The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • U.S. researchers win Nobel for cracking gene regulation

    U.S. researchers win Nobel for cracking gene regulation

    United States (U.S.) scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of microRNA and its role in how genes are regulated, solving a decades-old mystery, the Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said.

    “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans,” the jury said yesterday.

    Ruvkun said he was shocked to win the prestigious prize.

    “It’s quite a sea change,” the 72-year-old professor at Harvard Medical School told AFP after receiving the news in a call from the prize committee in the early hours of yesterday.

    “I’ve won other awards in the past, but those were very quiet in comparison.”

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    “There’s already been TV crews and photographers, and 300 email messages from friends!” he said, as his dog barked at the front door with more reporters arriving.

    Ruvkun shared that he and Ambros are “buddies” and had a congratulatory video call that morning.

    “We just FaceTimed to high-five. We’ve been friends for years.”

    Ruvkun told Swedish public radio SR he looked forward to the Nobel gala banquet on December 10 in Stockholm, where the laureates will receive their prizes from the hands of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf.

  • Taye Atske Selassie sworn in as Ethiopia’s president

    Taye Atske Selassie sworn in as Ethiopia’s president

    In a surprising move, Ethiopia’s two houses of parliament elected Taye Atske Selassie as president yesterday.

     Selassie succeeded the country’s first woman head of state, Sahle-Work Zewde, who hinted at her resignation in a social media post just two days ago.

    Selassie’s appointment was approved by lawmakers in Addis Ababa during a joint session of the House of Federation (upper house) and the House of Peoples’ Representatives (lower house).

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    He has extensive experience in foreign affairs, having previously served as foreign minister and the country’s permanent representative to the UN.

    Selassie replaced Zewde, who had been in office since 2018, but had come under fire for her perceived silence on the ongoing conflicts in various parts of Ethiopia. She expressed her dissatisfaction with certain things on X over the weekend, which many interpreted as an indication of her potential resignation.

  • Leader seeks unity among Southern Cameroon people

    Leader seeks unity among Southern Cameroon people

    Ambazonia Vice President Dabney Yerima has indicated that it was absolutely necessary that inhabitants and people of the Southern Cameroon, who are free, to stand united.

    Yerima, in his speech marking the Ambazonia independence, noted that division and disunity among the southern Cameroon’s  leadership, both at home and in the diaspora, weaken the strength of their movement.

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    “If leaders, though free in body, are divided in mind and purpose, then we fail not only ourselves but also those who languish in prison on our behalf.

    “We must come together, and we must do so now. Every leader who walks freely outside the prison walls owes it to our jailed brothers and sisters to carry forward the mantle of the struggle with a unified heart.”

  • Innovation: Deborah Okedoyin puts plant-based meat safety solutions on the menu

    Innovation: Deborah Okedoyin puts plant-based meat safety solutions on the menu

    Deborah Okedoyin, a PhD student at Kansas State University, is pioneering research that combines plant-based nutraceuticals with cutting-edge technologies to enhance livestock health and food safety.

    Her work focuses on the application of natural compounds, such as essential oils and polyphenols, in livestock diets, aiming to improve gut health and decrease the reliance on antibiotics.

    Utilizing bioinformatics and omics techniques, Okedoyin investigates the effects of these compounds on gene expression and gut microbiota in animals.

    This research is critical in reducing bacterial contamination in meat products, addressing global food safety concerns, and promoting sustainable practices in the meat industry.

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    Recognised internationally for her contributions, Okedoyin’s findings have been showcased at leading scientific conferences and published in high-impact journals.

    Her innovative approach not only enhances livestock health but also directly tackles the pressing issue of antibiotic resistance, a growing concern in food safety.

    By integrating traditional ethnoveterinary practices with modern science, Okedoyin is setting new standards for the meat industry.

    Her research addresses key challenges in both pre-and post-harvest processes, offering practical solutions that promise to create safer, healthier meat products for consumers.

    As an award-winning researcher, she is viewed as a rising star in the field of food safety and sustainable farming, making significant strides toward a more secure global food system.

    Her work represents a transformative step forward in ensuring that meat production is both safe and sustainable, contributing to the future of food security worldwide.

    Deborah is a fellow at the International Livestock Congress (ILC).

  • Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals

    Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals

    Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals yesterday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor.

    Aside from Asia, the other region where the church is growing is Africa, which got two new cardinals: the archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Monsignor Ignace Bessi Dogbo, and the bishop of Algiers, Algeria, Monsignor Jean-Paul Vesco.

