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Category: Foreign

  • UN independent expert welcomes Julian Assange release

    UN independent expert welcomes Julian Assange release

    Release

    By Cecilia Ologunagba

    New York, June 26, 2024 (NAN) UN independent expert on torture, Ms Alice Edwards has said the release of Julian Assange is a very good outcome to the long-running case after reports that the WikiLeaks founder had struck a plea deal with the United States.

    Assange had been sought by U.S. lawmakers after massive leaks of classified material via the WikiLeaks platform.

    Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, said in a statement on Wednesday that people should not and never be extradited where they may face torture or other cruel treatment.

    “Those crimes that were exposed by Assange need to be taken seriously and properly investigated and prosecuted in the United States,” she said.

    According to her, impunity for war crimes and other violations of the laws of war only embolden actors to take matters into their own hands.

    Until today, Assange had been fighting extradition from prison in the United Kingdom to the U.S. following the 2010 publication of secret military documents and diplomatic communications.

    His reported deal involves a guilty plea to one count of violating the U.S. Espionage Act, without serving additional prison time.

    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 stated.

    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. (NAN) (www.nannnew.ng)

    CIA/AMM

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    Edited by Abiemwense Moru

     

     

  • Chinese Foreign Ministry refutes U.S. ambassador’s accusation of blocking exchanges

     

    Accusation

    Beijing, June 26, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Wednesday rebuked U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns for blaming China for blocking bilateral exchanges.

    She urged the U.S. side to take concrete actions to promote these exchanges.

    Mao made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the criticism from Burns, who reportedly said that China made it “impossible’’ to boost exchanges between the two countries.

    Burns made the comments while taking an interview, accusing China of preventing people from attending U.S. embassy events.

    Mao refuted Burns’s remarks, noting that they do not conform to the facts, deviate from the important consensus reached by the two heads of state at their meeting in San Francisco.

    Run counter to the correct way for China and the U.S… to proceed forward, and are not conducive to the sound and stable development of the bilateral ties.

    China has always developed its relations with the U.S. in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and is committed to promoting people-to-people exchanges, the spokesperson said.

    Mao added that the Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival is currently being held in Fuzhou, Fujian Province.

    This is the largest and most diversified youth exchange activity since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the U.S…

    Stressing that it is not the Chinese side that is interfering with the cultural exchanges between the two countries, but the U.S. side, Mao said that under the pretext of national security.

    The U.S. has unwarrantedly harassed, interrogated and repatriated Chinese students in the United States, causing great harm to the parties concerned.

    “We hope that the U.S. side will work with China to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges with concrete actions and promote the sound and steady development of China-U.S. relations, Mao said. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/EAL
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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Ekemini Ladejobi

     

  • Scientists warn Iceland’s volcanic eruptions could go on for decades

    Scientists warn Iceland’s volcanic eruptions could go on for decades

    Volcanic

    Copenhagen, June 26, 2024 (dpa/NAN) The latest series of volcanic eruptions in Iceland could last for decades or even centuries, according to a study published in the journal Terra Nova on Wednesday.

    The series of eruptions began in 2021 on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwest of the island, just 55 kilometres southwest of the capital Reykjavik.

    A large part of the population of the North Atlantic Island lives in the affected region.

    It is also home to the only international airport and several geothermal power plants that supply the country with hot water and electricity.

    There have been five major volcanic eruptions since December last year alone. Lava flowed out of elongated cracks in the earth, a phenomenon known a fissure eruption.

    Some houses were engulfed by lava.

    The researchers analysed earthquake data from the past three years and compared the chemical and physical properties of lava from various locations to determine whether it came from the same underground magma chamber.

    They found that it was indeed magma with similar petrographic properties.

    This suggests a coherent underground magma system, the researchers write.

    Taken with the seismic data, they believe that it is a moderately large magma accumulation at a depth of around nine to eleven kilometres, which extends over a width of ten kilometres.

    It formed between 2002 and 2020.

    The research team concluded that the current series of eruptions could be the beginning of a long episode, though they cannot predict how long the series will last.

    Iceland is located where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart.

    Volcanic eruptions are therefore frequent, but the eruptions of the more central volcanoes usually only last a few days or weeks.

