Canadian authorities have announced that “cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applicants” for international students will increase from $10,000 to $20,000, starting from January 1, 2024.

Marc Miller, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, made this announcement in a statement on Thursday.

“Starting January 1, 2024, the cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applicants will be raised so that international students are financially prepared for life in Canada.

“For 2024, a single applicant will need to show they have $20,635, representing 75% of LICO, in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs. This change will apply to new study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024,” the statement reads in part.

For close to two decades, study permit applicants for international students have remained at $10,000.

This review, which takes effect from January 1, “will help prevent student vulnerability and exploitation,” the statement added.

This comes days after the United Kingdom introduced a new set of rules that would make it more difficult for Nigerians and others to obtain a visa. Home Secretary James Cleverly announced the changes in the House of Commons on Monday.

The government said it would now set a minimum annual salary for foreign workers to be eligible for a skilled worker visa at £38,700 from £26,200.

The figure itself is more than the existing median average salary of a full-time worker in Britain.

The Nigeria under 17 female volleyball team on Wednesday in Abuja defeated their Cameroonian counterparts 3-1 in the semi final match of the ongoing 2023 Girl’s U17 African Nations Volleyball.

The match was played at the package B of the Moshood Abiola Stadium.

Nigeria will meet Egypt in the final match on Thursday (today).

The Nigerian girls won the first set with two points different (27-24), while Cameroonian fought back to win the set second set 25-23.

The Nigerian girls continued the game with the winning spirit to win the third set and fourth set 26-24 and 25-19.

Speaking after the match, the coach of Nigerian girls, Sunday Akapson, said the girls played according to instruction.

“One of the best things we used in this game in the first and second game is that we try to boost the morale of the players.

“After we lost our first game against Egypt, we told them that they have the ability, capacity and the strength to win the remaining matches. We will go back home to restrategise and play in the final match against Egypt on Thursday,” he said.

On his part, the team manager of the Cameroon team, Tamuo Henry, said the girls worked well in their games.

“It is unfortunate that they lost all their three matches but that does not make them a good team. The good thing is that the three teams will participate in the U-17 world cup championship in 2024, ’’ he said.

Mirabel Onyegwu from the Nigerian team received the Most Valuable Player award of the match.

The 2023 Girl’s U17 African Nations Volleyball which started on Saturday is expected to end on December 8.

Brazil says that it is deploying troops along its border with Venezuela after the Venezuelan government announced plans to incorporate an area controlled by Guyana into its territory.

The oil-rich Essequibo region has been in dispute since the 19th Century when Guyana was a British colony.

Venezuela renewed its land claims after offshore oil and gas reserves were discovered a few years ago.

Tensions have been rising since a referendum on Sunday in Venezuela.

More than 95% of voters are said to have supported the government’s claim to Essequibo.

Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro has since asked the state oil company to issue extraction licenses there and proposed that the National Assembly pass a bill to make the area part of Venezuela.

The measures are cause for concern across the region. While Guyana has its troops on high alert, the Brazilian army has said that it is moving more soldiers to the border city of Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state, as well as bringing in more armed vehicles.

However any military incursion by Venezuela will be logistically challenging, Venezuelan soldiers would need to pass through Brazilian territory if they enter Essequibo because of challenging terrain elsewhere.

According to AFP news agency, Brazil’s army has said it is reinforcing its presence in the region as part of efforts to “guarantee the inviolability of the territory”.

A Guyanese army helicopter with seven people on board was reported missing near the Venezuelan border on Wednesday.

However, the Guyanese Chief of Staff, Omar Khan, said there was “no information suggesting Venezuela was involved”.

A businessman, Muhammad Inuwa on Wednesday petitioned an upper Shari’a Court sitting in Tudun Wada, Kaduna, to help him reclaim N2.6 million naira rent from one Fatima Muhammad.

The complainant told the court that he sold a house to the defendant in 2018 for N28 million, with a 1.8 million deposit.

“We agreed that she should pay the balance of 26.2 in installments by paying N750,000 yearly rent until she finished paying.

“But since 2018, she has not paid for the rent and later told me that she was no longer interested in buying the house,” he said.

He asked the court to order the defendant to return his house and three years and six months’ rent.

The defendant, through her counsel, Zaid Umar, disputed the allegation.

Malam Iliyasus Umar, the judge, adjourned the case till January 11 to allow the complainant to present his witnesses.

France is planning to freeze the potential assets of the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, according to a decree published in the official gazette on Tuesday.

According to the decree, assets in France belonging to individuals or organisations controlled by al-Sinwar are also affected.

The assets are to be frozen for six months.

The moves came after France had previously ordered the freezing of assets belonging to the commander of Hamas’ armed wing, Mohammed Deif.

Both have been at the top of Israel’s hit list since the massacre committed by Hamas and other militant groups in southern Israel on October 7.

France has escalated its alert status for avian influenza from “moderate’’ to “high’’, nationwide.

The alert came after confirming the contamination of a turkey farm by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on November 27.

The French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty declared the alert on Tuesday.

According to the official journal of the French government, the decision was prompted by the widespread infection among migratory avifauna and poultry farms in neighbouring countries and metropolitan France.

According to the ministry, the transition to a “high’’ alert level automatically triggers a series of preventive measures throughout France.

These measures primarily include the confinement of birds and poultry indoors.In regions deemed high-risk for transmission, the ministry has mandated farms to conduct HPAI screening when moving web-footed birds between locations.

In a proactive stance, France initiated a nationwide vaccination campaign against HPAI in October 2023.

As of November 5, the agriculture ministry reported that approximately 4.8 million ducks had received their first vaccine doses.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg and other leading figures in Fridays for Future Sweden have accused Israel of war crimes and genocide in a piece published on Tuesday in Sweden’s Aftonbladet and Britain’s Guardian newspapers.

“The horrific murders of Israeli civilians by Hamas cannot in any way legitimise Israel’s ongoing war crimes. Genocide is not self-defence, nor is it in any way a proportionate response,” they wrote.

Ms Thunberg and four other signatories emphasised that they were speaking only on behalf of Fridays for Future in Sweden, adding that the organisation had always spoken up “when people suffer, are forced to flee their homes, or are killed—regardless of the cause.”

They pointed to strikes held in solidarity with marginalised groups in Norway, Kurdistan, and Ukraine.

They also cited the prominent Israeli genocide expert Raz Segal, who has called Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip “a textbook case of genocide.”

The authors also condemned anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents in Sweden.

“Everyone speaking out on this crisis has a responsibility to distinguish between Hamas, Muslims, and Palestinians and between the state of Israel, Jewish people, and Israelis,” they added.

In October, Ms Thunberg drew criticism for sharing an Instagram post from a German-based pro-Palestinian group in which Israel is accused of genocide.

Lisa Neubauer, a prominent German climate activist, has distanced herself from others in the movement.

Israel has assembled a system of large pumps with which it could flood the extensive tunnel network of the Islamist movement Hamas under the Gaza Strip with seawater, according to media reports.

The U.S. newspaper Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing U.S. government officials, that it is not known whether the Israeli government intends to use this tactic.

Israel has neither made a final decision nor ruled out such a plan, the officials were quoted as saying.

Israeli forces completed the installation of large seawater pumps north of the Al-Shati refugee camp in mid-November, it said.

At least five pumps were installed, which can draw water from the Mediterranean Sea and direct thousands of cubic metres of water per hour into the tunnels, flooding them within a few weeks, the newspaper reported.

With such a tactic, Israel would be able to destroy the tunnels and drive the terrorists out of their underground hideout, it said.

On the other hand, this would threaten the Gaza Strip’s water supply, U.S. officials were quoted as saying.

Israel first informed the U.S. of this option in early November, prompting a discussion in which the feasibility and environmental impact were weighed against the military value of taking out the tunnels, the report said.

The Israeli army said it has found more than 800 tunnel shafts since the beginning of the Gaza war.

They said on Sunday that about 500 of them have already been destroyed.Some of the tunnel shafts connected strategic Hamas facilities underground, it said in a statement.

Many kilometres of underground tunnel routes had been destroyed.

The information could not initially be independently verified.

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State seeking a certificate of return as the state’s lawful governor.

Ihedioha had told the apex court that Governor Hope Uzodinma was not qualified to run for the election in the first place, claiming that Uche Nwosu was earlier declared by the court as the rightful candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

In a verdict read by Justice Tijjani Abubakar on Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed the motion for lack of merit, calling it needless and vexatious.

It awarded the cost of N40 million against Mike Ozekhome for bringing the matter before the court.

Cabinet minister Lucy Frazer on Monday said that British lawyers could be sent to Rwandan courts as part of a new treaty to finally implement the government’s plan to fly asylum seekers to the African nation.

Home Secretary James Cleverly is said to be close to finalising a treaty with Rwanda as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s goal of making the plan legally watertight following the Supreme Court’s ruling against the scheme.

Ms Frazer said the Home Office was looking “very carefully” at sending UK government lawyers to Rwanda to address concerns about the legal system there.

The Daily Telegraph reported that British lawyers could be sent to advise Rwandan judges, perhaps for specific asylum case hearings or longer periods, to help ensure asylum appeals were granted correctly.

However, Rwanda is unlikely to accept any arrangement that looks like colonial-style legal interference.

If a deal is reached, Mr Cleverly could head to Rwanda soon to sign the treaty, with domestic legislation also planned so the UK parliament could ensure the African nation would be a safe destination for asylum seekers arriving in Britain.

Ms Frazer was pressed on whether British lawyers could be stationed in Rwanda’s courts.

“There is an issue about processing, and I know that the Home Office is looking at that very carefully,” she told BBC Breakfast.

“I know that the Home Secretary James Cleverly is now working with Rwanda on a new treaty, and we will be bringing forward legislation in due course.”

In the wake of the Supreme Court judgment on November 15, the government insisted it had been working on contingency measures and promised a treaty with Rwanda within days, along with emergency legislation in parliament, but neither has yet emerged.

There has been speculation that Rwanda is pushing for more money on top of the €140 million ($177.3 million) already committed to the scheme.

On Friday, Prime Minister Sunak met Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame on the sidelines of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

He declined afterwards to say how much money he would spend to get the scheme off the ground.

The U.S. says it is committed to promoting sustainable peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people as well as the adoption of a two-state solution to end the war between the countries.

David Greene, chargé d’affaires in Nigeria, said.

Mr Greene said the crisis is a source of concern for the U.S.

“I think that violence in Gaza right now with Israel is broadly very distressing and undermines everyone’s hopes and aspirations. I think what everyone in the world does or ought to be able to agree is that what we want is for the people of the region – Palestine and Israel – to live in peace and security and safety with dignity,” stated the American deputy ambassador in Nigeria.

Mr Greene added, “This is something we thought (about) for a very long time with our international partners. It is something we must agree on. I see, for example, the progress calls for a two-state solution. Secretary of State Antony Blinken restated our commitment to working toward the two-state solution based on the 1967 mutual agreement plan on land swap.”

The envoy recalled that President Joe Biden made statements several times and Mr Blinken on the U.S. views about the conflict.

Mr Greene stated, “It is a kind of violence that Nigerians are rather familiar with (from) Boko Haram and other terrorist organisations. It is those that do not agree that will abuse the dignity, peace, and security of life of the people in that region.

“So, the U.S. is committed to doing everything we can, and I think we have had a significant role in getting to the paths of what or whatever it may be right now. There have been exchanges of hostages.”

He stressed that the U.S. government is doing its “part to find ways to move beyond this cycle of violence and allow for Israelis, Palestinians and other people in the region” to live in peace, security, and dignity.

“It is not to have their livelihood threatened by vile acts of terrorists who offer no reasonable alternative,” said Mr Greene.

David Greene, charge d’affaires of the United States Embassy in Nigeria, says both countries are working closely as partners to strengthen security and ensure stability in West Africa.

Mr Greene, who said this in an interview in Abuja, described Nigeria as a strategic partner to the U.S. and a regional power in Africa.

The American deputy ambassador said, “Security is something we partner on with lots of countries. Nigeria is a strategic partner because of its weight in the African region and the challenges in the Sahel and West Africa.

“This is in terms of dealing with violent extremism and stability. More broadly, Nigeria has been a key partner. Some of such cooperation involves the systems that we provide to it for it to be able to protect its coastal waters and to carry out its counter-terrorism measures.”

Mr Greene explained that “some of that involves the equipment” Nigeria buys from the U.S., including purchasing a dozen A-29 Super Tucano planes two years ago.

The charge d’affaires added, “It is a precision munition that allows them to tackle terrorism problems. We do not just work with the military. We work with civilian security services very effectively in addressing illegal drug issues.”

The diplomat noted that the U.S. “is providing support to Nigeria in furtherance of its police reform and capacity building” to deliver justice transparently.

He explained, “We are working with Nigeria on a programme to reduce the number of individuals that are in pre-trial detention looking at the rights of those individuals in prisons and correctional facilities in Nigeria. We have a vast array of programmes that are attempting to support the Nigerian government’s goals in terms of enhancing the security and quality of life of individual Nigerian citizens.

“So, we are all aware of the challenges that Nigeria faces, in terms of its security, and also the strength of the systems that should allow for the continued improvement in the situation. This is a partnership that we are proud of and one that we will continue.”

Eleven hikers have been found dead near the crater of Indonesia’s Marapi volcano after it erupted over the weekend, rescuers say.

Three people were rescued on Monday.

The search for 12 others missing has been suspended due to a small eruption.

There were 75 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption but most were safely evacuated.

Mount Marapi, one of Indonesia’s 127 active volcanoes, spewed ash as high as 3km (9,800ft) into the air on Sunday.

Authorities have imposed the second-highest alert level and prohibited residents from going within 3km of the crater.

The three people rescued, who were also found near the crater, were “weak and had some burns”, said Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency. Forty-nine climbers were evacuated from the area earlier on Monday, many of whom also suffered burns.

Video footage of Sunday’s eruption showed a huge cloud of volcanic ash spread widely across the sky, and cars and roads covered with ash.

Rescue workers took turns carrying the dead and the injured down the mountain’s arduous terrain and onto waiting ambulances with blaring sirens.

“Some suffered from burns because it was very hot, and they have been taken to the hospital,” said Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency.

One of the rescued hikers moaned in pain and said “God is great” as she piggybacked on a rescuer, AFP news agency reported.

Jodi Haryawan, spokesperson for the local search and rescue team, told reporters that it would be “too dangerous” to continue searching while the volcano was erupting.

The 2,891m (9,485ft) high Mount Marapi is located on Indonesia’s westernmost Sumatra island.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has urged Nigerians to embrace, appreciate and showcase their cultural values home and abroad.

Mr Ogunwusi said this at the inauguration of the Erelu Yeye Oodua Cultural Renaissance Centre on Sunday in Lagos.

The event organised by the Erelu Yeye Oodua Foundation, featured a Christmas Carol and Gala Night.

Mr Ogunwusi, who was the Grand Royal Father of the ceremony, said that most Nigerians had lost their cultural values to those of the western world.

According to him, most Nigerians no longer appreciate their cultural values as it was in the past.

“We have rich culture, heritage, norms and values that we can market to the outside world but most Nigerians now prefer western values to their culture. They have lost their cultural values to the western world and this is not good for the image of the country,” he said.

The traditional ruler urged the Federal Government to adequately fund the culture and tourism sector to reawaken the country’s traditional values.

He also implored the government to encourage private investors to fully tap into the nation’s rich cultural resources.

Mr Ogunwusi said that adequate funding of the sector would attract more investors to the art, culture and tourism world.

The traditional ruler also urged the current government to empower youths to explore and harness the culture, art and tourism potential of the country.

He said that if the Federal Government could properly fund the sector, it would in turn raise government’s revenue and help to address the nation’s unemployment challenges.

Speaking, Archbishop Adewale Martins of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos thanked the foundation for creating the centre, saying that it would further create wealth for the youth.

Mr Martins said that the Christmas Carol was significant as people of diverse religion, traditional rulers and other factors could sit side by side to recognise the grace of God.

Also, Founder, Erelu Yeye Odua Foundation, Chief Abiola Dosunmu, said that one of the reasons the foundation was created was to address such controversy relating to history, culture, arts, lifestyle and other issues about Africans.

Ms Dosunmu said that the new centre would focus on research, empowerment, education, training and promotion of culture and languages.

Other dignitaries at the event included Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, Lagos State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, among others.

The Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, has assured visa applicants of the mission’s commitment to tackling all visa-related hitches.

Mr Greene gave the assurance during an interview with journalists in Abuja.

According to him, issues related to visas would fully become a thing of the past, saying the mission is doing everything within its power to tackle such challenges.

“When it comes to visas specifically, well, of course, it is a simple fact that the demand for visa appointments outnumbers the supply.

“So, those appointments are available, and we are doing everything we can to address that gap. What folks do not know is that this year we have interviewed more than 150,000 Nigerians.

“This is in addition to 30,000 students. Hundreds of thousands of students have had the opportunity to seek visas from the U.S.

“We are doing the best we can to get proper ways for all the categories after having an enormous backlog as a result of COVID-19 and all that.

“We have made great progress, though. In March, we instituted a five-year term for visas to the U.S.,” he added.

He urged persons desiring to travel to the U.S. to apply early and ensure that the visa requests are tied to events.

“Folks that are seeking visas should apply early; make sure that the plan is for as long as they can.

“This is because we do acknowledge that there is a backlog, and we will do what we can to make sure people who need a warrant visa to the U.S. can get them,” he said.

A British soldier has died while off duty in Kenya, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The BBC understands 32-year-old Maj Kevin McCool was on a motorcycle trip off base when he was attacked.

MoD officials confirmed the soldier’s next of kin have been informed, but said it would not be releasing any details of what happened.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps led tributes to Maj McCool describing the death as a “tragic loss”.

He added: “It’s clear from the tributes of those who knew him that Maj McCool was an exceptional person and an exceptional soldier, loved and respected in equal measure, who served his country with distinction.

“The MoD said Maj McCool died on 29 November.He was commissioned from Sandhurst in August 2014 and was deployed in Europe, the Middle East, the Falklands and Africa.

“As well as a glittering operational record, he also aced many of the military’s hardest courses,” the MoD said in a eulogy.

It added: “His fitness was legendary, once beating the whole Battalion on a two miler, as was his endurance. His enthusiasm was infectious.

“He had a mischievous twinkle in his eye, that made him tremendous fun to be with. Yet his professionalism and sense of purpose was paramount, and clear to all those lucky enough to serve with him.

“Maj McCool has been described as a “big family man” and his commanding officer paid tribute to him as a man “of the utmost integrity”.

“I will never forget my final memory of him, which was on operations; he had just come off the ground having slept a handful of hours in as many days,” the officer said.

“We discussed the possibility of having to deploy another team into the operational furnace from which he had just come. He stopped me mid-sentence, fixed me with his piercing blue eyes, and simply said, ‘send me’.

“A bright light has gone out amongst our ranks. He will be missed, but never forgotten.

“Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “My heart goes out to Maj McCool’s family, friends, and fellow soldiers today in the face of their tragic loss.”

For many years the British army has had a unit based in Kenya, where soldiers receive training before being deployed elsewhere in the world.

The British Army has a small base in Nairobi and a bigger training support unit in Nanyuki which is 200km north of the Kenyan capital.

According to the British Army website, there are around 100 permanent staff in Kenya reinforcing a short tour cohort of another 280 personnel.

Kenyan troops also receive training especially to help with the fight against Islamist militants in the region.

Under an agreement with the Kenyan government, up to six infantry battalions per year carry out eight-week exercises in Kenya.

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed as the United States Supreme Court justice, has died, the American highest court announced in a statement on its website on Friday.

“Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Sandra Day O’Connor died this morning in Phoenix, Arizona, of complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer’s, and a respiratory illness,” the statement said.

She was 93.

Justice O’Connor, a rancher’s daughter, made history on September 25, 1981, after she was appointed to a seat in the Supreme Court following her nomination by former President Ronald Reagan.

She occupied the position until she retired on January 31, 2006, to take care of her sick husband. Justice O’Connor, a conservative, was known for her actions dealing with legal issues relating to affirmative action, abortion, voting rights, religion, federalism, and sex discrimination.

Justice O’Connor, who founded and led iCivics, the nation’s leading civics education platform, after her retirement, is survived by her three sons, Scott (Joanie) O’Connor, Brian (Shawn) O’Connor, and Jay (Heather) O’Connor, and six grandchildren.

“A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed a historic trail as our nation’s first female Justice. She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candour,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr said about the passing of Justice O’Connor.

He added: “We at the Supreme Court mourn the loss of a beloved colleague, a fiercely independent defender of the rule of law and an eloquent advocate for civics education. And we celebrate her enduring legacy as a true public servant and patriot.”

On Friday, South African poultry producer Quantum Foods reported a R35 million ($1.86 million) loss in the year to end September.

The loss came after the country’s worst bird flu outbreak decimated its chicken flock, and power cuts intensified.

The prior year, the company posted a R37 million profit.

South Africa has battled an outbreak of high-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a bird flu that spreads rapidly in an infected flock, causing a high death rate and resulting in the culling of about a third of its national flock.

Though the government has said the outbreak was under control, poultry producers such as Quantum, RCL Foods and Astral Foods have suffered huge losses when the industry faces higher costs due to an electricity crisis.

Daily electricity cuts have been implemented by Eskom as its ageing fleet of coal-fired plants frequently break down.

Quantum said it wrote off assets, such as layer hens and breeding stock, worth R155m during the financial year due to the bird flu outbreak.

It had additional costs from feed and eggs that had to be destroyed as part of measures to combat the avian flu.

The egg producer, which requires uninterrupted electricity to maintain ideal poultry housing temperatures and ensure the flow of air, water and feed, said it spent R52 million on diesel to run generators as power cuts intensified.

Quantum also invested R35 million to purchase generators.