Category: Foreign

Five possible successors within Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party have emerged following his announcement on Friday that he would step aside due to health issues.

They are, not surprisingly, all men, with the first being Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Aso, 79, who also serves as finance minister, is expected to succeed Abe as interim premier.

The gaffe-prone Aso, who is known as a manga buff, acts as interim prime minister and that could galvanise the opposition camp.

In 2009, when Aso was prime minister, sinking popularity for his Cabinet helped the main opposition Democratic Party to oust his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The victory ended more than a half century of almost unbroken rule by the LDP.

Another possible successor is Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Since Abe was inaugurated in December 2012, Suga has been the country’s government spokesperson, officially known as the chief cabinet secretary.

Only Aso and Suga, 71, have retained their respective positions since the start of Abe’s Cabinet.

Defence Minister Taro Kono, 57, is another possible successor.

Kono had served as foreign minister for a little more than one year, before taking the current post.

Unlike many Japanese politicians, Kono, a graduate of the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University in the U.S., is an outspoken lawmaker who has opposed nuclear power generation.

His father Yohei Kono was a long-time speaker of the House of Representatives.

Then there is former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba, 63, who the Japanese media have for long named as a possible successor to Abe.

Ishiba, a railroad enthusiast, took the party’s leading posts such as secretary general and chairman of the party’s policy research council.

Last but not the least of possible successors to the ailing Abe is former foreign minister Fumio Kishida

Kishida served as foreign minister more than four and a half years and he leads one of the LDP’s biggest factions.

The 63-year-old chairs the party’s policy research council.

He remains a surprisingly obscure figure. (dpa/NAN)

THE death of a woman, whose one-year-old child was reportedly found malnourished beside her bod, is being investigated in United Kingdom (UK).

Mercy Baguma, originally from Uganda, was discovered in a flat in Glasgow on Saturday August 22 after the sounds of her son crying were heard.

A police spokesperson said her death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious.

Refugee charity Positive Action in Housing said Ms Baguma had claimed asylum and lived in “extreme poverty”.

It said she lost her job after her right to work in the UK expired.

Her son was found next to his mother, crying and “weakened from several days of starvation”, according to Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing.

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The boy was taken to hospital and discharged on Monday, and is now staying with his father.

The charity said Ms Baguma had contacted them several weeks ago, saying she did not have enough money to look after herself or her child.

Another charity, African Challenge Scotland, posted video on social media of Ms Baguma thanking its volunteers for delivering food in early June.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “This is a tragic situation and our condolences go to Ms Baguma’s family.”

They added: “The Home Office takes the wellbeing of all those in the asylum system extremely seriously, and we will be conducting a full investigation into Ms Baguma’s case.”

By Robert Egbe

THE General Overseer of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B. Joshua, said he was named “Tourism Goodwill Ambassador for Israel”, following last year’s crusade in the Middle Eastern country.

Joshua released a documentary on YouTube detailing the ‘persecution’ he endured during his visit to Nazareth, followed by a ‘national award’ presented to him by the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Yariv Levin.

In June 2019, Joshua held a two-day event in the historic hometown of Jesus Christ, which attracted thousands of religious tourists from across the globe.

However, the event held at the Amphitheatre of Mount Precipice was fiercely criticised by local religious figures and nearly faced cancellation due to the intensity of attacks.

Read Also: Toast to Ambassador Carrington at 90

A protest was even organised with hundreds trouncing through the city in Northern Israel with placards decrying the coming event and people shouting: “Let this witch get away from us!”

Despite the ‘noise’ surrounding the event, it was held successfully with Joshua preaching a message on love and ministering “healing and deliverance in Jesus’ name” to the large crowds that gathered.

The event, which was broadcast on local television throughout Israel and featured in The New York Times and Reuters, subsequently attracted the attention of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, which gave an award to the Nigerian cleric and made him a “Tourism Ambassador”.

