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Tinubu, Biden, Other World Leaders Who Have Slipped On Occasions

Published

1 year ago

June 12, 2024

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, slipped while boarding the parade vehicle at the venue of the 2024 Democracy Day celebration.

The President had approached the vehicle shortly after he arrived at the Eagle Square, Abuja venue of the programme.

It was observed that the President lost his footing momentarily as he was about to step into the vehicle and slipped while he was quickly attended to by his security personnel.

This report highlights other world leaders aside from Tinubu, who had had clumsy moments and were caught on camera while boarding vehicles or disembarking official aircraft.

1. June 1975 – US President Ford slid down the Air Force One stairs

The then United States President Gerald Ford slid Air Force One in 1975 while visiting Vienna in Austria for talks with Egyptian President Anwar Sada.

2. October 2004- Cuba leader, Fidel Castro falls from stage

Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in 2004, fell off of the stage in Santa Clara, Cuba. Castro broke his knee and arm in the fall, sources say. The fall brought back memories of when he collapsed two years before the 2004 fall.

3. February 2015 – Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe, slid the Airport staircase

Zimbabwe’s 90-year-old President Robert Mugabe fell down a staircase as he walked off a podium after addressing supporters at Harare International Airport, an AFP correspondent said.

He had just returned from Ethiopia, where he took over the rotating chairmanship of the African Union.

4. March 2015 – Barack Obama recovers after near fall down steps of Air Force One

US President Barack Obama came close to falling down the steps of Air Force One. Obama was returning to Washington DC from a golfing trip in Florida when he bounded from the door of the plane only to lose his footing. He recovered and continued across the tarmac with the same spring in his step.

5. June 2020 – V.P. Mike Pence Falls Up The Steps Of Air Force Two

Vice President Mike Pence had a moment remarkably similar to President Biden’s upward slip. Pence was filmed running, then tripping, up the staircase of Air Force Two.

6. March 2021 – President Joe Biden trips three times on Air Force One stairs

President Joe Biden trips three times on Air Force One stairs while scaling the steps to Air Force One to Atlanta to meet with Asian-American community leaders on a massacre.

7. October 2023 – Senator Tommy Tuberville

Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has previously criticised President Joe Biden for falling in public view, was mocked online after a video showing him falling down a flight of plane stairs himself went viral.

Alabama Republican, who at the time was coaching the University of Cincinnati football team, appeared to lose his footing after three steps and slid the rest of the way down.

8. Yemen 2011 – Hillary Clinton

The then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was boarding a plane to Yemen when she slipped to her knees at the doorway and was only saved from further embarrassment when an aide gave her a helping hand.

Related Topics:#Tinubu Democracy Day Joe Biden

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

Published

2 hours 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

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US Senator Proposes Bill To End Dual Citizenship

Published

2 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

A United States lawmaker has introduced a bill seeking to abolish dual citizenship for American nationals, a move that could affect thousands of Nigerians who hold both US and Nigerian passports.

Bernie Moreno, a Colombian-born US senator, announced the proposed legislation — titled the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 — arguing that the current system, which allows Americans to hold multiple nationalities, creates “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.”

“One of the greatest honours of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so.

“It was an honour to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and only to the United States of America! Being an American citizen is an honour and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good,” Moreno said.

Moreno, who has since renounced his Colombian citizenship, maintains that exclusive allegiance is essential to national integrity.

If passed, the bill could have far-reaching implications for prominent figures such as US First Lady Melania Trump, who holds both US and Slovenian citizenship. It would also significantly impact Nigerians with dual citizenship.

According to a July naturalisation flow report by the US Department of Homeland Security, 38,890 Nigerians became naturalised American citizens between 2021 and 2023. Nigeria ranked 13th among countries with the highest number of new US citizens and was the only African nation in the top 20.

Nigerian law allows citizens by birth to hold dual nationality without relinquishing their Nigerian citizenship.

This development comes months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at denying automatic US citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants born in the country.

The order was immediately challenged by 18 states and multiple rights groups, who argued it violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. Ongoing legal battles have prevented the order from taking effect.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

1 day ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP