The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • Grenada’s Consul reaffirms commitment to boost trade, tourism with Nigeria

    Grenada’s Consul reaffirms commitment to boost trade, tourism with Nigeria

    Abidemi Oluwagbenga Sonoiki, the Honorary Consulate of Grenada, has reaffirmed his dedication to promoting trade and tourism between Grenada and Nigeria through the Nigeria-Grenada Trade and Investment Initiative. 

    In an interview with journalists at his Lagos office, Sonoiki emphasized that both nations possess vast potential and highlighted the importance of leveraging the skills and talents of their citizens to drive investment and trade. 

    He stressed the need for collaboration in various sectors, including education, healthcare, tourism, culture, waste management, and other critical areas, to foster mutually beneficial relationships and unlock growth opportunities.

    “My duty and responsibility is to serve as the intermediary between Grenada and Nigeria. There is the need for us to harness all the talents and skills of the people of the two nations together.

    Sonoiki’s noted that his major initiatives is the establishment of the Nigeria-Grenada Chamber of Commerce, designed to bring together business people from both countries, saying that “This initiative has already seen progress, with the hosting of Grenadian investors in Nigeria and plans for a business exhibition in October 2024 to showcase Nigerian small and medium enterprises.

    “A partnership that will enable or afford Nigerians to make Grenada their second home and for Grenadians to make Nigeria their second home. The world has become a global market space and Nigerians who are doing business there can earn foreign Exchange (currency). We need all those foreign currencies to come to Nigeria. 

    “I see huge opportunities in the areas from travel and tourism to real estate investment and renewable energy. This synergy can earn us remarkable amount of foreign exchange yield.

    “The consulate also delivers consular services to all Nigerians desiring traveling for business, education and leisure. Including Nigerians pursuing pathway for citizenship by enhancing seamless trade capacity and the abundance investment opportunities. We also provide firsthand information for enquires, so that they don’t get defrauded by anyone or agency”, he said

    Read Also: Ekiti partners firm on cultural tourism development

    He asserted that the island is an active member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and plays a pivotal role in regional economic and security initiatives. 

    “The current Prime Minister of Grenada is the one championing the development that’s going on in the Caribbean. Globally, Grenada has established strong diplomatic and trade partnerships, contributing to its growing influence on the international stage. It’s a very peaceful country that just needs more of the fintech and banking investments and things will improve the more”.

    He stressed that in the next five years the Prime Minister of Grenada and the Nigerian President will be the people will be globally applauded for championing development across the globe. The opportunities for Investment and trade in Grenada are in abundance beyond human eyes.

  • 5.5-magnitude quake hits Vanuatu Islands

    5.5-magnitude quake hits Vanuatu Islands

    An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 jolted Vanuatu Islands at 0859 GMT on Tuesday.

    The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said.

    Read Also: No casualty as 4.8 magnitude earthquake shakes New York

    The epicentre, with a depth of 97.0 km.

    It was initially determined to be at 15.16 degrees south latitude and 167.16 degrees east longitude. (Xinhua/NAN)

  • UK PM Starmer clashes with Elon Musk over UK riot remarks

    UK PM Starmer clashes with Elon Musk over UK riot remarks

    Elon Musk and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have clashed after the tech boss claimed Britain was heading for civil war.

    The billionaire owner of the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, provoked a row with Downing Street over the riots that have engulfed UK cities amid accusations that social media is fuelling the unrest.

    Read Also: UK PM Starmer to hold emergency meeting as riots intensify

    In a comment on his social media site about the violence, Musk said “civil war is inevitable” – a remark that was explicitly rejected by Starmer’s official spokesman, who said there was “no justification” for it.

    Musk then replied to a post on X by Starmer, questioning the prime minister’s decision to provide extra protection for mosques.

  • Fed Govt cautions Nigerians travelling to UK over risk of violence

    Fed Govt cautions Nigerians travelling to UK over risk of violence

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cautioned Nigerians wanting to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) against increased risk of violence in the place.

    Spokesperson of the Ministry Amb. Eche Abu-Obe, who disclosed this in a statement  yesterday, said: “There is an increased risk of violence and disorder occasioned by the recent riots in the UK, stemming from the killing of three young girls at a concert.

    “The violence has assumed dangerous proportions as evidenced by reported attacks on law enforcement agents and damage to infrastructure.

    “To this end, citizens are advised to be extra-vigilant, avoid political processions and protests, rallies or marches.

