WordPress

Author: Cecilia Odey

  • Eid holiday: 48 killed in traffic accidents across Afghanistan

    Eid holiday: 48 killed in traffic accidents across Afghanistan

    Accident

    Kabul, June 24, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) At least 48 people killed and more than 160 others injured in road accidents across Afghanistan, during the five-day Eid al-Adha holiday that ended on Friday.

    Head of General Directorate of Traffic Police, Hasibullah Mokhtar confirmed the incident to the media.

    “We had 97 road incidents resulting in approximately 161 injuries and 48 fatalities,” Mokhtar stated on Sunday.

    Poor conditions on the roads, reckless driving and lack of security measures during travel are among the causes of deadly road accidents in the war-ravaged country.

    This year’s Eid al-Adha holiday in Afghanistan had been initially announced to last three days, but was later prolonged to five days.

    During the four-day Eid al-Fitr holiday in April, 50 were killed and 185 others were injured in road accidents across Afghanistan. (Xinhua/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    MERCY/COO/AMM

    ================

    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

     

  • Armenia recognises Palestinian state

    Armenia recognises Palestinian state

    Recognition

    Berlin, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Armenia is the latest country to recognise an independent Palestinian state, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan on Friday.

    “The catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the ongoing military conflict are among the primary issues on the international political agenda that require settlement,” the ministry said.

    Armenia had always regarded a two-state solution as the best way out of the conflict between Israel and the Palestine, it noted.

    “We are convinced that this is the only way to ensure that both Palestinians and Israelis can fulfil their legitimate aspirations,” it said.

    Israel, has, however, reacted with indignation and, according to the ministry, summoned the Armenian ambassador to deliver a rebuke.

    In recent weeks, Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia have recognised a Palestinian state to exert pressure for a resolution to the decades-old conflict.

    However, there is currently no visible practical path to a two-state solution.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vehemently rejected a two-state solution. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/IGO
    ========
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Ijeoma Popoola

  • South Korea summons Russian ambassador over pact with Pyongyang

    South Korea summons Russian ambassador over pact with Pyongyang

    Summons

    Seoul, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) South Korea has lodged an official protest with Russia over its new partnership agreement with North Korea and demanded an immediate halt to military cooperation with Pyongyang.

    Two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea, the foreign ministry on Friday summoned Moscow’s ambassador in Seoul, Georgy Zinoviev.

    Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun conveyed the government’s readiness to take decisive action with the international community against any behaviour that threatens the people of South Korea, the ministry said.

    North Korea has for decades been illegally developing nuclear weapons and missiles and is threatening to use them against its neighbour.

    Any cooperation that directly or indirectly helps North Korea to expand its military capabilities is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang, Kim was quoted as saying.

    He also warned of negative consequences for Russian-South Korean relations, saying that “Russia should act responsibly.”

    Attempts to intimidate Russia were unacceptable, Zinoviev was quoted as saying by his embassy in a post on X after he was summoned.

    The ambassador said that “cooperation between Russia and North Korea is not directed against any third country.”

    South Korea has already condemned Russia’s agreement with North Korea on a comprehensive strategic partnership, signed by the sides in Pyongyang on Thursday.

    The treaty also provided for mutual assistance in the event of war.

    In Seoul’s view, the agreement also aims to strengthen military cooperation. South Korean National Security Advisor Chang Ho Jin indicated that his country could drop its previous refusal to supply weapons to Ukraine.

    South Korea participated in international financial sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine.

    However, it did not export weapons to Ukraine after Putin threatened severe consequences for any South Korean arms deliveries there.(dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/FAA
    ========
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Folasade Adeniran

     

  • Ukraine, Moldova talks to join EU begins June 25

    Ukraine, Moldova talks to join EU begins June 25

    Talks

    Brussels, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova  joining the European Union will begin on June 25, the Belgian Government announced on Friday.

    Belgium, which is acting on behalf of EU member-states until the end of this month, said on X that ministers had approved plans for talks with the two countries.

    This would allow the negotiations to begin next week.

    Ukraine and Moldova applied for EU membership after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the former in February 2022.

    Moldova, like its larger neighbour, Ukraine, has a breakaway region called Transnistria that aligns itself to Russia.

