The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • Minister wants 40 agreements between Nigeria, Algeria enforced

    Minister wants 40 agreements between Nigeria, Algeria enforced

     

     

    Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sabri Boukadoum has emphasised the need to enforce a number of bilateral agreements between his country and Nigeria.

    Boukadoum, who was in Abuja on an official visit where he met with his Nigerian counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, and other top government officials, stated this in an interview with The Nation.

    On the bilateral agreements between both countries, the minister said: “At least, 40. There are some that are yet to be enforced, but we have 40 on all issues. The main ones are the link between Algiers and Lagos and the gas pipeline project. We will build on the rest. It will help us.”

    On the gas pipeline project, Boukadoum said: “It is a huge investment and it needs a lot of money. We need to do it. It is a matter of security. We don’t have to rely on or maybe there is another gas pipeline from another direction from Nigeria. We are working on it.”

    On how Nigeria can surmount the challenge of insecurity, the minister said: “I think we have succeeded in fighting terrorism. No country is immune from that. It does exist in everywhere else in the world. We have a lot of experiences now. I think we have succeeded in fighting terrorism internally. We still need cooperation at international level.

    “No one can fight terrorism alone, not even the United States or anybody else especially in the Sahel. We need that cooperation; that exchange of intelligence and information. We will someday make some moves against terrorism. We need to fight diplomatically at the international level. Both countries will talk together to others in the international arena. We will fight all the traffics that lead to terrorism. It is not just an issue in Nigeria; it is everywhere. Discussing how to tackle terrorism is for the safety of everyone, and not just the country alone.”

    In the area of power supply, Boukadoum said: “We have big experience in this field. This is the best thing we have succeeded in Algeria today. We produce the big generators on natural gas base. Today, Algeria is 98% of power supply/electricity and for natural gas, we have about 60-65%. So, we have this experience and we are ready to share this experience with Nigerian authorities.”

    “We have tremendous high schools on power and it is working well. We just sent a team of engineers to Libya, where they have problems with their generator-based power production that gives power to Tripoli, the capital and it was fixed in less than 15 days and we are producing even the generators made by General Electric in Algeria. We have experience of not more than 50 years. We don’t have a problem with that.

    “But we have started sharing our experience. We could make the training for our friends. We can invite anyone that wants to come to Algeria to come and see what is happening. The production is 25,000 megawatts, which will soon go to 40,00 megawatts. We export power to Tunisia and Morocco. We also sell to Libya.”

    On his meeting with the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, he said: “ECOWAS is different from Nigeria even though it is here in Abuja. It is the first time that an Algerian official visits ECOWAS. We have so many challenges. I mentioned to the President of ECOWAS Commission. It is very good to listen to neighbours to ECOWAS. We are neighbours to Mali, especially with the situation in Mali. So, we need to talk. This is a goal of the first meeting, even though we should have done that a long time ago.”

  • UK to people with serious allergies: avoid Pfizer vaccine

    UK to people with serious allergies: avoid Pfizer vaccine

    BRITAIN’S medicine regulator has advised people with a history of significant allergies not to get Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine after two people reported severe adverse reactions on the first day of rollout.

    Starting with the elderly and frontline workers, Britain began mass vaccinating its population yesterday, part of a global drive that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history.

    National Health Service Medical Director Stephen Powis said the advice had been changed after two NHS workers reported anaphylactoid reactions associated with receiving the vaccine.

    “As is common with new vaccines, the MHRA (regulator) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination, after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday,” Powis said.

    The MHRA said it would seek further information, and Pfizer and BioNTech said they were supporting the MHRA’s investigation.

    Last week, Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) became the first in the world to approve the vaccine, developed by Germany’s BioNTech and Pfizer, while the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) continue to assess the data.

    “Last evening, we were looking at two case reports of allergic reactions. We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn’t a feature,” MHRA Chief Executive June Raine told lawmakers.

