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In a letter dated April 14, 2026, and addressed to the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Mr Clement Isong, AON said the cost of aviation fuel has surged from ₦900 per litre as of February 28 to ₦3,300 per litre — an increase of over 300 per cent within weeks. According to the body, the spike is “artificial” and far exceeds global trends, noting that international crude oil prices have risen by only about 30 per cent within the same period. ‘Detrimental to national wellbeing’ The operators said airlines have continued to absorb the rising costs for over four weeks out of “patriotism and in the spirit of service to the nation,” but they warned that the burden is no longer manageable. “Airline revenues are insufficient to cover the cost of fuel alone,” the letter stated, adding that the situation has deteriorated to the point where continued operations are no longer viable. The group warned that the actions of fuel ...

Italy will not renew its defence agreement with Israel, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said. Meloni said her government had decided to suspend the renewal, which happens every five years, "in view of the current situation", without offering specifics. Relations between Rome and Tel Aviv, which have historically been solid, have recently soured. Last week, Italy summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome after warning shots were fired by Israeli forces at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, damaging one vehicle but causing no injuries. On Monday, Israel in turn summoned Italy's ambassador to protest comments by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had condemned Israel's "unacceptable attacks" on civilians in Lebanon. Defence ministry officials told the BBC they were still examining how the government's position would translate into concrete legal and practical consequences on the framework of Italian cooperation wit...

Western democracies, including the UK, France, Canada and Australia, are facing backlash after allowing Iran and other authoritarian regimes to secure seats on influential United Nations (U.N.) bodies , with the United States standing alone in opposition. The controversy stems from decisions by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a 54-member body that plays a central role in shaping U.N. policy and staffing key committees. Critics warn the outcome could allow governments accused of human rights abuses to influence global policy and control which civil society groups are granted access to the United Nations. ECOSOC nominated the Islamic Republic of Iran  to the U.N.’s Committee for Program and Coordination Wednesday, a body that helps shape policy on human rights, women’s rights, disarmament and counterterrorism. The nomination is widely expected to be finalized, as the United Nations General Assembly typically approves such recommen...

US Vice-President JD Vance remained tight-lipped as he returned from Islamabad on Sunday without a major breakthrough in high-stakes talks to end the war in Iran. It was unclear how much, if any, progress was made in the highest-level diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran in decades. After 21 hours of back and forth in the Pakistani capital, Washington and Tehran remain far apart on key sticking points, including Iran's nuclear programme. The two sides did not reach an agreement on what to do with the regime's enriched uranium, said a US official, who offered new details on the talks on the condition of anonymity. Other unresolved issues include reopening the Strait of Hormuz without toll charges, a top priority for President Donald Trump, and securing a commitment from Iran to stop funding proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, the US official said. Vance gave Tehran a final offer in the talks on Saturday, the US official said, without specifying details....

The UK will not be involved in enforcing the US military blockade of Iran, Sir Keir Starmer has said. UK minesweepers and anti-drone capabilities will continue operating in the region but British naval ships and soldiers will not be used to block Iranian ports. Speaking to BBC 5 Live, the prime minister said he was focused on getting the vital shipping channel of the Strait of Hormuz reopened in order to reduce energy prices "as quickly as possible". The US announced its blockade after talks with Iran failed to secure a lasting peace deal to end hostilities in the Middle East. Following a meeting between US and Iran negotiators in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, President Donald Trump said the US would start "BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz". The US Central Command (Centcom) later confirmed its forces would enforce the blockade "impartially" on vessels leaving and entering Iranian ports, including ...

US rapper Offset has performed at Coachella almost a week after being shot outside a casino in Florida. The former Migos member spent most of his set at the California music festival in a wheelchair but did stand and walk around the stage unaided. The 34-year-old, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was in hospital after being shot outside of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood on 6 April. Offset posted on Instagram after his set pictures and videos of the performance with the caption "REAL LOVE". His mum, Latabia Woodward, described the Ric Flair Drip artist as a "miracle walking". The Seminole Police Department previously told Newsbeat it had detained two people in connection with the incident. One of those was US rapper Lil TJay, real name Tione Jayden Merritt, who has been charged with disorderly conduct. Two days before his Coachella appearance, Offset thanked "everyone who checked in". "I'm focused on my family, my recovery and ge...

