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Category: International News

  • US Elections: An Assassination Attempt on Trump

    US Elections: An Assassination Attempt on Trump

    Hooliganism and thuggary reared an ugly head in America yesterday as a gunman identified as Thomas Mathew Crook in an assassination attempt shot at former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pensylvania.

    The assassination, which motif is yet to be established as at press time, got the former President, tearing off a part of his right ear with blood streaming down on that part of his face.

    The shooter, aged twenty was profiled as a Republican who donated to a group named as the Democratic-aligned.

    After the incident, Mr. Trump was harried into a waiting armoured SUV to a medical facility in the town.

    Security experts are currently working to put the bits and pieces together in order to arrive at the motive for the assassination attempt which happened from an unmanned rooftop close to the venue of the rally.

    Assassination Attempt: Biden, Democrats Condemn Attempt

    President Joe Biden and other top Democrats have condemned the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

    Mr. Biden, while condemning attempt, said that regardless of whatever the situation may be, Trump should be able to do his rally without any harm to his life.

    Trump, while reacting to the attempt, told his supporters via an email, “I will never surrender.”

  • Sunak Appoints Cabinet Members Despite Losing To Starmer

    In a significant reshuffling following the Conservative Party’s historic election loss in the United Kingdom, British opposition leader, Rishi Sunak announced his shadow cabinet on Monday.

    Some senior ministers have returned to roles they previously held in government, despite the recent parliamentary election defeat. Notably, former Foreign Secretary David Cameron has resigned.

    Andrew Mitchell is also set to manage foreign policy within the interim shadow cabinet, a team of senior spokespeople appointed by the opposition leader to mirror the government’s cabinet.

    The Conservative Party’s loss marked a historic moment, with several high-profile ministers, including former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, losing their seats.

    The shadow cabinet will see James Cleverly continue his role with the Home Office, while James Cartlidge will handle defence matters, according to a party statement.

    “The Conservative Party has had a difficult election and it is important that we regroup and reflect on these results,” stated the new interim Chairman Richard Fuller. “We should also challenge ourselves candidly and deeply on the strengths of the Conservative Party across the country and outline where improvements can be made.”

    Chris Philp has been appointed Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, succeeding Penny Mordaunt, who was among the senior lawmakers to lose their seats.

    Former business minister Kemi Badenoch will now oversee the “levelling up” agenda.

    Jeremy Hunt will continue with the finance brief, while former Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden takes on the role of deputy leader of the opposition.

  • Tinubu, Peter Obi Congratulate UK Prime Minister- Elect

    Tinubu, Peter Obi Congratulate UK Prime Minister- Elect

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, on their triumph in the United Kingdom general election.

    Starmer’s Labour Party secured the required 326 parliamentary seats, ensuring their victory and his appointment as the next Prime Minister. 

    Following the election, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged the Conservative Party’s loss and resigned, submitting his resignation to the King. 

    In a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu commended Starmer for his resilience and leadership as the opposition leader. 

    He praised the Labour Party’s ability to reform and mobilize, attributing their success to Starmer’s leadership. 

    Tinubu also emphasized the strong democratic model of the UK and its long-standing partnership with Nigeria, expressing a desire to deepen bilateral relations and enhance democratic institutions.

    Additionally, Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party in Nigeria, reacted to the Labour Party’s victory in the UK. 

    Through a statement on his X account, Obi congratulated Starmer and the Labour Party, expressing hope that the win would herald a new and better chapter for UK residents. 

    He also called for stronger ties between the new UK government and Nigeria, highlighting the various challenges Nigeria faces, including insecurity, education, healthcare, and poverty. 

    Obi stressed the potential benefits of UK support in addressing these issues and wished Starmer a successful tenure.

  • Rishi Sunak Concedes Defeat, Steps Down as UK Prime Minister

    Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, conceded defeat on Friday morning ahead of the Labour Party’s official victory announcement.

    In a broadcast from Downing Street, Mr. Sunak accepted full responsibility for the loss and pledged a smooth transition of power.

    “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight, there is much to learn… and I take responsibility for the loss,” Mr. Sunak stated, as reported by the BBC.

    He acknowledged the public’s dissatisfaction and announced his intention to step down once the Conservative Party selects a new leader.

    Labour leader Keir Starmer is set to become the next Prime Minister after his forthcoming meeting with the King.

    Labour secured a decisive victory in the general election, ending 14 years of Conservative governance. As of Friday morning, Labour had won 412 seats compared to the Conservatives’ 121.

    Notably, several MPs, including former Prime Minister Liz Truss, lost their seats.

    Mr. Sunak is expected to meet King Charles to officially resign from his position.

    In an earlier statement, Mr. Sunak apologized for what has been described as the Conservatives’ worst electoral performance in modern history.

    “I have heard your anger, disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss,” he said, expressing regret over the number of colleagues losing their seats in the House of Commons.

    Reflecting on his tenure, Mr. Sunak remarked that he had dedicated himself fully to the role but recognized the public’s demand for change.

    “I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgement that matters,” he said.

  • Iran begins poll for presidential election

    Iran begins poll for presidential election

    Polls in Iran opened on Friday for a presidential election following the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.