    Pfizer has said people with a history of severe adverse allergic reactions to vaccines or the candidate’s ingredients were excluded from their late stage trials, which is reflected in the MHRA’s emergency approval protocol.

    In the United States, the FDA released documents yesterday in preparation for an advisory committee meeting, saying the Pfizer vaccine’s efficacy and safety data met its expectations for authorisation.

    Canada’s health regulator also yesterday approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, days ahead of possible approval in the United States.

    Canada is set to receive up to 249,000 doses this month and Canadian officials expect to administer them within days.

     

  • UK issues warning on Pfizer vaccine after adverse reactions

    UK issues warning on Pfizer vaccine after adverse reactions

    Our Reporter

    Britain’s drug controller issued a warning to people having a history of allergies to avoid getting a jab of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. The warning was issued after three people who received the vaccine suffered from allergic reactions.

    “Any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine,” Dr. June Raine, chief executive of the medicines and health care products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in a statement released on Wednesday.

    The advisory was issued following two reports of anaphylaxis and one report of a possible allergic reaction after immunization.

    Anaphylaxis has been declared a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction linked to foods, insect stings, medications and latex by various health agencies. “A second dose should not be given to anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis following administration of the first dose of this vaccine,” Raine added.

    The two people who faced allergic reactions have been identified as National Health Service employees, the country’s state-run health system. The government, the first in the Western world to approve the COVID-19 vaccine, started vaccinated frontline health workers and elderlies from Tuesday.

    READ ALSO: 90-year-old woman first to receive Pfizer vaccine in UK

    Vaccine candidate has been found to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis, according to Pfizer.

    The two-dose vaccine, with a gap of 28 days between them, would be administered to around 20 million people in the country. The government has already ordered 40 million doses, which require a robust cold chain for storage.

    But the allergic reaction has raised concerns among people queuing to receive the vaccination. The regulator has assured people of a thorough review and a close observation of the immunization drive in progress.

    “Today we convened an Expert Group of the Commission on Human Medicines attended by experts in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, to robustly review these reports to consider any possible mitigation on the rare risk of anaphylaxis,” MHRA statement said, in a bid to build confidence among people.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • France imposes fine on Google, Amazon

    France imposes fine on Google, Amazon

    Agency Reporter

    France on Thursday imposed large fines on tech giants Amazon and Google due to infringements on legislation relating to the use of cookies, a French regulator.

    Google is to pay 100 million euros and Amazon 35 million euros, the National Commission on Informatics and Freedoms (CNIL) said in two separate statements.

    The fines concern the subsidiaries Amazon Europe Core and the two Google subsidiaries Google LLC and Google Ireland Ltd.

    READ ALSO: Google’s 2020 year in search

    The regulator accuses the internet giants of automatically enabling the use of cookies, which store data about a user’s behaviour online on their websites.

    “Several of these cookies were for advertisement purposes,’’ CNIL said.

    European Union regulation requires users to consent to the use of cookies.

     

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Biden’s son, Hunter facing tax probe

    Biden’s son, Hunter facing tax probe

    Agency Reporter

    Hunter Biden, the son of President-elect Joe Biden, announced he is facing a federal probe into his taxes, without elaborating further, but insisting he has done nothing wrong.

    The younger Biden’s business dealings abroad provided fodder for the Trump campaign this year.

    “I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” the son said in a statement on Wednesday.

    READ ALSO: Trump suffers twin defeats in his effort to overturn Biden’s victory

    “I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately,” the younger Biden said.

    In a brief statement, the president-elect said his son had faced “vicious personal attacks” in recent months.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Tigray fighting spiraling out of control, UN rights chief warns

    Tigray fighting spiraling out of control, UN rights chief warns

    United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has warned that fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region is spiraling out of control and is having an appalling impact on civilians who are without aid and protection.

    Despite Ethiopian government claims to the contrary, High Commissioner Bachelet said fighting continues between Ethiopian armed forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, as well as affiliated militia on both sides.

    She said human rights monitors and aid agencies are unable to access this volatile area.  That means they are unable to fully verify disturbing allegations of violations against civilians caught in this chaotic situation.  However, she believes the information her office has received to be credible.

    “We have corroborated information of gross human rights violation abuses including indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects — looting, abductions and sexual violence against women and girls.  We have also reported forced recruitment of Tigrayan youth to fight against their own communities,” she said.

    The High Commissioner said there is an urgent need for independent monitoring of the situation in Tigray.  She is calling on the government to grant access to the region to ensure protection for the civilian population and to bring those responsible for abuse to account.

    Bachelet noted the humanitarian situation in the region also was distressing.  She appealed to the government to implement an agreement with the UN to grant aid agencies unimpeded access to civilians in desperate need of assistance.

    Elsewhere in Ethiopia, rights chief Bachelet said there are numerous reports of ethnic profiling of Tigrayans.  She said Tigrayans reportedly have been dismissed from jobs in the civil service, journalists are harassed and hate speech directed against people of Tigrayan origin is growing.

    “I think that such discriminatory actions are deeply unjust.  They also are fostering divisiveness and sowing the seeds for further instability and conflict.  So, I urge the government to take immediate measures to halt such discrimination,” she said.

    Bachelet expressed concern about a reported rise in inter-communal violence in recent weeks in other parts of Ethiopia.  She said fighting, which has flared up in Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Somali, Afar and Oromia regions, reportedly has resulted in fatalities.

  • ICC prosecutor drops probe into alleged UK war crimes in Iraq

    ICC prosecutor drops probe into alleged UK war crimes in Iraq

    The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said yesterday she was dropping a preliminary probe into alleged war crimes by British troops in Iraq, even though she found a reasonable basis to believe they committed atrocities.

    The probe never rose to the level of a full investigation and Fatou Bensouda’s office concluded that British authorities had examined the allegations.

    The ICC only intervenes when it finds that a state is unable or unwilling to take action against alleged atrocities.

    In a final report, Bensouda wrote that her office had found a reasonable basis to believe that in 2003 British soldiers in Iraq carried out the war crime of willful killing or murder against at least seven Iraqi detainees. They also believed there were credible allegations of torture and rape.

    “The preliminary examination has found that there is a reasonable basis to believe that various forms of abuse were committed by members of UK armed forces against Iraqi civilians in detention,” it said.

    However, the United Kingdom had taken genuine action to investigate the crimes itself, prosecutors found.

    In June, British independent investigators looking into allegations of war crimes committed in Iraq told the BBC that of the thousands of complaints they had investigated, all but one had been dismissed.

    Despite this outcome, which Bensouda said deprived the victims of justice, the ICC prosecutor concluded that British authorities had not been unwilling to carry out investigations or prosecutions and closed the ICC probe.

    The ICC has been under fire by Washington for opening a full-fledged investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by U.S. troops on the territory of ICC member Afghanistan. The government of President Donald Trump this year imposed sanctions on Bensouda because of the probe.

     

     

     

    Last month, a report by Australian authorities said the country’s Special Forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, leading other countries to re-examine the conduct of their troops.

    Australia said 19 current and former soldiers would be referred for potential criminal prosecution.

     

  • Police arrest Nigerian, Indian with illicit drugs

    Police arrest Nigerian, Indian with illicit drugs

    Agency Reporter

    A Nigerian man and an Indian woman have been arrested in Delhi for allegedly being in possession of 10.5 kg of amphetamine, an illicit drug in the international market, India’s Railway Police Force said on Wednesday.

    The suspects, Nigeria’s, Cheema Vitalis (40) and the Indian, Srimathi (25), a resident of Delhi, were earlier arrested on Tuesday when they were trying to board a train from New Delhi railway station for Bengaluru, the security officials said.

    “During checking, 10.5 kg of amphetamine worth Rs 10 crore in the international market was recovered from their bags.

    READ ALSO: NDLEA, Gombe warn against sale of illicit drugs

    “The drug was being taken to Bengaluru city for rave parties,” the police said.