    Read Also: Lagos celebrates normalcy four days after protest

    “Avoid crowded areas and large gatherings, be vigilant and self-aware at all times.

    “Contact the High Commission with a view to passing information that could be of interest via e-mail and telephone hc@nigeriahc.org.uk, +442078391244.”

    The spokesperson said demonstrations by far-right and other extra-parliamentary groups in parts of the UK in recent weeks have been large and in some instances unruly.

    According to him, these disturbances have only been aggravated by the unfortunate deaths of the three girls.

    “It has spawned an anti-immigration narrative, with particular emphasis on Muslim immigrants or persons of colour being targeted.

    “This advisory remains under review,” he added.

  • Bangladesh prime minister flees after  weeks of protests

    Bangladesh prime minister flees after  weeks of protests

    • 300 people killed in riots

    Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned, following weeks of student violent protests that left roughly more than 300 people dead, Army chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said  yesterday.

    “An interim government will be formed,” the army chief told a news briefing after a meeting with leaders of different political parties, excluding those from Hasina’s Awami League party.

    “Justice will be done for all those killings and atrocities, please keep confidence on the army,” he urged, calling on protesting students to remain patient and refrain from further violence.

    Protesters, seen dancing and chanting slogans against Hasina, gathered at Dhaka University campus, the initial site of the protests against the controversial public job quota system.

    Read Also: Tinubu orders crackdown on those flying Russian flag

    Following news of Hasina’s resignation, numerous Awami League offices and leaders’ homes across Dhaka and other areas were attacked and looted.

    Thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister’s official residence in Dhaka after she reportedly fled the country.

    An official, preferring not to be named, at the foreign ministry confirmed that Hasina left for India in the afternoon.

    Earlier  yesterday, thousands of people again took to the streets and vowed to “march to Dhaka” to demand the resignation of the prime minister.

  • UK’s  ‘standing army’ to crush far-right thugs

    UK’s  ‘standing army’ to crush far-right thugs

    Sir Keir Starmer has ordered a new “standing army” of specialist police officers to be set up to bring an end to the far-right riots, which have broken out across the United Kingdom in the last week.

    The prime minister made the move after chairing an emergency COBR (Cabinet Office Briefing Room) committee yesterday’s morning with the deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, home secretary Yvette Cooper, senior officials and leading police officers including Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.

    Read Also: Lagos celebrates normalcy four days after protest

    It came as reports suggest that far-right groups intend to target 30 immigration and law centres on Thursday after sharing addresses on the messaging platform Telegram.

    Ms Cooper pledged that the far right thugs face “a reckoning” with nearly 400 people arrested after far-right violence swept across the country over the weekend.

    The meeting took place as the first cases of rioters were heard in emergency sessions of courts with the accused as young as 14 and one sobbing as he faced justice.

  • Mali breaks off relations with Ukraine after rebel attack

    Mali breaks off relations with Ukraine after rebel attack

    Mali’s transitional government has broken off diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

    The move follows a rebel attack in the country that left dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries dead.

    A representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence service had previously said that Kiev had helped the rebel Tuareg in an ambush on a convoy of the Malian army.

    The Wagner mercenaries supported them over a week ago.

    As a consequence, Mali will in future regard support for Ukraine as support for international terrorism, the statement continued.

    An unconfirmed photo showing Tuareg fighters with a Ukrainian flag was also circulating on the internet.

    “They have received the necessary information to enable them to carry out a successful military operation against the Russian war criminals,” said Andriy Yusov on Ukrainian television last week.

    Read Also: Tinubu orders crackdown on those flying Russian flag

    At the same time, he announced further operations of this kind in Africa.

    “The monopoly of the Russian private armies in Africa is coming to an end and opposing forces are emerging that can put these criminals in their place,’’ said the intelligence officer.

    According to the separatist Tuareg, 84 Russian mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers were killed in several days of fighting at the end of July around the village of Tinzaouatène on the border with Algeria.

    There was also talk of more than 80 casualties on Wagner-affiliated channels, representing the heaviest Russian losses to date in West Africa.

    The Islamist terrorist group GSIM, which is allied with al-Qaeda, also attacked the convoy.

    Whether the Tuareg cooperated with the Islamists remained unconfirmed.

  • Kamala Harris poised to announce her running mate

    Kamala Harris poised to announce her running mate

    United States Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate by today afternoon, ending two weeks of intense speculation that has gripped the US as it hurtles towards the November presidential election.

