Iranian protesters – The anti-government protests sweeping Iran are now in their eighth week, with no sign of ending, despite a bloody crackdown. The rest of the world has watched with alarm, with some countries taking steps in support of the protests.

What do Iranians want?

The protesters first want to be heard and get news coverage by the world’s media. The Iranian government has taken steps to minimise this as much as possible. For instance, foreign correspondents there (the BBC and others are banned) are not permitted to report the protests, film them or even take pictures.

As a result, citizen journalism and posting videos of protests on social media are key to getting the news out. But the government tries to stop this also. According to internet monitoring group NetBlocks, during the last seven weeks, the internet in Iran has often been shut down or massively interrupted.

Read Also – US elections: Biden hails better-than-expected midterms results

At the same time, 32 journalists have been arrested, according to the International Federation of Journalists, and the two remaining social media apps, Instagram and WhatsApp, have been blocked.

Opposition figures and civil society activists continuously call for more pressure on the regime to stop the violence and to hold it accountable. According to rights groups, more than 300 people, including at least 41 children, have been killed since the protests started.

Last month, 43 international human rights organisations urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold an emergency session about Iran, investigate the crackdown and take legal action against those responsible.

Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah, or king, of Iran and a central figure for opposition outside the country, wrote to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN’s children’s charity Unicef. He asked for multinational investigations into the killing of children in Iran. Along with other well-known opposition figures, Prince Reza has repeatedly called on Western leaders to condemn the violence by the Iranian government openly.

Many activists and opponents of the Iranian regime have also called for Iranian diplomats to be expelled from other countries and for the recall of foreign diplomats from Tehran.

Figures such as Hamed Esmaeilion, Prince Reza or Masih Alinejad, who has campaigned against the compulsory hijab (headscarf) rule in Iran, have for years tried to push the Iranian government into even deeper international isolation. To this end, Masih Alinejad has also been trying to get the Iranian football team banned from the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

Source – https://www.bbc.co.uk/

Iranian protesters look to outside world for help
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FTX investors have been warned that the crypto exchange may be forced to file for bankruptcy protection if it doesn’t get a cash infusion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The news follows reports that Binance balked at an earlier promise to buy the troubled trading empire after looking at its books. Bloomberg reported the FTX exchange faces an $8 billion shortfall.

SAM Bankman-Fried told FTX.com investors on Wednesday (Nov 9) that without a cash injection the company would need to file for bankruptcy, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Read Also – US elections: Biden hails better-than-expected midterms results

Before Binance pulled an about-face and bailed on its takeover offer, Bankman-Fried informed investors his crypto exchange faced a shortfall of up to US$8 billion, said the person, who requested anonymity discussing private talks. FTX is attempting to raise rescue financing in the form of debt, equity, or a combination of the two, the person said.

FTX has been on a tailspin for a week following CoinDesk’s reports of the blurred lines in the books of Sam Bankman-Fried’s once-mighty empire.

Bankman-Fried’s acknowledgement of his firm’s deep financial hole and limited options reflects the uncertain fate of FTX and its clients. It’s the latest twist in a stunning turn of events for the crypto industry’s onetime wunderkind, who was once worth US$26 billion and likened to John Pierpont Morgan.

Still, Bankman-Fried remained defiant during a hectic period of roughly 24 hours that included mounting speculation that Binance wouldn’t go through with the deal.

He repeatedly told investors during a conference call on Wednesday afternoon that it was simply not true that Changpeng Zhao was walking away from the takeover, the person said.

See also

FTX Warns of Bankruptcy Without Rescue for $8 Billion Shortfall
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Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has highlighted the number of Albanian migrants arriving in the UK this year.

On some small boats, “80% of the individuals are coming from Albania”, he told MPs.

So how many have arrived and why are they leaving Albania, which Mr Jenrick called a “safe country”.

How many Albanian migrants come to the UK?

There has been a rapid increase in the number of Albanians migrants crossing the English Channel:

• In 2020, 50 arrived on small boats
• In 2021, 800 made the crossing
• In 2022, 12,000 have arrived so far

“The rise has been exponential and we think that is in the main due to the fact that Albanian criminal gangs have gained a foothold in the north of France,” Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O’Mahoney told the Home Affairs Select Committee last week.

Of this year’s Albanian migrants, about 10,000 were single, adult men, he said.

