Category: iNTERNATIONAL

Structural reform: Nigeria, 11 countries seek adequate, affordable financing

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
structured trade finance

Nigeria and 11 other members of the African Consultative Group (ACG) have called for adequate and affordable financing to ensure that structural reform agendas produce the desired result. The members made this known at the end of their meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. The ACG comprises the Fund Governors of a subset of 12 African countries belonging to the African Caucus (African finance ministers and central bank governors) and Fund management. In a joint statement issued on Friday, at the end of the meeting by the…

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ICJ could order Israel to immediately suspend its military operation against Gaza

Aminu Imam

In a significant development, South Africa, a State Party to the Genocide Convention, has lodged an 84-page application with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The application, submitted on December 29, alleges that Israel’s actions in Gaza are of a genocidal character, with specific intent to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian national, racial, and ethnic group. South Africa’s detailed application asserts that Israel’s conduct violates its obligations under the Genocide Convention, pointing to well-documented evidence. Among the…

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ICJ to hear S/Africa’s genocide case against Israel on Gaza Jan. 11

Aminu Imam

Israel is to face accusations of genocide before an international court, with hearings based on a South African complaint scheduled for January 11 and 12. The dates were announced yesterday, by the International Court of Justice, (ICJ), the highest United Nations (UN) court, in The Hague. According to the court, South Africa will make its case on January 11 and Israel on January 12, with two hours planned for each side. South Africa had invoked the Genocide Convention in its complaint filed with the court on Friday. Both South Africa…

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Gaza: With 22,000 Palestinians killed, Israel to start withdrawing troops temporarily

Aminu Imam

The Israeli military announced yesterday that it will begin withdrawing several thousand troops from Gaza at least temporarily, in what would be the most significant publicly announced pullback since the war began. The military cited a growing toll on the Israeli economy following nearly three months of wartime mobilization, with little end in sight to the fighting. But the withdrawals also come as the military considers scaling back its operations in a new phase of fighting; the United States has been prodding Israel to begin doing so more quickly as…

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No Christmas in Bethlehem, as Israel-Hamas war rages on  

Aminu Imam

Bethlehem, a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in Palestine, and the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ, sits eerily quiet this Christmas. The usual festive throngs that rock the major Christian pilgrimage destination are absent this year, owing to the raging war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. Christmas day in the occupied West Bank began with an attack on the Jenin refugee camp where at least 52 Palestinians have been killed following Israel’s retaliatory attacks. Bethlehem was among the towns struck in a series of raids across…

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$3bn yearly saving: Argentina’s new president reduces Govt. cars by 50%, sells national jets 

Aminu Imam

Recently sworn-in President of Argentina, Javier Milei, has sold two national private jets and slashed the number of official vehicles and drivers by half as a show of his commitment to lowering government spending and hyperinflation during his administration.  The move will save the country $3 billion annually. According to a statement released on Friday by his spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, Milei had resorted to the jets sale and reduction of government drivers to stave off Argentina’s 3,678 per cent annual inflation rate that the minister of economy, Luis Toto Caputo,…

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‘They’re in Dubai pubs’ — Uganda’s 600-member COP28 delegation sparks criticisms

Aminu Imam

The Ugandan government is facing criticisms from opposition groups and the public over the quantity of its delegation to the United Nations climate change conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With 600 representatives, Uganda is among the African countries with the highest number of delegates at the conference. According to a local media organisation, up to 375 of the delegates are bureaucrats, contrasting with the government’s commitment to run an austerity budget and cap foreign travel. Uganda is battling revenue constraints, a scenario that has forced public spending cuts.…

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Money Laundering: Mauritania’s ex-President, Abdel-Aziz jailed 5yrs for corruption, economic, financial crimes

Aminu Imam

Mauritania’s former President, Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz, has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for money laundering and “illicit enrichment”. Recall that Abdel-Aziz led the West African country for a decade after coming to power in a 2008 coup. He was an ally of Western powers fighting Islamist militants in the Sahel region. He had been on trial since January and denied corruption allegations. The court found Abdel-Aziz guilty of two of 10 charges late on Monday, following an inquiry into allegations of embezzlement of public property and corruption. One of…

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“Israel-Hamas conflict has gone from war to terrorism” – Pope Francis

Aminu Imam

Pope Francis says the on-going conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, has morphed from war to terrorism. The Pope spoke yesterday, while delivering his remarks at St. Peter’s Square, a plaza located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome. Francis said he met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel and heard directly how “both sides are suffering” from the conflict. He begged for peace so that both sides would not be…

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Gaza ground offensive: U.S advises Israel to postpone move

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
Israeli soldiers on tank

The U.S. has advised Israel to postpone its planned ground offensive in the Gaza Strip against the Hamas organisation, according to local media reports. The U.S. government hopes to obtain more time for negotiations to secure the release of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The aim is to avoid further civilian casualties and to ensure that more humanitarian aid reaches the population in the blockaded Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the ground offensive after Hamas killed hundreds of people and kidnapped more than…

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