Travel News

The Italian government will soon launch direct flights from Italy to Nigeria, its Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stefano De Leo, has said.

“We plan to open an Italian trade agency in Lagos and, hopefully, soon launch direct flights between Italy and Nigeria,” De Leo said.

The Italian envoy spoke moments after signing an agreement with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on behalf of the Italian news agency, Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA) in Abuja.

The ambassador said the direct flights from Italy to Nigeria would boost the economic ties between the two countries.

De Leo added that the flights would lay the conditions for opening up other opportunities that would be mutually beneficial to both Italy and Nigeria in the near future.

(Bloomberg) -- US housing prices are finally starting to come down, but not nearly enough for many aspiring buyers struggling to break into the market.

The median selling price of a previously owned home clocked in at $375,700 in March. That’s 0.9% below its year-ago level, marking the largest decline since 2012, data from the National Association of Realtors showed Thursday.

But the drop follows a rapid run-up in prices starting in 2020, when borrowing costs were historically low and Americans frenetically moved to suburban areas during the pandemic.

Prices peaked in the middle of last year when mortgage rates started to jump, but they’re still far above pre-pandemic levels due to limited supply. There were 980,000 homes for sale last month, hovering near a record low in data back to 1999, Thursday’s report showed.

That’s leading to multiple offers on especially entry-level homes, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said on a call with reporters. It’s also increasingly pushing buyers to new construction.

Read more: US Home Resales Resume Slide After Surprise February Advance

On a monthly basis, prices actually increased — the first back-to-back gains since the middle of last year — across both single- and multi-family homes.

“The overall trend for both categories, however, still points to a cooling market, with prices having peaked,” Barclays Plc analyst Colin Johanson said in a note.

Prices in the West fell 7.5% from March 2022, while they ticked up in other regions.

“We from the IUA and the students that live around IUA experienced the worst day of our lives and this is because the RSF base is right behind the male and female hostels and most of the attacks that were launched were on us. For three days and nights, we have witnessed this rough scenario,” he narrated.

By Chiamaka Okafor

Nigerian students have appealed to the Nigerian government to evacuate them from Sudan where fighting between the military and a para-military force has killed hundreds of people.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how fighting erupted in the capital city, Khartoum, on Saturday between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over political power in the crisis torn country.

The Nigerian students on Wednesday in a memo by their association said they were stranded, with no access to basic needs.

“Fear, panic and desperation are one of the few emotions we are currently feeling. Our lives are not safe,” Sumyyah Yusuf, a second year medical student at Sudan International University in Khartoum, said to PREMIUM TIMES.

Ms Yusuf said it had become difficult to access anything, including food, water, and electricity because it is unsafe to go out and most stores are either shut or empty.

She said they (students) were trying to stay in touch with each other through social media. Although they had received a memo from the Nigerian embassy in Sudan reassuring them, she said “we need more action.”

Ms Yusuf said she wants Nigeria “to get its nationals out of here (Sudan), swiftly and safely.”

Sadiq Haruna, an Islamic Studies graduate from the International University of Africa, Khartoum confirmed the students have no way of confirming if the memo was from the Nigerian embassy in Sudan.

He said the condition where he lives, “is a little bit better” after they had witnessed the worst days of their lives.

“We from the IUA and students that live around IUA experienced the worst day of our lives and this is because the RSF base is right behind the male and female hostels and most of the attacks that were launched were on us. For three days and nights, we witnessed this rough scenario,” he narrated.

According to Mr Haruna, female students had been evacuated by the university from their hostels to staff accomodations for safety.

He added that the students had also come under several forms of attacks including theft. He said some students were moving to parts of the country that are relatively peaceful.

According to news reports, the fighting is happening in major cities like Khartoum and Merowe.

Mr Haruna appealed to the government to come to their rescue as it did to Nigerian students in Ukraine.

“It is taking time and we do not want to lose anyone but we are on the verge…,” he appealed.

This reporter heard the sound of gunshots in the backgroung while speaking with Mr Haruna.

Nigerian government speaks

However, the federal government through the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), had early Thursday said it received the letter from the students’ association.