    Harris interviewed several top contenders in Washington DC over the weekend, including governors Josh Shapiro and Tim Walz and Senator Mark Kelly.

    Her choice will join her on a whirlwind five-day tour of seven cities this week as Harris ramps up her campaign in key battleground states.

    The most recent poll from CBS, the BBC’s US partner, shows Harris and Trump in a tight race nationally, with the vice-president holding a one-point lead over the former president.

    Read Also: Lagos celebrates normalcy four days after protest

    The poll released on Sunday shows Trump and Harris tied in battleground states, where the former president held a five-point lead while Joe Biden remained in the race.Harris reportedly met her vetting team – led by former US attorney general Eric Holder – over the weekend and received in-depth presentations on their findings, including potential political vulnerabilities.

    She met three of those candidates – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro – on Sunday.

    She also had a meeting with another top contender – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – on Friday and is understood to have met several other candidates virtually, US media report.

  • JUST IN: Bangladesh PM Hasina resigns, flees as protesters storm palace

    JUST IN: Bangladesh PM Hasina resigns, flees as protesters storm palace

    Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country, the army chief has said, following weeks of deadly demonstrations.

    In an address to the nation on Monday, General Waker-Uz-Zaman said that an interim government will now run the country.

    According to Aljazeera, Hasina, who had ruled the country for two decades, boarded a military helicopter, after crowds ignored a national curfew to storm her palace in Dhaka.

    The resignation comes after 300 people have died amid weeks of protest the authorities have sought to crush. Following a night of deadly violence that killed close to 100 on Sunday, tension had remained high on Monday as protesters called for a march on Dhaka and the army prepared to address the nation.

    By early afternoon, however, media reported that the mood on the streets had turned to one of celebration after the news of Hasina’s departure spread.

    Read Also: Security operatives disperse Abuja protesters, arrest three

    The army chief urged citizens to keep trust in the army, which, he said, would return peace to the country.

    “We will also ensure that justice is served for every death and crime that occurred during the protests,” he said, calling on the public to exercise patience and cease any acts of violence and vandalism.

    “We have invited representatives from all major political parties, and they have accepted our invitation and committed to collaborating with us,” the general added.

  • UK PM Starmer to hold emergency meeting as riots intensify

    UK PM Starmer to hold emergency meeting as riots intensify

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold an emergency meeting with police chiefs today after days of violent anti-immigration protests intensified, with buildings and vehicles torched and hotels holding asylum seekers targeted.

    Riots have erupted across towns and cities in the last week after three girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport in northwest England, with 420 people arrested so far.

    The murders were seized on by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups as misinformation spread online that the suspected attacker was a radical Islamist who had just arrived in Britain. Police have said the suspect was born in Britain and are not treating it as a terrorist incident.

    Interior minister Yvette Cooper said rioters had felt “emboldened by this moment to stir up racial hatred”, with bricks thrown at police officers, shops looted and mosques and Asian-owned businesses attacked.

    Over the weekend riots broke out in Liverpool, Bristol, Tamworth, Middlesbrough and Belfast, in Northern Ireland, with largely young men wearing balaclavas and draped in the British flags hurling rocks and shouting “Stop the Boats”, a reference to migrants arriving on the south coast in recent years.

    In Rotherham, northern England, protesters sought to break into a hotel that housed asylum seekers.

    Read Also: Starmer issues warning to UK far-right thugs over mob violence against asylum seekers

    Police have blamed online disinformation, amplified by high-profile figures for driving the violence. One of the most prominent of these, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon who led the anti-Islam English Defence League group, has been blamed by media for spreading misinformation to his 875,000 followers on X.

    “They are lying to you all,” Yaxley-Lennon, who is known by the pseudonym Tommy Robinson, wrote. “Attempting to turn the nation against me. I need you, you are my voice.”

    Elon Musk, the owner of X, also weighed in on the violence. Responding to a post on X that blamed mass migration and open borders for the disorder in Britain, he wrote: “Civil war is inevitable.”

    Interior minister Yvette Cooper told broadcasters that tensions had been amplified and inflamed online, and the government would be pursuing the issue with social media companies.

    “I think what you’ve seen is that networks of different individuals and groups that have been trying to fan the flames,” she told Sky News, swerving questions on whether foreign states had been involved.

    While she said people had views and concerns about issues such as immigration, she blamed extremist, racist, violent groups for the violence.

    “Reasonable people who have all those sorts of views and concerns do not pick up bricks and throw them at the police,” she said.

    Newsnow