    Others on the list include a man who will be the oldest cardinal — Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old retired Vatican diplomat, who was once held hostage for six weeks in Colombia by leftist guerrillas — and the youngest — the 44-year-old head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Melbourne, Australia, Bishop Mykola Bychok, named in a nod to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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    The new cardinals will get their red hats at a ceremony, known as a consistory, on Dec. 8, an important feast day on its own that officially kicks off the Christmas season in Rome. It will be Francis’ 10th consistory to create new princes of the church and the biggest infusion of voting-age cardinals into the college in Francis’ 11-year pontificate. Acerbi is the only one of the new intake who is over 80 and hence too old to vote for new pope.

    Usually the college has a limit of 120 on voting-age cardinals but popes often exceed the cap temporarily to keep the body robust as existing cardinals age out. As of Sept. 28, there were 122 cardinal-electors; that means the new infusion brings their numbers up to 142.

    Among those named by history’s first Latin American pope were the heads of several major dioceses and archdioceses in South America. They are the archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, Vicente Bokalic Iglic; the archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Jaime Spengler; the archbishop of Santiago, Chile, Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib; the archbishop of Guayaquil, Ecuador, Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera; and the archbishop of Lima, Peru, Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio.

  • Thousands protest Middle East war ahead today’s anniversary

    Thousands protest Middle East war ahead today’s anniversary

    Just like global outcries, which followed the killings and siege on Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon for a year now, thousands of protesters took to the streets in major cities around the world at the weekend demanding an end to the bloodshed.

    The protests were aimed at marking the first anniversary of the deadly Hamas attack on Israel.

    On Saturday, about 40,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London. Thousands also gathered in Paris, Rome, Manila, Cape Town and New York City. Demonstrations were also held near the White House in Washington, D.C., protesting against U.S. support for Israel in military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.

    Protesters at New York’s Times Square chanted slogans like: “Gaza, Lebanon you will rise, the people are by your side.” They held banners demanding an arms embargo against Israel.

    The beginning of a devastating war

    The war in Gaza was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

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    Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. It has laid waste to the enclave, displacing nearly all of the 2.3 million population and causing a hunger crisis.

    On October 9, in response to the October 7 assault by Hamas militants, Israel’s defence minister ordered a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip, including the halting of electricity, food, water, and fuel sent to Gaza from Israel. More lives are at risk as the threat of disease increases.

    Lebanon siege continues

    Also yesterday, massive explosions rocked the Lebanese capital, marking the “most violent night” of attacks since Israel expanded its military offensive against Lebanon on September 23.

    Israeli warplanes carried out more than 30 overnight air raids on southern suburbs of Beirut, with a huge fireball lighting up the night sky and plumes of smoke rising early on Sunday.

    After a devastating yearlong war in Gaza, Israel has now shifted its focus northwards to Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based group allied with the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip, Hamas. The group’s leaders, including secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, have been killed in Israel’s missile attacks.

    Lebanon’s official National News Agency said a Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut was hit by more than 30 strikes, which were heard across the city. The targets included a petrol station and a hotel near the city’s Rafic Hariri international airport.

    The number of casualties from the latest Israeli strikes could not be immediately determined.

    Israel’s military said it “conducted a series of strikes on a number of weapons storage facilities” and infrastructure, stressing “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians”.

    Protests against killings

    In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, , the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, about 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered yesterday morning near the U.S. embassy, demanding that Washington stop supplying weapons to Israel.

    In London on Saturday, counter-demonstrators waved Israeli flags as pro-Palestinian marchers walked by. There were 15 arrests on the sidelines of the protests, according to police, who did not specify whether those detained were from either group.

    In Rome, police fired tear gas and water cannons after clashes broke out. Around 6,000 protesters defied a ban to march in the city center ahead of the October 7 anniversary.

    In Berlin, a protest drew about 1,000 demonstrators with Palestinian flags, who chanted: “One Year of Genocide.” The war in Gaza has led to genocide allegations against Israel at the World Court, which Israel denies.

    German demonstrators also criticised what they called police violence against pro-Palestinian protesters. Israel supporters in Berlin protested against rising antisemitism. Scuffles broke out between police and pro-Palestinian protesters.

    Over the past year, the scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza has drawn some of the biggest global demonstrations in years, including in the U.S., which saw weeks of pro-Palestinian college campus encampments.

    Advocates have raised concerns over antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric in some protests and counter-protests related to the conflict. Rights advocates have warned about rising threats against Muslims and Jews around the world.