    Fissure eruptions, on the other hand, can last much longer. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/BRM
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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani

     

  • Storms, heavy rain wreak havoc in parts of Switzerland

    Storms, heavy rain wreak havoc in parts of Switzerland

    Rain

    Geneva, June 26, 2024 (dpa/NAN) Thunderstorms and heavy rain have caused flooding in Switzerland near Basel, in Geneva, and in the canton of Vaud on Lake Geneva, authorities reported.

    On Tuesday evening, police in the canton south of Basel received several hundred reports of flooded basements, power outages and other water damage.

    By Wednesday, the situation had calmed down.

    In the western canton of Vaud, the fire department was called out more than 200 times.

    In the town of Moges, the river reached flood levels that statistically are not expected even once in a hundred years, according to the police.

    No injuries were reported.

    In Geneva, severe thunderstorms and heavy rain led to a two-hour suspension of flight operations.

    A cooling room for servers in the Skyguide air traffic control building was affected by flooding.

    To prevent overheating of the control systems, the airspace was closed shortly after 10 p.m..

    Around 50 arrivals and departures were cancelled.

    Overnight camp beds and food were provided for around 100 passengers. On Wednesday, departures were cancelled for planes that had not been able to land on Tuesday evening.

    However, no major damage occurred and operations were back to normal, said a Geneva airport spokesman.

    Last week, a landslide after heavy rainfall swept away three houses in the eastern canton of Graubünden and destroyed part of the A13 motorway, an important route through the Alps.

    Of the four missing people, one woman was rescued and a man found dead. The other two individuals remain missing. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/AMM
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    Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abiemwense Moru

     

  • Ethiopian coffee gains foothold in China with rising popularity

    Ethiopian coffee gains foothold in China with rising popularity

    Coffee

    Addis Ababa, June 26, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) Ethiopian coffee has been gaining a foothold in the Chinese market, with its sales volume showing a 27 per cent average increase in recent years, an Ethiopian official said.

    Adugna Debela, director general of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), said a few years ago, Ethiopia had been exporting 8,000 to 10,000 metric tonnes of coffee annually to China.

    He added that it ranked 33rd among importers of Ethiopian coffee.

    “However, China has been importing up to 20,000 metric tonnes of Ethiopian coffee annually for the last two years, becoming the eighth-largest importer of Ethiopian coffee.”

    In the past three years or so, the amount of coffee Ethiopia exports to China has been growing at an average rate of 27 per cent annually, said Debela.

    Debela attributed the surge to a significant increase in Chinese coffee buyers who import coffee directly from Ethiopia.

    He also credited the close collaboration between the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa and the ECTA in terms of searching for new markets, connecting Chinese coffee roasting companies, organising exhibitions, and launching e-commerce and online sales.

    Debela said the China International Import Expo and cross-border e-commerce platforms, which serve as effective gateways for overseas brands to enter China, have presented numerous opportunities for Ethiopian coffee beans to gain popularity in the Chinese market.

    He said Ethiopia has exported 252,000 metric tonnes of coffee to the world market, earning 1.28 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of the 2023/2024 Ethiopian fiscal year that ends on July 7, 2024.

    He said there would be a huge, growing demand for Ethiopian coffee in China as more and more people in China, especially youngsters, enjoy drinking Ethiopian coffee.

    Debela said he hoped that China would become one of the top five Ethiopian coffee importers shortly as the ECTA continues exploiting untapped market opportunities there.

    Ethiopia’s coffee, originating from the region where Arabica coffee was first discovered, is praised for its distinctive flavors ranging from fruity and winy to chocolaty.  (Xinhua/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    UMD/AMM

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    Edited by Ummul Idris and Abiemwense Moru

     

     

  • German foreign minister warns of regional escalation in Middle East

    German foreign minister warns of regional escalation in Middle East

    Warning

    Berlin, June 26, 2024 (dpa/NAN) German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock has warned of unforeseeable consequences for the broader Middle East region as tensions and clashes increase between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

    Israeli forces have been waging an intense military offensive in the Gaza Strip for seven months.

    With the leaders vowing to destroy the Palestinian Hamas militant group in response to the bloody Oct. 7, terror attacks on Israel.

    “Another war will mean a regional escalation on a scale that we can hardly imagine.’’

    Baerbock told Germany’s Deutschlandfunk public radio on Wednesday, a day after meeting with Lebanese and Israeli leaders in Beirut and Jerusalem.

    However, Israel and Lebanon were in danger of slipping into such a war, she said.

