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Category: Foreign

  • D-G charges TAC volunteers to uphold discipline, patriotism in S’Leone

    Deployment

    By Maureen Okon

    Abuja, June 29, 2024 (NAN) Dr Yusuf Yakub, the Director-General, Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (DTAC), has urged the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) volunteers, deployed to Sierra Leone to uphold discipline and behave as patriotic citizens.

    Yakub gave the advice in Abuja on Saturday at a deployment exercise for 18 TAC volunteers to be sent to Sierra Leone.

    He said that the deployment was in line with the mandate of the directorate to bridge the educational gap in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) countries.

    The D-G lauded the TAC volunteers for deciding to serve humanity and their country by volunteering to give their professional service to other African countries.

    According to him, the volunteers are to serve humanity and their fellow African country that is in need of professionals to bridge the educational gap.

    “We also send volunteers to ACP countries to bridge the educational gaps in these countries as soft power diplomacy.

    “Nigeria has been deploying TAC volunteers for the past 37 years. So, as you go there, we expect you to conduct yourselves and be good ambassadors of this great country Nigeria.

    “That is why you are wearing the Nigerian colours as a symbols of respect and honour. So, be of good behaviour, uphold our integrity by bringing us a good name to our country.

    “This is a very strong foreign policy of the Nigeria government which we use to deploy soft power diplomacy through technical aid to our brothers in the ACP countries.

    “So, Nigeria as one of the super powers among the community of nations has introduced this very important foreign policy for the past 37 years and has been sustaining it.

    “Through foreign policy instrument, we have developed friendship with so many countries of the world which is of great importance to our dear country Nigeria,’’ he said.

    Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), some of the volunteers said the initiative of the Nigerian government to render soft power diplomacy to other African countries was a commendable one.

    Mr Benham Batari, a Nurse, and Ukoma Nnoma, a Medical Doctor, expressed readiness to make Nigeria proud by being good ambassadors while rendering professional expertise in that country.

    NAN reports that the TAC volunteers went through a selection process from over 10,000 entries made from various medical fields ranging from doctors, nurses and researchers, amongst others, to be volunteers.

    After the exercise, 18 qualified TAC volunteers, who are professional practitioners, were selected to render their service to humanity to Sierra Leone.

    Other previously sent were 11 to the Gambia, and 11 to Uganda from engineering and Academics fields. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    ETIM/ADA

    Edited by Deji Abdulwahab
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  • Mauritanians go to the polls as Ghazouani seeks re-election

    Mauritanians go to the polls as Ghazouani seeks re-election

    Polls

    Nouakchott, June 29, 2024 (Reuters/NAN) Mauritanians head to the polls on Saturday in a presidential election that sees incumbent Mohamed Ould Ghazouani taking on six challengers in the West African desert nation that will soon become a gas producer.
    Ghazouani, 67, a former top soldier, has promised to accelerate investments to spur a commodities boom in the country of 5 million people, many of whom live in poverty despite its fossil fuel and minerals wealth.
    Elected for a first term in 2019, Ghazouani is widely expected to win Saturday’s vote due to the ruling party’s dominance.
    His six opponents include anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, who came second in 2019 with over 18 per cent of the vote, lawyer Id Mohameden M’Bareck, economist Mohamed Lemine El Mourtaji El Wafi, and Hamadi Sidi El Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewassoul party.
    Some two million people are registered to vote. Key issues for them include fighting corruption and job creation for young people.
    If re-elected, Ghazouani has promised a gas-fired power plant from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyin (GTA) offshore gas project, which is on track to start production by the end of the year.
    He also pledged to invest in renewable energy and expand gold, uranium, and iron ore mining.
    Ghazouani has presided over relative stability since 2019, as Mauritania’s Sahel neighbours, including Mali, struggle with Islamist insurgencies that have led to military coups.
    Mauritania has not recorded a militant attack on its soil in recent years and Ghazouani, who currently chairs the African Union, has promised to manage Islamist threats.
    Prominent activist Abeid is challenging Ghazouani on his human rights record and the marginalisation of Mauritania’s Black African population, while El Mokhtar has a following among conservative and religious voters.
    Even so, Ghazouani “is likely to win a second term, probably in the first round,” said Carine Gazier, sub-Saharan Africa specialist at the Concerto consultancy.
    If no candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the vote, the election would go to a second round.
    One opposition supporter in the capital Nouakchott who spoke on condition of anonymity thought Ghazouani might struggle to win outright “if the votes are conducted transparently”.
    In the last election, some opposition candidates questioned the credibility of the vote, sparking some small-scale protests.
    Polls are scheduled to open at 7:00 am GMT and close at 7:00 pm GMT. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    YEE
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    (Edited by Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Early results in Iran show close race between reformist, hardliner

    Early results in Iran show close race between reformist, hardliner

    Race

    Tehran, June 29, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and hardliner Saeed Jalili are in a close race in Iran’s presidential election, according to early results, suggesting the country could be headed to a run-off vote next week.

    With about 19 million ballots counted, Pezeshkian, a former health minister, had garnered around 43.5 per cent of the the vote.

    Jalili, a former negotiator in nuclear talks with Western powers, followed on his heels with 37.7 per cent.

    Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was in third place with around 14 per cent of the vote, the head of the electoral authority said on state television on Saturday.

    The fourth candidate, cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi, has received less than 1 per cent of the vote.

    If none of the candidates secures an absolute majority, a run-off vote will be held on July 5.

    Some 61 million voters in Iran were eligible to elect a successor to hardliner Ebrahim Raisi on Friday after he died in a helicopter crash in May.

    The polling stations were scheduled to close at 6 pm on Friday, but the electoral authorities extended voting in the evening until midnight.

    Meanwhile, assailants attacked a vehicle belonging to election workers in south-eastern Iran late Friday, killing two security personnel.

    The incident happened in Sistan and Baluchestan Province as ballots were being transported to the city of Rask.

    No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

    The Sunni militant separatist group Jaish al-Adl is active in the province and has stepped up its attacks in the area.

    Both Iran and the United States classify Jaish al-Adl as a terrorist organisation.

    The election comes amid a severe economic crisis, tensions with the West and regional powers in the Middle East, and frustrations among the public with the enforcement of state authority, especially among the younger population.

    Many Iranians, especially young people, have however lost faith in major political change at home.

    The death of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in autumn 2022 sparked nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule, but the protests were quashed with harsh punishments for demonstrators.

    The president is only number two in Iran’s power structure as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei functions as the head of state and has the final say in all strategic matters.

    He is also commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    YEE

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    (Edited by Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Biden acknowledges age, bad debate performance, but vows Trump’s defeat

    Biden acknowledges age, bad debate performance, but vows Trump’s defeat

    Admission

    North Carolina (U.S.), June 29, 2024 (Reuters/NAN) President Joe Biden said on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race.
    Biden was speaking after a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats.
    “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” an ebullient Biden said at a rally one day after the head-to-head showdown with his Republican rival – a showdown widely viewed as a defeat for the 81-year-old president.
    “I don’t walk as easy as I used to; I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to; I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said, as the crowd chanted “four more years.”
    “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high,” Biden said.
    Biden’s verbal mumbles and occasionally meandering responses in the debate heightened voter concerns that he might not be fit to serve another four-year term.
    This prompted some of his fellow Democrats to wonder whether they could replace him as their candidate for the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
    Campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler said no conversations were taking place about that possibility.
    “We’d rather have one bad night than a candidate with a bad vision for where he wants to take the country,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
    The campaign handlers held an “all-hands-on-deck” meeting on Friday afternoon to reassure staffers that Biden was not dropping out of the race, according to two people familiar with the meeting.
    Though Trump, 78, put forward a series of falsehoods throughout the debate, the focus afterward was squarely on Biden, especially among Democrats.
    Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Party leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, avoided answering directly when asked whether he still had faith in Biden’s candidacy.
    “I support the ticket. I support the Senate Democratic majority. We’re going to do everything possible to take back the House in November. Thank you, everyone,” he told reporters.
    Some other Democrats likewise demurred when asked if Biden should stay in the race.
    “That’s the president’s decision,” Democratic Senator Jack Reed told a local TV station in Rhode Island.
    But several of the party’s most senior figures, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, said they were sticking with Biden.
    “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and somebody who only cares about himself,” former Democratic president, Obama wrote on X.
    The New York Times editorial board that endorsed Biden in 2020, called on him to drop out of the race to give the Democratic Party a better chance of beating Trump by picking another candidate.
    “The greatest public service Mr Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election,” the editorial said.
    The Biden campaign said it raised 14 million dollars on Thursday and Friday and posted its single best hour of fundraising immediately after the Thursday night debate.
    The Trump campaign said it raised 8 million dollars on the night of the debate.
    One possible bright spot for Biden: preliminary viewership data indicated that only 48 million Americans watched the debate, far short of the 73 million who watched the candidates’ last face-off in 2020.
    Biden, already the oldest American president in history, faced only token opposition during the party’s months-long nominating contest, and he has secured enough support to guarantee his spot as the Democratic nominee.
    Trump likewise overcame his intra-party challengers early in the year, setting the stage for a long and bitter general election fight.
    If Biden were to step aside, the party would have less than two months to pick another nominee at its national convention, which starts on Aug. 19 – a potentially messy process that could pit Kamala Harris, the nation’s first Black female vice president, against governors and other officeholders whose names have been floated as possible replacements.
    At an afternoon rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, Trump told supporters that he had a “big victory against a man looking to destroy our country.”
    “Joe Biden’s problem is not his age. It’s his competence,” Trump said.
    Trump advisers said they thought the debate would bolster their chances in Democratic-leaning states like Virginia, which has not backed a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.
    Beforehand, some Trump supporters said they were struck by Biden’s poor performance. “I’m scared they are going to replace him and put up somebody more competitive,” said Mike Boatman, who added that he had attended more than 90 Trump rallies.
    Trump fundraisers said they were fielding enthusiastic calls from donors.
    “Anyone who raises money knows there’s a time to go to donors, and this is one of those watershed moments,” said Ed McMullen, who served as ambassador to Switzerland during Trump’s presidency.
    Questions about Trump’s fitness for office have also arisen over his conviction last month in New York for covering up a hush money payment to a porn star, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and his chaotic term in office.
    He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just days before his party convenes to nominate him formally.
    He still faces three other criminal indictments, though none appears likely to reach trial before November.
    Biden’s shaky performance in the debate drew stunned global reactions on Friday, prompting public calls for him to step aside thus giving some of America’s closest allies a hefty encouragement to steel up for Trump’s return. (Reuters/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
    YEE
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    (Edited by Emmanuel Yashim)

