The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • Sunak denies resignation reports, says he’s ‘energised’ by campaign

    Sunak denies resignation reports, says he’s ‘energised’ by campaign

    British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he had not considered quitting ahead of the election amid the continued fallout over his early departure from D-Day commemorations.

    Sunak vowed to carry on “until the last day of this campaign” as he sought to dampen reports that he might resign ahead of polling day on July 4.

    Criticism of his early exit from the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings dogged the British prime minister over the weekend when he kept a low profile and avoided questions from reporters.

    He was out campaigning on Monday, where he said that he would not stop “fighting for the future of our country.”

    Asked whether resigning had crossed his mind, Sunak told broadcasters during a visit to the Dog and Bacon pub in Horsham: “No, of course not.

    “I’m energised about the vision that we’re putting forward for the country.

    “This campaign is not even halfway through yet, and I’m finding an enormous amount of support for the policies that we’re putting on the table.”

    On the rumours, he also told reporters on the campaign trail: “People are gonna say what they’re gonna say.”

    “There are lots of people who want to write me off, write this off, say this campaign or the election is a foregone conclusion.”

    Sunak added: “The reality is I’m not going to stop going, I’m not going to stop fighting for people’s votes, I’m not going to stop fighting for the future of our country.”

    Read Also: UK holds general election July 4, says PM Sunak

    The prime minister also struck a renewed conciliatory tone over his D-Day departure, telling reporters he “absolutely didn’t mean to cause anyone any hurt or upset.”

    “I just hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me and look at my actions that I have taken as a prime minister, both to support our armed forces with an increase in defence spending.

    “I also have a minister focused on veterans affairs around the Cabinet table, making sure this is the best country in the world to be a veteran,” he added.

    Chris Philp, a Home Office minister and Sunak ally, earlier conceded that he was surprised and disappointed by the prime minister’s early D-Day exit.

    But he said the prime minister would be back bouncing around the campaign trail this week and would be talking to journalists whenever they want to ask him some questions.

    It came as the Liberal Democrats launch their full election manifesto, with an offer of a 9.4 billion Pounds (11.9 billion dollars) package for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and social care in England. (dpa/NAN)

  • Woe unto Israel!

    Woe unto Israel!

    The Israeli Defence Force slaughtered 274 innocent & defenceless Palestinian civilians in Nuseirat on saturday just to rescue four Jewish hostages in what has been decribed by an eyewitness as a “callous massacre” & “hell on earth”. 

    How can anyone in his right senses justify this madness? How can any sane person rejoice in such mindless savagery & callousness. 

    Would it not have been more humane to get them released through negotiation & a ceasefire? 

    Would you not have got more hostages back that way without taking any innocent lives? 

    Are the babies & infants that you butchered in Nuseirat also members of the Al Qassam Brigade? 

    Did they also participate in the October 7th attack on Israel? 

    Were the four hostages hidden in their baby cots, their prams or their diapers?

    Did you have to murder them too? 

    This degree of depravity beggars belief. 

    It is utterly astounding & totally incomprehensible. It represents a new low in the long & horrific history of Zionist barbarity.   

    Bibi Netanyahu & his supporters should clap for themselves! 

    Yet as they rejoice in their butchery & carnage & their pyrrhic victory let them take note of the following: there is NO glory in murdering women & children. 

    There is NO honor in slaughtering babies & infants & blowing up their little bodies with your sophisticated weapons & precision bombs! 

    There is NO victory in snuffing out their precious young lives & blotting out their shining star! 

    There is NO joy in shattering their dreams & destroying their destinies. 

    Your cruelty is greater than that of Herod, your soul is darker than that of Pharaoh, your boast is greater than that of Sennacherub, your arrogance is greater than that of Nebuchadnezzar, your heart is harder than that of Jezebel, your bloodlust is greater than that of Athalia and your end shall be worse than that of all of them put together. 

    The Lord of Hosts, the Alpha & the Omega, the Ancient of Days, the Man of War, the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, the El Shaddai, the Elohim, the Adonai, the Lord of the universe, the God of all flesh, the Avenger of our blood, the Lamb of God, the Blood of the sprinkling, the I AM THAT I AM, He who is high & lifted up whose train fills the Temple & He that they call Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whose name is above all names, who is the author & finisher of our faith & to whom every knee must bow, has seen your wickedness & stands against you. 