DUBAI, April 11 (Reuters) - A senior Iranian source said on Saturday the U.S. had agreed to release Iranian frozen assets ​held in Qatar and other foreign banks, but a U.S. official swiftly denied the assertion. The senior Iranian ‌source welcomed the purported U.S. move as a sign of "seriousness" in reaching a deal with Washington in talks in Islamabad.    The source said it was one of Iran's demands "in messages conveyed to the U.S. side" and that Tehran had received a ​U.S. agreement to release the assets. The source, who declined to be named due to the ​sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that unfreezing the assets was "directly linked to ensuring ⁠safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz", which is expected to be a key issue in ​the talks. The senior source did not give a value for the assets that Washington had agreed to ​unfreeze. A second Iranian source said the United States had agreed to release $6 billion of frozen Iranian f...

Twenty-one hours was not enough to end 47 years of hostility between Iran and the US. The historic high-level talks in Islamabad, during a pause in weeks of grievous war, were always unlikely to end any other way. Calling this marathon negotiating session a failure belies the scale of the challenge in narrowing wide gaps on complex issues ranging from age-old suspicion about Iran's nuclear programme to new challenges this war has thrown up - most of all Iran's control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, whose closure is causing economic shocks worldwide. To do a deal, they also needed to overcome a deep chasm of distrust. A day ago, it wasn't even certain the two sides would meet, and even more, sit down in the same room. A longstanding political taboo was broken. The urgent question now is: what happens next? What happens to the contested two-week ceasefire which pulled the world back from US President Donald Trump's alarming threat to destroy a "whole ...

CAIRO, April 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has restored full oil pumping capacity through the East-West pipeline  to about seven million barrels per day, it ‌said on Sunday, days after providing an assessment of damage on its energy sector from attacks during the Iran conflict .  The ministry said energy facilities and ​the pipeline affected by attacks  during the conflict have ​recovered and restored operational capacity. Saudi did not specify who ⁠launched the attacks, but the kingdom has intercepted many ​Iranian missiles and drones in recent weeks. The strikes also disrupted operations  ​at key oil, gas, refining, petrochemical and electricity sites in Riyadh, the Eastern Province and Yanbu Industrial City. OUTPUT RECOVERY TO HELP SUPPLY CONTINUITY Saudi ​said on Thursday the attacks had cut its oil production ​capacity by around 600,000 barrels per day and throughput on its East-West ‌Pipeline ⁠by about 700,000 bpd. The East-West Pipeline has been...

A federal appeals court said Saturday that President Donald Trump can move ahead for another week with construction of a massive new White House ballroom while judges consider the project. The 2-1 order from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals is a temporary win for Trump in a protracted legal fight  over whether he has the authority to build the ballroom on the site of the former East Wing without express approval from Congress. The appeals court said work on the project can continue until at least April 17. The court sent the case back down to a federal judge who initially ruled against it, saying he needed to look closer at the White House’s argument that construction must continue for national security and safety reasons, and adding that the appeals court couldn’t scrutinize the notion on a “hurried record.” “It remains unclear whether and to what extent the development of certain aspects of the proposed ballroom is necessary to ensure the safety and security of th...

The World Bank has commended the management of the Dangote Group for the foresight it demonstrated in investing in the 650, 000 barrels per day Refinery, which, according to him, has protected Nigeria against global energy deficiencies from ongoing unrest in the Middle East. World Bank President Ajay Banga told Reuters in an interview on Friday that Nigeria, ​which had long faced problems, stood to benefit from a $20 billion investment made by the Dangote Group in refineries, which had actually ​increased output during the war, ⁠and was now supplying aviation fuel to neighboring countries. “Nigeria should be breathing a sigh of relief. They’ve built up the ability to have energy security for themselves through that huge investment,” he said. “It’s actually a really good example of the right thing being done in terms of energy self-sufficiency for them, but also for their neighbours.” According to him, the war in the Middle East will have a cascading ...