    The United States and other allies have supported Israel’s right to self-defence, but Israel has faced wide international condemnation over its actions in Gaza, and now over its bombarding of Lebanon.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government is acting to prevent a repeat of the October 7 assault by Hamas.

    In Manila, activists clashed with anti-riot police after they were blocked from holding a demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy in the Philippine capital against Washington’s support for Israel.

    United States (U.S.) Joe Biden has struggled over the past year to thread the needle of embracing Israel’s right to self-defence against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon while trying to contain civilian casualties and prevent a spiral into a broader Middle East conflict.

    Time and again, he has confronted the shortcomings of that strategy, the latest being Israel’s rejection on Thursday of a U.S.-backed proposal for a 21-day truce across the Lebanon border as it pressed ahead with strikes that have killed hundreds of Lebanese.

    Macron urges halt on arms deliveries to Israel

    French President Emmanuel Macron called Saturday for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel for use in Gaza, provoking a sharp response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    He also criticized Netanyahu’s decision to send troops into ground operations in Lebanon.

    “I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” Macron told French broadcaster France Inter.

    Macron reiterated his concern over the conflict in Gaza that is continuing despite repeated calls for a cease-fire.

    But, Netanyahu said Israel would win even without Western support.

    However, Macron said avoiding an escalation in Lebanon was a “priority.” “Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza,” he added.

  • FG advised to set up implementation committee to follow through Nigeria-China agreement

    FG advised to set up implementation committee to follow through Nigeria-China agreement

    The Federal Government has been advised to set up a special committee to see to the implementation of the recent China-Nigeria bilateral agreements.

    Mr. Charles Onunaiju, Director, Centre for China Studies in Nigeria urged the government to take the agreement lightly.

     President Bola Tinubu had signed 13 bilateral agreements during his recent trip to China.

     Only recently, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai vowed to ensure the implementation of the agreements for the mutual benefit of both countries.

     Onunaiju said the implementation of the agreements will help  President Bola Tinubu achieve his transformation agenda.

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     He argued that the outcomes are substantial and significant enough to help turn around, to a significant degree, the country’s national economic fortune.

     He said: “So I call again for the government not to take them lying down. Activate all the necessary instruments, policy instruments. Anything that can be brought in to drive this process must not be spared.

    “That is my appeal to President Bola Tinubu and other leaders who were participants in this engagement. But more directly to the government of Nigeria not to sit just on these outcomes, but to follow them up immediately with diligence and commitment.

     “If President Tinubu wants his reforms to make the difference of which he sincerely wishes, he should leverage the outcome of Nigerian-China bilateral cooperation and also the outcome of the FOCAC, Forum on China African Cooperation, that held in Beijing at the same time as the Nigerian bilateral meeting with China. They are not cure-all solutions. They are not Eldorado.

     “So, if it means a special committee, a national implementation committee empowered by the president to follow up not only on the 13 points, not only on the 19 point understanding in the joint memorandum of Nigeria and China comprehensive strategic partnership, but also the outcome, the Beijing declaration, the Beijing call for action, which are both all outcomes of the China African summit held in Beijing. These instruments, these outcomes are substantial and significant enough to turn around to a significant degree our national economic fortune. It shouldn’t be allowed to waste away.”

  • Moldova: How external forces destabilise Sahel region

    Moldova: How external forces destabilise Sahel region

    The alleged involvement of Ukraine in co-operation with terrorists destabilising Mali has been actively discussed in the media recently. New details have been recently revealed. Allegedly, in order for the Tuareg separatists to be able to receive training on Ukrainian territory, Moldova became a logistical platform for them.

    According to reliable sources, a Boeing 737 registered in Ukraine and used by the Malian airline Sky Mali landed at the military airport of Marculesht, near the city of Balti in Moldova. 

    On board were Tuareg separatists allegedly travelling from Mali to Ukraine for specialised training. This incident raises many questions about Moldova’s role in contemporary conflicts and puts on the agenda the topics of geopolitical games involving different countries.

    Evidence indicating that Moldova is providing logistical support to Ukraine in training militants raises serious concerns. Gamal Abina, international and political affairs analyst, comments on this event and its implications for the African continent, arguing that the West is using Moldova as a strategic tool to achieve its vested interests in Africa.

    In his view, the Moldovan authorities could be part of a wider scheme aimed at destabilising the region, especially in the light of the conflicts in Mali. Support given by Moldova to Ukraine in this context is presented as part of a global strategy in which Chişinău could become a transhipment point for terrorists sent to fight in Africa.

