The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • 15 killed, others injured in Prague varsity shooting

    15 killed, others injured in Prague varsity shooting

    • •Shooter ‘eliminated’, police say

    A gunman killed 15 people and wounded dozens of others at a Prague university yesterday, before the police “eliminated” him, authorities said.

    The violence in the Czech capital’s historic centre sparked panic, a massive police response and warnings for people to stay indoors.

    The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. He has not been named publicly.

    “More than 15 people have lost their lives and at least 24 have been wounded,” Vondrasek told reporters following the shooting.

    “The building is currently being evacuated and there are several dead and dozens of wounded people on the scene,” police wrote earlier on X.

    Police said they were still searching the area, including the balcony, for possible explosives. The building was evacuated, Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said.

    An email sent to staff and students at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, seen by Reuters, had said a shooter was in one of its buildings and had told staff to “stay put”.

    “Don’t go anywhere, if you’re in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights,” the email said.

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    One X user posted a photo of a group of students, hiding crouched on a ledge of the building.

    The police have sealed off the square and the area adjacent to the university building, which is located in a busy part of town that has a popular street leading tourists to Old Town Square

    “According to preliminary information, the shooter himself should be dead, there are dead and wounded on site, I will not speculate now about the final number,” Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said on Czech Television.

    Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his trip to the east of the country and was en route to Prague, he said on X.

    Gun crime is relatively rare in the Czech Republic. In December 2019, a 42-year-old gunman killed six people at a hospital waiting room in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava before fleeing and fatally shooting himself, police said.

    In 2015, a man fatally shot eight people and then killed himself at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod.

  • ICC gets list of 40 Israeli commanders for probe into ‘war crimes’

    ICC gets list of 40 Israeli commanders for probe into ‘war crimes’

    • Israel expecting another prisoner-hostage deal with Hamas next month

    A united States-based NGO said they submitted a list of 40 Israeli soldiers to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation into “war crimes” in Gaza.

    “The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor should investigate as suspects for war crimes and crimes against humanity the senior Israeli commanders,” Democracy for Arab World Now (DAWN) said in a statement.

    The statement said the names of 40 Israeli commanders have been submitted to ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, asserting that these individuals have “taken part in, or who have direct command responsibility over operations that likely comprise indiscriminate and deliberate attacks on civilians, the use of starvation as a weapon, blocking humanitarian aid, and the imposition of the siege on Gaza”.

    Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director at DAWN, said that the 40 Israeli commanders “who have been responsible for planning, ordering, and executing Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment, wanton destruction, and mass killing of civilians in Gaza should be prime suspects in any ICC investigation.” ?

    “At the top of the list of suspects is Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. On October 9, 2023, Gallant ordered a complete siege on Gaza City, cut off the supply of potable water to the entire population of the Gaza Strip — over 2 million people, blocked the entry of humanitarian aid, and oversaw the indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza,” the NGO said.

    The list also includes Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian. According to the NGO, Alian is “responsible for administering the siege of Gaza and was responsible for cutting off the supply of water, food, and fuel in the early days of the war.”

    The list also included Lt. Col. Dvir Edri, the commander of the 460th Armoured Brigade, which DAWN said participated in combat operations in northern Gaza on Nov. 4.

    “Between noon November 4 and noon November 5, according to data published by the UN, 243 Palestinians were killed in Gaza. Infantry, combat engineering, and armoured forces like those under the command of Lt. Col. Edri have been documented attacking protected civilian sites such as hospitals, houses of worship, and schools,” the NGO added.

    Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, the director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN, said: “Israeli criminal law does not establish any type of ‘command responsibility’ for war crimes, which means Israeli courts never hold senior officers accountable — while it almost always absolves their subordinates of committing serious war crimes.”

    Official Israeli estimates indicate that another prisoner-hostage exchange deal with Hamas, and a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip could be achieved by January, Channel 13 quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.

    The negotiations will include the release of some Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for a two-week humanitarian pause, setting free prominent Palestinian prisoners, and withdrawal of the army from certain areas in Gaza, the officials said.

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    Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh reached Cairo on Wednesday for talks believed to focus on the cease-fire and the exchange deal.

    Egypt, along with Qatar, helped mediate a weeklong cease-fire in November in which Hamas freed over 100 hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of 240 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas and other groups are still holding about 129 captives.

    At least 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, according to health officials in the enclave. There’s also been widespread destruction of homes and other infrastructure.

    Israel says 1,200 people were killed in the October attack by Hamas.

