Members of Congress party light candles as they pay homage to late India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Amritsar on December 27, 2024. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
Mourners in India’s capital gathered Saturday to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation.
Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, died at the age of 92 on Thursday, after which seven days of state mourning were declared.
Officers lead the coffin of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for a state funeral ceremony in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. – Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
His coffin, draped in garlands of flowers, was flanked by a guard of honour and carried to his Congress Party headquarters in New Delhi.
In this handout photograph taken on December 27, 2024 and released by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB), India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) lays a wreath as he pays last respects to former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at his residence in New Delhi. – India announced seven days of state mourning on December 27 after the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country’s economic liberalisation in the early 1990s. (Photo by PIB / AFP) / XGTY / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO/INDIAN PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (PIB)” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
It will later be taken through the capital to be cremated, accompanied by guards of soldiers and accorded full state honours.
Indian National Congress (INC) party leader Rahul Gandhi (Centre R) is pictured during procession as the coffin of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is taken for a state funeral ceremony in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who along with other leaders is expected to attend the funeral, called Singh one of India’s “most distinguished leaders”.
Opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he had lost “a mentor and guide”, adding that Singh had “led India with immense wisdom and integrity”.
Officers lead the coffin of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for a state funeral ceremony in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. – Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
US President Joe Biden called Singh a “true statesman”, saying that he “charted pathbreaking progress that will continue to strengthen our nations — and the world — for generations to come”.
The former prime minister was an understated technocrat who was hailed for overseeing an economic boom in his first term.
Officers lead the coffin of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for a state funeral ceremony in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. – Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
Singh’s second stint ended with a series of major corruption scandals, slowing growth and high inflation.
Singh’s unpopularity in his second term, and lacklustre leadership by Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, the current opposition leader in the lower house, led to Modi’s first landslide victory in 2014.
Officers carry the mortal remains of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. – Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
– ‘Service to the nation’ –
Born in 1932 in the mud-house village of Gah in what is now Pakistan and was then British-ruled India, Singh studied economics to find a way to eradicate poverty in the vast nation.
In this handout photograph taken on December 27, 2024 and released by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB), India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) pays last respects to former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at his residence in New Delhi. – India announced seven days of state mourning on December 27 after the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country’s economic liberalisation in the early 1990s. (Photo by PIB / AFP) / XGTY / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO/INDIAN PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (PIB)” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
He won scholarships to attend both Cambridge, where he obtained a first in economics, and Oxford, where he completed his doctorate.
Members of Congress party pay their homage to late India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Amritsar on December 27, 2024. – India announced seven days of state mourning on December 27 after the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country’s economic liberalisation in the early 1990s. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
Singh worked in a string of senior civil service posts, served as a central bank governor and also held various jobs with global agencies including the United Nations.
He was tapped in 1991 by then Congress prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to serve as finance minister and reel India back from the worst financial crisis in its modern history.
Members of Congress party light candles as they pay homage to late India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Amritsar on December 27, 2024. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
Though he had never held an elected post, he was declared the National Congress’s candidate for the highest office in 2004.
Gursharan Kaur (C), wife of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, arrives for the state funeral ceremony at All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. – Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
In his first term, Singh steered the economy through a period of nine per cent growth, lending India the international clout it had long sought.
Officers carry the coffin of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for a state funeral ceremony in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. – Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
He also sealed a landmark nuclear deal with the United States that he said would help India meet its growing energy needs.
Officers lead the coffin of India’s late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for a state funeral ceremony in New Delhi on December 28, 2024. – Mourners in India’s capital gathered on December 28, to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalisation. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
President Droupadi Murmu said that Singh would “always be remembered for his service to the nation, his unblemished political life and his utmost humility”.
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