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    Gamal Abina argues that the disabling of the aircraft’s tracking system and its smooth landing in Moldavia may indicate official support. This raises serious questions about how deeply involved the Moldovan authorities are in this operation. If it is confirmed that Moldova is indeed providing such logistical support, this would be irrefutable evidence of its involvement in training the militants, which could further destabilise Mali.

    Political analyst emphasises such actions could have far-reaching consequences for African countries. Supporting terrorist groups and armed conflict in regions already suffering from instability could have devastating consequences for civilians and security in general. It could also exacerbate existing conflicts and lead to increased migratory flows, which in turn will affect security policies and humanitarian issues in neighbouring countries. »

    The suspected cooperation between Moldova and Ukraine in the training of combatants is worrying in the context of the current security tensions in Mali. While the official Malian authorities are seeking to preserve the integrity of the state, new European players are joining the process of destabilising the region. In the expert’s opinion: «The situation requires careful analysis, as its development may affect not only Ukraine and Moldova, but also a number of countries in Africa.». Preservation of peace and stability becomes a key factor to avoid irreversible consequences of geopolitical games for different regions.

  • Nigerians celebrate independence in Manila

    Nigerians celebrate independence in Manila

    Nigerians in the Philippines celebrated the nation’s 64th Independence Day in a grand style in Pasay City, Metro Manila.

    During the celebration, the rich cultural heritage and hospitality of Nigeria were

    propagated in speeches, video presentations, diverse dances and other creative displays that captivated the Philippines dignitaries, who graced the occasion.

    The classy and well-planned event was hosted by Nigerians in Diaspora 

    Organization, Philippines (NIDOPHIL) in collaboration with the Embassy of Nigeria at the Prestigious Vikings Restaurant, Mall of Asia, Pasay City. The celebration attracted a large number of Nigerians from all facets of life.

    In his keynote address, Hon. Oloje Adeshina, Charge D’Affaires, Embassy of Nigeria, Manila, gave a brief history of Nigeria and emphasided the vast resources of the West African nation. 

    He later inaugurated the newly appointed NIDO executives including Bishop Tony Marioghae as President; Mr. Ajayi Ayodele, Vice President;  Dr. Francis Kayode Ashipaoloye, Corporate Secretary and Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Danjuma as Auditor. 

    Other officers are Mr. Okoye C. Christian, Treasurer; Mr. Fred Nosakhare, Financial Secretary and Ms. Afuecheta Chidinma Stella as PRO.

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    Outstanding Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in various fields in the Philippines were also recognised and presented awards by the Nigerian Embassy to encourage hard work and excellence as well as promote high moral standards among Nigerians living abroad.

     Some members of the newly constituted NIDO executives received various awards.

    NIDO President and one of the award recipients, Tony Marioghae, urged Nigerians to embrace “the right moral principles and values” and work to achieve impossible feats through honour, vision, and unity of purpose. 

    He admonished Nigerians not to succumb to defeat and despair but confront their challenges boldly with a mindset of victory. 

    According to him: “The desire of the majority will be achieved by accommodating the concerns of the minority. We will be the servants of all and lords to none”.

  • Jail term for Tunisian presidential candidate upheld ahead of election

    Jail term for Tunisian presidential candidate upheld ahead of election

    A Tunisian court has confirmed an imprisonment sentence earlier handed down to a presidential contender ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday in the North African country.

    The appeals court in the city of Jendouba in western Tunisia had upheld the 20-month jail sentence against detained presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel, his lawyer said.

    The ruling can be appealed and will not affect Zammel’s candidacy, his lawyer said.

    Last month, a lower court issued the sentence against Zammel, a businessman and the head of the liberal Azimoun party, on charges of falsifying electoral endorsements.

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    The Oct. 6 polls are pitting incumbent President Kais Saied against Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui of the leftist nationalist People’s Movement.

    Serious challengers to Saied, who is seeking a second term in office, have been excluded, according to observers.

    The election commission has recently refused to reinstate three more presidential hopefuls who won court appeals to run for president.

    Critics have accused the panel of lacking in independence and clearing the way for Saied to win, accusations that the panel has denied.

    The vote will take place “against a backdrop of increased repression of dissent, muzzling of the media, and continued attacks on judicial independence,” Human Rights Watch said last month.

    Since 2021, Saied has consolidated his power by dissolving the parliament and calling early elections, steps that the opposition called a “coup.”

    (dpa/NAN)