Category: International News

International News

1.5 million Nigerians in Italy unable to get Nigerian passport – Nigerians in Diaspora

Aminu Imam

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Europe, (NIDO-Europe), Italy chapter, have revealed that about 1.5 million out of its 3 million registered members in Italy are affected by the scarcity of Nigerian passports. According to reports, this was disclosed by the Chairman of NIDO-Europe, Italy chapter, George Omo-Iduhon, during an interview yesterday, while reflecting on the activities of NIDOE in Europe and Italy. Omo-Iduhon said there are more Nigerians in Italy than in other European countries and the registered Nigerians according to the database are 3 million asides undocumented ones. Going…

Read More

Covid-19: UAE bans Nigerian passengers, others over Omicron variant

Aminu Imam

The United Arab Emirates, (UAE), has suspended travellers from Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia from entering the country. The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority and the General Civil Aviation Authority, (GCAA), who announced the decision yesterday, said the suspension is with effect from today, Saturday. The development has created chaos for both in-bound and out-bound passengers, including Nigerians wishing to come home for the Yuletide. According to reports, some passengers have arranged last-minute flight changes to other European, African and US carriers. The new travel rule…

Read More

Omicron: Lockdown in England on the cards as officials draw up plans

Aminu Imam

Draft regulations are being prepared which would ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes, it’s reported. Officials are drawing up plans for a two-week circuit breaker lockdown after Christmas, reports suggest. The lockdown could include a ban on mixing, both indoors and outdoors. Draft regulations are being prepared which would ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes, and that pubs and restaurants would be limited to outdoor service only, according to The Financial Times. Meanwhile, it reported that Boris Johnson was presented with a number of options on…

Read More

Turkey-Africa Summit: ‘Only joint efforts can defeat terrorism in Africa’, Buhari insists

Aminu Imam

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, in Istanbul, called on the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit to provide concrete support to help defeat terrorism and insurgency on the African continent. Speaking at the 3rd edition of the Summit, President Buhari said the Boko Haram terrorist group, though fragmented by internal strife and degraded by Nigeria’s defence forces, is still active and preying on soft targets. The President expressed delight that the Summit convened by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has given due consideration to the issue of terrorism, while also focusing on development…

Read More

Nigeria, other African nations removed from U.K. Red list

Aminu Imam

Nigeria, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been removed from the UK’s red list countries. The UK government is expected to remove all 11 countries from England’s red list, easing travel restrictions The move is being viewed as a sign that the government accepts Omicron can no longer be contained. It also follows anger from African countries, with the UN describing the ban on non-UK residents entering England as “travel apartheid”. The red list was reintroduced recently as a precaution after the emergence…

Read More

UAE lifts ban on passengers travelling from Nigeria, Congo into Dubai

Aminu Imam

The United Arab Emirates, (UAE), has reversed the ban earlier placed on foreign airlines from accepting passengers from Nigeria and Congo which took effect on Monday, December 13, Daily Sun has learned. Citing the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases, foreign airlines flying into Dubai had ceased accepting passengers from Nigeria and Congo. Although no foreign airline gave an official statement on the reason for the development or if initial directive came from the UAE government as a retaliatory measure against Nigeria for withdrawing the frequencies given to Emirates airline,…

Read More

UAE bars all airlines from bringing Nigerians into its country

Aminu Imam

As the diplomatic row between the United Arab Emirates, (UAE), and Nigeria deepens, the UAE yesterday has barred all airlines from conveying Nigerian passengers to the country. Among these airlines are Egypt Air, Air France, KLM, Ethiopian Airlines, Rwanda Air and Etihad. It was reported yesterday that many Nigerian passengers who boarded Ethiopian Airlines heading for Dubai were sent off the plane. This happened hours after the restrictions imposed on Emirates by the Federal Government took effect. The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), had withdrawn the winter…

Read More

UAE reduces work week, shifts to Sat/Sun Western-style weekend

Aminu Imam

The United Arab Emirates, (UAE), is slashing its official working week to four-and-a-half days and moving its weekend to Saturday and Sunday, in a major shift aimed at improving competitiveness, officials stated yesterday. The “national working week” is mandatory for government bodies from January, 1 and is a departure from the regional norm of a full day-off on Friday for Muslim prayers. While becoming the only Gulf country not to have a Friday-Saturday weekend, the resource-rich and ambitious UAE now comes into line with the non-Arab world. Under the new…

Read More

U.S. ‘worried’ as China eyes permanent military base in Equatorial Guinea

Aminu Imam

China is looking to create its first permanent military presence on the Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of the tiny African nation of Equatorial Guinea, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, based on classified U.S. intelligence. Malabo, the Equatoguinean capital, is just 144 kilometres from Calabar, 225kms from Port-Harcourt, and 672kms from Lagos in Nigeria. Though U.S. officials did not describe Beijing’s plans in detail, they said China’s presence on Africa’s Atlantic coast would enhance the possible threat to the U.S., as it would give Chinese warships…

Read More

Al-Azhar, Vatican agree to fight extremism, hatred

Aminu Imam

The renowned Egyptian university, Al-Azhar and the Vatican have agreed to continue efforts to fight extremism and hatred, pointing to their ongoing work to ensure that love and stability prevail across the world. This came during a meeting at Al-Azhar, in Cairo, at the weekend, between Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, and Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, the Head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and a specialist in Islamic studies. Vatican ambassador in Egypt Archbishop Nicholas Henry attended the meeting. Tayyeb said, “The relationship between Al-Azhar…

Read More