    The U.S. said “very serious” negotiations were taking place on a new Gaza ceasefire and release of more Israeli hostages.

    Prospects for a deal remained uncertain as Hamas insisted it would not discuss anything less than a complete end to Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

    Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Egypt on Wednesday for the first time in more than a month for discussions with Egyptian officials who are seeking to mediate another truce.

    A source briefed on the negotiations said envoys were intensively discussing which of the hostages still held by Palestinian Islamist militants in Gaza could be freed in a new truce and which Palestinian prisoners Israel might release in return.

    Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant group that is also holding hostages in Gaza, said its leader would visit Egypt in the coming days as well to discuss a possible end to the conflict.

  • UN’s WFP temporarily suspends food assistance in Sudan

    UN’s WFP temporarily suspends food assistance in Sudan

    The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily suspended food assistance in some parts of Sudan’s state of Gezira as fighting spreads south and east of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, the aid agency said in a statement.

    WFP has put food deliveries on hold in some locations in Gezira, said Eddie Rowe, WFP’s representative and country director in Sudan, adding that its teams are working around the clock to provide food aid in locations where it is still possible.

    As many as 300,000 people are fleeing Sudan’s second-biggest city, Wad Madani, in the latest wave of large-scale displacement after fighting spread across the region, the UN migration agency said on Thursday.

    According to initial estimates by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), more than half a million people had taken refuge in the Al Jazirah state since the start of the crisis in April and they are again on move following a fighting which broke out in the outskirts of Wad Madani last week.

    “This is a human tragedy of immense proportions, deepening the country’s already dire humanitarian crisis,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement, adding that the intensifying conflict and growing displacement underscore “the urgency of a peaceful resolution, the need for a cease-fire and a robust response to avert a wider catastrophe.”?

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    The latest movements will push Sudan’s total displaced population beyond 7.1 million – “the world’s largest displacement crisis,” the IOM said.

    It added that more than 1.5 million people have fled to neighboring countries due to the conflict,? food insecurity,? and economic collapse.

    Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April.

    Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators have failed to end the violence.

  • We’re ready to expand ties with Nigeria, says Taiwanese envoy

    We’re ready to expand ties with Nigeria, says Taiwanese envoy

    Representative of Taiwanese Mission to Nigeria, Andy Yih-Ping Liu, has declared that his country is ready to expand bilateral relations with Nigeria for the realisation of President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda as promised to the citizenry.

    Liu, who spoke with reporters in Lagos, noted that Taiwan is ready to host the Nigerian delegation in Taipei to discuss mutual areas of collaboration that will complement each other’s economic and industrial growth.

    According to the envoy, Taiwanese government is also willing to send its delegation to Nigeria on the invitation of the Nigerian government for such economic and trade talks.

    He said Taiwan in the last few months had entered into comprehensive trade deals with some other countries, including UK, Canada, France and India, involving trade, investment in green energy and digital economy.

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    Liu hinted that the agreement with UK government last month sets out priority areas of future discussion in three key areas of bilateral investment, digital trade, renewable energy and net zero emissions.

    In October this year, he added that his country also completed talks with Canada on bilateral deal to boost foreign investment.

    The trade representative stressed that Taiwanese government is prepared to assist President Tinubu to achieve his promise of turning the entrepreneurial capacity of the South East Nigeria into global competitiveness into Taiwan of Africa.

    The Nigerian government, he said, would need to pick up the pace by working closely with his mission.

    He noted that Taiwan can contribute towards the growth of developing African nations, which is a better way to promote digital literacy, vocational training, agriculture and medical equipment.

    He added that democracy in Nigeria and Taiwan are almost the same, as both nations have similar constitutional orientation.

    As the rest of the world is moving quickly to collaborate with Taiwan, the Nigerian government would also need to pick up the pace by working closely with his mission and government to comprehensively discuss economic investment, science and technology research and the digital economy, the envoy said.

  • Pope Francis signs decree forbidding same-sex marriage

    Pope Francis signs decree forbidding same-sex marriage

    Pope Francis yesterday signed a decree that forbids Priests or Bishops from blessing same-sex marriages in Roman Catholic Churches.

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    The Oyo State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman, Apostle Joshua Akinyemiju, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

  • UN Security Council weighs Gaza ‘cessation of hostilities’ resolution

    UN Security Council weighs Gaza ‘cessation of hostilities’ resolution

    The UN Security Council will today vote on a new resolution calling for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza as civilian casualties mount.