Read Also – Swansea estate cuts bills by generating energy

How many Albanian migrants are granted asylum?

In the year to June 2022, 7,267 asylum applications were submitted by Albanian migrants, double the number the previous year.

In general, 53% of claims by Albanians are accepted.

About 14% of successful claims were by single, adult men. Most were by women and children.

Some Albanian migrants are believed to make asylum claims on the grounds they have been trafficked to the UK.

Albanians are the most commonly referred nationality for trafficking support in the UK.

Rather than claiming asylum, some Albanian migrants choose to disappear and work illegally in the UK, before returning to their home country, Mr O’Mahoney said.

Eligible Albanian citizens can apply for visas, of varying length, to enter the UK for tourism, business, study and other activities.

How many Albanians are sent back?

In 2022, in the months to June, 440 people were returned to Albania – almost all were single, adult men.

Albanians represent the highest number of foreign offenders sent back in the year to March 2022.

A bilateral agreement signed in 2021 by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel aimed to speed up the removal of Albanian criminals and failed asylum seekers from the UK.

“More than 1,000 Albanians, including some who crossed the Channel illegally to come to the UK” have been sent back under this agreement, the Home Office says .

The deal does not allow the government to remove Albanians with a current asylum case in the UK.

Albanian migrants: Why are they coming to the UK
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Hong Kong – Manchester police were sent to the scene after violence against pro-democracy campaigners in the UK city of Manchester.

An investigation is underway into violence at a rally organised by Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners outside the Chinese consulate in the British city of Manchester, after video showed one of the protesters dragged into the grounds of the consulate and beaten.

The violence flared on Sunday when a small group of people gathered outside the consulate, putting up posters and banners, as the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party began in Beijing.

Video on social media showed a group of men suddenly attacking the group’s posters and placards, with scuffles breaking out. One protester was filmed being dragged through the gates onto the consulate grounds where he was attacked by a number of men before a police officer pulled him to safety.

Speaking to the BBC Chinese service, the protester, known as Bob, said “mainlanders” – referring to people from mainland China, as opposed to Hong Kong – came out of the consulate and began tearing up the group’s posters.

“As we tried to stop them, they dragged me inside, they beat me up,” he said, adding that he was finally pulled out by the British police.

Read Also – Una Marson – The story of the BBC’s first black producer

A spokesman for the Greater Manchester Police said an investigation into the incident had begun, and some officers remained at the site, according to a report in the Manchester Evening News.

Fellow Conservative Alicia Kearns, who chairs parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, echoed the call, noting that the Consul General had “full sight” of the attack and “was quite possibly involved”.

“The CCP will not import their beating of protestors and denial of free speech to British streets,” she wrote on Twitter. “Chinese ambassador must be summoned & if any official has beaten protesters, they must be expelled or prosecuted.”

VOA Cantonese published a picture of Bob, the protester, showing cuts to his nose and around his right eye. He told the media outlet that he suffered injuries to his head, face, neck and back as a result of the attack and said he was worried similar incidents could happen again if no action was taken.

A consulate spokesperson said the protesters had displayed an “insulting” portrait of China’s President Xi Jinping.

Source – https://www.aljazeera.com/

Hong Kong protesters attacked at China UK consulate
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The newly inaugurated Nigeria Egypt Cultural and Socio Economic Forum (NECSEF) is a model business association focused on promoting successful economic relations between Nigeria and Egypt.

NECSEF’s aspiration is to be the one stop organisation and preferred gateway for conducting business in Nigeria by Egyptians, providing trust and the ability to engage with highly influential people who can provide access and market intelligence into every aspect of the Nigerian market.

NECSEF organised its first conference in collaboration with Nigeria Embassy in Cairo, and strategic partners Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association (EABA) on the 10^th – 12^th October 2022 to a roaring success.

The conference titled Nigeria – Egypt Trade Conference & B2B Meeting attracted over 300 high level business leaders and government officials. The event took place at the conference halls of the stunning St. Regis hotel Almasa, in the new federal capital territory, Cairo Egypt.

The idea for the conference according to Mr. Mahmood Ahmadu, chairman of NECSEF and OIS, the main organisers, was to strengthen bilateral trade relations between the two largest African economies, Nigeria and Egypt with the aspiration to boost trade from the current of circa $180 million US.

The NECSEF chairman Mr Ahmadu and Dr Yousry El Sharkawi EABA chairman made a joint announcement that an agreement of $30 million dollars was signed during the conference as part of strengthening bilateral relations.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with over 225 million people, and Egypt is the third most populous country in Africa with over 104 million people. Egypt enjoys a mixed economy strong in tourism, agriculture, construction, fossil fuels with an emerging ICT sector.

Nigeria on the other hand has a mixed economy focused upon petroleum, and a growing agriculture sector, it also has an emerging market with expanding technology, service, financial and communications sectors.

There is great demand in Nigeria for Egyptian products and it’s really a promising market for Egyptian investments with some great Egyptian companies already operating in Nigeria.

A great percentage of Nigeria’s exports to Egypt are petroleum and gas products followed by agricultural commodities.

The objectives of the conference in part was to reach a new and viable vision with a view of mobilizing the private sector, civil society and business community of both countries to increase trade and actively participate in African development.

The well attended event was spaced out over three days; with the first day being the main conference with many high level speakers, attended by government leaders, senior members of several diplomatic missions, and leaders from the business sector.

The second day was a highly interactive B2B session, matchmaking several sectors with hundreds of the delegates where Nigerian and Egyptian business people participated in pitching and introducing their various businesses.

The third day was all about tours and external visits to some of Egypt’s most iconic centers. Delegates chose from one of two tour options, either a visit to the world famous Suez Canal Economic Zone, an innovative and self-sustaining industrial development and commercial hub, or the world class International Medical Center, a military hospital that is one of the largest in the Middle East.

Read Also – Nigerian tech company OIS opens latest offices in Cairo to offer Visa, Passport, BVN, NIN services in Egypt.

The dignitaries who graced the event included Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu, Minister of State Works and Housing, Minister of State Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, H.E Nura Abba Rimi, Nigerian Ambassor in Egypt, Mr Anthony Nwachukwu, Vice President of Innovate 1 Pay, Mr Babatunde Irukera, CEO Federal Competition & Consumer Protection, Mr Khalifa Abdullahi, Chairman KK Kingdom Group, Dr Kassim Gidado from Nigeria Arab Gulf Chamber of Commerce.

Also in attendance was Dr Yousry El-Sharkawi, chairman Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association (EABA) Walid Gamal El Din, Chairman of the General Authority Economic Zone, Suez Canal, Dr Sherif El-Gabaly, chairman African Affairs, Egyptian House of Representatives, Eng. Ahmed Sameer,

Egyptian Ministry of Trade & Industry, Mr Walid Jamal Eldin, chairman of the Egyptian Nigeria Business Council among many others.

There were senior representatives from Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Export & Import Bank (Afreximbank), PWC, AFDB and others.

Source – https://expressday.ng/

<strong>$30m trade agreement signed at the recently concluded Nigeria – Egypt Trade Conference in Cairo Egypt</strong>
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The Nigerian technology firm Online Integrated Solutions (OIS), founded by Mr. Mahmood Ahmadu opened its newest office in Cairo, Egypt, to facilitate important administrative tasks relating to visa and passport applications, Bank Verification Number (BVN), and national identity enrolment services for Nigerians living in Egypt and the neighbouring Arab countries.

The Centre was opened as part of activities of the Nigeria–Egypt Trade Conference and Exhibition organised by the newly formed Nigeria Egypt Cultural & Socio-Economic Forum (NECSEF), which took place in Cairo, Egypt, on the 10th – 12th October 2022.

The office was formally opened by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Works and Housing, Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub and Senator Zaki Abas of the Egyptian Parliament and Ambassador Nura Rimi, the Nigerian Ambassador to Egypt, alongside many other dignitaries.  

The new building is situated at 51 Michel Bakom Street Dokki, Cairo, and serves as the Secretariat of the Nigeria-Egypt Cultural and Socio-Economic Forum (NECSEF), co-locates OIS, which provides services for Nigerian Foreign missions and Nigerians in the Diaspora.

Mr. Mahmood Ahmadu, who is also the chairman of NECSEF, explained that the building is an important symbol in promoting Nigeria-Egypt economic and business relations.

He said with the presence of OIS in Egypt, Nigerians in the country can now enroll and obtain BVN and National Identity Number (NIN) without having to travel to Nigeria.

