Czech President Zeman Released From Hospital After 46 Days

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November 25, 2021

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warned Russia on Thursday that an attack on his country would incur “political, economic and human losses” and would be too costly.

Russia has been building up forces near its border with Ukraine, and Kyiv, the United States and NATO have voiced concerns about a possible Russian attack.

Addressing a televised briefing, Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv’s the main goal was to restrain Russia from “further aggressive actions, adding that Moscow must clearly understand the dire consequences which would occur in the event of a new stage of aggression.

The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence told the Military Times outlet this weekend that Russia had more than 92,000 troops massed around Ukraine’s borders and was preparing for an attack by the end of January or beginning of February.

Ukraine, which wants to join the NATO military alliance, received a large consignment of U.S. ammunition and Javelin missiles earlier this year, prompting criticism from Moscow.

The Ukrainian navy received two refitted former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats as a part of $2.5-billion package of assistance to Ukraine, and Kuleba said Ukraine could receive one another of the vessels.

Ukraine’s ties with Russia collapsed in 2014 after Moscow backed separatists who rose up in eastern Ukraine and took control of territory that Kyiv wants back. Kyiv says some 14,000 people have been killed in fighting since then.

Russia has not turned its back on talks with France, Germany and Ukraine about how to implement a peace deal over eastern Ukraine, according to Maria Zakharova, a foreign ministry spokeswoman.

Sudan Announces Probe Into Violations Against Protesters

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November 25, 2021

Sudan’s newly reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said an investigation has been launched into violations committed against protesters since the military power grab on Oct. 25.

Hamdok’s comments reportedly came during a meeting on Tuesday evening with a group from the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), the main civilian coalition opposing military rule. FFC had previously said on Sunday that it does not recognize any political agreement with the military leadership.

The group stressed during the meeting the importance of laying out a roadmap to implementing the political agreement, reversing all political appointments that took place after the military takeover and reinstating all those who were fired during that period, according to the statement.

Last week, protesters and a witness said they saw security forces chase protesters into neighbourhoods and homes to carry out arrests. At least 15 people were shot dead during the anti-coup protests, according to medics.

Hamdok and the group called for political prisoners to be released as soon as possible and for the right to peacefully protest to be respected.

Under the agreement signed with military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Hamdok, first appointed after the overthrow of former President 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 since Bashir’s ouster and have been angered by the deaths of dozens of protesters since the Oct. 25 coup.

Election Panel Rejects Gaddafi’s Son As Presidential Candidate

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November 25, 2021

Libya’s election commission says Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former ruler and a major candidate in December’s planned presidential election, was ineligible to run, compounding the turmoil surrounding the vote.

Some 98 Libyans registered as candidates but Gaddafi was one of 25 candidates the commission disqualified in an initial decision pending an appeals process that will ultimately be decided by the judiciary.

Disagreements over the election rules, including the legal basis of the vote and who should be eligible to stand, are threatening to unsettle an internationally backed peace process which is meant to end a decade of violent factional chaos.

The commission said Gaddafi was ineligible because he had been convicted of a crime.

Recall that’s a Tripoli court sentenced him to death in absentia in 2015 for war crimes committed during the uprising against his late father Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

He appeared in that trial by videolink from the town of Zintan, where he was being held by fighters who captured him as he tried to escape Libya after his father’s overthrow. He has denied wrongdoing.

Two other well-known candidates, former premier Ali Zeidan and former parliament Nouri Abusahmain, were also excluded.Some of the candidates approved by the commission, including likely frontrunners, have also been accused of possible violations by political rivals.

Interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah vowed not to run for president as a condition of taking on his present role, and did not stand down from it three months before the vote as is required by a contested election law.

Another prominent candidate, eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, is said to have U.S. nationality, which could also rule him out. Many people in western Libya also accuse him of war crimes committed during his 2019-20 assault on Tripoli.

Minister Says Nigeria To Launch New National Airline Next Year

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November 25, 2021

Nigeria’s minister of state for aviation Hadi Sirika says the country has set its sight to launch a new national airline early next year and will seek to sell a minority stake to a foreign airline or financial institution.

Talking to reporters after a cabinet meeting in Abuja on Wednesday Sirika said that the best case is that the airline will pick up in April 2022 if all things go equa.

President Muhammadu Buhari promised in his 2015 election campaign to have a national airline that Nigerians could be proud of. But the plan has been unclear until the Government postponed it for no reason just before President Buhari’s second term re-election bid in 2018.

The minister added the new carrier will be named Nigeria Air and the government would not own more than 5%, while local entrepreneurs would hold a 46% stake.

The Federal Government has also declared that the airline will require initial capital of between $150 million and $300 million.