    The vote comes days after the U.S. blocked a previous resolution that would have called for a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the Palestinian enclave, where Israel continues its bombardment in retaliation for an attack by Hamas on October 7.

    The new resolution, drafted by the UAE, was introduced by Arab countries after a recent vote in the General Assembly, in which the UN’s 193 members called overwhelmingly for a ceasefire, with 153 in favour, 10 against and 23 abstentions.

    The latest text’s fate, however, remains uncertain.

    The text calls for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip for those in need”.

    It requests that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Gaza Strip – via land, sea and air routes – and set up a UN monitoring mechanism in the Gaza Strip to delver humanitarian aid.

    The document also affirms support for a two-state solution and “stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority”.

    “Every single day, innocent people in Gaza are struggling desperately for want of food, water, medicine and fuel. Members of the UN Security Council have seen the consequences of this humanitarian catastrophe first-hand and the need for more aid could not be clearer,” Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s ambassador to the UN, told The National.

    “This council resolution responds to that need by opening border crossings, the transport of aid by land, sea and air, and a UN-led mechanism that would streamline inspection, monitoring and approvals.”

    Ms Nusseibeh added that it underlines the critical importance of stopping hostilities to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and that the UAE will continue to aggressively pursue that goal.

    The Security Council has passed only one resolution on Gaza since the war began, which called for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, after failing to approve five others, two of which were vetoed by the US.

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    According to UN diplomats, negotiations are still ongoing as delegates are working to avoid another impasse. The US seems to be opposed to the term “cessation of hostilities” in the text and are pushing for “humanitarian pauses” instead.

    Security Council resolutions are legally binding for all member states, yet the countries concerned often choose not to comply with them.

    Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and chairwoman of The Elders – a group of independent global leaders working together for peace, justice and human rights – said in a statement that the US cannot afford to be further isolated by vetoing this resolution.

    “President [Joe] Biden’s continuing support for Israel’s actions is also making the world less safe, the Security Council less effective, and US leadership less respected. It is time to stop the killing,” she said.

  • Eight killed in Guinea oil terminal blast

    Eight killed in Guinea oil terminal blast

    No fewer than eight people were killed and 84 injured after a blast at an oil terminal in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, early yesterday, a senior police officer said, adding that the blaze was being contained.

    The explosion at the West African nation’s main oil terminal rocked the Kaloum administrative district in downtown Conakry, blowing out the windows of several nearby homes and forcing hundreds to flee, according to a Reuters witness.

    A huge fire and billowing black smoke were seen from miles away as firefighters rushed to the area, while several tanker trucks left the depot, escorted by soldiers and police.

    Guinea is not an oil producer and has no oil refining capacity. It imports refined products, which are mostly stored in the Kaloum terminal and distributed via trucks across the country.

    The extent of the damage to the terminal is unclear for now.

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    The country has a small oil depot at the port in Kamsar, north of Conakry, which is mostly used by mining firms.

    Later yesterday, a thick column of smoke and some flames were still visible after firefighters brought the fire under control.

    The origin of the fire was unknown, the government said in a statement, adding that an investigation will be launched to establish the cause and determine who might be responsible.

    “The government expresses its deep concern about this event, the scale and consequences of which could have a direct impact on the population,” the statement said.

  • ‘War will take time,’ says Israeli defence minister after meeting U.S. officials

    ‘War will take time,’ says Israeli defence minister after meeting U.S. officials

    United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed with Israeli leaders yesterday ways to scale back major combat operations in Gaza but said Washington was not imposing a timetable despite international calls for a cease-fire.

    Austin and other U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the large number of civilian deaths in Gaza, even while underscoring American backing for Israel’s campaign aimed at crushing Hamas.

    Neither side elaborated yesterday on what needed to change on the ground for a shift to more precise operations after weeks of devastating bombardment and a ground offensive.

    At a news conference alongside Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Austin said: “This is Israel’s operation. I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms.” The U.S. has vetoed calls for a cease-fire at the UN and rushed munitions to Israel.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will keep fighting until it ends Hamas rule in Gaza, crushes its formidable military capabilities and frees the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza since the deadly Oct 7 attack inside Israel that ignited the war.

    Israeli protesters have demanded the government relaunch talks with Hamas on releasing more hostages after three were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops.