    Around 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the polls where reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, hopes for a breakthrough win against a divided conservative camp.

    The Guardian Council, which vets candidates, allowed him to run against a field of conservatives now dominated by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

    Also left in contention is cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi after two ultraconservatives dropped out — Tehran major Alireza Zakani and Raisi’s former vice president Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi.

    “We start the elections” for the country’s 14th presidential ballot, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said in a televised address.

    Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot shortly after the polls opened and urged Iranians to vote.

    “Election day is a day of joy and happiness for us Iranians,” he said in a televised speech where he also called for a high turnout.

    “We encourage our dear people to take the issue of voting seriously and participate,” he said.

    The election in sanctions-hit Iran comes at a time of high regional tensions between the Islamic Republic and its arch-foes Israel and the United States as the Gaza war rages on.

    Polls opened at 8:00 am (0430 GMT) in 58,640 stations across the country, mostly in schools and mosques.

    Polling stations will be open for 10 hours, though authorities could extend voting time as in previous elections.

    Early projections of the results are expected by Saturday morning and official results by Sunday.

    If no candidate wins 50 per cent of the vote, a second round will be held on July 5, for only the second time in Iranian electoral history after the 2005 vote went to a runoff.

    The candidacy of Pezeshkian, until recently a relative unknown, has revived cautious hopes for Iran’s reformist wing after years of dominance by the conservative and ultraconservative camps.

    Iran’s last reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, praised him as “honest, fair and caring”.

    Khatami, who served from 1997 to 2005, had also endorsed the moderate Hassan Rouhani, who won the presidency and sealed Iran’s nuclear deal in 2015 with Western powers before it was derailed three years later.

    The Iranian opposition, particularly in the diaspora, has called for a boycott of the vote.

    Ultimate political power in Iran is held by Khamenei, the supreme leader.

    Khamenei insisted this week that “the most qualified candidate” must be “the one who truly believes in the principles of the Islamic Revolution” of 1979 that overthrew the US-backed monarchy.

    The next president, he said, must allow Iran “to move forward without being dependent on foreign countries”.

  • US Presidential elections: Trump Debates Biden

    US Presidential elections: Trump Debates Biden

    Expected to entail much fireworks and exchange of exquisite knowledge of governance, statecraft and foreign policy, the much anticipated debate between incumbent President Joe Biden and his rival, former President Donald Trump did not live up to the billing as it turned out to be a lacklustre and tepid geriartic display.

    If the debate would be a sole determinant of the election however, then it was as good as won barely twelve minutes into the debate as President Biden, who walked into the debating hall looking fragile and forlorn froze midway into his response to a question clearly indicating that he had had a mental ceisure.

    The debate was anchored by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, both of the CNN. It is the first debate, preparatory to the US presidential election scheduled for November 2924.

    Biden stuttered and coughed intermittently and was barely audible as he blinked and closed his eyes, trying most times to remember his facts.

    Things improved, however, at the eighteenth minute as President Biden showed a flicker of his old self while discussing border patrol.

    Clearly, Biden has lost his mojo. He was forlorn, frequently forgot his facts, and blanks out repeatedly.

    Trump was however, brazen and outlandish about claims about his record of service as President which prompted Biden to state repeatedly that “this guy lies” or “I have never heard anyone tell more lies in my life.”

    Trump avoided providing answers to most questions that either exposed his criminality or his stance on controversial issues like the invasion of the Congress or the two state solution between Israel and Palestine.

    A viewer who spoke to Nigerian Anchor on his opinion about the debate roundly condemned the two candidates as grossly unfit to occupy the coveted office of President of the United States of America. The responder states that while President Biden appeared quite infirm and weak to still function as President, Mr. Trump was unapologetically narcissistic and still in denial of all his crimes even after his conviction by the US judicial system.
    Chris Wallace, top show host and former presidential debate anchor, described Joe Biden’s second term candidacy as “an accident happening in slow motion,” which the Democrats failed to do anything to mitigate.

  • Couple who fulfilled their lifelong dream of traveling to the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia dies in extreme heat

    Couple who fulfilled their lifelong dream of traveling to the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia dies in extreme heat

    An American couple, who finally fulfilled their lifelong dream of traveling to the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, has sadly passed away. 

    Alieu Wurie, 71, and Isatu Wurie, 65, died on the annual five-day pilgrimage as temperatures soared over 120 degrees. 

    They were walking for over two hours in scorching temperatures before they succumbed to heat stroke, BBC reports. 

    They were among the more than 1,300 people who died in extreme heat this year in Mecca, the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. 

    Speaking with News4 on Sunday, their daughter Saida Wurie recounted her last communication with their parents.

    “She let me know that they had been walking for over two hours to get to Mount Arafat, which is part of the Hajj process.

    They weren’t the best of conditions. Transportation should have been provided. They paid for transportation to be provided, however, there was none.

    Despite everything, they still walked and pushed to what they wanted to do because of their religion.

    It’s something that they wanted to do their entire lives. They were beyond excited,” she said. 

    Saudi officials said on Sunday that more than 1,300 people died during the Hajj, which Muslims are expected to make at least once in their lifetimes.

  • US Supreme Court stops citizens’ right to sue over foreign spouses’ visa denials

    US Supreme Court stops citizens’ right to sue over foreign spouses’ visa denials

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled against the constitutional rights of the U.S. citizens to sue over visa denial for their foreign spouses.

    According to Reuters, the judgment means that the constitutional rights of US citizens are not violated when the government bars their non-citizen spouses from entering the country without explanation.

    The court disclosed this in a 6-3 verdict in the case between the Department of State v. Sandra Munoz, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 23-334.

    Munoz, a U.S. citizen and civil rights lawyer can not challenge the U.S. Department of State’s denial of her El Salvadoran husband’s visa application after the agency waited three years to explain that it suspected him of being a gang member.

    Munoz and her husband, whom she married in 2010 and with whom she has a child, have been separated since 2015, according to court filings.

    Historically, in the US, visa denials are not reviewable in court unless the government violates an applicant’s constitutional rights in the process.

    The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Munoz’s claim that the delay in explaining the denial violated her due process rights by interfering with her fundamental right to marry.

    Her claim “involves more than marriage and more than spousal cohabitation — it includes the right to have her noncitizen husband enter (and remain in) the United States,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the court.

    The ruling reverses a 2022 decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived Munoz’s lawsuit against the State Department.

    The Immigration Reform Law Institute, a conservative group that filed a brief backing the State Department, praised the ruling.

    “To hold for this couple would let those Americans who choose to marry dangerous aliens force their choice on the rest of us,” Dale Wilcox, the group’s executive director and general counsel, said in a statement.

    Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, gave a dissent verdict on the matter.

    “There is no question that excluding a citizen’s spouse burdens her right to marriage, and that burden requires the Government to provide at least a factual basis for its decision”, Sotomayor wrote.

  • UK varsity offers flight assistance to expelled Nigerian students 

    UK varsity offers flight assistance to expelled Nigerian students 

    Teesside University in the United Kingdom has announced a new initiative to support Nigerian students facing severe financial difficulties by funding their flights home, as reported by BBC on Tuesday.

    This move came after several students were removed from their courses and ordered to leave the UK due to their inability to pay tuition fees.

    The financial crisis in Nigeria, exacerbated by a shift from a seven-installment to a three-installment payment plan by the university, left many students struggling to cover their expenses.

    A local food charity reported that 75 per cent of its clients are now Nigerian students, highlighting the extent of their financial hardship.

    On May 22, 2024, a group of Nigerian students at Teesside University were expelled from their courses and ordered to leave the United Kingdom due to difficulties in paying their tuition fees on time.

    The students cited the devaluation of the naira as a significant barrier to meeting their financial obligations, which has led to a breach of their visa sponsorship requirements.

    Several students found themselves locked out of their university accounts, reported to the Home Office, and mandated to leave the UK.

    The university maintained that strict external regulations necessitate these actions.

    The affected students, numbering 60, expressed deep distress and disappointment, accusing the university of being unsupportive and “heartless.”

    They banded together to urge the university for assistance after witnessing their peers face severe consequences for late payments.

    On May 29, 2024, the Federal Government stepped in to address the deportation orders issued against some Nigerian students at Teesside University.

    A delegation led by a representative of the Nigerian Embassy in the UK, Ambassador Christian Okeke, along with leaders of the Nigerian Students Union in the UK, met with the University’s management to seek a resolution.

    However, following protests and the intervention of the Nigerian government, the university has re-enrolled some affected students and opened a relief fund.

    “We are working with a small group who need to return to their home country and are opening an international relief fund to offer additional financial support for these unexpected travel costs,” a university spokesperson told the BBC.

    The university is also offering some students the option to complete their studies remotely from Nigeria or to return to the UK at a later date.

    The BBC understands some students have lodged legal appeals.

  • War cabinet minister in Israel resigns, calls for new elections

    War cabinet minister in Israel resigns, calls for new elections

    Israel’s centrist War Cabinet Minister, Benny Gantz, has announced his resignation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency government, calling for new elections.

    In response, Netanyahu released a statement saying that “Israel is in an existential war on several fronts.

    “Benny, this is not the time to abandon the campaign.”

    In a televised press conference, Gantz accused Netanyahu of prioritising his political survival over a ceasefire deal that would secure the release of about 100 hostages held in Gaza.

    “Unfortunately, Netanyahu is preventing us from advancing toward the real victory,” said Gantz.

    “Strategic decisions are met with hesitation due to political considerations.”

    Echoing increasing public protest against Netanyahu’s government, Gantz called for a new round of elections in the fall.

    He urged Netanyahu to set an agreed date to hold them.

    “Don’t let our people be torn apart,” he said. 

    Gantz’s decision to withdraw his centrist party from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition left it with extremist ministers, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who advocate for reoccupying the Gaza Strip and expanding Israeli settlements there.

    Gantz’s resignation followed a May ultimatum he issued to the right-wing prime minister, demanding that Netanyahu develop a clear post-conflict strategy for Gaza, where Israel has been conducting a fatal assault, and agree to a hostage-ceasefire agreement.