International
ECOWAS sends Togolese leader to engage Niger Junta
West African leaders yesterday took a step forward in their quest for the restoration of democracy in Niger Republic.
The sub-regional body, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government raised a three-man negotiation team to mediate in the protracted political crisis in the country.
Led by President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, other members of the team are President Macky Sall of Sierra Leone and President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic.
The ECOWAS Authority, which is chaired by President Bola Tinubu, took the decision during its 64th Ordinary Session at the State House Conference Center in Abuja.
The team’s terms of reference are to negotiate Niger’s speedy return to democracy with the junta that seized power from the legitimate government led by Mohammed Bazoum, who is in detention, encourage the coup plotters to release a transition programme and facilitate the monitoring of the programme.
Besides, the ECOWAS Authority resolved to prevent any attempt to break the sub-regional group through foreign-sponsored alliances and set up a standby force for counterterrorism across region.
According to its communique read by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, the leaders mandated the three-man Committee to interface with the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), which is the military administration in Niger Republic.
It said the team was expected to rally the CNDP and other stakeholders to agree to a short transition roadmap and the establishment of transition organs and goals.
The Abdourahamane Tchiani-led CNSP had about a month ago requested that Togolese President Gnassingbe should lead the team to negotiate with it in resolving the impasse.
That followed the ousting in July the democratically elected administration of President Bazoum.
ECOWAS Authority said the outcome of the engagement with the CNSP will determine its subsequent resolutions; either to commence the progressive relieving of the imposed sanctions or sustain the sanctions, including the use of force, as well as requests for more actions against the junta from other international bodies.
The communiqué reads: “On the political situation in the Republic of Niger, the Authority recalled its decision at its extra ordinary summit of 30 July, 2023, and 10th August 2023.
“The Authority commends the efforts of the Chair of Authority, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, towards a peaceful resolution of the political crisis.
“The Authority deeply deplores the continued detention of President Mohammed Bazoum, his family and associates by the CNSP administration. The Authority further deplores the lack of commitment on the part of the CNSP to restore constitutional order. Consequently, the Authority calls on the CNSP to release President Mohammed Bazoum, his family and associates immediately and without condition.
“The Authority decides to set up a committee of heads of state, made up of the President and Head of State of the Republic of Togo, the President and the Head of State of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the President and Head of State of the Republic of Benin, to engage with CNSP and other stakeholders, with a view to agreeing on a short transition roadmap, establishing transition organs, as well as facilitating the setting up of a transition monitoring and evaluation mechanism towards the speedy restoration of constitutional order.
“Based on the outcomes of the engagement by the committee of heads of state with the CNSP, the Authority will progressively ease the sanctions imposed on Niger. Failure by the CNSP to comply with the outcomes of the engagement with the committee, ECOWAS shall maintain all sanctions, including the use of force and will request African Union and all other partners to enforce the targeted sanctions on members of the CNSP and their associates.”
The ECOWAS Authority also rejected new moves by external interests to balkanise the region by creating alliances among member-states.
President Tinubu frowned at an attempt to distract the efforts at entrenching democratic culture in the region through the creation the ‘Alliance of the Sahel States’ among military-run member-states.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning the procurement of foreign-made clothing and related gear for the country’s armed forces starting in 2026.
According to the decree, from Jan. 1, 2026, all uniforms and other clothing items for the Russian Armed Forces must be produced by Russian companies whose manufacturing facilities are located within the country.
By 2027, the requirement would extend to fabrics and knitted materials used in production, which must be domestically manufactured.
The measure aims to entirely exclude the purchase of foreign-made clothing and materials for the needs of the military, the decree said.
Military clothing and gear include uniforms, insignia, underwear, bedding, special clothing, footwear, equipment, and sanitary items.Such supplies are procured through the Russian state defence order system.
(Xinhua/ NAN)
A train derailed in the southern Iranian province of Kerman on Friday, injuring more than two dozen people though no deaths were reported, according to local media.
“Thirty people were injured when a train derailed on the Kerman-Zarand railway path,” Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, told the Mehr news agency.
A statement from the public relations office of the national railway body carried by the Tasnim news agency reported that after “the timely arrival of railway technical personnel and rescue forces, all passengers safely exited the train”.
Train derailments are not uncommon in Iran, and while they do not generally result in deaths, there have been fatal disasters in the past.
In June 2022, 21 people were killed and dozens were injured when a train derailed near the central Iranian city of Tabas after hitting an excavator beside the track.
In 2016, two trains collided and caught fire in northern Iran, killing 44 people and injuring scores.
AFP
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.
•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.
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