    Read Also: Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza reportedly kills at least 35

    From generation to generation you  shall be cursed, your suffering & sorrow shall have no end & a special place in hell has been reserved for you where you shall burn forever. 

    The time for glorifying yourselves will soon be over for the God of the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the vulnerable & the persecuted shall rise up in defence of the women & children of Gaza & avenge them speedily! 

    Even Benny Gantz, the leader of the  opposition & an erstwhile member of your ‘war cabinet’, can no longer bare the stench of blood that trails you & has abandoned your rat-infested ship & sinking Zionist Government.

    Woe unto you Netanyahu and unto Smotrich, Ben Givr, Eliyahu, Gotllieb, Herzog and all the other depraved, bloodthirsty, delusional & insane men & women in your crumbling cabinet & heartless Government.

    Woe unto the people of Israel for choosing you as their leader. 

    Woe unto America for arming, funding & supporting you in your bloody enterprise of mass murder & ethnic cleansing. 

    Woe unto them for being complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity & genocide.

    Woe unto the rest of the world for refusing to stand up for truth & justice, for refusing to resist you & for refusing to find the courage to march on Tel Aviv & drag you off your blood-soaked throne.

    (FFK)

  • Emmanuel Macron announces dissolution of National Assembly

    Emmanuel Macron announces dissolution of National Assembly

    French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, following defeat of his party in 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections, according to local media report.

    “I have decided to give you back the choice of your parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly,” Macron said in a short speech.

    “This is a serious, weighty decision. But it is above all an act of trust,” he added.

    He added that the elections to the National Assembly are to take place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7.

    Macron’s Renaissance party gained 15.2 per cent of the votes in 2024 European Parliament elections, far behind far-right National Rally who received 31.8 per cent.

    Read Also: Biden, Macron pledge continuous support for Ukraine

    “The unprecedented gap between the presidential majority and the leading opposition party reflects a stinging disavowal and rejection of the policies led by Emmanuel Macron,” RN President Jordan Bardella said after the EP elections results were unveiled, quoted by local media.

    “We’re ready for it. I call on French people to join us in forming around the RN a majority in the service of the only cause that guides our steps: France.” parliamentary party leader of RN, Marine Le Pen, said Sunday evening on social media platform X.

    The EP elections were held from June 6 to June 9, with voters of the 27 EU member states selecting 720 lawmakers to the 10th EP.

    (Xinhua/NAN)

  • India’s PM Narendra Modi sworn in for third term

    India’s PM Narendra Modi sworn in for third term

    Narendra Modi was sworn yesterday for a rare third consecutive term as India’s prime minister, relying on his coalition partners after his party failed to win a parliamentary majority in a surprise outcome.

    Modi and his cabinet ministers took the oath of office, administered by President Droupadi Murmu, at India’s presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

    The 73-year-old popular but polarising leader is only the second Indian prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to retain power for a third five-year term.

    Read Also: German Country Director begs Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu

    His Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which won by landslides in 2014 and 2019, failed to secure a majority to govern independently in the latest national election. However, Modi’s National Democratic Alliance coalition won enough seats to form a government with him at the helm.

    This is the first time the BJP under Modi has needed support from its regional allies to form a government after a decade of commanding the majority in Parliament.

    Final election results released Wednesday showed Modi’s BJP won 240 seats, well below the 272 needed for a majority. Together, the parties in the NDA coalition secured 293 seats in the 543-member lower house of Parliament.

    Modi’s coalition government now largely depends on two key regional allies — the Telugu Desam Party in southern Andhra Pradesh state and Janata Dal (United) in eastern Bihar state — to stay in power.

  • Voters in 20 countries cast ballots on final day of EU Parliament polls

    Voters in 20 countries cast ballots on final day of EU Parliament polls

    Tens of millions across the European Union voted yesterday in EU parliamentary elections in a massive exercise of democracy that is expected to shift the bloc to the right and redirect its future.

    The war in Ukraine, migration, and the impact of climate policy on farmers are some of the issues weighing on voters’ minds as they cast ballots to elect 720 members of the European Parliament.

    Surveys suggest that mainstream and pro-European parties will retain their majority in parliament, but they will lose seats to hard right parties like those led by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Marine Le Pen in France.

