International

Civil Society Coalition Condemns Attacks on Gaza, Calls for Global Intervention in Hamas-Israeli Conflict

Published

2 years ago

October 20, 2023

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The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CCSO) in Nigeria yesterday condemned what it described as “the ongoing genocidal attacks by the Israeli army against defenseless civilians in Gaza among them women and children with number of casualties continues to rise.”

The group at a World Press Conference held in Ikeja, Lagos, vowed to stand with the people and freedom of Palestine.

While speaking with THISDAY on the sideline, one of the leaders of the groups and the General Secretary of United Action for Democracy, Mr. Kunle Wizeman-Ajayi, insinuated that the Hamas-Israeli war might have a dimension in Nigeria.

According to him, “Any war can affect the world in one way of another, and that’s why we are in support of the freedom of Palestine. The battle between Hamas and Israel has a global effect, and you can see it today that it is even a debate in Nigeria already because the Israeli apartheid is pseudo-attached to Christianity, and there are several Christians in Nigeria, and many Muslims in Nigeria don’t understand the battle Palestine is fighting, because if they support the freedom of Palestine, they should also support the freedom of Biafra in Nigeria.

“Also, if Christians in Nigeria, especially those in the Southeast, support the freedom of Biafra, they should also support the freedom of Palestine. So freedom does not have any religious connotation. So freedom is freedom because we are all human. This can become a global war, and once that happens, just like in the Second World War, soldiers would be taken away from Nigeria to fight. Many would become soldiers by force just like our grandparents did during the Second World War. So we must nip any war in the bud before it becomes global just like we did in Niger Republic.

“American President, Joe Biden, wanted to force ECOWAS to start a war in that country, but because Nigerians rose against it, by now, we would have been in war. So because we stop the French occupation of Niger Republic, we, Nigeria, Africa, and the world should also rise against the occupation of Palestine by Israel.”

The other civil society coalition leaders, including Omotaje Olawale Saint of Work Bond International Network (WIN); Ahmed Balogun of Frontline Socio-Economic Research Centre (FSERC); Alex Omotehinse of Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights, among many others, while addressing journalists, declared that the death of over 500 Palestinians “in a single Israeli strike at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital south of Gaza on October 17, 2023, is a case of crimes against humanity that the ICC must investigate and hold Israel accountable.

“It was the Israeli army that asked Palestinians in Gaza to flee to a safe corridor. It is therefore reprehensible and callous for Israel to carpet-bomb the same place it chose as a safe haven for people fleeing its destruction in one part of Gaza. The bombing clearly attests to deliberate and well-coordinated crime against humanity.”

They added that the attempt by the duo of Israeli Prime Minister,Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Biden “to exonerate Israel of the bombing in hospital is shameful and condemnable. The argument that the bombing at the hospital was due to self-explosion is deceptive and a conspiracy in genocidal mission.

“President Biden cannot walk back his talk. His promise to provide everything Netanyahu needed to prosecute this genocide is on record. The president shall answer to crime against humanity at the appropriate time. His refusal to call for a ceasefire and his open green-lighting of Israel’s premeditated genocidal mission are now well-documented.”

The coalition further affirmed that “as an occupied people Palestinians have the right to resistance which they continue to muster despite their backs being against the wall. Palestinians are not fighting just Israel, they have been fighting a rogue superpower which is America. We salute their courage and their refusal to be bullied into silence

“The world must rise to help Palestinians reclaim their rights, their dignity, their humanity; they must be free to determine their own destiny; create their own political institutions; establish a viable and sovereign state; and live in peace.

“Our prayer is that the United Nations must prevail on Israel to halt its war crimes by calling for a ceasefire. It should as a matter of urgency reclaim the peace process and take it away from the monopoly of the United States and European Union

“Other nations of the world, from the Arab World to Turkey and China, must invest in the peace process to end US monopoly.

“Governments of the world must begin to isolate Israel as the pariah that it has become. In this vein, all justice-loving countries and peoples of the world must patronise the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) and take appropriate action.”

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International

U.K.–India set to boost bilateral trade by over $34 billion a year

The FTA, which slashes duties on goods including textiles, alcohol and automobiles, was signed Thursday in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.

Published

1 week ago

July 25, 2025

OhiBaba

59 Views

•Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.

U.K. and India’s bilateral trade is set to get a more than $34 billion annual boost over the long term following their free trade agreement, with the countries’ leaders calling it a “historic” deal.

CNBC reported that the FTA, which slashes duties on goods including textiles, alcohol and automobiles, was signed on Thursday in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.

Both sides had finalized the trade pact in May after three years of intense negotiations — marked by thorny issues such as visas, tariff reduction and tax breaks.

Talks gained momentum and both governments accelerated to seal the deal as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats sent the world in disarray.

The agreement between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies is expected to boost their bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds per year by 2040.

Trade in goods and services stood at over 40 billion pounds in 2024.

The deal offers “huge benefits to both of our countries,” boosting wages, raising living standards and bringing down prices for consumers, Starmer said.

India’s Modi lauded the agreement as “a blueprint for our shared prosperity,” highlighting how Indian goods including textiles, jewelry, agricultural products and engineering items would benefit from a better access to the U.K. market.

International

Russian missing plane found in Forest – No Survivors

Amur’s regional governor Vasily Orlov said five children were among those on board and declared three days of mourning.

Published

1 week ago

July 24, 2025

OhiBaba

77 Views

Russian officials say 48 people were killed when an Angara Airlines plane went down in a dense forest in the far-eastern Amur region.

The Antonov An-24 plane, carrying 42 passengers and six crew, had left Blagoveshchensk close to the Chinese border and vanished from radar screens as it approached Tynda airport, officials said.

A Russian civil aviation helicopter then spotted burning fuselage from the plane on a remote hillside about 16km (10 miles) from Tynda.

Amur’s regional governor Vasily Orlov said five children were among those on board and declared three days of mourning.

Orlov said that according to preliminary data, there were 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members on board the plane operated by a Siberian airline.

International

EU ready to hit US with 21-billion-euro tariff list

He said the goal should be “zero tariffs” and an open market among Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 14, 2025

OhiBaba

78 Views

MILAN (Reuters) -The European Union has already prepared a list of tariffs worth 21 billion euros ($24.52 billion) on U.S. goods if the two sides fail to reach a trade deal, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a newspaper interview on Monday.

President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the EU starting on Aug. 1, after weeks of negotiations with major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive deal.

Tajani also told daily Il Messaggero that to help the euro zone economy the European Central Bank should consider a new “quantitative easing” bond-buying-programme, and more interest rate cuts.

The European Union said on Sunday it would extend its suspension of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement.

Tajani said the 21-billion-euro package of tariffs the EU has already prepared could be followed by a second set if a deal with the U.S proves impossible.

He added, however, that he was confident that progress could be made in negotiations.

“Tariffs hurt every one, starting with the United States,” he said. “If stock markets fall that puts at risk the pensions and the savings of the Americans.”

He said the goal should be “zero tariffs” and an open market among Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.