Foreign Affairs

ECOWAS TO RAISE 260,000 COUNTER-TERRORISM BRIGADES The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) says plans are underway by the regional bloc to activate a 260,000-member counter-terrorism brigade. President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray, stated this at the 2025 African Chiefs of Defence Staff summit in Abuja. The summit’s theme was, “Combating contemporary threats to regional peace and security in …

‘I’M UNDER ATTACK OVER MY RACE AND ETHNICITY’ – KEMI BADENOCH CRIES OUT Kemi Badenoch has spoken openly about the racism she has endured as the first black woman to lead the Conservative Party, admitting she has been surprised by the scale of the abuse. The Tory leader told the Sunday Times she had not expected the level of hostility …

CAMEROON COURT REJECTS BID TO BLOCK BIYA FROM RE-ELECTION Cameroon’s constitutional court on Friday rejected an attempt to bar veteran President Paul Biya from seeking an eighth term of office and extend his nearly 43 years in power. Biya, at 92 the world’s oldest president, is running for a new seven-year term in elections on October 12. His age, his …

U.S WARSHIP CATCHES FIRE, BURNS 12 HOURS, INJURED TWO SAILORS IN JAPAN A fire burned aboard a 🇺🇸 US Navy warship anchored off Okinawa for 12 hours, injuring two sailors, a statement from the Navy’s 7th Fleet in Japan said. The fire aboard the USS New Orleans, an amphibious transport dock ship with a crew of more than 360 sailors …

US REPORT RAISES HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN NIGERIA, PRESIDENCY DEFENDS REFORMS The United States government has raised concerns over security and justice delivery in the country, citing cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, News360 Nigeria reports. But the Presidency in a swift reaction last night, said the country’s judicial system was not only addressing concerns about lengthy pre-trial periods, …

TRUMP INTERRUPTS MEETING WITH EU LEADERS TO CALL PUTIN U.S. President Donald Trump has interrupted his talks in Washington with European leaders to call Russian President Vladimir Putin, an EU diplomat told Reuters on Monday. The talks are due to resume after the call, which Trump had initially said would take place after he consulted with European leaders, added the …

US STRINGENT VISA RULE FOR NIGERIANS: WE WILL RETALIATE – FG The U.S government has mandated Nigerian visa applicants to disclose their social mediaprofiles and activities in the last five years, warning that failure to comply with the requirement could potentially result in visa denial. But the Federal Government in a swift reaction, said it will reciprocate the new US …

NIGERIANS MUST PROVIDE FIVE YEARS SOCIAL MEDIA HISTORY FOR VISA APPLICATION – US EMBASSY The United States Mission in Nigeria has asked visa applicants to provide full disclosure of their social media history when completing the DS-160 form. The Mission, in a tweet on its official X handle, emphasised that applicants must include all usernames or handles used on any …

WHY UKRANIANS ARE REFUSING TO FIGHT FOR THEIR COUNTRY For the past 18 months, Pavlo has barely left his house. His reclusiveness has nothing to do with the Russian bombs and drones pounding Kyiv. It is not the air strikes he fears, but his own Ukrainian countrymen. It is draft officers, seeking to press-gang able-bodied men like him into units …

US APPROVES POTENTIAL $346M WEAPONS, BOMBS SALE TO NIGERIA The US State Department has approved a potential sales of ammunition, precision bombs and precision rockets to Nigeria for an estimated cost of $346 million. In a statement on Wednesday, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said Nigeria requested to buy 1,002 MK-82 general purpose 500 lb bombs; 1,002 MXU-650 Air …