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FCT Natives Collaborates With NANS, Evacuates 279 Students From Jos

Rhoda Onuzulike
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FCT Natives Collaborates With NANS, Evacuates 279 Students From Jos

The Abuja Original Youths Empowerment Organisation (AOIYEO), in collaboration with National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), have evacuated over 279 students, who are natives and residents of Abuja from Jos.

The President of AOIYEO,
Isaac David, disclosed this at a news conference on Friday in Abuja.

David said that the evacuation of the students was necessary in order to prevent death of indigenes and residents of Abuja in Jos.

The youth leader revealed that all the buses sent to convey the students from their various schools safely brought them back to Abuja.

He revealed that another round of evacuation would be made on Aug. 21, to ensure that all natives and residents of Abuja were brought back home, pending when normalcy returns to Jos.

“As FCT indigenous people, we have to carry out our civic responsibilities as indigenous organisation, with the little resources at our disposal and achieved major result.

“Although, previous government has made people to believe that the FCT is just the city at the expense of over 868 villages in remote areas.

“Many people should understand that FCT indigenous students studying in Jos are from various local communities that make up the entire FCT.

“Our citizens studying in Plateau state were stranded in the area as a result of the curfew imposed on some local government areas by the state government.

“It was as a measure to curtail the security situation in the state.

“We closely monitored the situation and we collaborated with National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to ensure the safe evacuation of our citizens and it became achievable,” he said.

Scotland’s Power-Sharing Deal Gives Pro-Independence Majority

Zoe Maven
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Scotland’s Power-Sharing Deal Gives Pro-Independence Majority

The ruling Scottish National Party agreed a power-sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party on Friday that cements a pro-independence majority in the devolved parliament ahead of a looming political battle over the future of the United Kingdom.

The deal between the SNP and the Greens, who will be part of a government for the first time in British history, will increase the pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow a second independence referendum.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to hold another referendum vote by the end of 2023.

If Scotland voted to leave, it would mark the biggest shock to the United Kingdom since Irish independence a century ago.

This deal “makes it harder and, indeed, impossible on any democratic basis for a UK government to resist the right of the Scottish people to choose their own future,” Sturgeon said.

The SNP earlier this year won an unprecedented fourth term in government in elections to the Scottish parliament, but fell one seat short of securing a majority in the 129-seat devolved assembly.

With the support of the Greens, who have seven seats, the SNP will have a clear majority to pass legislation to push ahead with plans for another referendum.

In return for their support in the parliament, the Greens will have two ministers in the government, according to a statement released on Friday.

UAE To Temporarily Host 5,000 Afghans At U.S. Request

Zoe Maven
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UAE To Temporarily Host 5,000 Afghans At U.S. Request

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan nationals to be evacuated from their country for 10 days on their way to a third country at the request of the United States, the Gulf Arab state’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM said the evacuees will travel to the UAE from the Afghan capital of Kabul on U.S. aircraft in the coming days.

The UAE has so far facilitated the evacuation of 8,500 people from Afghanistan on its aircraft and through its airports, it said.

The announcement came after U.S. officials told Reuters Washington was expected to announce that countries in Europe and the Middle East have agreed to temporarily shelter people evacuated from Kabul as its base in Qatar reached capacity.

A Qatari official told Reuters the Gulf Arab state was “continuing our efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan. Additional flights are scheduled during the upcoming days.”

Also, the Bahraini foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday Bahrain will allow planes carrying evacuees to stop over in the kingdom as part of efforts to assist rescue operations in Afghanistan,.

UK, U.S. Impose Sanctions Over Navalny Poisoning

Zoe Maven
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UK, U.S. Impose Sanctions Over Navalny Poisoning

Britain and the United States imposed sanctions on Friday on men they said were Russian intelligence operatives responsible for the poisoning one year ago of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The two countries both targeted seven Russians with sanctions and also issued a joint statement warning Russia over chemical weapons.

Washington separately imposed sanctions on another two men and four Russian institutes it said were involved in chemical weapons research or what it described as an assassination attempt against Navalny.

Navalny was flown to Germany for medical treatment after being poisoned in Siberia on Aug. 20 last year with what Western experts concluded was the military nerve agent Novichok.

Moscow has rejected their findings and accused the West of a smear campaign against it.

An updated version of the British sanctions list published by the government on the first anniversary of Navalny’s poisoning included seven new names.

British foreign minister Dominic Raab said the move was a warning to Russia. “We are sending a clear message that any use of chemical weapons by the Russian state violates international law, and a transparent criminal investigation must be held.”

Russian Foreign Ministrys spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on social media that the “unilateral sanctions are illegitimate as they have not been approved by the UN Security Council”.

Merkel, Putin Clash Over Navalny On Her Last Trip To Russia

Zoe Maven
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Merkel, Putin Clash Over Navalny On Her Last Trip To Russia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday used her final official visit to Russia to tell President Vladimir Putin to free Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, but the Kremlin leader rebuffed her, saying the jailing was unrelated to politics.

The talks, as Merkel prepares to step down following elections next month, coincided with the first anniversary of Navalny’s poisoning, an incident that strained Russia-Germany ties.

Navalny was flown to Germany last year after being poisoned with what the West concluded was a military nerve agent. Moscow rejects that and alleges a Western smear campaign. Navalny was jailed when he flew back to Russia.

Putin rebuffed Merkel’s remarks, while not identifying Navalny by name and referring to him only as the “subject”.

He said as far as political activities are concerned, no-one should hide behind political activities to carry out business projects, while breaking the law,” he said.

On Friday, Britain and the United States imposed sanctions on Friday on men they said were Russian intelligence operatives responsible for the poisoning of Navalny. Neither the Kremlin nor any of those named offered any immediate comment.

Washington has also imposed sanctions on one Russian vessel and two Russian individuals involved in the yet-to-be-completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, soon after Putin said it is almost finished.

In a letter to mark the anniversary that was published in three European newspapers on Friday, Navalny appealed to the West to do more to combat corruption in countries like Russia.

U.S. Says Countries To Let Kabul Evacuation Flights Transit

Zoe Maven
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U.S. Says Countries To Let Kabul Evacuation Flights Transit

The U.S. government says a dozen countries, from Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia, will allow Americans and others evacuated from Kabul to transit their territory as it steps up its evacuation efforts from Afghanistan.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Bahrain, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, the UAE, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan had already begun or will soon begin transiting Americans, or in some circumstances others, through their territories.

Earlier reports stated that Germany and other countries in the Middle East had agreed to temporarily host people evacuated from Kabul.

The United States is desperately trying to evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan as reports of Taliban reprisals against Afghans who worked with U.S.-led forces increase, forcing foreign powers to accelerate the evacuation effort.

But officials said no evacuation flights left Kabul for nearly six hours on Friday because they had nowhere to go due to an overflow at Al Udeid air base in Qatar, already sheltering 8,000 Afghan evacuees. Those flights have now restarted.

Price said most of the flights would go from Kabul to Qatar and then these countries. He added that another nearly a dozen countries had also made “generous offers” regarding the relocation of Afghans at risk.

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan evacuees for 10 days on their way to a third country at the request of the United States, its foreign ministry said.

Turkish Leader says EU Must Act To stop Afghan Migrant Wave

Zoe Maven
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0
Turkish Leader says EU Must Act To stop Afghan Migrant Wave

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a telephone call Friday that a new wave of migration will become inevitable if necessary measures are not taken” to help Afghanistan and neighboring countries, such as Iran, where Afghan migrants would head before trying to reach Turkey and Europe.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed developments in Afghanistan in a rare call, as both countries worry over a potential influx of refugees fleeing the Taliban.