The firm, he said, also provides administrative and payment support for Nigeria passport applications.

According to the founder of the leading software solutions provider, established in 2012, the company also supports and facilitates a wide range of online applications across 34 major cities around the world.

Read Also – Mahmood Ahmadu and Robert Jreissati Signs MOU to Boost Trade Opportunities Between Nigeria and Poland

‘‘Our services also include the provision of biometric visa administrative services, financial services, bank verification number, account opening services (for Nigerian banks), national ID biometric capture, and medical tourism,’’ he said.

On NECSEF, Ahmadu explained that it is a model business association devoted to promoting successful economic relations and business relationships between Nigeria and Egypt.

He said that the Forum aims to promote its members in Nigeria and Egypt and facilitates the establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships between Nigerian and Egyptian businesses.

According to Ahmadu, the objectives of the Forum is to organize conferences, lectures, seminars, exhibitions, and other business activities while also encouraging economic development and trade relations between citizens living in both countries.

High-level Egyptian business executives and officials were also present at the inauguration of the building.

Source – https://www.vanguardngr.com/

<strong>Nigerian tech company OIS opens latest offices in Cairo to offer Visa, Passport, BVN, NIN services in Egypt.</strong>
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King Charles III – At the moment the Queen died, the throne passed immediately and without ceremony to the heir, Charles, the former Prince of Wales.

But there are a number of practical – and traditional – steps which he must go through to be crowned King.

What will he be called?

He will be known as King Charles III.

That was the first decision of the new king’s reign. He could have chosen from any of his four names – Charles Philip Arthur George.

He is not the only one who faces a change of title.

Although he is heir to the throne, Prince William will not automatically become Prince of Wales – that will have to be conferred on him by his father. He has inherited his father’s title of Duke of Cornwall – William and Kate are now titled Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.

There is also a new title for Charles’ wife, Camilla, who becomes the Queen Consort – consort is the term used for the spouse of the monarch.

Read Also – Queen Elizabeth II has died

Formal ceremonies

It is expected that Charles will be officially proclaimed King on Saturday. This will happen at St James’s Palace in London, in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.

This is made up of members of the Privy Council – a group of senior MPs, past and present, and peers – as well as some senior civil servants, Commonwealth high commissioners, and the Lord Mayor of London.

More than 700 people are entitled in theory to attend, but given the short notice, the actual number is likely to be far fewer. At the last Accession Council in 1952, about 200 attended.

At the meeting, the death of Queen Elizabeth will be announced by the Lord President of the Privy Council (currently Penny Mordaunt MP), and a proclamation will be read aloud.

The wording of the proclamation can change, but it has traditionally been a series of prayers and pledges, commending the previous monarch and pledging support for the new one.

This proclamation is then signed by a number of senior figures including the prime minister, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Chancellor.

As with all these ceremonies, there will be attention paid to what might have been altered, added or updated, as a sign of a new era.

The King’s first declaration

The King attends a second meeting of the Accession Council, along with the Privy Council. This is not a “swearing-in” at the start of a British monarch’s reign, in the style of some other heads of state, such as the President of the US. Instead, there is a declaration made by the new King and – in line with a tradition dating from the early 18th Century – he will make an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland.

After a fanfare of trumpeters, a public proclamation will be made declaring Charles as the new King. This will be made from a balcony above Friary Court in St James’s Palace, by an official known as the Garter King of Arms.

Read More

King Charles III – meet the new monarch
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Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

She died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had spent much of the summer.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a “moment of great sadness” for him and his family and that her loss would be “deeply felt” around the world.

He said: “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother.

“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

Read Also – Liz Truss: How the Conservative leadership voted

During the coming period of mourning, he said he and his family would be “comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held”.

The King and his wife, Camilla, now Queen Consort, will return to London on Friday, Buckingham Palace said. He is expected to address the nation on Friday.

Senior royals had gathered at Balmoral after the Queen’s doctors became concerned about her health earlier in the day.

All the Queen’s children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

Her grandson and now heir to the throne, Prince William, and his brother, Prince Harry, also gathered there.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch was the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had “provided us with the stability and strength that we needed”.

Speaking about the new King, she said: “We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.

“And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words ‘God save the King’.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby – spiritual leader to the Church of England of which the monarch is supreme governor – expressed his “profound sadness”.