    Talks were underway yesterday to broker freedom for more hostages, as CIA Director William Burns met in Warsaw with the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and the prime minister of Qatar, a US official said. It was the first known meeting of the three since the end of a weeklong cease-fire in late November, during which some 100 hostages were freed in exchange for the release of around 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

    More than 100 people were killed in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in northern Gaza on Sunday, a Health Ministry official in the Hamas-run territory said.

    Speaking alongside Austin, Gallant said only that “the war will take time.” Last week, Gallant said Israel would continue major combat operations for several more months.

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    European countries also appear to be losing patience. “Far too many civilians have been killed in Gaza,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X. “Certainly, we are witnessing an appalling lack of distinction in Israel’s military operation in Gaza.”

    Under U.S. pressure, Israel provided more precise evacuation instructions earlier this month as troops moved into the southern city of Khan Younis. Still, casualties have continued to mount and Palestinians say nowhere in Gaza is safe as Israel carries out strikes in all parts of the territory.

    Israel reopened its main cargo crossing with Gaza to allow more aid in — also after a request from the US. But the amount is less than half of prewar imports, even as needs have soared and fighting hinders delivery in many areas. Israel blocked entry off all goods into Gaza soon after the war started and weeks later began allowing a small amount of aid in through Egypt.

    Human Rights Watch yesterday accused Israel of deliberately starving Gaza’s population — which would be a war crime — pointing to statements by senior Israeli officials expressing the intent to deprive civilians of food, water and fuel or linking the entry of aid to the release of hostages.

  • Firm appointed to manage UK govt visa in 142 countries

    Firm appointed to manage UK govt visa in 142 countries

    VFS Global, a visa outsourcing firm has been awarded a comprehensive contract to manage UK government visa and passport services in 142 countries, including Nigeria.

    This development is expected to significantly streamline the application process for the numerous Nigerians who travel to the UK annually.

    Zubin Karkaria, Founder and CEO, VFS Global, said: “We are delighted to win this contract and expand our partnership with the Home Office to become their service provider for all UK visa customers overseas. We are excited to begin operations in new locations, and to take the next step towards providing customers with a seamless, simple and secure visa and passport application experience. This win is a testament to our dedicated efforts to provide all our client governments with best-in-class services.”

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    Nigeria, being one of the top four application locations for UK visas, stands to gain considerably from this new arrangement.

    VFS Global’s expanded presence in Nigeria promises a more efficient and user-friendly visa application process, aligning with the high demand for UK travel in the region.

    This is a crucial step towards enhancing the travel experience for Nigerian citizens, who have historically faced challenges in visa processing.

    While VFS Global’s contract covers an impressive range of 142 countries, the impact on the African continent, particularly in Nigeria, is of special significance.

    The company’s plans to open new Visa and Citizenship Application Service (VCAS) Centres will not only provide greater accessibility for applicants but also contribute to local economies.

  • Ex-Vatican top official jailed for corruption scandal

    Ex-Vatican top official jailed for corruption scandal

    A former deputy secretary of state  in the Vatican and nine others were yesterday  found guilty in the enclave’s  biggest financial corruption scandal.

    Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Vatican employees and two outside Italian brokers were among 10 defendants described by  prosecutors as “actors in a rotten predatory and lucrative system.”

    Becciu, the highest ranking Vatican-based church official to be charged with financial crimes, was handed a jail term of five and a half years.

    They were found guilty of embezzlement, corruption, abuse of office, fraud, witness tampering and extortion – with the trial revolving mostly around a luxury building in Chelsea.

    Becciu was the pope’s chief of staff, serving as a key diplomat between 2011 and 2018.

    They had been implicated in the  purchasing of a showroom in London‘s Sloane Square formally used by Harrods, which was bought for €140m more than its market value – defrauding the Vatican.

    The two-year-long trial, led by jury president and former anti-mafia prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone, centered on the management of the funds of the secretariat of state and the sale of a property on London’s Sloane Avenue paid for with donation funds.

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    The former Harrods showroom was bought for €350m (£300m), while the real value was just €210m (£180m). The botched real estate deal defrauded the Vatican and caused a €140m loss (£120m).

    This landmark probe exposed the Vatican’s financial dysfunction and was considered an indication of Pope Francis’ desire to fix the money mismanagement.

    The scandal was exposed by Italian journalist Massimiliano Coccia, prompting Pope Francis to fire Becciu in 2020.

    Becciu subsequently  filed a defamation suit against Mr Coccia alleging  that his ruined reputation had crushed  his chances of becoming pope.

    An Italian civil court recently dismissed the suit and awarded costs against Becciu.