The Nation Newspaper

Tag: U.S

  • North Korea warns U.S on ‘provocative’ action

    North Korea has warned the United States not to take provocative action in the region, saying it is “ready to hit back with nuclear attacks.”

    The comments came just as North Korea marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding president, Kim Il-sung, the BBC reports.

    A huge parade in Pyongyang was held amid speculation current leader Kim Jong-un could order a new nuclear test.

    Among the hardware on display appeared to be new intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

    The show of strength comes amid mounting tension, with a U.S aircraft carrier group steaming towards the region.

    “We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war,” said Choe Ryong-hae, believed to be the country’s second most powerful official.

    “We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks,” he said.

    Rows of military bands and goose-stepping and sword-wielding soldiers marched through Pyongyang’s main Kim Il-sung square for the “Day of the Sun” celebrations, as a black-suited Kim Jong-un watched on.

    He saluted an honour guard and took his place on the podium.

    At times he appeared relaxed and laughed with aides.

    With concerns that North Korea is getting closer to successfully producing a nuclear arsenal, Saturday’s parade was an opportunity for Mr. Kim to broadcast North Korea’s current military capabilities.

     

  • Ambode calls for political reformation in Africa

    Ambode calls for political reformation in Africa

     

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Wednesday called for collaboration among political leaders in Africa to reform political process for development and economic transformation of the continent.

    Ambode, represented by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, made the call at the 2nd African Political Summit organised by the Association of Political Consultants in Africa (APCA) in Lagos.

    The theme of the summit is: “Democracy and Political Consultancy.’’

    “The nature of politics in Africa has for long been a source of grave concern to those who are genuinely interested in taking Africa to its rightful position in the mainstream global system.

    “It is in our best interest and in the interest of our democracy to reform our political process and enhance the engagement of the electorate in the democratic process for credibility and transparency.

    “The resultant effect will be effective leadership for transformative growth and development,’’ Ambode said.

    Also, Mr Benjamin Eisenberg, a Political Consultant based in U.S, said that professionalising politics was the only way for democracy to succeed in Africa.

    Eisenberg said that the recent elections in Ghana and Gambia showed that democracy was growing and political processes in Africa were becoming encouraging and there was need to intensify the reformation.

    “This conference will avail us the opportunity to discuss better ways of training campaign managers to organise voters and help the people to get a better understanding of politics.

    “Professionalising  politics in Africa will enhance moving to issue-based campaign instead of ethnic or tribal politics,’’ he said.

    In a goodwill message, Mr Kipngeno Dunchi, a representative from Kenya, said that there was the need for African countries to reform their political practices for the growth of democracy.

    “We shall be exchanging ideas on how we can really democratise Africa and ensure that our political system has a stronger ballot which will decide the leadership.

    “When we make politics a profession in Africa, we will likely see more people with genuine interest engaging in politics and political affairs will be properly managed,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, Mr Kehinde Bamgbetan, the Chairman of APCA, said that the way politics was practised in Africa, with poor campaign processes, poor financing, poor mobilisation, violence, fear and anxiety called for concern.

    Bamgbetan said that politics in Nigeria and Africa was negatively affecting the growth of democracy.

    “APCA seeks to redefine the way politics is played in Africa.

    “We need to emulate advanced countries where politics is characterised with healthy rivalry and scientific approach.

    “We can achieve such in Nigeria and Africa by following scientific pattern of politics to enhance political practice with healthy competition and reduce corruption in politics for the good of the people,’’ he said

     

  • U.S ‘will press’ Russia to ditch Assad

    United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is holding talks in Russia with Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, as America urges Moscow to stop supporting Syria.

    The visit comes amid tensions over last week’s suspected chemical attack in Syria and U.S strikes on a Syrian base, the BBC reports.

    Russia has condemned the American strikes and stands by Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, its long-time ally.

    President Donald Trump has said the U.S has no further plans there and is “not going into” that country’s civil war.

    On Tuesday his defence secretary made clear the priority remained the defeat of the Islamic State jihadist group.

    “Our military policy in Syria has not changed,” Jim Mattis said.

    Last week’s air strike has led to confusion over U.S policy in Syria, with some officials suggesting a more aggressive stance against President Assad.

    Mr. Tillerson is meeting Mr. Lavrov after warning that Russia risks becoming irrelevant in the Middle East because of its support for Mr. Assad.

    He also insisted Syria’s president can play no part in the country’s future.