    The start of talks does not mean the two countries would be joining the EU any time soon.

    The Belgian Presidency said that every step of the process would require unanimous agreement among current member-states.

    It said that several other countries had been waiting longer.

    EU leaders formally recognised Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for membership in June 2023.

    They granted candidate status to Georgia in December 2023.

    The other official candidates are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.

    The last country to be admitted into the EU was Croatia, which joined in 2013.

    Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007, and 10 countries joined in 2004. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/IGO
    ========
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Ijeoma Popoola

  • Belarus begins major military drills near Poland, Ukraine and Russia

    Belarus begins major military drills near Poland, Ukraine and Russia
    Drills
    Moscow, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Russia’s close ally Belarus has initiated major military manoeuvres in two regions: one bordering Poland and the other near Russia, both of which also border Ukraine.

    The Ministry of Defence in Minsk did not provide any information on the number of soldiers and technology involved on Friday.

    It was reported, in a ministry statement on Instagram, that operational command units, special forces, missile troops, artillery, air force and air defence were involved.

    In the first part of the exercise, the troops were to be deployed to the specified manoeuvre areas and fortify their positions there. After that, the actual combat exercises were to begin, the ministry stated.

    Training areas were named in the Brest region on Belarus’ western border with Poland and in the Gomel region in the east on the border with Russia. Both regions also border Ukraine from the north.

    Belarus is closely allied with Russia under the authoritarian leadership of Lukashenko, who has become increasingly dependent on Putin to sustain his regime.

    It’s only with Russian help that he held onto power following falsifications in the 2020 presidential election and mass protests.

    Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with its forces also attacking from Belarus with Lukashenko’s support. Moscow has stationed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.(dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/HA
    ========
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

     

  • Russia reports Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refinery, Crimean port

    Russia reports Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refinery, Crimean port

    Attacks
    Moscow, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) One person died and several were injured during Ukrainian drone attacks overnight against an oil refinery in southern Russia and also the Crimea, Russian authorities said on Friday.

    Two people were injured in the refinery attack in the Krasnodar region, the state news agency TASS reported, citing the regional crisis response centre.

    The fire has since been extinguished, it said.

    Another drone attack in the region caused damage to the bus station in the town of Yuzhny and an industrial plant in the city of Krasnodar on Friday morning.

    One boiler house worker was killed and at least four people were injured by falling drone debris, according to the report.

    A total of 114 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the combined attacks, 70 of them over the Crimea and the Sea of Azov alone.

    The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said.

    Several Ukrainian remote-controlled boats with explosives were also reportedly destroyed.

    The information could not be independently verified. Previously, the Russian side has omitted to confirm actual damage in attacks that it claimed to have repelled.

    On this occasion, drones targeting the Crimean port city of Sevastopol were successfully downed.

    According to the Russian-appointed governor Mikhail Rasvozhayev.

    A drone was also reportedly shot down over Russia’s southern Volgograd region, which is far away from Ukraine.

    For its part, Russia targeted Ukraine with four cruise missiles overnight but all of them were intercepted, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Friday.

    Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. Kyiv has since received extensive military aid from Western allies to maintain its defensive campaign.

    In an attempt to disrupt Russian military supplies, Ukraine also began to attack targets on Russian territory, especially oil refineries and transport infrastructure.

    With Western help, the country has also significantly expanded its own drone production.(dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/HA
    =======
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

     

  • German environmental groups warn against cuts to climate funding

    German environmental groups warn against cuts to climate funding

    Warning

    Berlin, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Environmental groups are demanding that the German Government should not cut funding for efforts to address climate change, amid tough negotiations over a reduced 2025 budget.

    In a joint appeal published on Friday, several large advocacy groups appealed to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck not to allow the cutbacks.

    They said this based on “necessary investments in greenhouse gas neutrality” as well as international funding for climate initiatives.

    They argued that the investments now would prove to be far cheaper than the eventual cost of having failed to address climate change.

    The letter was signed by the leaders of the German League for Nature and Environment (DNR), the German Association for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND).

    The Environmental Action Germany (DUH), Germanwatch, Greenpeace Germany and the Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) are all parts.

    Scholz’s three-party coalition is locked in difficult negotiations over the 2025 draft government budget, which included deep proposed cuts at several ministries to address large budget shortfalls.