    An FIR (First Information Report) against them had been registered under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the report said.

    The police added that further investigation was underway.

    (ANI/NAN)

  • Buhari urges African leaders to implement arms control

    Buhari urges African leaders to implement arms control

    By Vincent Ikuomola Abuja

    President Muhammadu Buhari has advised African leaders to implement arms control in the continent.

    Buhari spoke at the 14th extra-ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) on “Silencing the Gun”, held virtually on Sunday.

    He said: “The major challenge for Africa today is achieving a new trajectory of peace, security, stability and a conflict-free Africa, following threats of terrorist activities and other crimes across the continent.”

    He said the increasing number of peace agreements and their ongoing operationalisation in conflict situations around the continent demonstrated a resolve to chart a new course.

    Buhari said the assembly was encouraged by Africa’s efforts in the implementation of the AU’s roadmap and the theme of this year, even in the midst of COVID-19.

    The president noted that numerous challenges still abound in Africa, “the reason the assembly is calling for endorsement for the extension period of the implementation of the AU master roadmap and amnesty month beyond 2020”.

    He said: “There will be immediate need to have the monitoring and evaluation mechanism put in place to gauge the implementation at the continental level.

    “We are beginning to equally see emerging intra/inter-state resurgence of conflicts in Africa, underscoring the imperative for the AU Mediation Support Unit to be strengthened.

    “Our member states are ensuring inclusive democratic governance, constitutionalism; and facilitating access for AU mediators when necessary will also complement these efforts.

    “Threats of terrorist activities, other trans-organised crimes and external interference in the internal affairs of African states are increasing.

    “We also see maritime security threats, including the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and the challenges of porous border are also visible.

    “It is in this regard that we blame the slow implementation of the African Common Defence Policy, hinged on the establishment of the African Standby Force,’’ Buhari said.

    He also stressed that constant and adequate coordination between the Regional Economic Communities and the AU should be encouraged.

  • Mystery illness baffles experts in India

    Mystery illness baffles experts in India

    Our Reporter

    Health officials and experts are still baffled by a mysterious illness that has leftover 500 people hospitalized and one person dead in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

    The illness was first detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. People started convulsing without any warning, said Geeta Prasadini, the director of public health.

    Since then, symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness have been reported in 546 patients admitted to hospitals. Many have recovered and returned home, while 148 are still being treated, said Dasari Nagarjuna, a government spokesperson.

    Teams of experts have arrived at the city from India’s top scientific institutes. Different theories have been suggested and are being tested. The most recent hypothesis is the contamination of food by pesticides.

    “But nobody knows,” Prasadini admitted.

    What is confounding experts is that there doesn’t seem to be any common link among the hundreds of people who have fallen sick. All of the patients have tested negative for COVID-19 and other viral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, or herpes. They aren’t related to each other. They don’t all live in the same area. They’re from different age groups, including about 70 children, but very few are elderly.

    READ ALSO: Hundreds hospitalised after mystery illness hits south India

    Initially, contaminated water was suspected. But the chief minister’s office confirmed that people who don’t use the municipal water supply have also fallen ill, and that initial tests of water samples didn’t reveal any harmful chemicals.

    A 45-year-old man with the single name Sridhar was hospitalized with symptoms resembling epilepsy and died Sunday evening, doctors said. Prasadini said his autopsy didn’t shed any light on the cause of death.

    The hypothesis currently being tested is that people ate vegetables tainted with pesticides made of organic compounds containing phosphorus. But this is an “assumption” based on the fact that such pesticides are commonly used in the area and not on any evidence, Prasadini said.

    She said that experts were testing to see if pesticides had contaminated fish ponds or spilled over to vegetables.

    Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu demanded on Twitter an “impartial, full-fledged inquiry into the incident.”

    Andhra Pradesh state is among those worst hit by COVID-19, with over 800,000 detected cases. The health system in the state, like the rest of India, has been frayed by the virus.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)