“TB Joshua, on the occasion of your visit to Israel, I am honoured to recognise you as a true friend of Israel. Thank you for your support and solidarity, which are deeply appreciated. It is my pleasure to name you as a ‘Tourism Goodwill Ambassador for Israel’,” wrote Minister Levin.

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

NO fewer than 93 Nigerian youths have been offered fully funded scholarship programme by the European Union (EU).

The programme, which is under the European Community Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS+), is open to other countries.

About 2,542 students across the globe, including from Nigeria, got the 2020 scholarship award.  Nigeria has the highest number of awardees in Africa for the 2020 programme

Speaking at the virtually pre-departure orientation programme for the awardees, Minister of Youth and Sport Development Sunday Dare urged the awardees to be good ambassadors of the country.

Dare said:  “I want to commend the European Community for extending this wonderful opportunity to Nigerian young people, the hope and future of our great country. The number of Nigerian students selected for the programme this year is highly encouraging. This further strengthens our confidence in the EU’s strong commitment to expanding opportunities for Nigerians, especially the youth, the future of the country.

Read Also: NDDC scholarships: overseas students still in distress despite Buhari’s order

“As I stated earlier, you cannot afford to fail or betray this trust and honour bestowed on you by the EU and by extension the Nigerian nation. Learning desires so much commitment in order to achieve the overall goal. You must strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of your host countries to guarantee your stay and completion of the programme. As Ambassadors and representatives of Nigeria, you are expected to inspire others by showing good examples.”

The Head of EU delegation to Nigeria and West Africa, Mr. Ketil Karlsen, said the programme remains one of the most important programmes of the year to him.

Karlsen said there is nothing as important as supporting the youth of Nigeria.

He said the high figure of Nigerian youths selected for the 2020 programme was a reflection of the country’s placement in the continent.

Protests have erupted in the United States (U.S.) state of Wisconsin after police shot a black man many times while responding to what they said was a domestic incident.

The man, identified as Jacob Blake, was taken to hospital for surgery and is now in intensive care, his family said.

Video posted online appears to show Blake being shot in the back as he tries to get into a car in Kenosha.

Authorities in the city declared an emergency overnight curfew after unrest broke out following the shooting.

Hundreds of people marched on police headquarters on Sunday night. Vehicles were set on fire and protesters shouted “We won’t back down”.

In a public safety alert, police urged 24-hour businesses to consider closing because of “numerous” calls about armed robberies and shots being fired.

On Twitter, President Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr decried the protests as “anarchy”, and reposted a series of videos depicting burning buildings and cars, purportedly filmed in Kenosha.

Officers used tear gas to try to disperse hundreds of protesters who defied the county-wide curfew, which is in place until 07:00 yesterday (12:00 GMT).

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers condemned the shooting of Blake, who was reportedly unarmed.

“While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country,” he said in a statement.

“I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action. In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognise the racism in our state and our country for far too long.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded “full transparency” from Vladimir Putin’s government after a German medical team determined that Alexei Navalny, the Russian leader’s most prominent critic, was likely poisoned last week.

“Considering the prominent roll Navalny has in Russia’s political opposition, authorities there are urgently called upon to clarify this matter to the last detail — and in full transparency,” Merkel said in a joint statement with her foreign minister, Heiko Maas. “Those responsible must be investigated and brought to justice.”

The demand marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the West, led in this case by Merkel’s government, and the Kremlin. A U.S. official warned earlier Yesterday that confirmation he was poisoned would turn the case into a major issue.

Two days after Navalny was transferred to the German capital for medical help, Berlin’s Charite hospital said that the anti-corruption activist is in serious condition but there is no acute threat to his life. However, he may suffer long-term damage to his nervous system, according to the statement.

Navalny has been in a medically-induced coma since Thursday after falling ill on a plane returning to Moscow from Tomsk, and was evacuated from Russia on Saturday.

His allies blamed Russia’s security services for the poisoning. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Charite statement.

In Berlin, doctors found evidence of poisoning through a substance related to cholinesterase inhibitors, Charite said.