NIDCOM in a statement signed by Gabriel Odu assured that the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA) was consulting with the Nigerian mission in Sudan and other relevant agencies .

It urged all Nigerian Students in Sudan as well as Nigerians living in thecountry to be security conscious and calm.

An official copy of the memo the students spoke about was seen by PREMIUM TIMES in a WhatsApp group “Nigerian Community in Sudan.”

It was shared by a user who signed off their messages with ‘ambassador’ but gave no names.

The Embassy in the letter, appealed to Nigerian nationals to exercise caution and restraint, noting that it is in touch with all the relevant stakeholders in Khartoum and Abuja, respectively, for protection and well-being of Nigerians in Sudan.

“The Embassy is making plans for possible evacuation of Nigerian Nationals with approval of the Federal Government of Nigeria as soon as the situation allows it and you will be communicated in due course,” the letter said.

The memo attributed to the ambassador urged nations to stay safe and be wary of fake news circulating in social media, adding that the Embassy will keep a close contact with the leadership of all the Nigerian Union for further consular assistance and updates.

Sudan fighting

The fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary RSF has entered its sixth day after four failed ceasefire attempts.

At least 300 people have died in the fighting and almost 3,200 more have been wounded in Khartoum, the western region of Darfur and other states, Ahmed Al-Mandhari of the World Health Organisation says.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight Thursday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. The nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship carried no people or satellites.

Images showed several of the 33 main engines were not firing as Starship climbed from the launch pad, reaching as high as 24 miles (39 kilometers). There was no immediate word from SpaceX on how many engines failed to ignite or shut down prematurely.

The booster was supposed to peel away from the spacecraft three minutes after liftoff, but that didn't happen. Rather, the rocket with the spacecraft still attached began to tumble and then exploded, plummeting into the water.

Instead of a best-case-scenario 1 1/2-hour flight with the spacecraft taking a lap around the world, the whole thing lasted four minutes. It reached a maximum speed of about 1,300 mph (2,100 kph).

Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre Island, several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off-limits. As Starship lifted off with a thunderous roar, the crowd screamed: “Go, baby, go!”

Musk, in a tweet, called it “an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months.”

In the weeks leading up to the flight, Musk gave 50-50 odds that the spacecraft would reach orbit and not end up in what SpaceX calls a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” He said not blowing up the launch pad would be a win.

“You never know exactly what’s going to happen," said SpaceX livestream commentator and engineer John Insprucker. “But as we promised, excitement is guaranteed and Starship gave us a rather spectacular end.”

The company intends to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.

Despite the abbreviated flight, congratulations poured in from NASA chief Bill Nelson and others in the space industry. Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted, “Huge accomplishment, huge lessons, onwards to the next attempt."

"It fell somewhere between a small step and their hoped-for giant leap, but it still represents significant progress toward a reusable super-heavy lift rocket,” University of Chicago’s Jordan Bimm, a space historian, said in an email.

At 394 feet and nearly 17 million pounds of thrust, Starship easily surpasses NASA’s moon rockets — past, present and future. NASA successfully launched its new 322-foot (98-meter) moon rocket last November on a test flight, sending the empty Orion capsule around the moon.

The stainless steel Starship rocket is designed to be fully reusable with fast turnaround, dramatically lowering costs, similar to what SpaceX’s smaller Falcon rockets have done soaring from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nothing was to be saved from this test flight, with the spacecraft — if all had gone well — aiming for a watery grave in the Pacific near Hawaii.

The futuristic spacecraft flew several miles into the air during testing a few years ago, landing successfully only once. But this was to be the inaugural launch of the first-stage booster with 33 methane-fueled engines.

SpaceX has more boosters and spacecraft lined up for more test flight; the next set is almost ready to go. Musk wants to fire them off in quick succession, so he can start using Starships to launch satellites into low-Earth orbit and then put people on board.

It was the second launch attempt. Monday’s try was scrapped by a frozen booster valve.

Jason and Lisa Flores drove down from Corpus Christi to watch the launch with their daughter, and noticed something was amiss.

Lisa Flores cried seeing the liftoff and then realized, “It’s not working out the way it was supposed to.”

Elizabeth Trujillo, 13, wearing a “Star Wars” shirt and carrying toy binoculars, skipped school to see the launch from the beach with her mother and other relatives. The crowd cheered when Starship cleared the tower.

Despite the failed attempt, “it was worth it,” said Jessica Trujillo, Elizabeth’s mother. “Just hearing and seeing the view, the excitement of the crowd, it was priceless.”

“Practice makes perfect. They just got to practice some more,” she added.

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AP reporter Valerie Gonzalez contributed.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press

The African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) said the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) will contribute $4.2 billion to the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), create 600 million jobs and, grow air traffic by 51 per cent in three years with additional 16 million air travellers.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the granting of Nigerian citizenship to 385 foreign nationals residing in the country.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, announced the FEC granted the approval on Wednesday adding that 317 of the applicants bagged their citizenship by naturalisation; while 68 received theirs by registration.

Aregbesola said all the applicants met the requirements for such an honour.

“Federal Executive Council at its meeting today approved the granting of Nigeria’s citizenship by naturalization to 317 applicants and Nigeria’s citizenship by registration to 68 applicants.

“Those granted citizenship have met all the constitutional and administrative requirements for the grant of Nigerian citizenship,” Aregbesola said.

The minister also revealed that the council has equally approved a Public-Private Partnership deal for the provision of subscription-based fire safety for residential, institutional, and commercial buildings.

“This will be a public-private partnership arrangement with Hoist Life Safety System Limited. At completion, Nigerians, who so desire, would subscribe to an automatic fire alarm system that you can have in their house,” he said.

While declaring that Air Peace was solidly representing Nigeria in the international aviation community, the governor emphasised the socio-economic impact of the new route, especially in ‘religious tourism’

BY  Shola Adekola, Nigerian Tribune

West and Central Africa’s largest carrier, Air Peace, has again made another history by becoming the first ever Nigerian airline to fly direct, nonstop to Tel Aviv in Israel.

The airline commenced scheduled operations in Tel Aviv on April 20, 2023, from Lagos and Abuja.

Speaking during the event, Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman expressed joy over the new connectivity, stressing that it would help deepen bilateral ties between both countries and promote mutually beneficial economic engagements.

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr David Umahi on occasion commended Onyema for his strides in aviation even as he added that the growth of Air Peace had shown that a Nigerian could make sustainable global inroads in aviation.

While declaring that Air Peace was solidly representing Nigeria in the international aviation community, the governor emphasised the socio-economic impact of the new route, especially in ‘religious tourism’.

At the well-attended inaugural flight ceremony held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the Chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, said history has been made in the bilateral relations between Nigeria and Israel through the commencement of direct, nonstop flights from Lagos and Abuja to the city of Tel Aviv.

Related News Israeli military strikes Syrian targets in response to rocket attacks Israeli government clears Air Peace to commence flights into Israel April 20 NAHCO suspends officials involved in Air Peace incident

His words: “This is undoubtedly a big milestone as, for the first time, a Nigerian airline is connecting both countries directly through scheduled commercial flights”.

Onyema said the airline was delighted particularly because this new route will provide huge respite to Nigerian travellers who, henceforth, do not have to travel to Israel through other countries, spending over 20 hours in stopovers whereas a direct flight is less than 6 hours.

“Our entry into Israel today will open up more layers of opportunities and possibilities socially, and economically, and advance the implementation of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Nigeria and Israel. The connectivity will boost ‘religious tourism’, especially factoring the numerous Nigerians who embark on pilgrimage trips to Israel”, Onyema stated.

He stressed that the airline is familiar with Israeli airspace as it operated evacuation flights to the country in 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Onyema expressed gratitude to the Israeli government, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and other stakeholders whose efforts he said made this launch possible.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, represented by Mr Hassan Ejibunu, Director of Air Transport Management, Ministry of Aviation, reiterated the support of the government to indigenous airlines and promised the government’s continued assistance to Air Peace in its route expansion drive.

By Damilola Olufemi

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of  Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has disclosed the Federal Government’s readiness to evacuate Nigerians stranded in Sudan

She made this known on Monday while speaking on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics.

While noting that the FG  is making “tremendous progress”, she added that every Nigerian student in the North African country now has a point of contact.

She said, “Buses will take them to a location. We’re looking at places in Egypt: Luxor and some other place there. So, really there’s been tremendous progress.  Mr President has given his nod immediately this happened, so there’s a lot.”

She warned against mobilisation efforts of the National Association of Nigeria Students involving the generation of funds to facilitate the transportation of Nigerian students in the North African country away from their campuses.

The PUNCH reports Air Peace, a private airline in Nigeria had disclosed its readiness to evacuate stranded Nigerians in Sudan, North-East Africa for free if the Federal Government can get them to a safe and secure airport in any of the neighbouring countries bordering Sudan.

This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the Chairman and Chief Executive Office of the airline, Allen Onyema.

She added, “NANS, which I understand came up with this thing of ‘pay $100, come somewhere,’ the thing is, move to where? So, there’s no point taking you from one danger to another danger.

“And there were some people that were leaving that actually had to turn back because they would have been killed. So, now, they’ve returned to their various campuses.”

Dabiri-Erewa decried the actions of Nigerian students in Sudan leaving their universities without authorisation.

She said, “The issue of those students that gathered together, took a bus somewhere, here’s the thing: they’ve all had to go back to their universities because it was very risky of them.

“Just imagine in a war situation, you just see 20 buses moving without any permission from the military authorities, we’ll endanger the lives. So, that is why they’ve had to return.”

*Asks NCAA to halts issuance of AOC

By Prince Okafor

Hopes of Nigerians witnessing the take-off of a new national carrier, Nigeria Air, before the end of this administration, remains a far cry.

This came as a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos asked the Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to halt the issuance of an Air Operator’s Certificate, AOC, to Nigeria Air.

It would be recalled that Air Peace, Azman, Max Air, United Nigeria Airlines, and Top Brass Aviation Limited had taken the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Attorney General of the Federation, Nigeria Air, and Ethiopian Airlines to court to stop the airline from flying.

According to a motion filed November 10, 2023, the plaintiffs prayed the court for an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants either by themselves, agents, privies, principals, or any other persons whatsoever from executing the proposed draft, “National Carrier’ establishment between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the strategic equity partner (second defendant) or giving effect to or suspending the sale and transfer of the share and operations of the first defendant by the second defendant pending the determination of the motion on notice.

Also, the minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika had also expressed optimism that the new national carrier will commence operations before May 29 when the present government will exit the stage.

But, in an orders of interim and interlocutory injunctions, Justice A.Lewis Allagoa restrained any step in relations to the Nigeria Air project.

This was contained in a letter dated 19th April, 2023, notifying the NCAA of the restraining order by the plaintiff’s lawyer Abubakar Nuhu Ahmed, Esq. of Nureini Jimoh (SAN) Chambers.

The letter reads: “You are therefore notified to desist from dealing with the Minister/the Ministry of Aviation and/ or their agents, privies or representatives, pertaining the Air Operator Certificate (AOC), subject matter of the suit, to avoid consequences of disobedience of court orders”.

“As a law-abiding Regulatory Agency, you are under the watchful eyes of the world and it is in your interest to desist from any further action on AOC process that will ridicule the integrity of the Agency before the local media as well as the Global Aviation Community.”

Multiple nations have scrambled to evacuate embassy staff and citizens by road, air and sea from chaos-torn Sudan, where fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed hundreds.

Rescue operations intensified Tuesday as a 72-hour ceasefire took effect, but gunfire still rang out in the capital Khartoum.

Some evacuees have been airlifted from Khartoum and taken to Djibouti, Jordan and Cyprus.

Others have driven to Port Sudan, 850 kilometres (530 miles) away, then boarded ships to Saudi Arabia, or headed by road to Egypt and Ethiopia.

Here is an overview of what nations around the world have done in recent days in efforts to take stranded citizens to safety.

– Mideast and Africa –
Saudi Arabia led the first large-scale evacuations Saturday by sea, and since then hundreds of Saudis and foreigners from more than 20 countries have been taken to the port city of Jeddah.

