The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, has welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of France’s intention to recognise the State of Palestine, calling it a “step in the right direction.” In a statement issued on Thursday, Hamas described the move as a positive and important development towards acknowledging the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Hamas stressed that such recognition must be followed by practical measures that contribute to ending the Israeli occupation, ensuring justice, and reinforcing Palestinian sovereignty. The group also urged…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
Northern Nigeria is currently facing a deepening malnutrition crisis. In Katsina State alone, where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been active since 2021, there has been a surge in the number of malnourished children arriving at therapeutic feeding centers. Many are presenting in increasingly severe conditions, with higher mortality rates. In response, MSF, in collaboration with local authorities, has launched an emergency prevention program, distributing nutritional supplements to 66,000 children in Mashi Local Government Area. However, with significant cuts in international funding, the scale of need for both prevention and treatment of malnutrition in northern Nigeria is overwhelming—and…
A ruling that could transform the global climate fight has been delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which declared that countries are under clear legal obligations to address the climate crisis, warning that failure to do so could amount to a breach of international law. The advisory opinion, requested by the United Nations General Assembly and driven by advocacy from small island states and youth coalitions, signals a landmark moment in international environmental jurisprudence. Although not legally binding, such opinions from the ICJ carry significant moral and political weight and are frequently cited in courtrooms and policy debates…
A cholera outbreak has struck six Local Government Areas of Niger State, leaving 12 people dead and hospitalising over 230 others, according to the state’s Ministry of Primary Health Care. The Executive Director of the agency, Dr Ibrahim Dangana, disclosed this on Tuesday in Minna. He said the outbreak was first detected in mid-June and has since spread across the affected LGAs, which include Magama, Rijau, Kontagora, Agwara, Borgu, and Rafi. Dangana explained that laboratory investigations have confirmed the presence of Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria responsible for the disease. He noted that the deaths occurred among patients who reported late…
Moving to make the state Nigeria’s rice powerhouse, the Niger State Government has signed a $1.2 billion strategic partnership with AfricaRice, an international agricultural research institution headquartered in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire. The ambitious pact, facilitated through the state’s investment vehicle, Niger Foods Ltd., aims to dramatically scale up annual paddy rice production in the state from 1.5 million metric tons to an impressive 10 million metric tons by 2030. Under the agreement, a 5,000-hectare seed production farm will be established to produce 25,000 tons of top-grade breeder, foundation, and certified rice seeds. These seeds will support cultivation on over 500,000…
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has criticized the United States’ decision to reject recently adopted amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), describing it as being based on “inaccuracies.” The amendments, agreed upon by consensus during the 2024 World Health Assembly — and with active participation from the U.S. — aim to enhance the global response to public health emergencies, drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. “We regret the US decision to reject the amendments adopted by consensus by the World Health Assembly in 2024 – including by the US, as the US…
Moving to strengthen sustainable agriculture and food security, the Government of Togo has launched a comprehensive initiative to advance its National Soil Information System (NSIS). The project aims to build a modern, data-driven platform that will provide accurate, up-to-date, and accessible information on the country’s soil health and characteristics. The initiative is being implemented with the technical support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the Global Soil Partnership (GSP), with funding from the European Union under the Capacity Building Programme for Agricultural Innovation in Africa (PIAFA). According to stakeholders, the enhanced NSIS will allow…
Last Thursday, in the historic university town of Oxford—some 48 miles northwest of London—the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) marked its 40th anniversary in grand style, with His Majesty King Charles III presiding over the celebration. By Danladi Bako The event featured a keynote address by the monarch and culminated in the Centre’s Annual General Meeting of its Board of Trustees, followed by a symbolic tree-planting ceremony in the Centre’s gardens. Among the global dignitaries in attendance was His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who lauded the Centre and its leadership for four decades of…
A fast-spreading outbreak of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease, is triggering international concern as it expands from the Indian Ocean islands to Africa and parts of Asia, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday. Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez, WHO’s lead expert on arboviruses, revealed during a press briefing in Geneva that nearly two-thirds of the population on the French overseas territory of Réunion Island has been infected in the past year. Major outbreaks have also been recorded on Mayotte and Mauritius. “This is reminiscent of the major global outbreak that began 20 years ago in the same region and…
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has expressed deep concern over the continued failure of many state governments to access and utilize over N250 billion in federal intervention funds meant to revamp basic education across the country. Speaking in Abuja on Monday during a press briefing, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, lamented that despite the growing infrastructure and learning gaps in public primary and junior secondary schools, these funds remain idle due to states’ inability—or unwillingness—to meet the necessary counterpart funding requirements. “These are funds meant to provide classrooms, furniture, learning materials, and training for teachers. But…