Headline

Israel-Hamas: US, UK, India Evacuate Citizens, Deaths Hit 2,700

Published

2 years ago

October 13, 2023

…12 UN workers, 13 French Citizens killed

The United States, the United Kingdom, India and France are working to evacuate their citizens from Israel following the attacks by Hamas.

CNN reports that India’s charter flight scheduled to land in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening will collect approximately 230 Indian nationals. This was disclosed by a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, at a news conference on Thursday. The flight will “likely” return to India on Friday morning.

Nepal’s foreign ministry has so far evacuated 253 Nepali students who were in Israel, saying on X, formerly Twitter, that a flight carrying the students took off from Tel Aviv on Thursday.

Ten Nepali agriculture students were killed when Hamas attacked a kibbutz in southern Israel, Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel Kanta Rizal told CNN. Three students were injured in the attack and are recovering in a hospital, while one student remains missing, the ambassador added.

A plane carrying 110 Colombian nationals has also left Tel Aviv, according to the country’s foreign ministry on Thursday.

12 UN workers killed

At least 12 people working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency have been killed in Gaza since Saturday, a spokesperson for the UN’s secretary-general said on Thursday, as the humanitarian crisis there deepens.

CNN reports that all 12 of the UN workers killed were Palestinians, according to the spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, who disclosed this while speaking to reporters in New York on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands have been displaced in Gaza following the war. Dujarric said mass displacement continues to rise across the Gaza Strip as Israel pounds the territory with airstrikes, climbing 30 per cent over the last 24 hours to reach more than 338,000. Of that figure, two-thirds are taking shelter in 92 schools run by the UNRWA.

Death toll hits 2, 700

According to Al Jazeera, the death toll in Gaza now stands at 1,417 people, while the number of people killed in Israel has reached 1,300.

Also, the Israeli army has bombarded the Gaza Strip with approximately 6,000 bombs containing 4,000 tonnes of explosives since Saturday’s Hamas attack, according to Al Jazeera.

Israel has said there would be no humanitarian exceptions to its siege of the Gaza Strip until Hamas frees all the hostages captured on Saturday.

Israeli minister had said there will be no electricity, fuel or humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas releases all captives taken in an unprecedented attack.

Officials in Gaza stated that the health system’s collapse has “truly begun” amid Israel’s heavy bombardment and “complete blockade”.

Meanwhile, the White House in the United States said Thursday it was working to organise charter flights to help US citizens leave Israel as the country reels from the massive attack by Hamas.

The number of Americans who have died after the Hamas terror attack in Israel now stands at 27, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, 14 Americans are missing, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Thursday during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington.

The US State Department had noted that the known death toll of US citizens in the violence had risen to “at least 22.”

“Beginning tomorrow (today), the United States government will arrange charter flights to provide transportation from Israel to sites in Europe,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

According to France 24, Kirby added that officials were “still working through some of the details”.

UK evacuates nationals

The United Kingdom said it was set to fly British nationals out of Israel, with the first flight set to leave Tel Aviv later on Thursday, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The UK government “will facilitate commercial flights to the UK to help British nationals wanting to leave Israel following the Hamas attack, the Foreign Secretary has announced,” the FCDO said in a news release according to CNN.

Vulnerable British nationals “will be prioritised for these flights,” the FCDO added, advising that eligible people wait to be contacted and not make their way to the airport unless they are called.

A Rapid Deployment Team has also been sent to Israel to bolster the efforts of British consular officials, the FCDO said.

13 French citizens killed

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday vowed that France would do everything to ensure the release of the dozens of hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas after its attack on Israel.

“I want to say that we will do everything to ensure that these hostages, whatever their nationality, are released,” he said in an address to the nation, adding that France would work to this end both with “our partners” and the Israeli authorities, AFP reported.

The French president said that at least 13 French citizens were confirmed to have been killed in the attack by Hamas but 17 more “children and adults” were missing and “without doubt, some of them are held, hostage”.

“France will never abandon its children,” he said. Around 150 people are believed to be held hostage by Hamas.

Headline

Why Europe Is Blocking More Nigerian Goods At Its Borders

Published

20 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s exports continue to face repeated rejection in European Union markets, a challenge caused by consistent quality failures, weak regulatory enforcement, and heavy dependence on raw commodities.

New trade figures further show that while export values expressed in naira have risen sharply, dollar earnings have continued to decline, undermining Nigeria’s competitiveness abroad.

Meanwhile, South Africa remains one of the African countries with the highest rate of export acceptance in Nigeria and the EU, highlighting the gaps between both economies’ standards and certification systems.

According to data from International Trade Centre (ITC) , Nigeria’s export earnings fell for a second consecutive year in 2024, dropping by 8.5% to $57.9 billion.

The figure had already declined from $63.3 billion in 2022 to $60.65 billion in 2023. In naira terms, however, total exports rose from ₦26.8 trillion in 2022 to ₦36 trillion in 2023 and surged to ₦77.4 trillion in 2024.

These increases reflect the naira’s steep depreciation, not an improvement in the volume or acceptance of Nigerian goods overseas.

Intelpoint data show that the naira weakened from ₦645.2 to the dollar at the end of 2023 to ₦1,478.9 in 2024, marking the sharpest yearly decline in a decade.

EU border agencies have repeatedly rejected Nigerian agricultural and manufactured goods for failing to meet essential sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

Frequent violations include excessive pesticide residue, poor traceability, contamination detected during inspection, and inconsistencies in certification documentation issued in Nigeria.

These failures stem largely from fragmented supply chains, weak monitoring capacity and a lack of internationally accredited laboratories.

South Africa, Morocco and Kenya maintain far stronger conformity systems, and South Africa in particular consistently delivers some of the highest acceptance rates across EU ports.

The ITC figures show that oil remains the backbone of Nigeria’s exports, contributing nearly 90 per cent of total earnings between 2022 and 2024. Over that period, the country earned $163.2 billion from crude oil out of total export revenues of $181.8 billion.

Despite this dominance, oil earnings have continued to fall, declining from $57.4 billion in 2022 to $55.6 billion in 2023 and then to $50.3 billion in 2024.

Because crude prices are determined externally and the product is exported with limited value addition, Nigeria gains little competitive advantage from currency depreciation.

Non-oil exports recorded mixed fortunes. Cocoa earnings rose from $679 million in 2022 to $759 million in 2023 and climbed sharply to $2.6 billion in 2024.

Fertiliser exports fell from $1.9 billion in 2022 to $935.4 million in 2024. Ores and residues, however, increased from $158.6 million in 2023 to $824.4 million in 2024.

Despite positive growth in some sectors, quality problems have continued to undermine acceptance in Europe, particularly for foods such as beans, palm oil and processed crops.

Nigeria recorded stronger performance in African markets in 2024 due to the relative strength of the West African CFA franc.

Companies such as Unilever Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and Guinness Nigeria reported export sales of ₦22.8 billion in 2024, up from ₦9.92 billion in the preceding year. EU markets, however, maintain stricter inspection standards, and Nigeria’s structural weaknesses continue to limit penetration.

The country’s export structure remains heavily constrained by outdated processing technology, weak inspection capacity, irregular regulatory monitoring, and an overreliance on raw commodities.

Also, pipeline vandalism and crude theft also prevent Nigeria from meeting its production benchmark of 1.7 million barrels per day, despite a rise to 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024.

In December 2023, the Federal Government introduced the Trade Policy of Nigeria (2023–2027), aimed at aligning export regulations with World Trade Organisation rules and boosting global competitiveness.

The policy forms part of a wider reform agenda tied to the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025) and Agenda 2050.

Despite these initiatives, limited investment in quality assurance, industrial processing and standards enforcement continues to weaken Nigeria’s acceptance in high-value markets such as the EU.

Headline

US Imposes Visa Restrictions On Nigerians Linked To Religious Freedom Violations

Published

23 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The United States government on Wednesday announced visa restrictions targeting individuals involved in violations of religious freedom in Nigeria. The measures may also extend to immediate family members of the affected persons.

In a statement titled “Combating Egregious Anti-Christian Violence in Nigeria and Globally”, the Department of State said the restrictions were being implemented in response to mass killings and attacks on Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and elsewhere.

The statement explained that under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the State Department would now have the authority to deny visas to those who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” with the policy potentially extending to their immediate family members.

It further cited former President Donald Trump’s remarks, noting that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.” The policy will apply to Nigeria and other governments or individuals implicated in violations of religious freedom.

The announcement follows growing international concern over attacks on religious communities in Nigeria, including targeted killings, abductions, and destruction of property attributed to armed groups.

Headline

Putin Says Russia Ready For War, Blames Europe For Sabotaging Peace

Published

2 days ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US envoys.

The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war, which were preceded by days of intense diplomacy.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow.

“They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine.

He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.

Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia’s maximalist demands.

The plan to end the war is championed by Trump, but European countries fear it risks forcing Kyiv to cave in to Russian demands, notably on territory.

Fearing further Russian aggression, Europe has repeatedly said an unfair peace should not be imposed on Ukraine.

The Trump envoys are now seeking to finalise the plan with the approval of Moscow and Kyiv.
AFP