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Nigeria Improves In Global Passport Ranking, Hits 92nd Position — IATA Report

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A new report has ranked Nigeria 92nd on the list of countries with the most visa-free access to other nations.

The report, based on official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), monitors countries’ visa policies throughout the year.

Notably, Nigeria’s ranking has fluctuated, dropping from 90th in July 2023 to 97th, and now rising to 92nd.

This places Nigeria alongside Lebanon and Myanmar, with visa-free access to 45 destinations.

However, among African countries, Nigeria ranks sixth lowest in terms of visa-free travel access, surpassing only South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya, and Somalia.

Meanwhile, the Seychelles retained its 24th position as the highest-ranked African country with access to 156 countries.

Mauritius improved in the ranking, moving from 29th to 28th position with access to 150 countries, while South Africa came third in Africa but ranked 47th on the global stage with access to 106 countries without a prior visa.

Singapore came first on the global list, retaining the top spot, while France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain occupied the second position.

Citizens of Singapore, according to the ranking index, can visit 195 travel destinations—three more than that of last year.

Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden hold the third position with visa-free access to 191 destinations, while Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are in the fourth place with access to 190 destinations without a prior visa.

Canada joins the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Malta at the seventh spot, while the United States holds the eighth position with visa-free access to 186 destinations.

Maintaining its position as last year, Afghanistan stays at the bottom of the index, with a visa-free access score of just 26 countries, followed by Syria with 28, and Iraq with 31—the three weakest passports in the world.

BIG STORY

Popular Islamic Singer Ibraheem Labaeka Resigns As Kwara Governor’s Special Assistant

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  • Laments Collecting Salaries “For Doing Nothing”

 

Ibraheem Abdulhameed, popularly known as Labaeka, has formally resigned as Special Assistant, Artiste to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Abdulhameed’s resignation was confirmed in a letter dated September 12, 2023.

In the letter, he expressed frustration with his role, citing the lack of a clear schedule of duties and inadequate opportunities to fulfill his responsibilities.

“I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary for doing nothing,” he wrote, signalling his disappointment with the lack of clarity surrounding his position.

The letter reads, “I am writing this letter with all sense of humility and gratitude for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Special Assistant, Artiste, in your cabinet.

“Having served in this capacity for a period of 1 year and 7 months, I wish to respectfully tender my resignation.”

He continues, “Your Excellency, as you may recall, I was offered an appointment to serve as your Special Assistant, Artist, on 6th January 2023. I accepted the offer because I saw it as a call to service and an opportunity to showcase my talents.

“Regrettably, I have not been able to achieve any of these things. Aside from the fact that I don’t have a specific schedule of duty, circumstances have not availed me the opportunity to perform my responsibilities maximally.”

He added “since my appointment is based on public trust, I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary, for doing nothing”.

“As an Islamic cleric. it is against my beliefs, and I haven’t been at peace with myself. So, I want my salary to be stopped immediately,” he said.

“I am grateful for the confidence reposed in me, and I hope that one day, I will be able to fully utilize my talents for the development of our state.”

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King Charles III Receives President Tinubu At Buckingham Palace

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In a historic meeting, King Charles III welcomed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Buckingham Palace in London on September 11.

The Royal Family announced the meeting on its verified X handle, @RoyalFamily, stating, “Yesterday, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited His Majesty at Buckingham Palace.”

This significant encounter marks a milestone in UK-Nigeria diplomatic relations, with the two leaders discussing matters of mutual interest and importance.

While specific details of the meeting remain undisclosed, it is anticipated that key issues such as trade, security, and bilateral cooperation were addressed.

President Tinubu’s visit to Buckingham Palace underscores the strong ties between Nigeria and the UK, as both countries continue to foster a strong and lasting relationship.

According to another tweet on his verified X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, recalled that Wednesday’s meeting was the second between both leaders in the last one year.

“President Tinubu visits King Charles in London. They first met in Dubai last November, on the sideline of the COP 28 Climate Summit”, Onanuga said.

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BIG STORY

Husband Dismembers, Blends 38-Yr-Old Model With Blender In Switzerland

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Kristina Joksimovic, a 38-year-old former Miss Switzerland finalist, was allegedly strangled and dismembered by her 41-year-old husband.

According to reports, the husband used a jigsaw and garden shears to dismember Joksimovic, and then allegedly pureed her remains in a blender, as stated by the Daily Mail.

The couple, who married in 2017, resided in a spacious semi-detached house in an affluent area of Basel, and had two children together.

Kristina’s body was found in February in Binningen, near Basel, Switzerland.

Kristina had posted pictures of a ‘couple’s getaway’ on her Instagram account four weeks before her death.

Her husband, identified only by the pseudonym Thomas in local media, had his appeal for release from custody rejected on Thursday by the Federal Court in Lausanne after admitting to killing his wife.

An ongoing investigation has revealed ‘concrete indications of mental illness’ underlying the case.

Kristina’s husband is reported to have claimed he killed her in self-defence after she allegedly came at him with a knife, before later admitting he dismembered the former model.

Kristina’s body was found on the evening of February 13.

Investigators determined she had been strangled before dying.

The verdict states the suspect confessed to strangling his wife.

An autopsy concluded that the body was then dismembered in the laundry room with a jigsaw, knife, and garden shears.

Body parts were then chopped up with a hand blender, ‘pureed’, and dissolved in a chemical solution, local outlet Blick reported.

A medical-forensic report also ‘contradicts his description of self-defence’, according to Swiss outlet FM1 Today.

Thomas, a Swiss national, was reportedly arrested a day after her remains were found.

Investigators have said Thomas, a businessman, displayed a ‘conspicuously high level of criminal energy’ in their assessment.

They cited a ‘lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife’, and his efforts to cover up her death, adding that the defendant exhibited ‘sadistic-sociopathic traits’.

The deceased won the Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant in 2003 and was a finalist in the 2008 Miss Switzerland competition.

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