    Finance Minister Christian Lindner, a leader of the pro-business liberal Free Democrats (FDP), has insisted that the government must abide by strict rules against government borrowing and deficit spending.

    “The current negotiations for the 2025 federal budget will not only decide whether social cohesion can be maintained.

    ”They will also decide whether Germany can achieve its climate targets, which are binding under international law,” the letter said.

    The letter also criticised the tight budget restrictions, arguing that failing to make “necessary investments in the climate-neutral transition” now would also endanger Germany’s economy. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/BRM
    =============
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani

  • Father held after suspected grenade kills child on Croatia holiday

    Father held after suspected grenade kills child on Croatia holiday

    SuspectA

    Prague, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) A child from the Czech Republic died instantly when a hand grenade apparently exploded in a car during a family holiday in Croatia, police in the Balkan country said on Friday.

    The 46-year-old father of the child, who was around nine years old, was taken into custody after the incident on Wednesday, according to a police report.

    Two women were seriously injured, as well as the child’s father, who suffered minor injuries.

    Among other infractions, he has been accused of committing a serious violation of public safety.

    According to the report, the man ignored warning signs in Croatian and English and entered the marked danger zone of a military training area near the town of Knin with family members.

    He let the child take a device, probably a hand grenade, that it had found into the car “in the reckless belief that there would be no undesirable and life-threatening consequences.”

    The vehicle later had to stop in the central town of Bilišane due to a breakdown.

    The explosive charge detonated as the child attempted to remove it from the car.

    Police are investigating the incident at both locations.(dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/BRM
    ================
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani

  • Germany’s state governments look to trim radio programming

    Germany’s state governments look to trim radio programming

    Programme

    Berlin, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Germany’s state-level governments want the public broadcasting system to cut down number of radio programmes as part of a broader reform.

    This is aimed at making the system more cost-efficient.

    The coordinator of Germany’s Broadcasting Commission of the Federal States, Heike Raab, told dpa on Friday.

    He said that there have been discussions about consolidating special-interest public television channels and limiting the number of smartphone apps operated by the public broadcasters.

    He said the Germany, public broadcasting is funded by a fee charged to households and is governed under a treaty between all 16 German states.

    The broadcasting commission, controlled by the states, determined the general structure of public broadcasting in the country.

    Although the broadcasters themselves operate with journalistic independence and control the content of their programming, he said.

    “We will reduce the number of radio programmes,” Raab told dpa, although he did not specifically name any targeted reductions.

    The commission planned to present recommendations to Germany’s 16 state premiers in October.

    Recently, the regional broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk announced that it was planning to have fewer than the current six radio programmes in the long term.

    The cost-savings push came amid controversy over efforts to raise the monthly mandatory household contributions from 18.36 euros to 18.94 euros (19.72 dollars to 20.24 dollars), which some state leaders oppose.

    Raab said the commission was looking to redefine the mandates for some public broadcasters.

    To also eliminate some redundant programming and encourage more cooperation with educational and cultural institutions.

    “We are strengthening everything relating to cooperation and efficiency,” he said.(dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/BRM
    =============
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani

     

  • 24-year-old demonstrator shot dead during tax protests in Nairobi

    24-year-old demonstrator shot dead during tax protests in Nairobi

    Protest

    Nairobi, June 21, 2024 (dpa/NAN) A 24-year-old protester was shot dead during demonstrations against the taxation bill currently moving in Kenya.

    The man had taken part in a protest in the capital Nairobi on Thursday evening, as thousands took to the streets across the country.

    The protest was due to a parliamentary debate and vote on the controversial law.

    According to a Lawyer representing the family, the man was shot in the leg by police and died as a result of massive blood loss.

    The man was not given immediate health attention for more than 20 minutes.

    One of the protest leaders called for people to come on Friday to the morgue of the hospital where the deceased lay in a show of solidarity with his parents.

    The human rights organisation, Amnesty International reported that at least 200 people had been injured during Thursday’s protests in Nairobi alone.

    In view of the new tax law, many Kenyans fear that their cost of living will rise to an almost unmanageable level.

    Entrepreneurs and business owners also fear significant losses due to declining purchasing power. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    COO/BRM
    =============
    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani