Iran announced on Thursday it had agreed to share peaceful nuclear technology with Nigeria, aiming to help Africa’s biggest oil producer boost its electrical-generation output.
The head of the Iranian delegation said it was his country’s right to share its nuclear know-how with Nigeria. Mohammad Ali Zeyghami, a top commerce official, said fossil fuels would one day disappear and that it was crucial to develop clean energy.
“Nobody can limit the use of knowledge anywhere in the world,” Zeyghami said.
Tijanni Kaura, a senior Nigerian Foreign Ministry official, stressed that the agreement dealt only with power production and shouldn’t be misconstrued as an attempt to gain a nuclear weapons program.
“Nigeria is never entering into any agreement with Iran for any matter that has to do with weapons,” Kaura said.
“There shouldn’t be a misunderstanding between exploration or uses of energy to provide power and the uses of energy for weapons ... so that our relationship with Iran will not be misconstrued by Nigerians and the entire international community,” Kaura said.
Iran has refused to comply with repeated international demands to halt nuclear enrichment, a process that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear weapons or nuclear energy. The US suspects the country is trying to make weapons, but Iran says its only aim is power production.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest petroleum producer, but neglect and corruption have left it with almost no way to refine crude oil into fuels used to power electricity-generating stations.
Most of the country’s 140 million inhabitants see only a few hours of state-provided electricity per day, and industry must rely on costly diesel generators to power plants.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constructing a new counter-stealth radar system on a disputed reef in the South China Sea that would significantly expand its surveillance capabilities in the region, satellite imagery suggests. Analysis by London-based think tank Chatham House suggests China is upgrading its outpost on Triton Island (Jhongjian Island, 中建島) on the southwest corner of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building what might be a launching point for an anti-ship missile battery and sophisticated radar system. “By constraining the US ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send
HAVANA: Repeated blackouts have left residents of the Cuban capital concerned about food, water supply and the nation’s future, but so far, there have been few protests Maria Elena Cardenas, 76, lives in a municipal shelter on Amargura Street in Havana’s colonial old town. The building has an elegant past, but for the last few days Maria has been cooking with sticks she had found on the street. “You know, we Cubans manage the best we can,” she said. She lives in the shelter because her home collapsed, a regular occurrence in the poorest, oldest parts of the beautiful city. Cuba’s government has spent the last days attempting to get the island’s national grid functioning after repeated island-wide blackouts. Without power, sleep becomes difficult in the heat, food
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected a plan for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Kyiv due to Guterres’ attendance at this week’s BRICS summit in Russia, a Ukrainian official said on Friday. Kyiv was enraged by Guterres’ appearance at the event in the city of Kazan on Thursday and his handshake with its host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres, who called for a “just peace” in Ukraine at the BRICS event and has repeatedly condemned the invasion, discussed a visit to Ukraine with Zelenskiy when they met in New York
RSS