possible for up to one year.

    In addition, people under temporary protection were entitled to social benefits, housing, and access to education and work permits, among other things.

    The European Commission reported that almost 4.2 million Ukrainians are currently residing in the EU under these rules, with Germany hosting the most people at 1.2 million. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

     

  • Child’s body found in north-west Germany amid search

    Child’s body found in north-west Germany amid search

    Body

    Berlin, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) A farmer found a child’s body while mowing in the German state of Lower Saxony, the police reported on Tuesday.

    The farmer discovered the body on Monday at 4:30 p.m. (1430 GMT) in Estorf municipality in the district of Stade, about 80 kilometres west of Hamburg, the police statement said.

    The police said that no information could be provided about the exact location and the circumstances of the discovery, and that it was not initially possible to determine the identity of the child.

    A six-year-old boy named Arian has been missing in the region since April 22.

    For about a week, emergency services and volunteers, at times up to 1,200 of them, searched for the boy day and night.

    Specialists from the investigation group of Arian’s case have conducted a forensic analysis of the discovery site, but no further details were initially released.

    The police have multiple theories about Arian’s disappearance.

    The most likely scenario is that Arian had an accident without any involvement of third parties.

    Small footprints found near the Oste River, likely Arian’s, could indicate this was not a criminal case, according to the police. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

     

  • Airstrike kills 13 in Israeli attack on northern Gaza

    Airstrike kills 13 in Israeli attack on northern Gaza

    Attack

    Tel Aviv, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 13 people, Palestinian media in the territory reported on Tuesday.

    The Israeli army said two buildings in which militants were hiding had been hit on Monday night in the al-Shati and Daraj Tuffah refugee neighbourhoods.

    Among those targeted were individuals who had been involved in the October 7 massacres and hostage-takings, the army said.

    The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said militants were operating “inside school compounds which was used by Hamas as a shield for its terrorist activities.”

    Palestinian media in Gaza said that at least 13 people were killed in the attack in al-Shati.

    According to unconfirmed reports, one of them was a sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

    The IDF made no mention of Haniyeh’s sister in its statement on social media.

    The IDF said air surveillance measures, precision-guided munitions and intelligence resources were used to minimize harm to civilians.

    The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre of more than 1,200 people by Hamas and allied militant groups in Israel on October 7.

    According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least 37,626 people had been killed and more than 86,000 injured in Gaza since the start of the war.

    The figures did not distinguish between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

     

  • Drug abuse hospitalisations dropped again in Germany in 2022

    Drug abuse hospitalisations dropped again in Germany in 2022

    Drug

    Frankfurt, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) The number of people that were hospitalised in Germany due to illegal drug use dropped once again in 2022, according to new government figures released on Tuesday.

    The Figures had been declining in Germany since peaking in 2016.

    Germany’s Federal Statistical Office said that around 17,200 cases were counted in the country in 2022 for treatment over use of heroin, cocaine, LSD or other illegal drugs.

    That’s a drop of 17 per cent compared to 2016, when there were almost 20,800 hospitalisations.

    Although the numbers has been falling steadily since then, the number of hospitalisations remains much higher than several decades ago.

    In 2002, just 9,500 people were treated in hospital for drug abuse, 81per cent lower than in 2022.

    Two thirds of patients (66 per cent) in 2022 were male, around a third (34 per cent) were female.

    According to the data, more than half of those treated (55 per cent) were between 18 and 39 years old, while 8 per cent were not yet adults.

    Hospital treatments as a result of cannabis, tobacco or alcohol consumption were not included in the statistics.

    Tobacco and alcohol have long been legal in Germany, while cannabis was made legal in the country earlier this year. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey /Halima Sheji

     

  • China mulls law revision to step up protection, management of cultural relics

     

    Revision

    Beijing, June 25, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) Chinese lawmakers on Tuesday started deliberating a draft revision to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics.

    The draft was submitted to an ongoing session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee for the second reading.

    The draft revision stipulated strengthening the protection and management of cultural relics, enhancing the investigation of cultural relics’ resources, and building a contingent of cultural relics professionals.

    It also specified provisions concerning further exploiting the value of cultural relics for better utilisation.

    Efforts should be made to further encourage and support public participation in the protection of cultural relics, according to the draft.

    The current Law on Protection of Cultural Relics was promulgated in November 1982 and has been amended five times, with a comprehensive revision in 2002. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Maureen Atuonwu