The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • US mother sentenced to 2 years for giving abortion pills to daughter

    US mother sentenced to 2 years for giving abortion pills to daughter

    Jessica Burgess, a woman from the US state of Nebraska accused of helping her teenage daughter acquire abortion pills, was sentenced Friday to two years in prison, the New York Times reported.

    Burgess and her daughter were charged with working together to end Celeste Burgess’ pregnancy last year.

    Jessica Burgess ordered the pills online and gave them to her daughter, who was 17 years old at the time and in the third trimester of her pregnancy, the Times reported, citing prosecutors.

    Authorities said the Burgesses later buried the fetal remains.

    In April 2022, police began investigating “concerns” that Celeste Burgess had given birth prematurely to a stillborn child, which was allegedly buried.

    This July, the daughter was sentenced to 90 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to removing or concealing human skeletal remains.

    The same month, Jessica Burgess pleaded guilty to violating Nebraska’s abortion law, furnishing false information to a law enforcement officer and removing or concealing human skeletal remains.

    Celeste Burgess, who was released earlier this month, was in the courtroom and wiped tears from her face when her mother was sentenced on Friday, The Norfolk Daily News reported.

    According to the newspaper, the judge denied a request by Jessica Burgess’ lawyer to sentence her to probation, saying she had treated the fetal remains “like yesterday’s trash”.

    Read Also: Why I had two abortions at 19, 24, BBNaija Phyna reveals

    The 42-year-old mother faced five charges — including one under a 2010 law which only allows abortion up to 20 weeks after fertilization.

    Police began investigating the Burgesses before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, but their case and subsequent convictions have fanned fears of how women and anyone helping them could be prosecuted for abortions in the wake of the landmark reversal.

    In August, Facebook sparked outrage by complying with the police investigation, boosting concerns that the platform will be a tool for clamping down on anyone involved in abortion procedures.

    AFP

  • DTAC deploys 16 Nigerian volunteer teachers to Liberia

    DTAC deploys 16 Nigerian volunteer teachers to Liberia

    • DG vows to reposition agency for broader, better relevance

    No fewer than 16 Nigerian teachers will be departing for Liberia under the country’s volunteer scheme.

    The 16 teachers who will be departing the shores of Nigeria tomorrow are going under the Technical Aid Corps and at the request of the Liberian government.

    This is as the Director- General of the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps, Yusuf Buba Yakub, vowed to reposition the agency for better and broader relevance in the affairs of the country.

    Yakub stressed the need to sustain the programme, which he said has been helpful in international diplomacy.

    Read Also: Agency deploys 16 Nigerian volunteers teachers to Liberia

    Speaking at the pre-departure programme for the volunteers who are mainly teachers, Yakub said: “We have an agenda and we are going to pursue it. We will reorganise and energise DTAC and as you have seen this morning, we are deploying volunteers to Liberia.

    “It is an instrument of soft power diplomacy where we deliver services to humanity through deploying professionals as volunteers to Africa Caribbean and the Pacific nations.

     “So, I want to assure Nigerians that the DTAC will henceforth continue to deploy Nigerians to these countries, to make sure that Nigeria occupy her place of leadership among the comity of nations.”

    He also hinted that another batch of volunteers will be deployed in the next two weeks.

    As according to him, there are lots of request on the table from African, Carribean and Pacific countries asking for volunteers from Nigeria.

    On the teachers deployed to Liberia, he said they were picked after a rigorous and painstaking processes.

  • King Charles, Queen Camilla in France

    King Charles, Queen Camilla in France

    King Charles and Queen Camilla received warm welcome in France yesterday as they touched down yesterday in Paris on their first state visit with a ceremonial welcome at the Arc de Triomphe.

    The King and Queen, visiting Paris and Bordeaux six months after the trip was rescheduled because of widespread rioting, were given a guard of honour as they began a three-day state visit.

    Read Also: Elumelu gets King Charles’ invitation

    The King and Queen were treated to a flypast by the Patrouille de France, and the Red Arrows as the 74-year-old British monarch took part in a ceremony of remembrance and wreath-laying at the Arc de Triomphe in the centre of the capital.