  • 21 Bayelsa students in U.S. beg Gov to pay tuition

    21 Bayelsa students in U.S. beg Gov to pay tuition

    •‘No cause for alarm’

    THE fate of 21 Bayelsa students on scholarship at the Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, the United States (U.S.) is hanging in the balance. They risk dropping out of varsity unless the home state government settled their fees.
    The students, who are in their final semester at the institution, appealed to the government to immediately initiate payment process to avoid jeopardising their education
    But the state government told The Nation last night that there was nothing to worry about as Governor Seriake Dickson has taken step to settle the bills.
    According to the governor’s spokesman Markson Iworiso, the state government was in touch with the school authority and already working out plans on how to pay outstanding fees.
    He said: “There is no cause for alarm. The government is aware of its obligations and commitments to the students. It is taken necessary steps that they all complete their studies. Government meant well by sending them abroad to study.
    “The governor is I touch with the U.S. and he has already acted. There is really nothing to worry over. Although the recession has affected the state economy, but the government knows its priorities, and these include the education of Bayesla children.”
    One of the affected students, Akpos Akins, reportedly told in a telephone chat from Pennsylvania that the school authorities alleged that the estimated outstanding fees stood at about $970,000.00 dollars (about N300 million).
    According to him, subsequent payment had not been regular since the payment for the first session, explaining that the university would not even honour payment by students or their parents as the management insisted that such arrangement would run contrary to the agreement signed with the state government.
    He claimed that all efforts made by the parents’ association to get the government to clear the outstanding fees have not yielded results.
    Akins acknowledged the good intention of the foreign education scholarship by the governor and appealed to him to help secure their future by directing immediate release of funds for the payment.

  • World Cup 2026: US, Canada, Mexico to make joint bid

    World Cup 2026: US, Canada, Mexico to make joint bid

    The U.S., Canada and Mexico have announced they will make a joint bid to host the 2026 World Cup finals.

    The 2026 finals will be the first tournament after the expansion from 32 teams to 48 and, if successful, would be the first time a World Cup has been shared by three hosts.

    The proposal would be for the U.S. to host 60 matches, with 10 games each in Canada and Mexico.

    The decision on who will host the event will be made in 2020.

    That is three years later than originally scheduled because of corruption allegations surrounding the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

    The U.S. staged the 1994 World Cup, which had the highest average attendance in the tournament’s history.

    Mexico was the first nation to host the event twice, in 1970 and 1986, while Canada hosted the 2015 women’s World Cup.

    President Donald Trump has promised to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico but Sunil Gulati, president of the US Soccer Federation, said Trump is “supportive” of the bid.

    He said he had even “encouraged” it.

    “The U.S., Mexico and Canada have individually demonstrated their exceptional abilities to host world-class events,” added Gulati.

    “When our nations come together as one – as we will for 2026 – there is no question the U.S., Mexico and Canada will deliver an experience that will celebrate the game and serve players, supporters and partners alike.”

    European and Asian countries cannot bid for the 2026 World Cup due to world governing body FIFA’s rotation policy.

    It means the previous two host confederations – Europe in 2018 and Asia in 2022 – are excluded.

    The new-look tournament will begin with an initial round of 16 three-team groups, with 32 qualifiers going through to the knockout stage.

     

  • Putin condemns U.S. attack on Syrian airbase

    Putin condemns U.S. attack on Syrian airbase

    Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned U.S. cruise missile strikes on Syria on Friday, warning the move would further damage already battered U.S.-Russia relations which Moscow had hoped President Donald Trump would revive.

    U.S. officials said they had informed Russian forces ahead of the strikes, intended to punish the Syrian government for what they say was a chemical weapons attack on Wednesday, and had avoided hitting Russian personnel.

    Satellite imagery suggests the Shayrat air base that was struck in western Syria is home to Russian special forces and military helicopters, part of the Kremlin’s effort to help the Syrian government fight Islamic State and other militant groups.

    Russia’s main air base and a naval facility were not hit.

    Moscow had been hoping to cooperate with Trump to jointly fight Islamic State in Syria, a move it was banking on to boost U.S.-Russia ties which are at a post-Cold War low.

    After the U.S. strikes, that task now looks harder.

    “President Putin views the U.S. strikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law and on a made-up up pretext,” said a Kremlin statement.

    “This step by Washington will inflict major damage on U.S.-Russia ties.”