Nigeria had a national carrier before, Nigeria Airways, which was founded in 1958 and fully owned and operated by the government, but it stopped its operation in 2003.

Billionaire Richard Branson set up domestic and international carrier Virgin Nigeria back in 2000, but pulled out in 2010 in frustration at what Branson said was interference by politicians and regulators.

Virgin Nigeria, which was later rebranded Air Nigeria, ceased to exist in 2012 after drowning in about N35 billion of debt which left it unable to pay its staff, a former finance director of the company told Reuters at the time.

The Nigerian Government reportedly wants to sell a 49% stake in the new airline to a financial institution or foreign airline. The Government would retain a 5% stake while the remaining 46% would be available to local businesses.

While plans for a new Nigerian national carrier aren’t new, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, breathed new life into the proposal this week at a news conference following a Federal Executive Council meeting.

Nigeria Considers Transport Subsidy For The Poor

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November 25, 2021

Nigeria’s Finance Minister Zainab says Government is considering a transport subsidy for its poorest families to cushion the effects of an “eventual” removal of a petrol subsidy.

Addressing reporters after a cabinet meeting in Abuja, Ahmed said the government planned to remove the petrol subsidy by the middle of next year and replace it with 5,000 naira monthly payments to the poorest families.

The transport intervention will be for between 20 to 40 million people and would run for a period of six to 12 months.

Ahmed said the petrol subsidy was meant to end this June as per the country’s 2020 budget. At the last revenue count this month, the subsidy cost the government 243 billion naira per month, which has been increasing consistently.

She added that failure to end petrol subsidy will cost Nigeria 3 trillion naira or $7 billion a year, and that the country is getting to a point where state-oil company, NNPC will remit virtually nothing to the government after subsidy payments.

On Tuesday, the World Bank urged Nigeria to end its costly petrol subsidy within the next three-to-six months, improve exchange-rate management and speed up other reforms to boost growth.

Nigeria has fallen behind on implementing reforms started at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said, adding that growth rates will lag those of other emerging economies, unless momentum is restored.

It projects Nigeria’s GDP to grow 2.4% this year, after the economy grew just over 4% in the third quarter, its fourth consecutive quarterly rise, following the COVID-19-induced recession in 2020.

The finance minister said the government wanted to expand the economy to a point where growth exceeds population growth. She said annual economic growth this year averaged to 3.3%, slightly higher than population growth of 3.2%.

Danish military kills four pirates off Nigeria coast

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November 25, 2021

The Danish military says the crew of one of its warships operating off West Africa have killed four pirates in a gun battle.

A statement said the frigate Esbern Snare accompanied by a helicopter approached a speeding motorboat south of Nigeria on Wednesday.

There were eight men on board with ladders and other tools often used by pirates to board ships.

After warning shots were ignored the suspected pirates opened fire on Danish troops.

The military said four of the pirates died and one was injured; there were no Danish casualties.

Several countries have deployed ships to the region after more than 130 sailors were taken from vessels in the region last year.

Samuel Eto’o: Ex-Barcelona star cleared to stand in Cameroon FA polls

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November 25, 2021

Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has been cleared to stand in elections to be the next president of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot).

A total of six candidates, including incumbent Seidou Mbombo Njoya, have been approved by Fecafoot’s electoral committee to stand in the polls on 11 December.

Another former international Jules Denis Onana is also eligible for the elections, however his 1990 World Cup team-mate Emmanuel Maboang Kessack was ruled out as he owes Fecafoot $7,600.

The other three names on the list of eligible candidates for president are Crepin Soter Nyamsi, Justin Tagouh and Zacharie Wandja.

One other person, Manuel Boyomo, has also been prevented from taking part in the polls because he failed to provide the required number of endorsement letters.

When Eto’o, 40, first announced his intentions in September it was amid controversy in Cameroon after candidates with dual nationality had been told they could not stand in the elections.

Eto’o, who also had spells with Inter Milan and Chelsea, was granted dual Spanish nationality during his time at Barcelona.

Tanzania to scrap ban on pregnant schoolgirls

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November 25, 2021

A 19-year-old rule that banned pregnant students from attending school in Tanzania is to be scrapped, a minister says.

Education Minister Prof Joyce Ndalichako said on Wednesday that primary and secondary school students who drop out of school due to various reasons, including pregnancy, will now be allowed to return to the formal school system.

The government had set up a parallel education system for pregnant schoolgirls with officials saying this would protect other students from “bad influence”.

The late Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli reinforced the law initially passed in 2002 which allowed for the expulsion of pregnant schoolgirls.

Magufuli warned that “after getting pregnant, you are done”.

He also announced that men who impregnate schoolgirls should be imprisoned for 30 years.

Ugandan journalist and politician targeted by spyware

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November 25, 2021