Category: Foreign

Researchers in the U.S. state of Nebraska have identified 102 students who died at a government-run boarding school as Native American children, British newspaper The Independent said in a report.

The students, most of them young children, were identified as researchers continue to search for a cemetery used by the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School in Genoa with ground-penetrating radar in recent weeks.

The report said ranging in age from four to their early 20s, many of the children died from diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and measles.

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Margaret Jacobs, a professor of history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and co-director of the project, said the true death toll of students at the federal boarding school is likely to be much higher than the 102 so far identified.

“These children died at the school, they did not get a chance to go home.

“The descendants deserve to know what happened to their ancestors,’’ Jacobs said. (Xinhua/NAN)

The governor of the Kemerovo region, Sergei Tsivilev, on Thursday announced the death of nine miners after a serious accident in a Russian coal mine in Siberia.

Tsivilev said that 49 people were still underground and that there was no communication with them.

The TASS news agency reported that 11 people had died in the accident as the exact death toll is still unclear.

A total of 237 workers have been rescued from the Liztvyazhnaya mine and more than 40 of them had to be treated in hospitals.

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The reason for the explosion was initially unknown and the condition of the miners still underground was also unclear.

According to reports, the mine tunnels were heavily filled with smoke.

The explosion is said to have occurred at a depth of 250 metres.

Working in coal mines in Russia is considered extremely dangerous due to violations of elementary safety regulations as serious accidents repeatedly occur, often because of methane gas explosions.

The highly flammable gas is released during mining operations and accumulates in the shafts if ventilation is poor. (dpa/NAN)

French Interior Ministry on Thursday confirmed the death of 27 migrants who died after their boat capsized in the English Channel.

A spokesperson for the ministry said that the death toll of the tragedy, which was revised down from 31, was still preliminary.

On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had spoken of 31 dead and 33 people on board the vessel that sank. Two people were rescued, he said.

The spokesperson said nothing conclusive could be said yet about how many people were on board the boat.

Four smugglers who may have been involved in the failed crossing from France have been arrested.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for a crisis meeting at the European level, saying France would not allow the English Channel to become a graveyard or let smugglers put human lives at risk.

He demanded an immediate increase in resources for the EU’s Frontex border protection agency.

A rescue operation was underway in the Channel by air and sea as French and British authorities search for anyone still in the water.

The emergency search was sparked when a fishing boat sounded the alarm earlier on Wednesday, after spotting several people at sea off the coast of France.

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Earlier, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said the shipwreck was a “tragedy.”

In a tweet, he said his thoughts were with “victims of criminal smugglers who exploit their distress and injury.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on France to step up efforts to stem the flow of migrants crossing the Channel.

He said the tragic incident showed the operations that have taken place to date “haven’t been enough,” according to PA news agency.

Johnson said he wanted to work with the French authorities to “demolish” the business model of human traffickers who were “literally getting away with murder.”

Speaking to broadcasters in Downing Street, Johnson who chaired a meeting of the Government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee – said he was “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened” by what had happened.

“What this shows is that the gangs who are sending people to sea in these dangerous crafts will literally stop at nothing,” he said.

Johnson suggested the French government had not always approached the problem in the way the British believed it should.

“We’ve had difficulties persuading some of our partners, particularly the French, to do things in a way that we think the situation deserves.’’ (dpa/NAN)

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Germany will launch a series of formal conversations on how the diaspora could have a more impactful effect on homeland development.

The first edition of the ‘Development Roundtable’, as the series is called, will hold virtually on December 4, with the theme “Driving diaspora engagement towards the realisation of the SDGs in Nigeria”.

The online conference brings together practitioners, who will talk about how to refocus diaspora engagement on the sustainable improvement of the living condition of the people, contributing to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.

The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

“We are of the conviction that everyone is needed to attain the ambitious SDGs. And that the creativity, knowhow, contacts and financial resources of the diaspora are necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context,” NIDO Germany said in a statement. “We would like to mobilise the diaspora towards community improvement projects and direct economic empowerment schemes, where their engagement can make the most impact on the sustainable eradication of poverty and the improvement of the living condition of the people,” the organisation said, explaining its ultimate objective.

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A panel at the online conference on 4 December will discuss how individual diaspora outreach can contribute to sustainable development in Africa’s most populous country.

Femi Awoniyi, President of NIDO Germany who is also the publisher of The African Courier, will deliver the keynote, highlighting the organisation’s new thinking on diaspora engagement for homeland development.

Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, Alhaji Yusuf Tuggar, is the special guest speaker, at the event, which will be moderated by Michelle Olufeso.

NIDO Germany initiated the ‘Development Roundtable’ in a bid to deepen discussions on how the diaspora can optimise its contributions to homeland development beyond remittances, especially in support of national efforts towards the attainment of the SDGs.

NIGERIAN traders have flayed ECOWAS’ silence over the closure of borders by the Ghana government, a development they said violates the policy on free movement in the region.

Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) President Mr. Chukwuemeka Nnaji made the call yesterday in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Nnaji, who spoke against the backdrop of delays by Ghana authorities to reopen shops owned by Nigerians, said their shops were closed since March 2020.

According to him, the borders were still closed by the Ghanaian authority and Nigerians, who ply that route, are suffering harassment and extortion.

Nnaji said: “It has never been such bad for over 20 years of my going through the West African highways.

“From Mile two to the Aflao border, it is now a nightmare for traders. The way it is now, you cannot predict the possible duration of your journey; the journey through this part has become so dangerous.

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“Since the Ghanaian border was closed, almost 18 months now, citizens of West Africa States have suffered so much in the hands of the Ghanaian immigration and police.

According to him, traders in the route spend between N20,000 and N100,0000 plying the border route.

“Also, the COVID-19 test does not help matters, after testing negative in Nigeria, one may test positive in Ghana; that is another $606 unplanned expenses. Majority of us cannot travel out of Ghana because of the cost.

“Transportation of goods has also become expensive and time-consuming. Vehicles transporting goods can spend up to three months instead of five days.

“Therefore, I call on ECOWAS to intervene and come to our aid, because the situation is getting tough day by day,” Nnaji appealed.

GERMAN Social Democrat Olaf Scholz said he has reached a coalition deal to form a new government that will modernise Europe’s largest economy and draw the curtain on the Angela Merkel era.

Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), the ecologist Greens and the libertarian Free Democrats (FDP) want to accelerate the transition to a green economy and digitalisation while maintaining fiscal discipline, according to a 177-page agreement.

The alliance – named a traffic light coalition after the three parties’ respective colours – has a majority in the lower house of parliament and hopes the government will be sworn in early next month after the parties ratify the coalition pact.

The first alliance at a federal level between the ideologically disparate parties will end 16 years of Merkel-led conservative government, marking a new era for relations with Europe and the rest of the world.

Merkel leaves big shoes to fill. She has navigated Germany and Europe through multiple crises and been a champion of liberal democracy in the face of rising authoritarianism worldwide.

Her critics said she has managed rather than solved problems and leaves her successor tough decisions on many fronts.

Scholz’s incoming government faces immediate challenges, with Europe grappling with the fallout from Brexit, a crisis on the European Union’s border with Belarus and surging COVID-19 cases.

While Germany’s electoral campaign was largely focused on domestic issues, the coalition pact shed light on the next government’s foreign policy priorities.

The parties agreed to strengthen the EU’s economic and monetary union and signalled an openness to reform the bloc’s fiscal rules, also known as the Stability and Growth Pact.

SUDAN’S military has reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, promising to release all political detainees after weeks of deadly unrest triggered by a coup.

But, large crowds took to the streets to reject any deal involving the army.

Under an agreement signed with military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Hamdok, first appointed after the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a 2019 uprising, will lead a civilian government of technocrats for a transitional period.

The deal faces opposition from pro-democracy groups that have demanded full civilian rule ever since Bashir was ousted and have been angered by the deaths of dozens of protesters in the weeks following the Oct. 25 coup.

A hero for the protest movement, Hamdok quickly became the villain for some.

“Hamdok has sold the revolution,” protesters chanted after the deal was announced. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), a leading protest group, called it “treacherous”.

Tens of thousands of people yesterday joined scheduled rallies in the capital, Khartoum, and its twin cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Security forces fired bullets and tear gas to disperse them, witnesses said.

“Hamdok has disappointed us. Our only option is the street,” said Omar Ibrahim, a 26-year-old protester in Khartoum.

Those who carried out and backed the coup should face justice, it said.

Several of the resistance committees that have been organising protests also put out statements rejecting any deal with the military.

Hamdok was placed under house arrest when the military seized power, derailing a transition towards elections in 2023.

The military dissolved Hamdok’s cabinet and detained a number of civilians who held top positions under the power-sharing deal agreed after Bashir was toppled.

Under yesterday’s deal, a constitutional declaration struck between the military and civilians in 2019 will remain the foundation in further talks.

Western powers that had backed Sudan’s political transition condemned last month’s takeover and suspended economic assistance to Sudan, which has been trying to recover from a deep economic crisis.

THE ECOWAS’ Community Court of Justice is set to celebrate 20 years of its existence with a review of member-states obligations as well as adherence to rulings of the court.

This is contained in the programme of events made available by the court.

The conference, which opens in Lome, Republic of Togo yesterday, would feature President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, who is also Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, President of Togo Faure Gnassingbe and the President of ECOWAS Jean Claude Brou.

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Sidie Mohamed Tunis, prominent Nigerian legal luminary Femi Falana as well as Justices of the sub-regional court would also attend the event hosted by President of the Court, Justice Edward Asante.

The conference, which would consider the future prospects of the court would also deliberate the mandate of the court, its strengths and weaknesses as well as the ECOWAS Human Rights Regime.

The role of the community court in the integration process would also be up for deliberation.

According to the programme, a cardinal aspect of the deliberations will be ‘how to hold member states accountable for their treaty obligations and failure by some to meet their obligations to ECOWAS.

The conference would also seek to clearly differentiate the roles of the community court and those of national courts in member states to avoid conflicts.

“Coming on the heels of this is the quest to address the challenges with enforcement mechanism of the community court, monitoring such executions as well as the role of national courts and the ECOWAS Commission.

“The week-long conference will also seek the best approach to settlements in cases of human rights violations in Member-states and ultimately reposition the court for better performance.”

The conference will bring together policy-makers, legal experts and other stakeholders from across West Africa as participants.

DUTCH police have arrested more than 30 people during unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands that followed an ” orgy of violence ” the previous night at a protest against coronavirus restrictions.

There were also demonstrations in Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Austria, Austria, Belgium, and North Macedonia on Saturday.

Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic once again, with the World Health Organisation warning that the continent was the only region in the world where deaths had increased as Covid-related fatalities spiked by five per cent just this week.

The violence by groups of youths in The Hague and elsewhere on Saturday night wasn’t as serious as Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on rampaging rioters and arrested 51 people.

Police said yesterday that they arrested 19 people in The Hague and used a water cannon to extinguish a fire on a street.

Two soccer matches in the country’s top professional league were briefly halted when fans – banned from matches under a partial lockdown in force in the Netherlands for a week – broke into stadiums in the towns of Alkmaar and Almelo.

Thousands of people in Belgium took to the streets to protest against the return of strict lockdown rules aimed at curbing a rise in Covid infections.

Nearly 40,000 people descended on the capital Brussels to protest against new anti-Covid measures banning the unvaccinated from entering restaurants and bars.

Some protesters were seen throwing projectiles at riot police and in response, officers fired water cannon and tear gas at the group. Police have made some arrests, but it is not immediately clear how many.

Video footage from Brussels shows a large group of protesters shouting at police as some light flares and throw them at the officers – one man can even be seen mooning at them.

In The Hague, police said five officers were injured as they tried to break up unrest by a group of youths who set at least two fires on streets and threw fireworks. Police said in a tweet that one rioter threw a rock at an ambulance carrying a patient to a hospital.

In the southern towns of Roermond and Stein, police said they arrested a total of 13 people for setting fires and throwing fireworks, and in the fishing village of Urk police arrested eight people for public order offenses, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported. Earlier Saturday, two protests against COVID-19 measures proceeded peacefully in Amsterdam and the southern city of Breda. Thousands of people marched through Amsterdam to protest COVID-19 restrictions.

sions the police felt it necessary to draw their weapons to defend themselves.”

The protests descended into chaos, with some of the protesters seen setting fires on the streets while others threw rocks through the windows of local businesses including a post office. Two police cars have also been damaged.

The protest came just hours after it emerged Germany is set to follow Austria’s example in making vaccinations compulsory with ministers admitting that the move is ‘unavoidable’ amid a fourth wave of the pandemic which is crippling the country’s hospitals.

In France, the government has warned that the fifth wave of coronavirus are rising at ‘lightning speed’, with new daily Covid cases close to doubling over the past week.