Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: Europe

  • UN outlook sees global growth easing to about 2.7% in 2026 amid uncertainty

    UN outlook sees global growth easing to about 2.7% in 2026 amid uncertainty

    Figures cited by The Guardian Nigeria from the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects 2026 suggest global economic output could grow about 2.7% in 2026, slightly below the prior year estimate and under the pre‑pandemic average.

    The report highlights headwinds from higher tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty and uneven recoveries across regions, with growth forecasts varying across the US, EU, Asia and Africa.

    For Nigeria, a softer global environment can affect oil prices, capital flows, remittances and borrowing costs—making domestic reforms and stability even more important.

    Investors and policymakers will be watching inflation trends and central-bank easing cycles globally, which can influence risk appetite for emerging markets.

    Echotitbits take: Nigeria’s external environment may be less supportive this year. Watch for how fiscal and FX reforms cushion shocks, and whether trade diversification reduces oil dependence.

    Source: Reuters – https://www.reuters.com/business/un-predicts-world-economic-growth-slip-27-2026-2026-01-08/ 9 January 2026

    Reuters Nigeria 2026-01-09

    Photo Credit: Reuters

  • Trump and Zelensky hold talks as Ukraine war endgame takes shape

    Trump and Zelensky hold talks as Ukraine war endgame takes shape

    2025-12-29 09:00:00
    Punch says Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky met as diplomacy intensifies around ending the war, with competing frameworks and red lines shaping what a deal could look like.

    Reuters coverage captures urgency from Kyiv’s side about timing and leverage as the New Year approaches, suggesting decisions could accelerate as war fatigue influences negotiation dynamics.

    Unresolved fundamentals—security guarantees, territory, enforcement mechanisms and sequencing—remain the toughest obstacles to any lasting settlement.

    Reuters quotes Zelensky saying, “I think a lot can be decided before the New Year,” while Investing.com reports Zelensky said after the meeting they were “a lot closer” to ending the war.

    Echotitbits take: The risk now is a rushed deal that freezes conflict without credible guarantees. Watch for concrete enforcement language and whether Europe is formally inside the guarantee structure—or merely supporting from the sidelines.

    Source: The Punch — December 29, 2025 (https://punchng.com/trump-zelensky-meet-in-push-to-end-ukraine-war/)
    The Punch 2025-12-29

    Photo Credit: The punch

  • FG increases price of petrol to N143 amidst “toxic fuel” importation claim

    FG increases price of petrol to N143 amidst “toxic fuel” importation claim

    The Federal Government has increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol from N140.80 to N143.80 per litre.

    This increment was disclosed in a statement released on Wednesday by the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Abdulkadir Saidu.

    “After a review of the prevailing market fundamentals in the month of June and considering marketers’ realistic operating costs, as much as practicable, we wish to advise a new PMS pump price band of N140.80 – N143.80 per litre for the month of July 2020,” the statement read.

    “All marketers are advised to operate within the indicative prices as advised by the PPPRA.”

    In April, the Federal Government had announced a reduction of the petrol pump to N123.50 per litre.

    This upward review in petrol price comes only hours after a UK based newspaper, The Guardian revealed that the petrol that Nigeria buys from Europe is dirty and harmful.

    According to laboratory analysis: “Black market fuel made from stolen oil in rudimentary “bush” refineries hidden deep in the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta is less polluting than the highly toxic diesel and petrol that Europe exports to Nigeria”, the newspaper reported.

  • UK PM Boris Johnson admitted to intensive care

    UK PM Boris Johnson admitted to intensive care

    UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to intensive care on Monday April 6 2020, days after he went into self isolation since testing positive for coronavirus.

    Johnson’s Downing Street Office said “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.”

    Officials also noted that the Foreign Minister, Dominique Raab is to take over Mr. Johnson’s duties where necessary.

    The government explained that Johnson was transferred in case there was a need for him to use a ventilator.

    The PM was admitted to London’s St Thomas’ Hospital last Sunday having developed a temperature and a cough. He tested positive for coronavirus on March 27, making him the highest ranked world leader to have contracted the disease that is rapidly spreading across the world.

    Johnson who is 55 years old had been in self-isolation in his Downing Street apartment until Sunday evening when he was moved to a state owned hospital on the advice of his doctor.

    When questions were raised about whether Prime Minister Johnson could still run the country, government officials explained that the move was only a precautionary step.

    At the initial stage and as the virus spread, the British Government refused to order that its citizens stay at home like the country’s European counterparts did.

    The Prime Minister who only ordered a nationwide lockdown 2 weeks ago had in early march said that he was still shaking hands with people.

    It is now feared that the UK might be heading towards a serious outbreak with over 50,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths recorded so far. The daily death rate is now put at 439.

    Other high profile leaders in the UK who had been infected with the disease are Health Secretary, Matt Hancock and Heir to the throne, Prince Charles. They have both recovered.

    On Sunday night, the Queen, Elizabeth II made a rare public address that evoked the spirit of World War II. In her remarkable speech, she urged Britons to stay unified.

    “We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again,” she said.