    The Queen appears to be getting on very well with Brigitte Macron, who is a very warm person and also a keen admirer of the British Royal Family. The King and Queen later sat down for an audience with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife at the Elysée Palace.

  • UN chief wants rich countries to hasten climate efforts

    UN chief wants rich countries to hasten climate efforts

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres has demanded that wealthy nations take the lead in the fight against climate change — launching his one-day Climate Ambition Summit held on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York.

     “Humanity has opened the gates to hell,” the UN chief said in his opening remarks, calling on world leaders to “make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”

    Guterres made a point in hosting a summit attended by what he described as the “first movers and doers from governments, business, finance, local authorities and civil society,” hoping this would spur momentum ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai at the end of November.

    He urged deep-pocketed countries to join a Climate Solidarity Pact — where nations that have contributed the most to the climate emergency should “hit fast forward” in curbing their emissions and help struggling economies transition to cleaner forms of energy.

    The world’s top two polluters — China and the U.S. — didn’t get speaking slots. The No. 3 polluter, the European Union, insisted that the bloc is already doing a good job.

    During the conference, the U.K. backtracked on the pace of its net-zero commitments; the host of the 2021 COP26 climate talks was also conspicuously absent from the summit.

    Read Also: Ogunsanwo, Agbakoba, others score Tinubu’s UNGA speech high

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did speak. She outlined the bloc’s existing green commitments, stressing that the EU has pledged to slash its carbon emissions by “at least 55 percent” by the end of the decade.

    “And the good news is we are on track to overshoot this goal already,” she said.

    She went on to emphasize the bloc’s support for the idea of tripling global renewables and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, vowing that the EU will invest around €4 billion into clean energy and hydrogen in developing economies over the next five years as part of the Global Gateway initiative.

    She also insisted the EU is doing its bit in helping poorer countries. Wealthy countries have pledged to supply $100 billion a year in climate finance — a target they’ve promised but failed to hit in the past. Von der Leyen stressed that the EU will “contribute its fair share of $27 billion, as we did the last year.”

  • Fed Govt seeks UN’s support to achieve solutions to humanitarian crises

    Fed Govt seeks UN’s support to achieve solutions to humanitarian crises

    The Federal Government has urged the United Nations to support its efforts to achieve durable solutions to humanitarian crises.

    Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, made the call during a high-level meeting with Mr. Martin Griffiths, the coordinator under UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief.

    Dr. Edu’s aide on media, Mr. Rasheed Zubair, who made this known in a statement in Abuja, said the meeting held on the sidelines of the ongoing 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) in New York.

    Read Also: Ogunsanwo, Agbakoba, others score Tinubu’s UNGA speech high

    She also briefed the meeting on President Bola Tinubu’s action plan to eradicate poverty.

    The minister sought the support of UN for the presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund.

    Other issues discussed during the high-level meeting centred on systematic and long-term response to Nigeria’s poverty under the SDGs target.

    Edu also joined First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, at a side event to re-awaken Nigerians in Diaspora on the need to support the federal government’s renewed hope agenda.

    She urged Nigerians in Diaspora to get involved, help to rebuild Nigeria’s economy and Nigerians out of poverty.

  • UNSC: Germany rallies Nigeria, Africa countries to secure permanent seat

    UNSC: Germany rallies Nigeria, Africa countries to secure permanent seat

    The government of Germany has rallied the support of Nigeria and other African nations to achieve its long term goal in securing a permanent seat for the country on the United Nation’s Security Council. 

    The Germany government through its Consul General to Nigeria, Weert Börner speaking at International Colloquium, tagged 50 Years of Germany in the United Nations, organised by the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo, Osun State disclosed that the country has pursued a balance economic and trade policy between the North and the South since it became a member of the UN five decades ago.

    He said: “It is imperative that Nigeria and Africa as a whole support a call that Germany should be made one of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council being the second largest contributor in terms of budget. Germany leads the crusade for restitution and returns of looted African artifacts and also involve in ensuring mutual cultural exchange between it and African countries in the past 50 years.

     “The relationship between Nigeria and Germany in the area of culture, we have been one of the major patron of African culture and art over the years and we’ve supported Nigeria in some areas through institutions like Center for Black Culture and International Understanding, there is a center in Germany now named Iwalewa House at a University of Bayreuth to show the extent of mutual respect that exist between us.

    Read Also: ‘Ignore unscrupulous Niger Delta ex-agitators’

     “Also on education, we have been the major institutional models of scholarship award in which Africans have benefited through various German foundations. Similarly during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the largest shipment of vaccines to the continent.”

    Earlier, the Director of the Centre, Professor Siyan Oyeweso said that part of the issues at the front burner of Germany in 2025 and 2027 is to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in such a manner that other disadvantage countries can also have a voice in the United Nations. 

    Speakers at the event included Professor Femi Mimiko, Professor Aderemi Ajala, Professor Olutayo Adesina among other prominent scholars.

  • UNGA 2023: Kwara Gov shares experiences on solutions to learning crises in Africa

    UNGA 2023: Kwara Gov shares experiences on solutions to learning crises in Africa

    Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been slated to make speeches at different events on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly 2023, which is getting underway in New York, United States.

    Abdulrazaq, who doubles as the Nigeria Governors’ Forum chairman, is on the entourage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    The President is scheduled to make his first address to the General Assembly as Nigeria’s leader on Tuesday.

    Around 3p.m. N.Y. time on Monday, the Governor will join other leaders, development partners, and diplomats to discuss ‘stemming migration flow by providing basic needs’ — the main theme of the Nigeria Economic and Trade Summit 2023, organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum.

    The Governor is expected to make remarks on how scarce resources can be mobilised by all stakeholders to promote economic growth, inclusion and youth empowerment, and halt the menace of brain drain and its consequences for Nigeria and Africa.

    Abdulrazaq is also billed to share experiences about resolving learning crisis in Africa, including resource mobilisation to bridge infrastructural gaps, increase school enrolment, and improve learning outcomes for the children.

    Read Also: Nigeria to push for global tax resolution at UNGA 

    Themed ‘Addressing Africa’s learning crisis and preparing for a young future: Finding solution’, the fireside event is jointly organised by Devex, media platform for global development community, and NewGlobe, an international giant in educational development initiatives.

    The Governor would speak alongside Jennifer O’Donoghue, senior fellow and deputy director, Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution; Eric Hanushek, senior fellow, Stanford University; Shungu Gwarinda, executive director-Africa, CAMFED; Palwasha Hassan, senior technical and programme director, Mina’s List;
    Mohammed Keana Sabo, founder, Almajiri Child Rights Initiative; and Shannon May, president and co-founder, NewGlobe; among others.

    The discourse will explore outcomes to help improve the quality of education in low-and middle-income countries, and also shine a light on what is needed to equip everyone from teachers to education ministries with the data tools needed to drive improved learning outcomes for all.

    The Governor is also taking part in other events at the UNGA, including a lunch where President Tinubu will address and rally investors and other stakeholders behind the economic direction of his administration.

  • UNGA 78: Tinubu, other world leaders to mark halftime of SDGs

    UNGA 78: Tinubu, other world leaders to mark halftime of SDGs

    • President to deliver inaugural address tomorrow

    President Bola Tinubu will today in New York join other world leaders to participate in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goals as the United Nations marks the halftime of the SDGs.

    The President arrived in New York yesterday, to attend the high-level meeting of the 78th UN General Assembly, holding between tomorrow and Saturday.

    The theme of the UNGA is: “Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability for all.’’

    Rescuing the SDGs

    As things stand, the goals UN member countries’ promised when they adopted them, with a promise to ‘leave no one behind’, are in serious trouble: despite some progress.

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the weekend said only 15 per cent of goals targets are on track, calling on key actors to rescue the goals.

    Guterres, at the opening of SDG Action Weekend at the UN headquarters in New York, rallied a diverse cross section of civil society actors to use their passionate voices and energetic grassroots networks to help rescue the SDGs.

    With world leaders set to convene tomorrow for the annual high-level opening of the General Assembly, the UN is hosting an energetic range of actors.

    They include youth groups and women’s organisations, mayors, community activists and business leaders, looking to boost support for the goals ahead of the SDG Summit.