Jordan late Sunday airlifted nearly 350 people including Palestinians, Iraqis, Syrians and Germans to a military airport in the kingdom, and on Monday announced “20 Jordanians arrived” aboard a German plane.

More than 50 Lebanese and 105 Libyans have left on a Saudi vessel.

Egypt’s military last week evacuated 177 soldiers, and on Sunday said 436 citizens had left by land. More than 10,000 Egyptians are thought to live in Sudan.

Turkey began operations on Sunday, taking some of its estimated 600 nationals by road from Khartoum and elsewhere.

Over 200 Moroccans were taken to Port Sudan in convoys organised by their embassy, Rabat said Monday.

Algeria and Tunisia have also announced rescue operations, and Mauritania said 101 citizens had reached Port Sudan.

Chad said it was sending planes to collect 438 citizens from Port Sudan.

Kenya, with about 3,000 citizens in Sudan, evacuated 19 Kenyans, 19 Somalis and a Saudi national, who landed in Nairobi on Monday night.

Nigeria plans to get nearly 3,000 nationals, mostly students, out by convoy to Egypt this week, an official said Monday.

Uganda has evacuated more than 200 nationals on buses via Ethiopia, its ambassador told AFP.

Ivory Coast said 47 citizens were headed by bus from Khartoum to Cairo.

South Africa has begun evacuating dozens of embassy staff and citizens “to a neighbouring country for safety”, foreign affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela told AFP.

– North America –
The US military sent three Chinook helicopters on Sunday to evacuate embassy staff from Khartoum, extracting just under 100 people.

Washington initially warned any wider effort to evacuate other Americans is unlikely in the coming days, but on Monday the Pentagon said officials were looking into potential land routes out of the country.

Canada has pulled its embassy staff out, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

– Europe –
Britain on Tuesday said it had launched “a large-scale evacuation” of its citizens, following an operation Sunday to take out embassy staff and their dependents.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said some 4,000 Britons with dual nationality and 400 with UK-only passports were in Sudan.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday that 1,000 EU citizens had been evacuated.

France has evacuated 538 people, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday, with French citizens just over one-third of them.

Germany said Monday three flights had left and a fourth was on its way to airlift a total of 400.

Ukraine said Tuesday it had evacuated 138 people, including 87 of its own citizens, to Egypt.

The Netherlands said “around 100 Dutch citizens have been evacuated, half of them on Dutch flights”, which also carried 70 others, according to the foreign ministry.

Italy evacuated around 200 people in a military operation Sunday, rescuing all Italian citizens who “had asked to leave” and others including Vatican representatives.

A Spanish military plane with 100 passengers, 30 of them Spanish, left Sunday for Djibouti, Madrid said.

A first group of 17 Greek nationals arrived Tuesday in Athens on an army transport plane via Djibouti, the defence ministry said, with several more Greeks evacuated to Jordan on board a Dutch plane.

Cyprus said it was exploring options to rescue some 20 citizens trapped in Sudan.

Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania said citizens had been evacuated with foreign help. As of Monday around 65 from those countries, nearly half of them Austrian, were still awaiting rescue.

– Asia –
China said Monday it had “safely evacuated” a first group of citizens, estimating about 1,500 “Chinese compatriots” were in Sudan.

New Delhi said on Monday “about 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. More on their way.”

Pakistan said a convoy carrying 211 of its citizens arrived in Port Sudan on Tuesday, bringing the total number of Pakistanis evacuated to 700, with some 1,500 still remaining in Sudan.

Japan has evacuated 45 citizens aboard a military plane via Djibouti and temporarily closed its embassy.

A plane carrying 28 South Koreans including diplomats arrived in Jeddah on Monday, a Saudi official said.

Indonesia said it had moved 538 nationals to Port Sudan, with another 289 due to travel in a second phase.

Malaysia said 30 nationals had arrived in Port Sudan on Tuesday, as well as 26 other nationals including two US citizens.

The Philippines, with some 700 citizens in Sudan, said Tuesday 50 had been evacuated from Khartoum and were travelling overland to Egypt.

“We will do what we can,” said foreign affairs official Eduardo de Vega. “It’s very difficult.”