  • Former Indonesian minister faces 12-year imprisonment over corruption

    Imprisonment

    Jakarta, June 28, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has called for a 12-year prison sentence for former Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo on charges of extortion and corruption.

    Limpo is also to pay a fine of 500 million rupiah (approximately 30,600 U.S. dollars).

    During the trial on Friday, prosecutor Meyer Simanjuntak revealed that Limpo is also required to repay 44.27 billion rupiah (about 2.71 million U.S. dollars) and 30,000 U.S. dollars; he allegedly received between 2020 and 2023.

    This sum was amassed with the involvement of his secretary-general and a director.

    Limpo, served as the agriculture minister from 2019 to 2023, was accused of misappropriating 20 per cent of the ministry’s budget for personal and family expenses, as well as for donations to his political party.

    Simanjuntak said that Limpo was found guilty of violating the Anti-Corruption Law in conjunction with the Criminal Code. (Xinhua/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    HS

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    Edited by Halima Sheji

     

  • Moscow slams EU appointments, predicts poor relations with Brussels

    Appointment

    Moscow, June 28, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Moscow is anticipating difficult relations with the European Union given the politicians put forward to lead the bloc over the years ahead, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

    Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister penciled in to head the bloc’s foreign policy unit, had not till date stood out through her diplomatic skills, Peskov said, according to reports by Russian news agencies.

    He described Kallas as “well known to Russia for her absolutely unacceptable and sometimes extremely Russophobic remarks.”

    Peskov was similarly critical of Ursula von der Leyen, who has been put forward for a second term as European Commission president.

    “The prospects for the relationship between Moscow and Brussels are poor,” Peskov said, adding that a normalisation of relations could not be expected.

    Relations between the two deteriorated following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    The EU recently passed its 14th package of sanctions targeting Russia and its leaders. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    HS

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    Edited by Halima sheji

     

     

  • U.S. sanctions UAE shipping companies transporting Iranian petroleum

    Sanctions

    Washington, June 28, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Response to Iran’s continued nuclear escalations, the United States has imposed sanctions on three United Arab Emirates shipping companies involved in the Iranian petroleum and petrochemical trade.

    The Department of State also identified 11 vessels that were transporting petroleum or petrochemical products as blocked property.

    The targeted companies are, Sea Route Ship Management FZE, Almanac Ship Management LLC, and Al Anchor Ship Management FZE.

    Over the past month, Iran has announced steps to further expand its nuclear programme in ways that have no credible peaceful purpose.

    “Iran’s actions to increase its enrichment capacity are more concerned in Iran’s continued failure to cooperate with the IAEA and statements by Iranian officials suggesting potential changes to Iran’s nuclear doctrine,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

    He said Washington remains committed to never letting Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, and is prepared to use all elements of national power to ensure that outcome.

