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How is China punishing Taiwan for the Pelosi visit?

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Visiting US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (C) arrives at the Parliament in Taipei on August 3, 2022. (Photo by Sam Yeh / AFP)

China has launched a volley of trade curbs against Taiwan in addition to live-fire military drills, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island despite Beijing’s warnings.

China considers Taiwan its territory and tries to keep it isolated internationally, opposing countries from maintaining official contacts with the self-ruled democratic island.

After Pelosi became the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday the response will be “resolute, forceful and effective”.

Here are the measures China has announced so far:

Military exercises

Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying gestures during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on August 3, 2022. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan late on August 2, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China that have sent tensions between the world’s two superpowers soaring. (Photo by Noel Celis / AFP)

 

The first response was announced swiftly: live-fire military drills in zones encircling Taiwan — at some points, within just 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the island’s shore.

The drills will include “long-range live ammunition shooting” in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from mainland China and straddles vital shipping lanes.

Taiwan’s defence ministry described the drills as “an irrational move to challenge the international order”.

And the island’s Mainland Affairs Council, which sets the government’s China policies, accused Beijing of “vicious intimidation”.

Beijing cannot afford to be seen as toothless after ramping up the rhetoric ahead of Pelosi’s arrival, analysts said.

“It will be imperative for the Chinese regime to underline its nationalist credentials to its domestic audience,” said James Char, an associate research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“Beijing cannot be seen as weak by its own people.”

Trade curbs

This picture taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) shows US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (L) attending a meeting with Taiwan’s Vice Speaker of Parliament Tsai Chi-chang at the Parliament in Taipei on August 3, 2022. (Photo by CNA / AFP)

 

China on Wednesday also imposed curbs on the import of fruit and fish from Taiwan.

Its customs authorities said it would suspend some citrus fruit imports over alleged “repeated” detection of excessive pesticide residue.

It also banned the import of certain fish from the island, pointing to the discovery of the coronavirus on packages.

These bans came a day after Taipei’s Council of Agriculture said China had cited regulatory breaches in suspending the import of Taiwanese goods including fishery products, tea and honey.

It is not the first time Beijing has aimed at Taiwan’s agricultural products — it banned pineapple imports in March 2021, citing the discovery of pests. However, the move was widely seen as politically driven.

The moves are part of a “common pattern for Beijing”, said Even Pay, an agriculture analyst at consultancy Trivium China.

More disruptions in the agricultural and food trade can be expected in the coming days, she added.

“When diplomatic or trade tensions are running high, Chinese regulators typically take an extremely strict approach to compliance… looking for any issues that can be used to justify a trade ban,” she told AFP.

The Chinese commerce ministry said in a separate notice that it would “suspend the export of natural sand to Taiwan” from Wednesday, without providing details.

Natural sand is generally used for producing concrete and asphalt, and most of Taiwan’s imported sand and gravel comes from China.

 Bans on ‘secessionists’

Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, as she views the island as a de facto sovereign nation and not part of “one China”.

The Chinese State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Wednesday that it will punish two Taiwan organisations with close links to “die-hard” secessionists — the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and International Cooperation and Development Fund.

Enterprises that have donated to the groups, such as Speedtech Energy and Hyweb Technology, will also be prohibited from working with Chinese firms.

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IGP Disu seeks NIPR partnership to boost public trust in police

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NIPR President, Dr Ike Neliaku, in a handshake with the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has called for stronger collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) to enhance public confidence in the police.

The IGP made the call on Tuesday when he received a delegation of the NIPR, led by its President and Chairman of Council, Dr Ike Neliaku, on a courtesy visit to the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

According to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the IGP emphasised the importance of effective communication, professionalism, transparency and fairness in strengthening the relationship between the police and members of the public.

Disu noted that every police officer was an image-maker of the Force, adding that the conduct of personnel in their daily interactions with citizens had a direct impact on public perception of the police.

He said the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) remained committed to policing by consent and promoting a service-oriented policing culture built on professionalism, empathy, accountability and respect for human rights.

The IGP also sought the support of the NIPR in providing specialised communication training for police personnel and developing a coherent communication framework that would effectively communicate the sacrifices and contributions of police officers to public safety and national security.

Earlier, Neliaku commended the IGP for his professional accomplishments and briefed him on Nigeria’s hosting of the 2026 World Public Relations Forum and Africa Charter Forum.

The international event is scheduled to hold at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, and is expected to attract more than 3,000 delegates from 126 member countries of the Global Alliance for Public Relations.

The NIPR delegation also sought the support of the Nigeria Police Force in security planning and coverage for the event.

Neliaku further invited the IGP to serve as a keynote speaker at the forum and encouraged police officers to register and participate as delegates.

The delegation included the Secretary-General of the African Public Relations Association, Dr Omoniyi Ibietan; Dr Suleiman Haruna; Mrs Maryam Sanusi; Mrs Olubunmi Badejo; Commandant Olusola Odumosu; Chief Uzoma Oyegbadu; Chief Moji Makanjuola; Mr Stanley Ogadigo and other members of the institute.

Iniedu said the meeting reflected the commitment of the  Police Force to building productive partnerships with professional bodies and other stakeholders to strengthen public trust, enhance public safety and promote national security.

 

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Inflation drops marginally to 15.39% — NBS

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Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell marginally to 15.39 per cent in August 2026 from 15.43 per cent in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index released on Tuesday, saying the latest figure represented a 0.04 percentage point decline from the previous month.

The statistics agency, however, reported a sharper decline in the month-on-month inflation rate, which dropped to 0.71 per cent in August from 1.57 per cent in July.

The month-on-month rate, according to the bureau, declined by 0.86 percentage points compared with the July figure.

The NBS explained that the development indicated that the rate at which the average price level increased in August was slower than that recorded in July.

The latest data also showed a significant moderation in food inflation, which stood at 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August.

The figure was substantially lower than the 25.30 per cent recorded in August 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation fell to 1.02 per cent in August from 5.56 per cent in July, representing a decline of 4.55 percentage points.

The NBS said the development showed that food prices were still rising, but at a slower rate during the month under review.

It attributed the decline largely to changes in the average prices of a number of food items, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon (egusi), fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken and turkey meat.

At the state level, Adamawa recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation rate in August at 38.85 per cent.

It was followed by Zamfara with 37.96 per cent and Bayelsa with 36.20 per cent.

On the other hand, Borno recorded the lowest year-on-year food inflation rate at -4.04 per cent, followed by Jigawa at -0.23 per cent and Kebbi at 3.47 per cent.

The month-on-month figures presented a different picture, with Katsina recording the highest food inflation rate at 9.48 per cent.

Rivers and Osun followed with 8.86 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively.

Taraba recorded the lowest month-on-month food inflation rate at -12.42 per cent, followed by Borno at -12.15 per cent and Bauchi at -8.88 per cent.

The latest figures indicate a moderation in the pace of price increases, particularly in the food sector, although the NBS data show that consumers continue to face varying price pressures across the states.

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Nigeria’s Oil Output Rises to 1.68m Barrels Per Day

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Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.68 million barrels per day in August 2026, representing a 0.4 per cent increase from the 1.67 million barrels per day recorded in July.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission disclosed this in its latest production report released on Sunday.

Excluding condensate, the country produced an average of 1,500,190 barrels of crude oil per day in August, allowing Nigeria to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota for the fourth consecutive month.

Daily combined crude oil and condensate production ranged between 1.64 million barrels and 1.71 million barrels during the month under review.

A breakdown of production by terminals showed that Bonny Terminal recorded the highest output at 320.04 thousand barrels per day, followed by Forcados Terminal with 317.40 thousand barrels per day.

Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average production of 171.72 thousand barrels per day, while Escravos Oil Terminal posted 131.71 thousand barrels per day.

Bonga ranked fifth among the highest-producing terminals, with an average output of 92.50 thousand barrels per day.

The NUPRC attributed the modest improvement in August production largely to the resolution of operational challenges involving the Single Buoy Mooring at the Erha field.

The commission said the challenges had adversely affected production in the preceding month.

“The restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to overall production volumes during the period under review,” the commission’s spokesperson, Eniola Akinkuotu, said in a statement on Sunday.

The regulator added that production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable during the month.

“Production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators sustaining implementation measures aimed at optimising production efficiency, maintaining asset integrity, and minimising operational disruptions,” the statement said.

The latest figures indicate a continued improvement in Nigeria’s oil production, with the country maintaining its OPEC quota compliance for the fourth consecutive month.

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