Agency Reporter

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIODCOM) has warned Nigerian parents against sending their children to universities in Northern Cyprus over the incessant and mysterious killing of Nigerians.

Chairman/CEO of the commission Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who gave the warning yesterday, said it was too risky to send children to the schools there as hundreds of Nigerian students had been killed there mysteriously without any conclusive investigations carried out.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said these when she received in her office, a delegation led by Justice Amina Bello, mother of a Nigerian student, Ibrahim Khaleel, who was allegedly killed in inexplicable circumstances in that country.

She stressed that the death of Khaleel, a third-year engineering student, had brought to a tipping point the incessant killing of Nigerian students in the country under baffling circumstances.

The NIDCOM boss, who read out 15 names of Nigerians from a list of more than 100 who were killed in the country, said it was difficult to employ international diplomacy in investigation as the country was only recognised by Turkey.

“The death of Ibrahim Khaleel should be the tipping point to a stop in the killing of our children anywhere in the World, particularly Northern Cyprus.

“It is not only Ibrahim. Kennedy Dede 28, Augustine Ngok, Gabriel Sorewei, Osabanjo Owoyale, Augustine Wallace, Stanley Eteno, Hassan Babatunde, Temitayo Adigun, and Kubat Abraham are just a few of the ones that we even know.

“The problem is that most Nigerian parents do not know that Northern Cyprus is not recognised by any country in the world.

“It is not a UN-recognised country. It is only recognised by Turkey.

“That is why we have not been able to do much. Who do you report to? Thousands of Nigerian students are schooling there and I tell you that hundreds have been killed. Who do you take these cases to?

“And they are killed in similar circumstances. The school just tells you ‘well, they committed suicide’ and nothing happens.

“We are going to list all these names of Nigerians that have been killed and we demand justice. There has been no prosecution and no compensation.

“No Nigerian parent should send their children to any university in Northern Cyprus – there is a collaboration which we do not understand that makes them kill blacks, particularly our Nigerian students,” she said.

She assured the mother of the deceased student that the commission would work with her to demand justice, not only for her son but also for other Nigerians, who have been killed while studying in that country.

She said that the case had already been transferred to INTERPOL through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

THE Republican Party on Monday formally nominated United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump for a second term in the White House, one of the first acts of a GOP convention that has been dramatically scaled down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump has sought to minimise the toll of the pandemic, but its impact was evident as proceedings began in Charlotte. Instead of the thousands of people who were expected to converge on this city for a week-long extravaganza, just 336 delegates participated in a roll-call vote from a Charlotte Convention Centre ballroom.

Earlier, the convention renominated Vice President Mike Pence, and he thanked the delegates in person.

“The choice in this election has never been clearer and the stakes have never been higher,” Pence said. “We’re going to make American great again. Again.”

The GOP convention is a crucial moment for Trump, who is trailing in national and battleground state polls and under intense pressure to turn the race around. Just 23% think the country is heading in the right direction, while 75% think it’s on the wrong path, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Many of the usual trappings of a convention were present yesterday, including signs designating each state and gift bags with Republican swag. But chairs on the ballroom floor were arranged with lots of space between them and convention organisers told participants to wear masks, though adherence to the rule was uneven.

“We are obviously disappointed we could not hold this event in the same way we had originally planned,” GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel said as she began the proceedings while thanking Charlotte for allowing the convention to move forward in its truncated form.

The fact an in-person meeting was held at all marked a sharp contrast with Democrats.

Last week, the Democrats created a well-received roll call via video montage with diverse officials and others from states across the country. The Republicans, overwhelmingly white, spoke from the ballroom floor.

After Trump’s renomination, much of the action is shifting to Washington, where Republicans will spend the week trying to convince the American people that the president deserves a second term.

Aides want the convention to recast the story of Trump’s presidency and present the election as a choice between his vision for America’s future and the one presented by Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

McDaniel worked to highlight that contrast, accusing Biden of embracing a radical left agenda and pushing back on Democrats’ efforts to demonstrate Biden’s empathy and kindness.