    Putin, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was holding a meeting of Russia’s Security Council to discuss the strike on Friday afternoon and the Russian Foreign Ministry called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

    A foreign ministry statement said Moscow was suspending a Syrian air safety agreement with the U. S. originally drawn up to ensure that the two countries’ planes did not collide.

    “It’s clear to any specialist that the decision to launch a strike was taken in Washington before the events in Idlib (the province where the gas poisoning took place) which were simply used as a pretext for a show of force,” the ministry said.

    The Russian Defence Ministry meanwhile mocked the effectiveness of the U.S. strikes, saying only 23 missiles had found their targets.

    It was unclear where another 36 had landed, it said, promising Syrian air defenses would now be beefed up.

    A Russian frigate armed with Kalibr cruise missiles sailed through the Bosphorus en route to the eastern Mediterranean in the early hours of Friday morning, according to pictures taken by Turkish bloggers for their online Bosphorus Naval News project.

    It was unclear if that was related to the U.S. strikes.

    Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there were no reports of any Russians being hurt in the attack.

    He said he hoped U.S.-Russia ties would not be irreparably hurt as a result.

    Rex Tillerson is due to make his first visit to Moscow next week as U.S. secretary of state, an eagerly awaited event in Russia where politicians have been anxious to try to use the change of administration to reboot relations.

     

  • Syria Deal: Russia suspends military deal with U.S.

    Syria Deal: Russia suspends military deal with U.S.

    Russia on Friday suspended a deal on military cooperation with the U.S. in Syria, in response to the U.S. bombing of Syrian state forces.

    The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement  that the deal was designed to prevent possible military incidents between the two great powers, which support opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.

    Russia condemns the U.S. “illegitimate actions against the lawful Syrian government,” the Foreign Ministry said, referring to the U.S. bombing carried out in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian state military.

    “Russia denies that the Syrian state military used chemical weapons, and maintains that Syrian militants were responsible for a recent chemical weapons incident in the north-western province of Idlib,’’ the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

    U.S. President Donald Trump ordered missile strikes against the airfield from which a deadly chemical attack was launched, declaring he acted in America’s “national security interest” against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    The strikes drew sharp criticism from Russia, Assad’s ally.

    U.S. officials said the military fired dozens of cruise missiles against the base in response to the suspected gas attack in a rebel-held area this week, which Washington has blamed on Assad’s forces.

    The Syrian government has strongly denied responsibility and says it does not use chemical weapons.

    The governor of Homs province said earlier that the airbase was used to support Syrian army operations against Islamic State.

    NAN reports that the U.N. Security Council was expected to hold closed-door consultations on Friday about the U.S. strike on Syria following a request by Bolivia, an elected member of the council, a senior Security Council diplomat said.

     

  • ‘Why some Nigerians face extreme vetting at U.S. airports’

    Different reasons are responsible for the extreme vetting some Nigerians face at the entry points into the United States, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, Mr. Hakeem Balogun, said at the weekend.

    In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Washington, Balogun said President Donald Trump’s travel ban did not affect Nigerians.

    He said the relationship between Nigeria and the United States prior to the election of President Muhammadu Buhari was lukewarm adding that it is now “very warm.”

    He said: “The executive ban on immigration does not affect Nigerians. Whatever must have taken place regarding visa issuance, vetting at the airports, it’s all normal.

    “All these things have been on even before President Trump. Let’s get one thing well. That you are issued visa is not a guarantee that you will end up wherever you’re going.

    Balogun also said Nigerians are restricted from entering the US because they failed to meet other required procedures.

    “Then there are other things. What manner of visa did you collect to come to the United States?

    “For instance, a pregnant woman who comes to the United States on visiting visa will probably be turned back at the point of entry because she does not have a medical visa.

    “You are coming in on a visiting visa and the immigration man sees you pregnant. Naturally, he will turn you back.

    “Even if you have the medical visa, they want to know if you have medical insurance; do you have you medical documents for you to be able to come and use their medical facilities here.

    “So these are issues. Nigeria is not being singled out. We are not one of those countries that have been mentioned. We are definitely not one of them.

    He has described the relationship between Nigeria and the U.S. as “very warm”.

  • Nigerian Navy rated high in proficiency, rescue operation

    The Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service (SBS) has been rated high, for successfully rescuing  a French warship at the ongoing military exercise, “Obangame Express’’.

    Rear Adm. James Oluwole, the Commander, Task Group 17.1, gave the ratings on-board Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Okpabana in the military exercise currently ongoing in the Gulf of Guinea on Monday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that SBS, which is Nigeria’s naval elite fighting force likened to the United States Navy SEAL, rescued the French warship.

    The warship had performed the role of a merchant ship hijacked by sea pirates.

    Nigeria, alongside 29 other navies from Africa, Europe, South America and the U.S are participating in the special military exercise.

    Series of tests and proficiency training are lined up as part of global strategy to fight piracy, illicit trafficking and other maritime threats on both territorial and international waters.

    Nigerian navy commenced its part of the exercise on March 24 and would conclude   on March 28 in Lagos.

    Oluwole, who led Nigeria’s troops to the exercise, said that SBS participated in search and rescue, search and seizure and anti-drug operations among others within the nation’s territorial waters.

    “Following the assumed hijack of French ship, Jacoubet, by sea pirates; SBS was deployed on-board two assault boats as part of training exercise designed to improve troops’ proficiency in rescue operations.

    “Our special forces successfully boarded the ship and rescued the situation amidst very difficult manoeuvres which showed that our forces have tremendously improved since our first participation in the exercise in 2010.

    “Onboard the French warship; we have officials and trainers from the United States of America who assess and rate performance of our Special Forces.

    “The Nigerian Navy has improved with more sea assets which show that we are ready and prepared to execute our own part of maritime security deal in the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.

    Oluwole said that French warship coming into the nation’s territorial waters and U.S sponsorship of the exercise showed the importance the fight against sea piracy and oil bunkering had become.

    He said that sea piracy; illegal bunkering among other illicit activities on the maritime environment had become a global problem that needed international collaboration and cooperation to address.

    According to him, Nigerian warships are currently stationed alongside offshore rigs and merchant ships 24 hours daily throughout the year.

    “This is part of our commitment to ensure that those doing legitimate businesses on our territorial waters are not attacked by sea pirates and robbers.

    “This partly explains the declining cases of activities of sea pirates and robbers on our waters while oil theft has reduced drastically leading to the nation’s improved oil and gas output.

    “Obangame Express is under U.S One Thousand Ship Strategy, which sought to bring together all naval forces in the world as one fighting force to safeguard both territorial and international waters,” he said.

  • UNILORIN partners US coy to build $1.5bn solar energy plant – VC

    The University of Ilorin is partnering with a U.S company to build a 500 megawatts solar energy plant as part of efforts to tackle the challenge of power supply in Nigeria.

    Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, disclosed this while speaking at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja on Sunday.

    “The 500 megawatts is too much for the university alone to utilize; in fact, we in the university require just a maximum of four megawatts.

     “Which means the extra 496 megawatts would have to be given to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, either the immediate community or nationwide. I think that is what is being processed.

     “We have had talks with various stakeholders who are going to be party to the consumption and payment of the 496 megawatts because the project is going to cost about 1.5 billion dollars.

     “It is a heavy investment. Which means the company that is going to bring the 1.5 billion dollars, has to be convinced that it will recoup its investment.

     “They (company) have made tremendous progress, they have talked to the government, they are talking with agencies of government and by the time they harmonise all these product of their discussion,  I am  sure they will take off and the government and Nigeria will now be the overall beneficiary of all those efforts.’’

     The Mr Brain Travis, Managing Director of the American company, said the selection of Uni-Ilorin as its partner was because the university had many reliable innovative projects.

    Travis, who described the project as the largest solar plant in Africa, said it would help empower the locals in terms of employment and training.

    “Most of us probably know there are difficulties with the whole power system in Nigeria. We will all like to have stable power.

    “We also are going to not sell into the national grid but try to solve the problem by entering into direct contract with Discos; because of the location of Ilorin, we have direct access to six district discos up and down the coast.

    “Each of those discos is determining how much of the power they want; they determine when they need the power, how they need it and how they are going to sell it.

    “So we will be effectively dealing with the people who need the power. So that we do not have the supply chain issues that exists now and that is the reason we are doing the solar project here. It has got good solar radiation.

    “We have an excellent host; you heard about the innovative projects of the Vice-Chancellor and it’s that spirit that allows us to come in and negotiate for a significant piece of property.

    “Also there is an obligation I understand from the university to help the local community. So we are going to be hiring local people as contractors as well as training local people in solar and renewable.’’

    He said the project would be completed in 18 months.