Some Nigerians evacuated from Ukraine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. PHOTO | COURTESY | NIGERIANS IN THE DIASPORA COMMISSION (NIDCOM)
Summary
The latest 301 returnees were received by top officials of the Federal Government led by the Director of Legal and Consular Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bolaji Akinremi.
Nigerians have so far been repatriated from Poland, Romania and Hungary, countries they had fled to when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Abuja,
Nigeria has successfully evacuated another 301 of its citizens from Ukraine following the outbreak of war, bringing the total number of evacuations to 1,800.
However, many more are still stranded in Ukraine and have called for help to return home.
The 301, mainly students stranded in Sumy in Ukraine, were brought home on board Air Azman from Budapest, Hungary. They arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Saturday night.
This is the sixth batch of returnees in the ongoing evacuation approved by President Muhammadu Buhari since war broke out between Ukraine and Russia on February 23, 2022.
The latest returnees were received by top officials of the Federal Government led by the Director of Legal and Consular Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bolaji Akinremi.
According to the ministry, a corridor was created for them to leave the city after negotiations between the Nigerian government and the Government of Ukraine.
Earlier on March 11, 2022, about 123 evacuees who had made their way to Poland were brought back home.
The Nigerians have so far been repatriated from Poland, Romania and Hungary, countries they had fled to when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Mr AbdurRahman Terab, head of Technology Transfer Innovation at the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), reported that $100 was given to each returnee in addition to N5000 airtime for them to contact their families.
The returnees were also undergoing screening, documentation, and Covid-19 tests.
A group of 23 students at Kherson State Maritime Academy are pleading for help to leave Ukraine. Russian forces seized Ukraine’s port city of Kherson, which has a population of 290,000 people, on March 3 following a three-day siege.
It was the first major city to fall following Moscow’s invasion.
The students want the government to urge Russian authorities to declare a ceasefire so they can be safely evacuated from the city.
They said they have spent about 15 days sleeping in basements as Russia’s offensive intensifies.
“Please we want to go home. Everybody is cold. In a normal life, we have heaters in our home. But in case of war, we are stuck underground where there is no heater.
“Please, talk to the mayor of Kherson, talk to the people of Russia. Let them come in agreement, so there will be ceasefire for us to get a green corridor. Please, I plead with you, we don’t have provisions anymore.”
Another student said about six Nigerians have fallen ill because of the weather and the current conditions.
“There is no food to eat. We are in a critical condition,” he said. By MOHAMMED MOMOH, The East African
LUBUMBASHI, DR CONGO — A train crash in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed at least 60 people, the state rail company and local sources said on Saturday.
"(Currently) the toll is 61 dead, men, women and children (and) 52 injured who have been evacuated," Marc Manyonga Ndambo, director of infrastructure at the SNCC train operator, told AFP.
Local media quoted the provincial governor Fifi Masuka as saying 60 people had been killed.
The train was a freight service which had been carrying "several hundred stowaways," said Manyonga said even though this was prohibited.
"Some of the bodies were still trapped in the wagons that had fallen into the ravines," he added.
Manyonga said the train was made up of 15 wagons, 12 of which were empty, and was coming from Luen in a neighboring province destined for the mining town of Tenke, close to Kolwezi.
It derailed at 11:50 p.m. (2150 GMT) on Thursday at the village of Buyofwe, about 200 kilometers from Kolwezi, "at a place where there are ravines," into which seven of the 15 wagons fell, he said.
"My team is working hard to clear the track by Monday," Manyonga added. He did not say how the crash had happened.
Train derailments are common in the DRC, as are shipwrecks of overloaded boats on the country's lakes and rivers.
Due to the lack of passenger trains or passable roads, people use goods trains to travel long distances. Source: VOA
ODM Party leader Raila Odinga and the President Uhuru Kenyatta during the Azimio NDC at KICC on March,12,2022. Image:MERCY MUMO
Twenty-six political parties, including the Wiper party, have signed the coalition agreement committing to work with Azimio la Umoja.
The Secretary-Generals also signed a commitment document to support Raila's candidature.
It was proposed that they sign at a later time as Uhuru and Raila were late for a rally in Jacaranda.
West Pokot governor proposed Raila be the presidential candidate and was seconded by MP Mishi Mboko.
"Let's celebrate since we now have our presidential candidate," Suna East MP Junet Mohamed said after the signing ceremony.
"We are here to announce our team captain. We have no doubt we have a team leader. We have a team leader in the name Raila Odinga," said President Uhuru Kenyatta.
On Mar. 12, Ukraine accused Russia of killing seven people, including a child, in an evacuation convoy near Kyiv.
According to Reuters, the convoy was evacuating women and children from the village of Peremoha.
Ukraine's intelligence service confirmed that the convoy had left the village independently, correcting an earlier statement that stated that it had left via a "green corridor" which had previously been agreed with Russia.
The remainder of the column were forced back into the village after the Russian troops' alleged attack on Mar. 11, the service initially stated.
Reuters said it was unable immediately to verify the report.
Russia did not offer any immediate comment.
Since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, Russia has denied targeting civilians and blamed Ukraine for their failed evacuation attempts.
Biggest blow to Russian army in decades
In an Instagram video shared on Mar. 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the losses of Russian troops in the past 17 days as "the biggest blow to the Russian army in decades".
"Since the beginning of the invasion, 31 battalion tactical groups of the enemy have lost their combat capability," Zelensky said, adding that Russia continues to send in more troops.
On Mar. 12, Zelensky estimated Ukraine's military casualties to be 1,300, the Kyiv Independent reported.
On Mar. 9, the Armed Forces of Ukraine reportedly said they have eliminated 12,000 Russian troops since Feb. 24.
No mention of ceasefire by Russia
According to a German government spokesperson, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during a 75-minute phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
However, a Kremlin statement on the call did not mention a ceasefire and accused Ukraine of using civilians as human shields.
A French presidency official said they did not detect Putin's willingness to end the war. Source: Mothership
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has on Friday, March 11, 2022 announced that he has formally resigned from the ruling Jubilee Party.
In his letter, the impeached county head requested the party headquarters to accept his resignation for it was in line with his rights to belong to a political party of his choice.
"Please accept this letter as my formal notice of resignation as a member of the Jubilee Party effective 10th March 2022. This is in exercise of my rights to belong to a political party of my choice as enshrined under the Constitution of Kenya," the letter read in part.
Sonko further expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the ruling party for the support they accorded him when he served as Nairobi Governor.
The ex-county chief however underscored that he was 'illegally, unconstitutionally, unlawfully and maliciously' ousted from office. The flamboyant politician also extended a goodwill message to the party's members, wishing them the best in the future. Source:People Daily
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