Edgars Rinkevics, Latvia’s long-serving foreign minister, has become the European Union’s first openly gay head of state.

Mr Rinkevics, Latvia’s foreign minister since 2011, was sworn in as the country’s president on Saturday in Riga.

Although it is primarily a ceremonial office, Latvia’s president has the authority to veto legislation and convene referendums.

The EU has previously had openly gay heads of government, but never a gay head of state.

In many countries, the heads of state and governments are distinct individuals, such as a president and prime minister.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo was the European Union’s first openly gay leader. Mr Rinkevics, 49, came out in 2014 and has been an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights ever since.

In Latvia, gay marriage is outlawed, but the country’s constitutional court recognised same-sex unions last year.

In the third round of voting in May, Mr Rinkevics was elected as Latvia’s next president by the country’s parliament.

Mr Rinkevics promised to continue backing Ukraine’s ongoing military effort against Russia in his inauguration speech on Saturday.

He said Latvia’s foreign policy “does not have time for mistakes”, adding he will act “quickly, decisively and wisely”.

Also in his speech, Mr Rinkevics encouraged young Latvians to “break the glass ceiling” as he addressed inequality as being a “significant problem”.

“The social divide in our society is too big,” he said.“During my presidency, I will stand up for the creation of a modern and strong Latvia, for a legal and just Latvia, for the wellbeing of the people, for an inclusive and respectful society.

“And it is possible for all of us to achieve this by working together.”

Mr Rinkevics succeeds Egils Levits, who served as president for four years and will represent Latvia at Nato’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week.

Latvia is one of three Baltic countries, along with Lithuania and Estonia, that joined the EU in 2004 after seceding from the collapsing Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Teo fishermen from Neves in SaôTomē and Principe, who were lost in the Atlantic Ocean for five days, have been rescued in Brass Council Area of Bayelsa State.

The fishermen, Antonio Sabino, 51, and Osorio Pires, 41, were said to have been rescued by a trawler fishing in the Gulf of Guinea on Sunday, July 2, 2023, and handed over to fishermen from Okpoama-Brass who took them ashore.

The two fishermen have been handed over to the Divisional Police Officer, Okpoama Division of the Nigeria Police Force, Ebimiesigha Bebetu.

According to the Chairman of the Okpoama Kingdom Security Committee, Chief Munalayefa William-Sinte, the men who look malnourished were clothed and fed before they were handed over to the police for necessary action.

He said the fishermen who were visibly worried were calmed with sign language before they were handed over to the police as it was impossible to communicate with them because of the language barrier.

Chief Sinte also told journalists that a fisherman from Ilaje in Ondo State but resident in Okpoama has been missing for over a week, adding that his colleagues have been searching the ocean for days.

In 2019, bodies of two male fishermen at an advanced stage decomposition were found in a fishing boat that drifted ashore in Okpoama from Saọ̄ Tomē and Principe.

Spokesman for the Bayelsa Police Command, Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the development in a statement on Monday, July 3, said the Divisional Police Officer of Okpoama Division, Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State has taken custody of two fishermen who were rescued by a captain of a fishing trawler at 50 nautical miles off the Atlantic ocean.

He said the Police authorities have established contact with a coast guard officer from Saô Tomē and Principe and are making concerted effort to reunite them with their families.

Afghan police on Monday arrested seven kidnappers and rescued an abducted man in the southern Helmand province.

In a statement, the provincial information and culture directorate said the provincial police personnel launched a series of “special operations.”

It stated,

“It arrested seven individuals involved in the abduction of a man identified as Nimatullah, son of Gul Mohammad, in Musa Qala district of the province.”

In a similar operation early on Sunday, police personnel arrested four individuals allegedly involved in theft and extortion in the capital Kabul, according to the Kabul police headquarters.

As part of the government’s plan to ensure law and order, the Ministry of Interior has intensified its crackdown on criminals and illegally armed individuals in the country.

The latest mass shooting incident to jolt the heart of the free world occurred on Sunday during a block party in Baltimore, United States, when no less than 30 people were shot.

It was the largest shooting incident in the city since 2014.