Erdogan also said that Turkey, which has reinforced its border with Iran, was discussing the issue of Afghan migrants with Tehran, according to a statement from his office. There’s been an increase in recent weeks in Afghans entering Turkey from Iran.

Meanwhile, Athens insists it will not allow a repetition of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people crossed in smugglers’ boats to Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast, on their way to seek asylum in more prosperous EU countries.

Turkey has also expressed concern over the potential of large numbers of Afghans heading its way.

On Thursday, Erdogan called on European nations to shoulder the responsibility for people fleeing the Taliban, warning that Turkey will not become Europe’s “refugee warehouse.”

Greece’s defense and citizens’ protection ministers visited the northeastern Evros land border with Turkey on Friday to view barriers against potential migratory pressure and other recently installed security systems.

US Education Department Cancels $5.8 Billion Student Debt

Rhoda Onuzulike
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US Education Department Cancels $5.8 Billion Student Debt

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday it will cancel $5.8 billion in student debt for more than 320,000 borrowers.

The debt forgiveness, which will go to borrowers with a total and permanent disability, will be automatically granted using data already available to the Social Security Administration. People should start seeing the relief in September.

The Education Department said it also plans to stop asking these borrowers to continue sharing earnings data after they receive the relief.

“We’ve heard loud and clear from borrowers with disabilities and advocates about the need for this change, and we are excited to follow through on it,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, in a statement.

“This change reduces red tape with the aim of making processes as simple as possible for borrowers who need support.”

The Education Department under the Biden administration has also canceled student debt for thousands of students who attended for-profit schools.

Still, President Joe Biden remains under pressure from Democrats, advocates and borrowers to go further and cancel $50,000 per borrower in student debt for all.

Biden has asked the Education Department and the U.S. Department of Justice to review his legal authority to forgive student debt through executive action. The findings of those reports are not yet public.

“You don’t need Congress,” Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said. “All you need is the flick of a pen.”

Abiy’s Government Accused Of Blocking Aid In Ethiopia’s Tigray

Zoe Maven
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Abiy’s Government Accused Of Blocking Aid In Ethiopia’s Tigray

The US international development agency has blamed the Ethiopian government for a shortage of humanitarian aid in the country’s conflict-torn Tigray region.

USAID accused the government of “obstructing” access to Tigray, as it warned that food aid was set to run out this week for the first time.

Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of famine amid the conflict between government and rebel forces but Ethiopia has denied “purposely” blocking aid.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman told reporters that the government was allowing aid convoys to enter Tigray, but that security was a “priority that cannot be compromised”.

In her statement, USAID chief Samantha Power described the flow of humanitarian assistance into the northern region as “woefully insufficient”.

She said food warehouses were “virtually empty” and that aid workers would soon have nothing to distribute.

“This shortage is not because food is unavailable, but because the Ethiopian government is obstructing humanitarian aid and personnel, including land convoys and air access,” she said.

USAID called on the Ethiopian government to “immediately allow humanitarian assistance”.

It noted that aid trucks have been unable to leave the town of Semera in the neighbouring Afar region – currently the only accessible land route into Tigray.

Kenyan Appeals Court Upholds Order To Halt Constitutional Changes

Zoe Maven
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0
Kenyan Appeals Court Upholds Order To Halt Constitutional Changes

Kenya’s Court of Appeal upheld a decision to stop President Uhuru Kenyatta from making broad constitutional changes, limiting his ability to prevent his estranged deputy from succeeding him next year.

The proposed amendments, popularly known as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), would have been the biggest change to governance since a new constitution in 2010.

The court upheld a High Court decision in May that declared the proposed reforms illegal on the basis that Kenyatta acted unconstitutionally.

“The days of (an) unaccountable presidency are long gone,” said Patrick Kiage, one of the appellate judges, rejecting the government’s appeal.

The BBI has served as a lightning rod for the rhetoric of politicians jostling ahead of a general election due in August 2022. Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have fallen out and they and their supporters are at odds over the proposals.

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