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    That would make it harder for Europe to pass legislation and could at times paralyze decision-making in the world’s biggest trading bloc. “I do hope that we will manage to avoid a shift to the right and that Europe will somehow remain united,” voter Laura Simon said in Berlin.

    EU lawmakers have a say in issues from financial rules to climate and agriculture policy. They approve the EU budget, which bankrolls priorities including infrastructure projects, farm subsidies and aid delivered to Ukraine. And they hold a veto over the appointment of the powerful EU commission.

    This elections come at a testing time for voter confidence in a bloc of some 450 million people. Over the last five years, the EU has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, an economic slump and an energy crisis fueled by the biggest land conflict in Europe since the Second World War. But political campaigning often focuses on issues of concern in individual countries rather than on broader European interests.

  • Nigeria backs Biden’s Gaza ceasefire proposal

    Nigeria backs Biden’s Gaza ceasefire proposal

    Nigeria has thrown its weight behind the United States proposed ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.
    West Bank has been under Israeli siege since October 7 retaliation attack following the invasion of Israel by Hamas.
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who made Nigeria’s position known, also urged global leaders to de-escalate violence in the region.
    Ambassador Tuggar in a statement by his media aide, Alkasim Abdulkadir stated, “The Biden ceasefire proposal should be embraced by world leaders and the totality of the international community — to intensify efforts towards a speedy resolution of the conflict, and the immediate cessation of the attendant extreme violence in Gaza and all other innocent civilians affected by the conflict.
    “Equally important is the continuous, sufficient and unhindered provision of lifesaving humanitarian supplies and services for civilians.”

    Read Also: FG retooling financial system to relieve Nigerians – Tinubu


    The minister also assured U.S. of Nigeria’s support to bring about a complete cessation of violence and an end to the senseless loss of human lives and manmade humanitarian crises.
    He said: “We are concerned that the ongoing carnage is setting a bad precedent for the international system of justice and are mindful that justice is antithetical to revenge. The Biden plan presents a clear path towards progress and the conditions required for peace.
    “President Joe Biden’s proposal includes a deal that will lead to a permanent ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of hostages, and a major reconstruction plan to rebuild homes, schools and hospitals. Nigeria believes the Biden plan is the best way forward for all parties and can prevent any repetition of the tragic deaths on June 8 of more than 200 people at the Nuseirat refugee camp.”

  • Spain to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ

    Spain to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ

    Spain announced that it will join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the ongoing Israeli aggression in the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip.

    During a press conference yesterday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares clarified that the country had made this decision to restore peace to Gaza and the wider Middle East region.

    “A large-scale war that does not distinguish between civil and military objectives” is taking place and the risk of escalation is increasing,” he said.

    Read Also: State of nation: Tinubu in hurry to fix Nigeria, says Arewa Think Tank

    South Africa submitted the case in late December 2023, accusing Israel of committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

    On Jan. 26, the ICJ ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide, and to ensure that its military does not commit genocide.

    It further called on Israel to halt incitement against Palestinians as a group and to take immediate measures to ensure humanitarian aid.

  • Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza reportedly kills at least 35

    Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza reportedly kills at least 35

    An Israeli air strike on a United Nations school crowded with displaced Palestinians in central Gaza has reportedly killed at least 35 people.

    Residents reported that the attack occurred in the early hours of yesterday at Al-Sardi school, situated in the densely-populated Nuseirat camp, where Unrwa provides services. The school was housing hundreds of displaced individuals who had fled from other conflict zones in Gaza.

    An eyewitness said a warplane fired two missiles at classrooms on the top floor of the school in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Videos depicted the aftermath of the strike, showing extensive destruction and numerous casualties.

    Israel’s military stated that it had “conducted a precise strike on a Hamas compound” within the school premises, claiming to have killed many of the 20 to 30 fighters it believed were present.

    However, Gaza’s Hamas-run Government Media Office refuted these allegations, accusing Israel of perpetrating a “horrific massacre.”

    The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), Philippe Lazzarini, who manages the school, condemned the incident as “horrific” and expressed shock at the suggestion that armed groups might have been inside the shelter.

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    Dead and wounded individuals were rushed to the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah, which has been overwhelmed since the Israeli military initiated a new ground operation against Hamas in central Gaza.

