International
Negotiation fails, Niger junta to recall ambassador from Nigeria

The General Abdourahmane Tchiani-led military junta in the Republic of Niger is planning on recalling the Nigerien Ambassador to Nigeria after failing to come to terms with the delegation of the Economic Community of West African States, on the return of democracy in Niger.
The junta is also planning to recall Nigerien Ambassadors to Togo, the United States, and France, as it pushes to evict French and US troops in the country,while declaring an end to all Memorandum of Understanding between France and the Republic of Niger.
Defence sources privy to the ongoing meeting in Niamey, the Niger capital confirmed the development to our correspondent Friday morning.
“The ongoing negotiation has failed. The junta has declared that it’ll recall Niger’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Togo, France, and the US,” an impeccable defence source said in a terse message sent to our correspondent Friday morning.
“The junta has just announced that it’ll evict French and US troops in Niger Republic, noting that all MoU agreements between France and Niger has ended,” another source privy to the development noted.
The military junta in Niger led by Tchiani, the former Head of Presidential Guard to the hoisted President, Mohamed Bazoum, detained Bazoum in a palace coup on July 26, 2023, while Tchiani later declared himself Head of State.
In an attempt to resolve the political crisis in the Niger Republic, the ECOWAS on Thursday dispatched two missions abroad, with the mandate to achieving a resolution to ending the crisis.
While the first delegation led by former Nigerian Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), led the engagement with the coupists and other parties in the Nigerien impasse in the country’s capital, Niamey; another delegation, led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe led the engagement with the leaders of Libya and Algeria concerning the Niger crisis.
A statement on Thursday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Chairman of the ECOWAS’ Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, who dispatched both teams on the mission, charged the General Abubakar’s team with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the crisis in the troubled country.
The mission to Niger Republic which departed for Niamey immediately after President Tinubu’s briefing, was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The former Nigerian Head of State is joined in the delegation by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray.
Briefing the two delegations, President Tinubu charged them to engage all stakeholders robustly with a view to doing whatever it takes to ensure a conclusive and amicable resolution of the situation in Niger for the purposes of African peace and development rather than a move to adopt the geopolitical positions of other nations.
“We don’t want to hold brief for anybody. Our concern is democracy and the peace of the region,” the President said.
Speaking after the meeting, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.) said the delegation would meet the coup leaders in Niger to present the demands of the ECOWAS leadership.
Both leaders of the two missions expressed optimism about the outcome of the assignments.
Speaking to journalists before departing the Villa for Niamey, former Head of State, General Abubakar, revealed the task his team was charged with, which he said was to express the displeasure of the leaders of the subregion with the developments in Niger to those who hijacked power in the country.
“We have just been given our marching orders to go to Niger and convey the feelings of our heads of state in the region that they are not happy with what happened. And they gave them an ultimatum that the coupists should desist from what they are doing and give back power to an elected President and again, to make sure that this message is sent loud and clear to them.
“That’s what we are here for. So far, we are going there to convey this message to them and hear their response and report back what they have said”, Abubakar said.
Kingibe said talking with Libya and Algeria, two countries bordering Niger to the North, will stimulate the solidarity required for peaceful talks.
“Of course, this kind of situation requires solidarity. It requires coordination with all parties that are relevant to the situation.
“In that regard, Libya and Algeria are also very important neighbours of Niger. So, my mission is to go there with a message from President Tinubu. To brief them on the ECOWAS position and solicit solidarity and cooperation,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the talks will avert a possible military intervention saying, “We hope to find a diplomatic solution. Nobody wants to go to war, especially with neighbourly, brotherly people across the border with whom we share a common language, culture and religion.”
International
US Mandates 5-Year Social Media Disclosure for Nigerian Visa Applicants

The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced a new requirement for visa applicants, mandating the disclosure of all social media usernames and handles used in the past five years.
The directive was issued on Monday via a post on the Mission’s official X (formerly Twitter) account. It aligns with the U.S. Department of State’s broader efforts to strengthen national security through enhanced applicant screening procedures.
According to the U.S. Mission, Nigerian applicants must provide a complete list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, which is used for non-immigrant visa requests.
“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form,” the Mission stated.
It further cautioned that failure to accurately disclose this information may result in visa denial and could affect future eligibility for U.S. visas.
“Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit. Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” the statement added.
The measure is part of a broader U.S. policy introduced in recent years, aimed at tightening immigration controls and improving background checks for travelers to the United States.
International
Google agrees to pay Australia $36 million fine for anti-competitive deals with telcos
On anti-competitive tie-ups with Australian telcos, the country’s consumer watchdog on Monday said Google struck deals with Telstra and Optus, under which the tech giant shared with them advertising revenue generated from Google Search on Android devices between late 2019 and early 2021.

Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country’s two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines.
Reuters report that the fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia, where last week a court mostly ruled against it in a lawsuit brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games accusing Google and Apple of preventing rival application stores in their operating systems.
Google’s YouTube was also last month added to an Australian ban on social media platforms admitting users aged under 16, reversing an earlier decision to exempt the video-sharing site.
On anti-competitive tie-ups with Australian telcos, the country’s consumer watchdog on Monday said Google struck deals with Telstra and Optus, under which the tech giant shared with them advertising revenue generated from Google Search on Android devices between late 2019 and early 2021.
International
Bolivia set to elect first non-left wing president in two decades
Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira and former president Jorge Quiroga came in first and second place respectively in Sunday’s presidential elections.

•Rodrigo Paz Pereira is the frontrunner in Bolivia’s first-round presidential election which took place on Sunday.© Freddy Barragán/AP
Bolivia is set to elect a non-left wing president after nearly two decades of near-continuous rule by the incumbent socialist party, according to official preliminary results.
Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira and former president Jorge Quiroga came in first and second place respectively in Sunday’s presidential elections.
Neither received a high enough share of the vote to secure an outright win, so the vote will go to a run-off between these two candidates, due in October.
Paz Pereira, of the Christian Democratic Party, was a surprise vote leader, after opinion polls had suggested Samuel Doria Medina, a businessman, was the frontrunner.
The electoral authorities said it can take up to three days to finalise the results.
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