Foreign Affairs

TRIBUTES AS POPE FRANCIS DIES AT 88 Pope Francis, whose time as head of the Catholic Church was noted for humility and outreach efforts to people of disparate backgrounds and faiths, has died at 88, the Vatican has confirmed. The Argentinian national was known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, when he was elected the Catholic …

TRIBUTES AS POPE FRANCIS DIES AT 88 Pope Francis, whose time as head of the Catholic Church was noted for humility and outreach efforts to people of disparate backgrounds and faiths, has died at 88, the Vatican has confirmed. The Argentinian national was known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, when he was elected the Catholic …

CHINA TURNS TO NIGERIA, OTHER EMERGING ECONOMIES AS US MARKETS FREEZE Product manufacturers in China have turned their attention to Nigeria and other emerging markets following the imposition of trade tariffs on their products by the US President, Donald Trump. Trump, on April 2, slapped a 46% tariff on Vietnam and a 17% levy on the Philippines before paring those …

NIGERIA CUTS POWER SUPPLY TO NIGER REPUBLIC The Federal Government has reduced electricity supply and sales to the Junta-ruled Niger Republic by 42 per cent, cutting it down from 80 megawatts to 46MW. The measure has caused the country’s electricity production to fall by 30 to 50 per cent and forced state-owned power company Nigelec to impose planned power cuts …

NIGERIA EXEMPTED AS TRUMP MOVES TO SHUT DOWN US EMBASSIES IN AFRICA US President, Donald Trump, has initiated a move to shut down several embassies in Africa and other parts of the world, according to CNN. About 30 embassies and consulates across the globe are said to be affected by the decision of the Trump administration. The move is part …

FEARING DEPORTATION, MIGRANTS IN US SEND MORE MONEY HOME Central American migrants in the United States sent home around 20 percent more in remittances in the first quarter of 2025, official data showed this week, a trend economists said reflected their fear of deportation by President Donald Trump’s administration. Nearly one-quarter of the GDP of impoverished Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador …

US FORMER FIRST LADY, MICHELLE, SPEAKS ON RUMOURED DIVORCE WITH BARACK OBAMA Former US First Lady Michelle Obama has addressed divorce rumours circulating around her marriage to Barack. Michelle also claimed that it was time for her to start asking tough questions. According to her, women “struggle with disappointing people.” “They couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice …

NIGER REPUBLIC ADOPTS HAUSA AS NATIONAL LANGUAGE, DUMP FRENCH Niger Republic military-led government has declared Hausa as the country’s new national language, replacing French, in another decisive step away from its former colonial power, France. The national language is Hausa” while “the working languages are English and French,” the junta stated in a new charter published on March 31 in …

US SLAMS NIGERIA OVER IMPORT BANS ON 25 ITEMS AMID RISING GLOBAL TRADE TENSION Nigeria is one of the Countries seen by the USTR as involving in unfair policies facing American exporters. Others are: China, Algeria, Angola, Peru, Brazil, Japan, India, EU, Ecuador and Colombia The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has faulted Nigeria’s import ban on 25 items, saying …

NO COUNTRY HAS DEVELOPED UNDER DEMOYCRACY — BURKINA FASO PRESIDENT President of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, said the country is undergoing a “popular, progressive revolution” and not operating under a democratic system. He added that it is difficult to pinpoint a country that has developed practising democratic rule. Traore made the disclosure during a flag-raising ceremony at the Koulouba …