    The summit will mark the mid-point of the SDGs, between their 2015 launch and their 2030 deadline.

    Tinubu’s inaugural address agenda

    The president, who is on his first outing to the Assembly, will deliver his inaugural national statement to the world leaders tomorrow.

    His address will focus on economic diplomacy, global tax issues, investment, education, climate change, youth, digital transformation, global cooperation, and the imperative to address inequalities and global humanitarian crises.

    Read Also: Tinubu appoints Muri-Okunola his principal secretary

    President’s lined-up events

    The President and his delegation to UNGA 78 will attend the lined-up events and the bilateral meetings on the sidelines.

    On Wednesday, the Nigerian President is slated to participate in the high-level dialogue on financing for development.

    He will attend a high-level meeting on “Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response”.

    On Thursday, he will be participating in the UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit and attend a high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage and join another high-level panel on reform of the global financial architecture.

    On Friday, he will be attending the high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis.

    During the week, Tinubu is scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings with world leaders including the Presidents of the European Union Commission, Brazil and South Africa, among others.

    The President will also advance his economic development agenda for aggressive investments attraction in meetings with the global leadership of transnational firms.

    Among such firms are Microsoft, Meta Technologies, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, and others.

    Also, the president will touch on details around emerging cross-sectoral investment opportunities in Nigeria in his address to American business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

    At the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) Headquarters in New York, Tinubu will conduct its closing ceremony during its trading session.

    This will make the Nigerian leader the first African president to do so.

    The president will also address the Nigerian SMEs Business Summit where he will seek to highlight the increasingly important role of Nigerian enterprises in global trade.

    Meanwhile, to mark halftime of the SDGs, a new SDG Pavilion has been constructed at the UN headquarters in New York, which will host an art exhibition during the session.

    The speakers include heads of state and government, business leaders, experts and advocates for halftime talks to mobilise the world to keep the promise of the goals

    One major indicator of the serious-mindedness of the Nigerian delegation at UNGA 78 is the leanness of the size. Tinubu had shown readiness and preparedness owing to his directive to bar federal government officials with no specific roles from participating in the New York meeting.

    The president, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to freeze the processing visas for all government officials seeking to travel to New York for this year’s UNGA’s scheduled activities.

    There are expectations that President Tinubu, as head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will speak on the spread of military coups in West Africa during his presentation. So far, it has been a test of will for Tinubu. Many are watching with keen interest how far he will go in this all-important assignment.

    Tinubu was elected chair of ECOWAS at its 63rd ordinary session on July 9, and confronted with a coup in Niger Republic 16 days later. Events in Niamey have been unpalatable. Tinubu in his acceptance speech emphasized on the sustainability of democracy in West Africa, stating that democracy is the best form of government due to its legitimacy on fundamental human rights.

    He was accompanied by Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State; Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State; Hope Uzodinma of Imo State; Uba Sani of Kaduna State; AbdulRahman AbdulRazak of Kwara State; and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

    Also with the president are his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; Coordinating Minister of the Economy & Finance, Wale Edun, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mohammed Pate; Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu; and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite.

    The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa and other senior government officials.

  • Libya’s flood-ravaged Derna struggles to cope with thousands of corpses

    Libya’s flood-ravaged Derna struggles to cope with thousands of corpses

    Residents and rescue workers in the devastated Libyan city of Derna are struggling to cope with the thousands of corpses washing up or decaying under rubble.

    This is happening after a flood that smashed down buildings and swept people to sea.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) and other aid groups urged authorities in Libya to stop burying flood victims in mass graves, saying these could bring long-term mental distress to families or cause health risks if located near water.

    A UN report said more than 1,000 people had so far been buried in that manner since Libya, a nation divided by a decade of conflict and political chaos, was hit on Sunday by torrential rain that caused two dams to burst.

    Thousands were killed and thousands more are missing.

    “Bodies are littering the streets, washing back on shore, and are buried under collapsed buildings and debris.

    “In just two hours, one of my colleagues counted over 200 bodies on the beach near Derna,” Bilal Sablouh, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) forensics manager for Africa, told a briefing in Geneva.