Police said they received many calls about the shooting, which took place in an area of Brooklyn homes called South Baltimore, adding that two individuals were murdered and three others are in critical condition.

Only 20 victims out of the 28 wounded could walk to the hospital, according to acting police commissioner Richard Worley, who characterised the scene as “extensive.”

According to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, the shooting emphasises “the need to deal with access” to guns nationwide, not just in Baltimore.

Mr Scott also vowed that the city would do all possible to find the assailants.

“I want those who are responsible to hear me and hear me very clearly. We will not stop until we find you, and we will find you. Until then, I hope with every single breath that you take that you think about the lives that you took and you think about the lives that you impacted here tonight,” he said.

Nigeria and 56 other countries under the aegis of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Sunday condemned the recent incident of an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden who burned several pages of the Quran.

Nigeria is among the 57 African member states of the OIC.

The OIC represents the Muslim world’s collective voice and defends its interests. The OIC is the second largest organisation after the United Nations, with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents.

According to reports, Salwan Momika, 37, an Iraqi native, set fire to the holy book outside a mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha.The Swedish government condemned the burning of a Quran outside Stockholm’s major mosque as an “Islamophobic” act.

Last week, the government accused Mr Momika of incitement against an ethnic or national group.

But in a statement by the organisation, issued after a meeting in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, the OIC secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha said a clear message must be sent across the international community regarding the international law, which prohibits “religious hatred.”

“We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred,” Mr Taha said.

In a related development, the Federal Administrative Court of Germany has declared the Blue Mosque, an Islamic centre in Hamburg, an “extremist Islamic organisation.”

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the Blue Mosque’s operations as “extremist Islamist organisations” in 2018 and 2019.

The OIC said on its website that it “has the mandate to monitor Islamophobia trend and to provide periodical reports to member states; while being encouraged to take necessary measures to address the phenomenon in coordination and cooperation with member states, international communities and the UN Human Rights mechanism, as well as with other international entities whenever it is possible.”

It added that through a “dedicated unit within the OIC General Secretariat which is the Islamophobia Observatory, such mandate is being implemented mainly by monitoring events and incidents on (a) daily basis.”

The Lagos State Government will be setting up a joint working committee to resolve issues surrounding the recent demolition of some buildings in the Alaba International Market area and some other markets in Lagos.

The committee is to help clear some of the misunderstandings surrounding the demolition exercise.

Members of the joint committee, the state government said, will include market leaders.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made this known while speaking after a meeting with Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ben Kalu, and some Igbo market leaders in Lagos on Friday.

Recall that some individuals have accused the Lagos government of targeting a certain section of the country in the recent demolition of some structures at the Alaba International Market.

Debunking the accusation, Sanwo-Olu said that some of the misconceptions surrounding the actions of the government have been cleared in the meeting, adding that the committee will go around to verify things.

“We just finished a meeting between myself and the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, and the Deputy Speaker Honourable Kalu and other market leaders of our various Igbo markets in Lagos, some community leaders, and also some state government officials.

“The meeting had gone on successfully, we discussed issues around a common interest, especially issues bordering on the recent demolition around Alaba Market where there has been a lot of wrong information and communication.

“Our conversation here this afternoon has cleared the air. We have seen that indeed there is a need for us to further collaborate.

Where wrongs have been expressed we have corrected all of the issues and the views and we have jointly set up a small working committee that will go around, verify, and see things for ourselves and be able to put all of the negative information and media review out correctly,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Sanwo-Olu also appealed to the people to go about their normal business without any fear, adding that the government will always listen to them and allow everybody to do well and run their businesses.

Speaking, Governor Uzodimma thanked Sanwo-Olu for listening to the concerns they raised with him and his proactive action in setting up a committee to immediately look at the issues.

Police in New South Wales confirmed on Tuesday that a man had died after being shot at Bondi Junction, a suburb in Sydney’s east.

According to a statement released by NSW Police Force, emergency services were called to Spring Street in Bondi Junction at about 8:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

It followed reports of a man shot while sitting in a stationary vehicle at a car park.

The male driver died at the scene, which has not been formally identified at the current stage.

Speaking at a news conference held in the afternoon, NSW Police Force Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said that upon arrival.

Police commenced an investigation a short distance from James Street, where officers found a partially burnt-out Porsche.

Later, police found a second burnt-out Holden Commodore on Cook Lane, Zetland.

“For both vehicles, we are looking at the links to the shooting and to any person involved in the shooting,’’ said Mr Doherty.

The police officer revealed that the deceased was a 48-year-old man from Bondi Junction with an extensive criminal history well known to police, calling him a high-level criminal identity.

Doherty also told reporters that the shooting bears the hallmarks of an organised crime murder.

“We’re focusing all our attention at the moment on obtaining CCTV and witnesses and gaining as much information as we can at the moment,’’ Mr Doherty added.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama has come under heavy criticism over his remarks on Muslims in India.

Mr Obama had said in an interview that the country may “start pulling apart” if the rights of minorities were not protected.

The U.S. ex-president was responding to a question on how current president Joe Biden should engage with “illiberal democrats.”

Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister, was, however, in the U.S. on a state visit at the time of Mr Obama’s remark.

Mr Modi’s three-day visit was marked by a ceremonial welcome to the White House, a lavish state dinner and the signing of several crucial deals.The prime minister also addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

However, Mr Obama’s remarks, made in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, aired before the Congress address, were widely reported in India.

Ms Amanpour referred to the “threat to democracy” from so-called “illiberal democrats” before referring to Mr Modi as one.

“How should a President engage with those kinds of leaders, either in the naming of them or in the dealing with them?” She asked.

Mr Obama said it was “complicated”, before referring to his own experience dealing with allies who may not have run “ideally democratic governments” but with whom relations had to be maintained for a number of reasons.

He added that it was “appropriate” for the U.S. president, when possible, to challenge “trends that are troubling” either in public or private.

“If the president meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India – that’s something worth mentioning.

“If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart”, the former U.S. president.

But leaders of India’s governing party have lambasted Mr Obama for these comments.

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Indian finance minister, who also is from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said she was “shocked” by Mr Obama’s comments.

“When Mr Modi was campaigning in the US – and by campaigning I mean speaking about India – a former US president was speaking about Indian Muslims,” Ms Sitharaman said.

She added that the U.S. had bombed Muslim-majority countries including Syria and Yemen while Mr Obama was in power.

Also, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Monday, reacted, saying that India has never discriminated against people on the basis of their religion.

“People should try to understand India’s secular character,” Mr Rajnath said.

He explained that people commenting on India’s minority rights should “also think about how many Muslim countries they have attacked.”

Mr Obama and the U.S. government have not publicly commented on the remarks.

During a joint conference attended by Mr Biden, Mr Modi also said that there was “no space for any discrimination” under his government, in response to a question on the rights of Muslims and other minorities in India.

A U.S. woman, Phoebe Copas, has been charged with murder for killing an Uber driver, Daniel Piedra Garcia, whom she thought abducted her to Mexico.

The police authorities in Texas, said Ms Copa who was travelling to see her boyfriend, while on the way thought that she was being abducted and taken into Mexico.

Ms Copas saw traffic signs that read Juarez, Mexico, thinking she was abducted.

She contacted the emergency number 911 and took a photo of the driver to show to her boyfriend, after which she pulled out a gun from her bag and fired it at the driver.

The 48-year-old woman has remained in police custody after being charged with murder for the death of Mr Garcia.The 52-year-old man died in a hospital hours after depending on life support.

“At some point during the drive, Copas thought she was being taken into Mexico and shot Piedra. The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was veering from Copas’ destination,” the police statement said.

“The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was veering from Copas’ destination.”

Emmanuel Samuel, a Nigerian based in the U.S., has been sentenced to 82 months in prison for defrauding a U.S. senior citizen.

Mr Samuel, 39, was sentenced to prison on June 21, for “his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme,” U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement.

District Court Judge Kathleen M. Williams sentenced Mr Samuel in Miami, ordering him to make “restitution payments to victims of his offences.”

Citing a court document, the U.S. Justice Department said Mr Samuel “was part of a group of fraudsters that sent personalised letters to elderly victims in the United States, falsely claiming that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left for the recipient by a family member who had died years before in Portugal.

“Victims were told that before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and payments to avoid questioning from government authorities.

Victims sent money to the defendants through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims. The defendants convinced these former victims to receive money from new victims and then forward the fraud proceeds to others.”

Mr Samuel’s two other co-defendants, Jonathan Abraham and Jerry Ozor, are billed to be sentenced in the coming months by Judge Williams.

Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, was quoted to have said “the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue, prosecute, and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located.

“Working together, U.S. and foreign law enforcement can and will thwart schemes such as the one charged in this case and prevent further loss to American victims.”

Mr Samuel’s sentence comes days after the U.S. Department of Drug Enforcement Administration declared a Nigerian-American Oluwasheun Akorede wanted for drug trafficking.

Emmanuelle Blatmann, French Ambassador to Nigeria, said France has invested 600,000 Euros for the promotion of French language in Nigeria.

Ms Blatmann revealed this on the sideline of the solidarity fund for innovative projects (FSPI) launch in Abuja.

According to her, the two-year FSPI project aims to strengthen French teachers’ skills and improve students’ knowledge of French language in Nigeria.

“French language choice has proven to be very beneficial for young Nigerians, given the academic and professional opportunities offered to those who master the language and the country’s proximity to French-speaking neighbours,” she said.

She attributed the challenges faced in mastering written and spoken French amongst secondary school students to inadequate access to textbooks, limited technological equipment and inadequate time devoted to teaching French language.

According to her, research shows that some teachers attest to a limited mastery of French and most of them have not been trained in the latest pedagogical approaches of French as a foreign language.

She said this affects learners’ motivation and their knowledge of French in general.

“It is against this background that the embassy of France in Nigeria officially sets in motion a new project, entitled ‘French in Nigeria, language of communication and capacity building’.”

“The project will be financed by a special fund called “solidarity funds for innovative projects”.

“The project, with the slogan “a toi le micro, Najia”, meaning (the mic is yours, Najia) in English, aims at positioning French as a real language of communication in secondary schools and in the Nigerian public space.”

She further disclosed that secondary school teachers will be trained and a network of media platforms using the French language will be created to support it.

“The FSPI project will make it possible to deploy a programme for 50 schools in five states in which local partners have clearly expressed the desire to intensify educational cooperation actions in Enugu, Plateau, Oyo, Lagos states and the FCT.

“The selected schools will benefit directly from a pilot initiative involving teacher trainings in France and in Nigeria and the purchase of books and computer equipment.

“A link will also be created with five FM radio stations and web radio that already broadcast content in French in Nigeria and to those who will collaborate with the pilot schools,” she said.

She added that educational programmes would be created to allow adults and children to practice French language.

The United Nations has accused Russia of killing 136 children in 2022 during its war of aggression against Ukraine, an internal report seen by dpa in New York on Thursday showed.

UN secretary general António Guterres said he was “appalled” by the killings.The report also stated that Ukrainian forces killed 80 children.

The Russian army was included on a UN list of organisations that commit serious offences against children in armed conflicts.

According to the UN list, 477 children were killed in Ukraine last year, with 136 attributed to Russian forces and allies and 80 to Ukrainian troops.

Neither of the two warring parties can be blamed with certainty for the remaining victims. Air strikes mostly killed the children, it said.

Such attacks are carried out by Russian forces on Ukrainian towns and villages. The UN stressed that there was a large number of unreported cases because of the strict guidelines for verifying such cases.

“I am particularly shocked by the high number of attacks on schools, hospitals and protected personnel, and by the high number of children killed and maimed, attributed to Russian forces and affiliated armed groups,” Mr Guterres said.

He also expressed concern about the actions of Ukrainian forces.The UN documented 92 cases of children last year, most of which were used as human shields in Ukraine.

According to the report, the Russians were responsible for all but one of these cases.

Of a total of 751 attacks on schools and hospitals, the Russian army and its allies carried out 480 and 212 attacks were attributed to Ukrainian armed forces, while the remaining cases could not be attributed.