He said his “prayers are with the King and the Royal Family”.

Source – https://edition.cnn.com/

Queen Elizabeth II has died
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The NAGCC formally unveiled its new and beautiful offices at their Dubai Headquarters located at Silver Tower, Cluster I, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai, on the 26^th of July 2022.

By opening this new office in the heart of the business district in Dubai, it provides the opportunity for companies with a desire to do business in the vast Nigerian and the Arab Gulf markets to physically visit and meet with high-level members of the NAGCC face-to-face.

This will significantly enhance trust and confidence by meeting with senior individuals who have the ability to provide knowledgeable guidance, market intelligence, expertise and most importantly the right contacts. This will assist potential investors in navigating an unfamiliar terrain in the most populous country and largest African market Nigeria and the Gulf States.

Read Also – Mahmood Ahmadu and Robert Jreissati Signs MOU to Boost Trade Opportunities Between Nigeria and Poland

The unveiling was graced by several dignitaries including;

• H.E. Amb. Zubairu Dada, Hon. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nigeria.
• H.E. Mohammed Dansanta Rimi, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the UAE.
• H.E. Dr. Fahad Al Taffaq – the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria,
• Amb. Tayyibat  Atinuke Mohammed, Nigeria’s Consul-General to the UAE,
• NAGCC President Mahmood Ahmadu
• Shaikh Abdulrahman Saif Al Sharqi alongside other VIP’S.

The NAGCC is a model investment association dedicated to the development of prosperous business relationships and economic contacts between Nigeria and the Arabian Gulf. The NAGCC board is made up of leading entrepreneurs who enjoy excellent business relations in Nigeria and the Arabian Gulf Countries.

The objectives of the NAGCC are to promote trade and investments in Nigeria and the Arabian Gulf States, to facilitate excellent economic relations between Nigerian and Arabian Gulf companies, and to provide trade information and business consultancy services to its clients and other potential partners.

For more information please email: info@nigeriaarabgulf.com

Article contributed by;

Charles Ajayi-Khiran

Inspirational leadership speaker

Corporate trainer & Consultant

NAGCC Unveils State of the Art Offices in Dubai
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Rishi Sunak – The race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister was already slipping into acrimony on Saturday as Conservative factions briefed against Rishi Sunak, the early favourite, while one senior MP called for “no hope” candidates to drop out.

With predictions that up to 15 could put themselves forward as the next Conservative leader, Tory MPs expressed concern at the potential timetable for the race and the prospect of bitter infighting.

On Saturday, the newly appointed chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, launched his campaign by pledging to lower taxes for individuals, families and business, boost defence spending and continue with education reforms he started in his previous role.

Grant Shapps announced his leadership bid by telling the Sunday Times he was ruling out a general election. He said he would instruct his chancellor to cut personal tax for the most vulnerable and give state support to firms with high levels of energy consumption.

The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is expected to launch her bid by pledging that she will advocate “classic Conservative principles”, the Mail on Sunday reported.

Sunak, the former chancellor, who entered the race on Friday evening with a slickly edited video campaign message posted on Twitter under the slogan “Ready for Rishi”, is viewed as one of the likely frontrunners.

Read Also – Sri Lanka: President Rajapaksa to resign after palace stormed

But he has already faced criticism among fellow MPs for indicating he will focus more on fiscal prudence than immediate tax cuts, with his video taking aim at other candidates who may offer “comforting fairytales” rather than economic truths.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Johnson loyalist, said on Friday evening that he could not back Sunak, whose resignation as chancellor helped precipitate the loss of faith in the prime minister that led to him resigning as Tory leader on Thursday.

“We have had a high-tax chancellor and I belong to a low-tax party and I want to see us getting back to being a low-tax party,” Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, told BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions.

Sunak was also hit by the start of what is likely to be a wave of anonymous briefings from Johnson’s Downing Street, where his role in the prime minister’s departure has caused significant anger.

One senior No 10 official was quoted in the Financial Times as calling Sunak “a treacherous bastard”, while a Johnson supporter in the cabinet told the paper: “Rishi will get everything he deserves for leading the charge in bringing down the prime minister.”

Source – https://www.theguardian.com/

Rishi Sunak – Johnson loyalists hit back at ‘treacherous’ as race begins
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