    “And that is exactly what we need to prevent, that through the daily escalation, where more rockets are flying, large parts on both sides do not want this war, but we are slipping into it.”

    Baerbock said Lebanese leaders in Beirut appeared to view the same way, but unfortunately the government has no effective access on the ground, not even to Hezbollah.

    Baerbock said, making efforts by mediators like the U.S. and France all the more important.

    According to Baerbock, what happens next in the Gaza Strip would also be crucial for further developments on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

    “If this urgently needed ceasefire is finally achieved in Gaza, then that will also calm the northern front,’’ she said.

    An escalation that saw Israel fighting wars on two fronts would be fatal to the process.

    A plan presented last month by U.S. President Joe Biden for a ceasefire in the Gaza war is supported by the Israeli government, said Baerbock, who again demanded that Hamas accept the plan. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/HS
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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji

     

  • NATO appoints outgoing Dutch premier Mark Rutte as secretary-general

    NATO appoints outgoing Dutch premier Mark Rutte as secretary-general

    Appointment

    Brussels, June 26, 2024 (dpa/NAN) NATO has appointed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to succeed Jens Stoltenberg in October as the alliance’s next Secretary-General.

    Welcoming the selection of Rutte, Stoltenberg said Rutte was a true Trans-Atlanticist, a strong leader, and a consensus-builder.

    “I wish him every success as we continue to strengthen NATO for the challenges of today and tomorrow. I know I am leaving NATO in good hands,’’ he added.

    Rutte, a centre-right politician who is the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history, said his appointment was a “tremendous honour’’ in a post on X.

    Paying tribute to Stoltenberg’s leadership, Rutte said he was grateful to all the allies for placing their trust in him.

    The appointment for an initial four-year term was made by the North Atlantic Council, which was the decision-making body of the alliance made up of ambassadors to NATO.

    The Dutch prime minister became secretary-general at a challenging time for the Western military alliance, facing down a more aggressive Russia and supporting Ukraine amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion.

    NATO is also concerned about the rising military strength of Beijing and views China as a challenge to the alliance’s security.

    Rutte, 57, is tasked with the political leadership of NATO and ensuring a consensus can be found within the alliance for difficult issues, especially in times of crisis.

    The potential return of former U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House in November would be a major test for Rutte.

    Past statements from Trump have cast doubt on U.S. collective defence commitments to the alliance.

    He has also threatened to withdraw the U.S. from NATO.

    Trump also repeatedly criticised what he viewed as low defence spending among European allies.

    The NATO secretary general also represents the defence alliance at international level and heads the NATO headquarters as the highest administrative official.

    After a decade in the office, Stoltenberg’s term is due to end on Oct. 1.

    His term was extended in March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, until September 2023.

    Unable to agree on his successor, NATO allies then extended his mandate again until 2024.

    The Norwegian was already the second-longest serving secretary general, after Dutchman Joseph Luns who led NATO from 1971 to 1984.

    Stoltenberg has earned recognition as a skillful mediator between the sometimes very different interests of the now 32 NATO members, especially shepherding Sweden and Finland into the alliance against initial Turkish opposition.

    He was credited with moderating the debate over low defence spending by the European allies, which led to particularly heated debates during Trump’s time in office.

    He has also had to coordinate NATO’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    Rutte, who became prime minister in 2010, quickly became the frontrunner to be the next NATO chief after receiving the early support of the U.S., Germany and Britain.

    Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, former British defence minister Ben Wallace and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis were also candidates.

    Resistance from Hungary also needed to be overcome after Rutte clashed with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over EU policy, corruption and rule of law issues. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/BRM
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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani

     

  • Envoy warns against irregular migration as 164 repatriated from Libya

    Warning

    By Maureen Okon

    Abuja, June 26, 2024 (NAN) Mr Mohammed Mohammed, the Nigerian Charge’ d’Affaires to Libya, has reaffirmed Federal Government’s stand against irregular migration following the repatriation of 164 Nigerian migrants from Libya.

    The envoy, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja, warned against such dangerous trips.

    Mohammed handed down the warning during an exercise undertaken by the Nigerian Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Libyan authorities.

    He said that Nigerian returnees were detained in Libyan detention centres and were earlier arrested on various offences.

    Mohammed listed the offences as illegal entry, overstay, lack of proper documents among others.

    “They were advised to avoid irregular migrations through perilous journeys across the desert and the Mediterranean Sea.’’

    He said that the repatriated Nigerians comprised 38 men 120 women as well as four children and two infants.

    The envoy said that such unwholesome trips usually arose as a result of promises of better life in Europe or elsewhere and ultimately ended up in exploitation.

    The exercise was conducted by the embassy with the co-operation of the Libyan Government and the IOM in Libya as part of the organisation’s Voluntary Humanitarian Repatriation (VHR) programme.

    The programme, aimed at providing lifesaving, dignified and expedited return to willing migrants to their home country, is the 10th carried out by the Nigerian Embassy in Libya this year.

    The Nigerian nationals, who arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday at about 1730hrs, left Libya aboard chartered flight No:UZ 189  same day.

    Speaking to NAN via a telephone interview, Mohammed admonished Nigerians to avoid every unusual solicitation to undertake any such journeys without knowing what lied ahead of them.

    “Life may appear rosy on the other side but we must understand that not all that glitters is gold, as the saying goes.

    “Do not listen to anyone making you promises of job or even a better life elsewhere by offering to take you to Europe across the desert or the Mediterranean Sea.

    “Count the costs of such an adventure before falling for it; many lives have been wasted through such simple promises,’’ Mohammed said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

     

    ETIM/CJ/

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    Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

  • Espionage trial of U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich begins in Russia

    Espionage trial of U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich begins in Russia

    Trial

    Moscow, June 26, 2024 (dpa/NAN) The trial of U.S. Reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia for more than a year for alleged espionage, began on Wednesday.

    It is in a case described as a sham by his supporters, employer and the U.S. government.

    The high-profile trial of the correspondent for the Wall Street Journal Newspaper is taking place in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals.

    The 32-year-old reporter denied the charges.

    Images from the courtroom showed Gershkovich, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt, standing in a glass cage.

    Gershkovich was detained at the end of March 2023 while on a research trip in Yekaterinburg.

    A spokesman for the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said that an investigation had found Gershkovich had collected secret information on behalf of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

    Specifically, Russia alleged that he collected information on the production and repair of defence equipment at the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil, which lied to the north of Yekaterinburg.

    “There’s absolutely zero credibility to those charges,’’ said U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in Washington earlier this month.

    Many media outlets have called for his release. U.S. President Joe Biden has promised to fight for his freedom.

    According to the Kremlin, talks were under way regarding an exchange of prisoners for Gershkovich.

    The detention of U.S. citizens in Russia often leads to complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington about a release or exchange.

    In spite of tense U.S.-Russian relations, prisoner exchanges have repeatedly taken place in the past. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/BRM
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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Bashir Rabe Mani

  • EU leaders agree to 2nd term for von der Leyen

    Agreement

    Brussels, June 25, 2024 (dpa/NAN) EU leaders negotiating the bloc’s top jobs have agreed to nominate Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission president, sources involved in the talks said on Tuesday.

    As part of the deal, negotiators also agreed that former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa is to be the next European Council president.

    Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is to be the European Union’s new foreign policy chief.

    The agreement came ahead of the summit of EU leaders on June 20 to 21 in Brussels to decide on who would lead the European Union’s institutions for the next five years.

    To be nominated, von der Leyen needed the support of a “reinforced qualified majority’’ of EU leaders, representing at least 20 countries and 65 per cent of the European Union’s population.

    A total of 13 EU leaders in political parties affiliated to the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), boosting her chances after a strong EPP result in the European Parliament elections.

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

    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis negotiated on behalf of the EPP for von der Leyen, a centre-right German Christian Democrat and EPP member.

    French President Emmanuael Macron and outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte negotiated on behalf of the liberals and Kallas.

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez represented Costa in the talks for the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group.

    The EPP, aiming to capitalise on their advantage, pushed to break the convention of two consecutive two-and-a-half-year terms for the role of European Council president.

    For this reason Costa’s second term in the role was not guaranteed.

    Talks in Brussels last week broke up among EU leaders without a decision on a second term for von der Leyen.

    The political backing for von der Leyen was expected to end months of speculation over whom EU leaders might nominate for the bloc’s top job following the recent European Parliament elections.

    The commission president is in charge of the EU’s powerful executive arm, charged with developing new EU policies, enforcing existing EU laws and representing the bloc at important international summits like the G7. (dpa/ NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/HS

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    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji