By Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

Nigerian ambassadors-designate have gradually resumed in their countries of postings, The Nation learnt on Tuesday.

Ninety-five ambassadors-designate were cleared last September by the Senate, but were kept waiting until reports from The Nation early this year forced the government to act.

The ambassadors-designate, it was learnt, have started receiving their letters of credence, following their acceptance by countries they were posted to.

At last count, about 40 of the ambassadors-designate have jetted out of the country to their host countries.

Leading the envoys is the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr. Sharafa Ishola. Other notable names are Yakubu Ahmed (Qatar), Nura Rimi (Egypt), Ben Okoyen (Cuba), Lot Egopija (Consul General, New York) and Henry John Omaku, Sierra Leone.

Others are Amb. Abiodun Adejola, Nigeria’s representatives to the United Nation, Geneva, Switzerland and Amb. Victor Adekunle Adeleke, Ambassador-designate to Ethiopia\ Permanent representative of Nigeria to African Union and UNECA, with concurrent accreditation to Djibouti

The ambassadors-designate and their spouses were put through orientation to prepare them for effective representation in their respective missions and countries of accreditation in February.

But they could not leave as they waited for their letters of agreemo from their various host governments.

The letters of agreemo are the letters of acceptance that the host countries usually give to show that the diplomats have been accepted by countries they have been posted to.

The Nigerian High Commission to the UK flew out of the country last Monday after he was cleared by the queen’s country.

Nigeria Ambassador-designate to the State of Qatar, who is the immediate past Director of Protocols,  State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja, arrived in Doha, Qatar on April 15.

Ambassador to Cuba, with concurrent accreditation to Bahamas, Honduras and Nicaragua, Ambassador Okoyen arrived in Havana, Cuba on April 29.

A confrontation between Israel and Hamas sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem escalated as Israel unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza while militants barraged Israel with hundreds of rockets.

The exchange killed a number of militants yesterday and civilians in Gaza and at least three Israelis.

The barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and airstrikes into the territory continued almost nonstop throughout the day, in what appeared to be some of the most intense fighting between Israel and Hamas since their 2014 war.

The fire was so relentless that Israel’s Iron Dome rocket-defence system seemed to be overwhelmed. Columns of smoke rose from many places in Gaza.

The United States urges both Israel and the Palestinians to avoid “deeply lamentable” civilian deaths after air strikes by the Jewish state in response to rocket fire in Gaza, US State Department spokesman Ned Price tells reporters.

By late yesterday, the violence extended to Tel Aviv, which came under fire from a barrage of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. A 50-year-old woman was killed. The outgoing volleys set off air raid sirens across the city, and the main international airport quickly closed.

Hamas said it launched a total of 130 rockets, its most intense strike so far, in response to Israel’s destruction of a high-rise building in Gaza earlier in the evening. The sound of the outgoing rockets could be heard in Gaza.

As the rockets rose into the skies, mosques across Gaza blared with chants of “God is great,” “victory to Islam” and “resistance”.

Israeli soldiers took cover as a siren sounds warning of incoming rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon.

One rocket struck a bus in the central city of Holon, just south of Tel Aviv. Medics said three people, including a 5-year-old girl, were wounded and the bus went up in flames.

Since sundown Monday, 28 Palestinians, including 10 children and a woman, were killed in Gaza, most by airstrikes, health officials there said. The Israeli military said at least 16 of the dead were militants.

Two women were killed by rockets fired from Gaza that hit their homes in the southern city of Ashkelon – the first Israeli deaths in the current violence. At least 10 other Israelis have been wounded since Monday evening.

After those deaths, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said officials decided to “increase both the strength and rate of the strikes” against militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.

United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to maintain dialogue on strategic stability issues, such as arms control and emerging security issues.

Ambassador Robert A. Wood, the U.S. permanent representative to the Conference on Disarmament said yesterday.

“President Biden and President Putin have agreed to explore strategic stability discussions on a range of arms control and emerging security issues.

“We are in the process of preparing for these discussions,’’ Wood said at the Conference on Disarmament Plenary Thematic Debate.

Biden said last week that a tentative meeting between him and Putin was being arranged for June.

The White House has recently announced that Biden invited Putin to meet in a European country.

Earlier in May, Biden said he was hoping to meet with Putin in June.

The Kremlin reported that a possible date for the meeting was being discussed. (Sputnik/NAN)

China’s population on the mainland has reached more than 1.411 billion, up by 5.38 per cent from the previous census in 2010, the latest census data showed yesterday.

The census, the largest of its kind across the world, helps China figure out its population size, structure and distribution as well as the latest demographic changes and trends, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The census conducted in 2020 was expected to offer strong statistical support for the country to advance high-quality development and formulate more targeted strategies and policies to promote long-term and balanced population development, the NBS said.

A total of 679,000 census-taking institutions were created in the country’s provinces, cities, counties, townships and villages, and more than seven million census takers were organised to document demographic information door-to-door across the country.

The census collected data including name, ID number, gender, marital status, education and profession of Chinese citizens.

The figure does not include Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents and foreigners who live in the mainland’s 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, according to the NBS.

Previously, the country conducted national censuses in 2010, 2000, 1990, 1982, 1964 and 1953.

By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded the European Union’s (EU) investments in Nigeria’s growth, describing the regional union as Nigeria largest trading partner.

The President spoke yesterday at State House, Abuja, while receiving in a farewell audience, the Ambassador/ Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS Ketil Karlsen.

According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the also pointed out that the EU has been of help to Nigeria in diverse other ways, including humanitarian support.

President Buhari thanked the outgoing Ambassador for facilitating the visits of French and German leaders during his tour of duty, noting that it was during Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s visit that the door to relationship with Siemens of Germany on power was opened.

Ambassador Karlsen, who spent four years in Nigeria, said he enjoyed “excellent collaboration” with President Buhari, and with Nigeria, saying the cooperation included trade, military, humanitarian assistance, and many others.