    Earlier this month, the leaders of the G7 had called on Iran to stop its escalation of its nuclear programme. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    HS

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    Edited by Halima Sheji

  • Türkiye removed from money laundering grey list

    Laundering

    Ankara, June 28, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) The global financial crime watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Türkiye from its “grey list” of countries that requires special scrutiny, the country’s Finance and Treasury Ministry said on Friday.

    “As a result of the steps taken in the right direction, Türkiye has been removed from the grey list,” said the ministry in a statement.

    The result will further enhance confidence in the country’s financial system and support Türkiye’s efforts to achieve the objectives of its economic program, it added.

    The ministry stressed that in this regard, the administrative and technical capabilities of Financial Crimes Investigation Board and other relevant institutions will be further enhanced, legal and administrative regulations will be promptly implemented as needed.

    “With this development, international investors’ confidence in our country’s financial system has become even stronger,” Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on the social media platform X.

    “The decision will have extremely positive consequences for both our financial sector and our real sector,” he added.

    Türkiye was placed on the FATF grey list in 2021 due to concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing in the country. (Xinhua/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    HS

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    Edited by Halima Sheji

  • Malaysia fertility rate decline – official

    Fertility

    Kuala Lumpur, June 28, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) Malaysia’s total fertility rate (TFR) fell below replacement level, declining from 2.1 children per woman in 2010 to 1.6 in 2022, an official told the country’s parliament on friday.

    Among the reasons for the decrease are linked to marriage age decisions and infertility issues, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Nancy Shukri said in a parliamentary reply on the country’s fertility trends.

    “The TFR for all major ethnic groups in Malaysia shows a declining trend, between 2010 and 2022, the TFR for Malays decreased from 2.6 children to 2.0 children, Chinese (from 1.5 children to 0.8 children), and Indians (from 1.7 children to 1.1 children),” she said.

    “The TFR for the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups has been below replacement levels since 2003 and 2005, respectively,” she added.

    Nancy said the ministry’s National Population and Family Development Board have implemented various initiatives to address infertility issues.

    “These initiatives include offering affordable fertility treatment services for sub fertility since 1979.

    She said that all married couples are eligible for treatment, and as of 2023, over 6,000 successful pregnancies had been recorded.

    Nancy added that a men’s health and wellness clinic offering health screening tests, sexual issue counseling, healthy lifestyle practices, and medication to improve male fertility to address increasing male infertility issues had also been established. (Xinhua/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    HS

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    Edited by Halima Sheji

     

  • Water resource management crucial to regional development – ECOWAS

    Participants at the event on Friday in Abuja(NAN)

    Development

    By Mark Longyen

    Abuja, June 28, 2024 (NAN)The Economic Community of African States (ECOWAS) has said that collaborative efforts of member states towards an integrated water resource management (IWRM) is crucial to sustainable regional socio-economic development.

    ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sediko Douka, made this known at the 5th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MMC) of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in West Africa on Friday in Abuja.

    Douka, noted that water-related problems were detrimental to the economic and social development of the West African countries, said that there was urgent need to move to new forms of water management.

    This, he said, was already contained in the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.

    The Commissioner said that, since 1998, ECOWAS member states had been fully committed to the IWRM process, which culminated in the adoption of a regional action plan in 2000 and a permanent coordination and monitoring framework (PCMF).

    “This commitment to sub-regional cooperation stems from a shared political vision by all member states, as expressed in the “Ouagadougou Declaration” of 1998.

    “These broad lines have successfully guided our efforts in integrated water resources management for almost three decades now,” he said.

    Douka explained that the Abuja event aimed to revitalise the PCMF of IWRM and assess the implementation status of the West Africa Water Resources Policy (WAWRP) adopted in December 2008 by ECOWAS leaders.

    “The WAWRP represents a unique experience in the development of a common sectoral policy for West African regional integration organisations (ECOWAS-WAEMU-CILSS).

    “The meeting agenda will address issues of crucial importance for the promotion of IWRM and sustainable development in West Africa.

    He described ECOWAS’ Regional Initiative for the Development, Resilience, and Valorisation of Water Resources (DREVE), as an ambitious structuring and innovative programme that is supported by the World Bank and other West African integration organisations.

    Douka expressed confidence that its implementation would positively change the profile of the ECOWAS bloc in terms of sustainable development.

    Participants at the event on Friday in Abuja.

    Also speaking, Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said that West Africa’s abundant water resources were the potential cornerstone for development.

    He said that the water resources would impact positively on health, education, tourism, food security and energy, if properly harnessed and coordinated.

    The minister said that by working together, ECOWAS member states could address challenges like climate change, poverty, unemployment and inequality. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    YEN/HS

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    Edited by Halima Sheji