    Read Also: Libya flood: let’s work to build resilience, protect planet – UNGA President

    Ibrahim al-Arabi, health minister in Libya’s Tripoli-based western government, told Reuters he was certain groundwater was polluted with water mixed up with corpses, dead animals, refuse, and chemical substances.

    “We urge people not to approach the wells in Derna,” he said.

    Mohammad al-Qabisi, head of Derna’s Wahda Hospital, said a field hospital was treating people with chronic illnesses needing regular attention.

    He said there were fears waterborne diseases would spread, but no cholera had been recorded so far.

    Swathes of Derna, centrepoint of the destruction in Libya’s east, were obliterated when the dams above the city broke, and the flood that swept down a usually dry riverbed brought down whole residential blocks while families were asleep.

    The International Organization for Migration mission in Libya said more than 5,000 people were presumed dead, with 3,922 deaths registered in hospitals, and over 38,640 were displaced in the flood-stricken region.

    The true death toll could be far higher, officials say.

    “We should be afraid of an epidemic,” 60-year-old Nouri Mohamed said, at a bakery offering loaves for free. “There are still bodies underground … Now there are corpses starting to smell.”

    The U.N. health agency together with the ICRC and International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called for burials to be managed better.

    “We urge authorities in communities touched by tragedy to not rush forward with mass burials or mass cremations,” Kazunobu Kojima, medical officer for biosafety and biosecurity in the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said in the statement.

    It called for individual graves, demarcated and documented, saying that hasty interments could lead to mental anguish for families as well as social and legal problems.

    The bodies of victims of trauma from natural disasters “almost never” posed a health threat, it said, unless they were in or near fresh water supplies since corpses may leak excrement.

    A doctor in Derna said this week that photos were being taken of unidentified bodies before burial, in case relatives could identify them later on.

    Thursday’s UN report said more than 1,000 bodies in Derna and over 100 in Al Bayda, another coastal city hit by flooding, had been buried in mass graves.

    The Norwegian Refugee Council, which has a team of 100 in Libya, said dead body management was the most pressing concern.

    “I’ve heard from my team that there are mass graves where rescue workers were appealing: ‘Don’t bring us food, don’t bring us water, bring us body bags’,” the NRC’s Ahmed Bayram said.

  • Libya flood: let’s work to build resilience, protect planet – UNGA President

    Libya flood: let’s work to build resilience, protect planet – UNGA President

    President of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dennis Francis has condoled with the government of Libya over the flood that has ravaged the eastern part of the North African country.

    This is as Libyan authorities opened an investigation into the collapse of two dams that caused a devastating flood.

    Major parts of the city of Derna — home to approximately 100,000 people — were swept away last Sunday after Storm Daniel, an extremely deadly Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone, collapsed two dams.

    The dams were said to have submerged many buildings in the area while drowning some residents.

    Francis called on world leaders to work on how to build resilience and protect people and the planet.

    He affirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting rescue missions and efforts in Libya.

    Francis said: “One week ago, Morocco was hit by its worst earthquake in half a century. Just days later, on 12 September, epic flooding in neighbouring Libya claimed thousands of lives, destroying homes and critical infrastructure in a country already struggling to consolidate hard-won gains towards reconciliation and sustainable peace.

    Read Also: Pinnick commiserates with Morocco over tragic earthquake

    “I convey my deepest condolences to the Government and people of Libya for this profound tragedy. And I affirm that the General Assembly – and the international community at large – stand with them in this time of crisis. To this end, I have been in contact with His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Younis Menfi, President of the Presidential Council of the State of Libya, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths to coordinate how we, together, can ensure that aid urgently reaches those in need.

    “I call on the international community, the humanitarian and other organizations, civil society, the private sector and all other stakeholders to ensure that the Government and people of Libya receive the critical support they need to recover and rebuild from this unprecedented disaster.

    “And I call on all parties to address the escalating impacts of climate change and to better support and further strengthen the disaster risk reduction and recovery systems. Disasters such as these continue to erode progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – our global blueprint for peace and prosperity. And, as is too often the case, it is the most fragile and most vulnerable who suffer the most severe, most frequent impacts.

    “Let us work to build resilience and protect people and planet. Let us rise to this moment and demonstrate full solidarity and support to the Government and people of Libya.”