Category: Foreign

Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described the outcome of the Kenyan presidential election as a testament to the progress the country has made in strengthening the core institutions of its democracy.

Also yesterday, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar sent a congratulatory message to Kenyans over the outcome of the election.

In a congratulatory message he personally signed yesterday in Abuja, Tinubu said: “I congratulate Williams Ruto and his UDA party on his election as the next president of Kenya.

“I also congratulate and commend the people of Kenya on the peaceful conduct of the elections.

“While urging all Kenyans to accept this result and shun violence, I enjoin them to seek peaceful adjudication of all disputes through the Kenyan legal system.

“This shall be the greatest testament to the progress Kenya has made in strengthening the core institutions of its democracy.

“It is my prayer that as President, Mr. Ruto will unite the country, bringing all Kenyans together to move their great nation forward and implementing the progressive policies and reforms desired by the people.

“I wish Mr. Ruto and all the people of Kenya the very best and look forward to a continued beneficial and cordial relationship between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Kenya.”

Atiku, while congratulating Ruto, hailed the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, for a closely fought contest.

He said: “The people of Kenya have done well so far with the election process. The announcement of the results and declaration of a winner is the crunch time.

“Even though a winner has emerged, and indeed has to emerge in an electoral contest of this nature, the people of Kenya and certainly their democracy is the greatest winner.

“There can never be any losers if everyone joins hands in working together to improve the well-being of the people. It is imperative that the citizens cutting across all political divides eschew violence and animosity in order to safeguard the gains of the past.

“Whatever issues there are about the election can always be resolved within the ambits of the law. As one, Kenyans will be the better for it.

“I congratulate President-elect William Ruto and acknowledge Raila Odinga for a closely fought contest.

Fifty Nigerians were yesterday inducted into the 2022/2023 cohort of the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI) at a ceremony attended by U.S. Consul General Will Stevens.

CYFI is a dynamic youth-based initiative launched in 2011 by the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos.

CYFI brings together Nigerian youth, aged 21-35, of exceptional skills and experience to design and implement projects over a 12-month period that will help enhance Nigerian society in the fields of health, education, civil liberties, environment, and economic empowerment.

CYFI is named after former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington.  Ambassador Carrington was a champion for civil liberties, democracy and closer ties between the United States and Nigeria, and CYFI fellows are committed to putting the ideals of Walter Carrington into practice.

In his remarks at the induction ceremony in Lagos, U.S. Consul General Stevens encouraged the new CYFI fellows to continue to be a catalyst for positive change in their local communities as they foster economic growth, enhance democratic governance, and strengthen civil society structures.

“No nation can thrive if it neglects to include its youth in governance, political and economic platforms, wealth creation and poverty alleviation. You have the responsibility placed on your shoulders to serve as strong, positive role models for Nigeria,” said Consul General Stevens.

This year, the Carrington Youth Fellowship Alumni Association partnered with the Kensington Adebukunola Adebutu Foundation and Access Bank to increase the amount of fellows from 25 to 50 in addition to expanding the fellowship to Ogun and Oyo states.

To date, CYFI has graduated 174 outstanding young Nigerians who share a common goal of positively impacting Nigerian society.

A court in military-ruled Myanmar has sentenced deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to six years in prison after finding her guilty in four corruption cases, a source with knowledge of the proceedings said.

The 77-year-old Nobel laureate and figurehead of Myanmar’s opposition to military rule has been charged with at least 18 offences, ranging from graft to election violations, carrying combined maximum jail terms of nearly 190 years.

Suu Kyi had called the accusations absurd and denies all charges against her. She was found guilty yesterday of misusing funds from the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation — an organisation she founded promoting health and education — to build a home, and leasing government-owned land at a discounted rate, the source said. Suu Kyi, who is being held in solitary confinement in a jail in the capital Naypyitaw, had already been sentenced to 11 years in prison in other cases.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since last year when the military overthrew an elected government led by Suu Kyi’s party, after it won a general election, and led a deadly crackdown on dissent. Tens of thousands of people have been jailed and many tortured, beaten or killed, in what the United Nations has called crimes against humanity.

The international community has imposed sanctions on the military and dismissed Suu Kyi’s secretive trials as farcical.

“It’s a massive assault against her rights, and part of the campaign to bury her and the NLD forever,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, referring to her ousted party, the National League for Democracy.

The military government’s spokesperson Zaw Min Tun could not be reached for comment. It has previously been saying Suu Kyi is being given due process by an independent judiciary and rejects foreign criticism as interference. The daughter of the leader of Myanmar’s campaign for independence from British colonial led the country for five years during a brief period of tentative reforms before being forced from power in the February 2021 coup.

Former President Donald Trump is now claiming that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents ‘stole’ his passports during their raid a week ago.

“Wow! In the raid by the FBI of Mar-a-Lago, they stole my three passports (one expired), along with everything else,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday afternoon.

“This is an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our country. Third World!”

Trump did not provide further details on his passports that were apparently seized by the FBI during their raid last Monday.

If the FBI indeed seized Trump’s passports, he presumably would not be able to travel outside of the U.S. The ex-president may have had a red diplomatic passport for official government travel, on top of his regular blue passport for American citizens, according to the Daily Mail.

The FBI search warrant and list of items unsealed by a federal magistrate judge on Friday afternoon indicated that agents took 20 boxes of items from Mar-a-Lago. The materials included binders of photographs, information on French President Emmanuel Macron and a range of classified material.

One set of documents was labelled ‘various classified TS/SCI documents’, which refers to top secret/sensitive compartmented information. Also recovered were four sets of top-secret papers, three sets of secret documents and three sets of confidential records.

Trump’s passports were not listed among the items, and Monday was the first time he claimed they were taken.

The ex-president’s social media post came hours after he gave his first interview since the FBI executed a search warrant. He told Fox News Digital that “the country is in a very dangerous position”.

“There is tremendous anger, like I’ve never seen before, over all of the scams, and this new one – years of scams and witch-hunts, and now this,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari and other world leaders have sent congratulatory messages to Kenya’s president-elect, William Ruto following his declaration as the winner of the country’s August 9 election.

Buhari, who conveyed his congratulatory message across to Ruto, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said he looks forward to more fruitful engagement between Nigeria and Kenya under the next administration.

He also lauded President Uhuru Kenyatta for the statesmanlike and visionary leadership he has provided his country with in the last nine years and the progress he has achieved in various areas of Kenya’s national life.

“President Muhammadu Buhari congratulates the President-elect of Kenya, William Ruto, on his victory in the General Elections on August 9, 2022.

“The President also commends the people of Kenya for the peaceful and transparent outcome of the elections, which once again demonstrates that the democratic process, values and principles remain the best way for the people to select their leaders and hold them accountable.

“President Buhari says Nigeria values Kenya as a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism and violence extremism, buoyed by a long history of friendship, economic and trade ties, and effective collaboration through international organisations such as the African Union, the United Nations and the Commonwealth. While wishing Deputy President Ruto a successful inauguration and tenure in office, the President looks forward to more fruitful and robust engagements between the two countries on shared priorities such as enhancing peace and security on the continent, democracy, and greater economic prosperity and social development.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, announced Ruto as the winner yesterday afternoon after an hours-long delay.

Soon after the announcement, some leaders took to social media to send their congratulatory messages to Ruto.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed wrote: “My congratulations William Ruto on your election as the President of the Republic of Kenya. I wish you best of luck in your endeavors ahead and we look forward to working closely with you on common bilateral and regional interests.”

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa wrote: “Congratulations to William Ruto on his election as the next President of Kenya. I have no doubt he will serve his country, his people and our continent with distinction.”

Somalia’s Presidency also shared a message from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, saying he “warmly congratulates President-Elect William Samoei Ruto of the Republic of Kenya, following his election victory. The President looks forward to working with William Ruto towards stronger bilateral relations & closer cooperation between Somalia and Kenya.”

Former Somalia President Mohamed Farmaajo also sent a message saying, “I wish to offer my most sincere congratulations to President-Elect of Kenya H.E. William Ruto and the people of Kenyan following the successful conclusion of the elections. You truly ran an enriching, overpowering campaign & May God help you fulfill your vision for your country.”

Ruto received 50.49% of the votes with more than 7.1 million, the chairman said. Odinga received 48.85% with more than 6.9 million in last Tuesday’s peaceful election.

But just before the declaration, four of the seven electoral commissioners told journalists they could not support the “opaque nature” of the final phase of the vote-verification process.

“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced,” vice chair Juliana Cherera said, without giving details. At the declaration venue, police surged to impose calm amid shouting and scuffles before electoral commission chair announced the official results — and said the two commissioners still with him had been injured.

The sudden split in the commission came minutes after Odinga’s chief agent said they could not verify the results and made allegations of “electoral offences” without giving details or evidence. Odinga didn’t come to the venue.

Kenyans are waiting to see whether Odinga will again go to court to contest the election results in a country crucial to regional stability.

This is likely the final try for the 77-year-old longtime opposition figure backed this time by former rival and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who fell out with his deputy, Ruto, years ago.

Salman Rushdie, the acclaimed author who was hospitalised on Friday with serious injuries after being repeatedly stabbed at a public appearance in New York state, is off a ventilator and his condition is improving, his agent and a son said.

“He’s off the ventilator, so the road to recovery has begun,” his agent, Andrew Wylie, wrote in an email to Reuters. “It will be long; the injuries are severe, but his condition is headed in the right direction.” Rushdie, 75, was set to deliver a lecture on artistic freedom at Chautauqua Institution in western New York when police said a 24-year-old man rushed the stage and stabbed the Indian-born writer, who has lived with a bounty on his head since his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” prompted Iran to urge Muslims to kill him.

The suspect, Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault at a court appearance on Saturday, his court-appointed lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, told Reuters.

Following hours of surgery, Rushdie had been put on a ventilator and was unable to speak as of Friday evening, Wylie said in a prior update on the novelist’s condition, adding that he would likely lose an eye and had nerve damage in his arm and wounds to his liver.

One of Rushdie’s sons said his father was able to say a few words after getting off the ventilator.

“Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humour remains intact,” Zafar Rushdie wrote on Twitter.

The stabbing was condemned by writers and politicians around the world as an assault on freedom of expression.

In a statement on Saturday, President Joe Biden commended the “universal ideals” of truth, courage and resilience embodied by Rushdie and his work.

“These are the building blocks of any free and open society,” Biden said.

Neither local nor federal authorities have offered any additional details on the investigation, including a possible motive.

An initial law enforcement review of Matar’s social media accounts showed he was sympathetic to Shi’ite extremism and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), although no definitive links had been found, according to NBC New York.

The IRGC is a powerful faction that controls a business empire as well as elite armed and intelligence forces that Washington accuses of carrying out a global extremist campaign.

Authorities in Iran have made no public comment about the attack, although hardline state media outlets have celebrated it with headlines including “Satan has been blinded” and some Iranians voiced support online for the stabbing.

Many other Iranians expressed their sympathies for Rushdie, however, posting on social media about their anger at the Islamic Republic’s clerical rulers for issuing the 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, that told Muslims to kill the author.

Rushdie’s agent earlier confirmed the author was removed from a ventilator and is “on the road to recovery,” two days after the attack, and is able to talk and joke.

Andrew Wylie cautioned that although Rushdie’s “condition is headed in the right direction,” his recovery would be a long process.

With almost half of the results from Kenya’s presidential election now confirmed, the country’s two main candidates in last week polls are running neck and neck.

Deputy President William Ruto has taken a slight lead over ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga – 51% against 48%.

The electoral commission head has admitted that announcing the result of Tuesday’s election has been too slow.

The verification of results has been stopped several times after complaints by supporters of the main candidates.

On Saturday night, Odinga’s supporters entered a restricted area and accosted electoral officials, accusing them of tampering with the vote.

Odinga’s chief campaign manager was able to get to the lectern used by top electoral commission officials, where he criticised the result verification process.

“I want to announce to the nation that Bomas of Kenya is a scene of crime,” said Saitabao Ole Kanchory, before the microphone was switched off and he was led away. Bomas is the name of the cultural centre in the capital, Nairobi, which is being used as the main tallying centre.

Ruto’s supporters accused their opponents of interfering with the tallying process.

Riot police have been deployed inside the building to reinforce security.

There have been calls for peace from several leaders and bodies including the Catholic church which asked for “patience and civility” and urged the main candidates to show “restraint and statesmanship” as anxiety grows.

“I want to become an instrument to bring peace, to heal, unite and keep the hope alive in our country,” Odinga said yesterday morning at a church service in Nairobi, his first public remarks since election day.

Ruto also attended a church service yesterday, and urged Kenyans to exercise restraint. “We ask all of us to be patient with all the processes that are going on at the moment and to pray for the IEBC [electoral commission] so that they can complete this exercise in the manner in which we voted,” he said.

The results of 141 of the 292 constituencies have now been confirmed, according to a BBC tally of official announcements.

Media organisations have been releasing provisional tallies using official data from the 46,000 polling stations. They also show a tight race. About 14 million votes were cast – a turnout of 65%.

A delegation of United States lawmakers arrived in Taiwan yesterday on a two-day visit that is likely to further escalate tensions with China.

A furious Beijing, which views Taiwan as a “breakaway province,” launched massive military drills around the self-ruled island after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei earlier this month.

The U.S. delegation is led by Senator Ed Markey and includes four House lawmakers, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. Embassy in Taipei.

It said the visit is “part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.”

The delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders, including President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

Discussions will focus on “U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest,” read a statement.

In a tweet, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry thanked “the like-minded US lawmakers for the timely visit & unwavering support.”

China is yet to comment on the visit, which comes as its ties with Washington have frayed significantly since Pelosi defied repeated warnings to visit the Taipei on Aug. 2.

Apart from its show of military might around Taiwan, Beijing sanctioned Pelosi, downgraded military dialogue with the US and suspended cooperation on climate change issues, along with six other countermeasures.

Earlier this week, Beijing also sanctioned Agne Vaiciukeviciute, Lithuania’s deputy minister of transport and communications, for her “egregious and provocative” recent trip to Taiwan.

NO fewer than 41 people have died in a fire at a Coptic Church in Giza near Cairo, the Egyptian Health Ministry said yesterday.

The fatalities were due to thick smoke and a stampede triggered by the blaze, Health Minister Khalid Abdul Ghafar said in a statement.

Fourteen others were injured in the fire at the Abo Sefein Church in the city of Giza.

Twelve are still in hospitals, while two others have been discharged.

The Coptic Church said a large blaze broke out during a morning mass service yesterday.

The fire was due to a faulty electric circuit caused by an air conditioner in the church building, the Interior Ministry said.

The blaze was later brought under control, the ministry added in a statement. Five civil defence personnel were injured in the incident.

Images in the Egyptian media showed the facade of the church partially blackened out due to the fire that gutted parts of the building’s interior.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi offered condolences to the Coptic Pope Tawadros II, the presidency said.

Egypt has the largest Christian community in the Middle East, accounting for around 10% of the country’s mostly Muslim population of more than 100 million.