Africa
Liberia launches new national carrier ‘Lone Star Air’
Liberian President George Weah on Friday inaugurated a new national carrier for the West African country, named Lone Star Air, about 30 years after the country’s previous airline went bust. Speaking at a ceremony at Liberia’s international airport, near the capital Monrovia, Weah said the new airline would “connect our country to our region and to the world”. “It is my dream, my hope and my ambition that we will very soon see Lone Star Air, the wings of Liberia, flying our flag in international skies, shining so brightly,” said the footballer-turned-president. Liberia’s flag bears resemblance to the flag of the United States but features one star instead of 50. The country was founded in the 19th century with US support as a home for freed American slaves, whose descendants have a long his...
FANA: Ethiopia proposes holding postponed vote in May or June 2021
Ethiopian authorities have proposed holding a postponed election in May or June 2021, state-affiliated broadcaster FANA said on Friday, setting the stage for a test of support for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s sweeping economic and political reforms. The government postponed a parliamentary election scheduled for August this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The country’s election board, which FANA said had proposed the move, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Next year’s vote will be a litmus test for Abiy, who after decades of repression introduced sweeping economic and political reforms that helped win him the Nobel Prize last year. But the new freedoms also fuelled long-suppressed demands for more regional autonomy, rights and resources. Last month Ethiopia’s northern...
European Union backs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO role
The European Union has endorsed former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Bloomberg reported. The business news outlet cited anonymous officials familiar with the matter that all the 27 EU member countries agreed on Monday in Brussels to support Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala. Bloomberg also reported that the United States has decided to back Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister, for the role. The position has been fiercely contested amongst candidates of different countries since Roberto Azevedo resigned in August. Last month, Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee were selected as the last two candidates in the contest. The EU’s endorsement is seen as a significant boost for Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, with the final winner expected...
Nigeria seeks to halt looting amid fury over ‘food warehouses’
Nigerian security forces are struggling to contain increasing cases of looting on government-run warehouses across the country, in the latest incident of unrest following widespread, youth-led protests against police brutality. The storage facilities hold tonnes of relief materials including food meant for distribution during lockdowns previously enforced to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. While the distribution programme had been temporarily halted across several states in the country in recent months, it emerged this week relief items were still stored in some of these facilities, as well as the private homes of politicians. The news angered many in the country with the biggest number of people living in extreme poverty globally. “The food items belong to Nigerians. Why are the...
VP Osinbajo urges destination countries to insist on repatriation of illicit funds
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged leaders of destination countries to insist on repatriation of illicit funds and proceeds. Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the Vice President made the submission at the virtual inauguration of a publication by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the impact of illicit financial flows (IFFs) on African Development. Osinbajo called for an overhaul of the international tax system in order to tackle the scourge. “The enormity of efforts required to tackle illicit financial flows is evident in the many dimensions the scourge presents itself. “It manifests through harmful tax policies and practices, abusive transfer pricing, trade mis-pricing and mis-invoicing illegal exploitation of natural resou...
Governor Abiodun congratulates Laycon over #BBNaija win
The governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has congratulated the winner of the Big Brother Naija reality television show, Olamilekan Agbelese. Abiodun made this statement via his verified Facebook page. He described Laycon as a pacesetter, saying his victory was aptly a confirmation of his brilliance. “I am delighted to congratulate one of our own in Ogun State, Olamilekan Agbelesebioba, AKA @itslaycon for emerging winner of Big Brother Naija Lockdown. “The pacesetter that you are, you have emerged one of the best in academic and social engagements, so this victory is aptly a confirmation of your brilliance, intellect and maturity,” he said. The governor seized the opportunity to reassure the citizens of the state that his administration will continue to support and empower the youths. “Our...
South Africa minister reprimanded for party’s trip on airforce jet
South Africa’s defence minister has been reprimanded and will lose three months of salary after ruling party officials took an air force plane to Zimbabwe earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday. The African National Congress (ANC) delegation’s presence aboard the flight sparked widespread criticism over the use of state resources for party business. Their trip to Harare was for crisis talks with Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF ruling party aimed at helping tackle the country’s political and economic woes. But they tagged along aboard Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s plane, rather than travelling privately. She had a scheduled meeting in Zimbabwe to discuss regional issues following a recent summit of the Southern African Development Community bloc. Mapisa-Nqakula will no...
Pandemic impact on Tunisia tourism ‘catastrophic’
Tunisia’s tourism sector has collapsed, officials warned on Saturday, with earnings plunging 60% and swathes of hotels at risk of closing permanently. LIVE | All the latest coronavirus and lockdown updates The sector, a major employer that accounts for 14% of the North African nation’s GDP, has been hit hard by restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. “There has been a drop in tourism activities of 60%, and we could reach 70% by the end of 2020,” Tourism Minister Habib Ammar told reporters. Tunisia’s income from tourism this year has totalled just 1.56 billion dinars ($563 million), officials statistics showed. Total bed nights – the number of nights visitors stayed in hotels – dropped by 79.5%. “The current tourism situation is very bad – if not catastrophic,” sai...
ECOWAS likely to decide on lifting Mali sanctions Friday
The West African bloc ECOWAS will likely decide on Friday whether to lift potentially crippling sanctions imposed on Mali after last month’s coup, its mediator said. The mediator, Nigerian former president Goodluck Jonathan, called the 15-nation bloc’s sanctions “unfortunate” during a visit to Mali’s capital Bamako on Wednesday. West African leaders have heaped pressure on the ruling military junta to return power to civilians since the coup toppled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18. ECOWAS has used the sanctions, which include closing borders and restricting trade, as leverage in negotiations with the junta. Sticking points in those negotiations have included whether civilians or soldiers will run a transition government until fresh elections. The junta asked for the sanctions...
Nigerian doctor named one of TIME’s Most Influential People in the world
TIME named Nigerian physician Tunji Funsho to the 2020 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes are available now at time.com/time100, and Mr Funsho’s TIME100 profile is available here. The list, now in its seventeenth year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. Mr Funsho, a cardiologist based in Lagos, Nigeria, is the first Rotary member to receive this honour for the organisation’s work to eradicate polio, having played an essential role in ensuring Africa’s certification as wild polio-free in August of 2020. “I’m honored to be recognized by TIME for my part in ensuring that no child in Africa will ever again be paralyzed by wild polio, a disease that once disabl...
Nigeria’s Hauwa Ojeifo wins Gates Foundation changemaker award
A Nigerian gender and disability rights advocate, Hauwa Ojeifo, has won the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation changemaker award for 2020. According to the Gates Foundation, the award celebrates an individual who has inspired change using personal experience or from a position of leadership. Ms Ojeifo, who heads “She Writes Woman,” a women-led movement giving mental health a voice in Nigeria, was recognised for her work in promoting gender equality (Global Goal #5), a statement by the foundation said on Tuesday. The awardee, who is a sexual and domestic abuse survivor, founded her platform in 2015 to provide “mental health support through a helpline, teletherapy and virtual support groups serving as a first point of contact to ensure that survivors of gender-based violence and those livin...
Super Eagles coach proud of latest FIFA ranking
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr says he’s happy with the improvement the team has made since his arrival. Since Rohr arrived in 2016 as a replacement for Sunday Oliseh, he has guided the team to the 3rd place 2019 African Cup of Nations and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The team also started their 2022 African Cup of Nations qualifiers with a bang, recording a back to back win over Squirrels of Benin and Lesotho. The three-time African champions recorded another milestone last Thursday when the latest FIFA ranking saw them moved up to 29th place on the world ranking and retained their third spot on the continent of Africa. Rohr said the team he’s happy with the ranking but insisted that there are loads of works to be done. “When I arrived we were not number three (in Africa). We were m...