    The circumstances surrounding the strike in Nuseirat remain unclear, and the BBC is actively verifying incoming information.

    Witnesses recounted scenes of chaos and devastation, with one survivor describing how he heard a loud explosion followed by smoke filling the air. Another resident awoke to the sight of bodies strewn everywhere, while videos circulated on social media documented the destruction and casualties.

    The death toll initially reported by residents exceeded 20, but later, officials at al-Aqsa Hospital disclosed receiving 40 bodies from the school. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry confirmed that 40 people, including 14 children and nine women, were killed, with 74 others injured.

    Philippe Lazzarini emphasized that the school was struck “without prior warning,” stressing the imperative of protecting UN premises and personnel at all times.

  • Nigerian appointed Secretary of global humanitarian organization

    Nigerian appointed Secretary of global humanitarian organization

    Ranti Jacobs Agbaminoja, a Nigerian residing in the United States of America (USA), has been appointed as the Secretary of the Board of Directors at Waterlight Save Initiative, a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to alleviating global poverty, particularly through sustainable water management.

    Agbaminoja’s appointment marks a significant milestone for the organization, coinciding with Waterlight Save Initiative’s recent attainment of Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) during the 18th meeting of the UN Committee on Non-governmental Organizations.

    According to a statement from the NGO, the ECOSOC recognition has paved the way for enhanced participation in global policy dialogues, advocating for sustainable water practices, and promoting innovative solutions to combat water scarcity and achieve other sustainable development goals.

    The statement further elaborates on Agbaminoja’s responsibilities as the Secretary of the Board of Directors, which include maintaining accurate records of board meetings and decisions, facilitating communication among board members, staff, and external stakeholders, contributing to strategic goal development and implementation, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and non-profit governance best practices.

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    Agbaminoja’s appointment is expected to inject new energy into the organization’s initiatives and extend its influence in global water sustainability endeavours, addressing urgent water scarcity and environmental conservation challenges. The recent ECOSOC approval underscores the international significance of the Waterlight Save Initiative’s mission, empowering it to advocate for water sustainability on a broader scale and effect lasting change internationally.

    Agbaminoja is recognized for her dedication to community development and her commitment to positively impacting people’s lives. With a solid background in communication, she is poised to provide strategic guidance and foster collaboration within the board and the wider community.

    Her leadership is anticipated to rejuvenate the organization’s endeavours and amplify its impact on global water sustainability. With Agbaminoja at the helm, the organization is well-positioned to confront the critical challenges of water scarcity and environmental conservation. Her previous engagements with community-focused organizations have equipped her with the requisite skills to navigate the intricate landscape of environmental advocacy and community engagement.

    Waterlight Save Initiative’s primary focus is on advancing global water sustainability, aiming to influence international policies, forge strategic alliances, access funding opportunities, and raise global awareness on imperative water-related issues.

  • Biden, Macron pledge continuous support for Ukraine

    Biden, Macron pledge continuous support for Ukraine

    United States President, Joe Biden and French President, Emmanuel Macron have advocated for unwavering support for Ukraine, emphasising the importance of standing against tyranny and defending freedom.

    Speaking at the American cemetery in Normandy in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Biden delivered a resolute message to Moscow, asserting that the U.S. and its allies refuse to capitulate to bullies or dictators.

    He underscored the significance of honouring the sacrifices made on the beaches of Normandy and reiterated the commitment to safeguarding Ukraine from subjugation, emphasizing that the threat posed by Russian aggression extends far beyond its borders.

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    Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife, Olena, were warmly received by Western leaders at an international event on Omaha Beach.

    Macron lauded Zelenskiy for his courage, drawing a standing ovation from the assembled dignitaries. Despite the absence of UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, Zelenskiy’s presence elicited expressions of solidarity and support from the gathered leaders.

    Macron’s tribute highlighted the bravery of those who fought for freedom and condemned attempts to redraw borders through force, emphasising the need to honour the sacrifices of past generations by remaining steadfast in the face of modern challenges.

    Russian representatives were notably absent from the commemorations, a decision justified by French officials citing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, the events were marked by strong displays of solidarity with Ukraine, reaffirming the international community’s commitment to its sovereignty and security.