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[MAP] Rabat -- The security and stability challenges facing Africa, and which manifest themselves in the multiplication of conflicts and crises, require a synergy of efforts and a concerted and united response from all, underlined, Sunday in Rabat, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Mohcine Jazouli.
The president also stressed the importance of keeping the economy open after months of stifling movement restrictions.
He urged citizens not to drop their guard and continue adhering to the health rules, such as wearing face masks and respecting curfew times.
South Africa has recorded just over 800,000 coronavirus infections - more than a third of the cases reported across the African continent - and over 20,000 deaths.
AFP
Most of Mali, in West Africa, lies in the Sahara. A landlocked country four-fifths the size of Alaska, it is bordered by Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and the Côte dIvoire. The only fertile area is in the south, where the Niger and Senegal rivers provide water for irrigation.
Republic.
Caravan routes have passed through Mali since A.D. 300. The Malinke empire ruled regions of Mali from the 12th to the 16th century, and the Songhai empire reigned over the Timbuktu-Gao region in the 15th century. Morocco conquered Timbuktu in 1591 and ruled over it for two centuries. Subjugated by France by the end of the 19th century, the land became a colony in 1904 (named French Sudan in 1920) and in 1946 became part of the French Union. On June 20, 1960, it became independent and, under the name of Sudanese Republic, was joined with the Republic of Senegal in the Mali federation. However, Senegal seceded from the federation on Aug. 20, 1960, and the Sudanese Republic then changed its name to the Republic of Mali on Sept. 22.
In the 1960s, Mali concentrated on economic development, continuing to accept aid from both Soviet bloc and Western nations, as well as international agencies. In the late 1960s, it began retreating from close ties with China. But a purge of conservative opponents brought greater power to President Modibo Keita, and in 1968, the influence of the Chinese and their Malian sympathizers increased. The army overthrew the government on Nov. 19, 1968 and brought Mali under military rule for the next 20 years. Mali and Burkina Faso fought a brief border war from Dec. 25 to 29, 1985. In 1991, dictator Moussa Traoré was overthrown, and Mali made a peaceful transition to democracy. In 1992, Alpha Konaré became Malis first democratically elected president.
In the early 1990s, the government fought the Tuaregs, nomads of Berber and Arab descent who inhabit the northern desert regions of Mali and have little in common with Malis black African majority. The Tuaregs accused the government
[Nation] President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday called for urgent decisions on debt relief and financial aid to Africa's poor to help the continent's quick recovery from the Covid-19 shocks.
June 28: Chakwera, Chilima sworn in
\tMalawi held an investiture for president Lazarus Chakwera and vice-president Saulos Chilima, hours after the elections body declared Chakwera winner of last Tuesday’s polls.
Key statistics
\t
\t\tLazarus Chakwera, leader of the Tonse Allaince = 2,604,043 votes (58.5%)
\t\tArthur Peter Mutharika of the DPP/UDF alliance = 1,751,877 votes
\t\tPeter Kuwani of Mbakuwaku Movement for Development = 33,456 votes
\t\tOut of the 6,859,570 registered voters, 4,445,699 cast their votes
\t\tThe Commission recorded 57,323 spoilt ballots, representing 1.29%
\t\tThe commission received and resolved 10 complaints from all three participating sides
June 27: Chakwera’s victory confirmed by election body
\tMalawi Electoral Commission (MEC) late Saturday declared opposition alliance leader Lazarus Chakwera as the winner of Tuesday’s presidential re-run election.
June 25: Opposition celebrates unofficial Chakwera victory
\tOpposition chief Lazarus Chakwera has ‘taken the lead’ in Malawi’s poll count, according to unofficial results being projected by multiple local media outlets.
Read more – Malawi election commission appeals for calm as it tallies votes
June 23: Voting ends, ballot counting begins
\tPolls have closed in most parts of Malawi privately-run newspaper The Nation reports.
June 23: Malawians vote in crucial presidential poll rerun despite virus
\tVoters in Malawi have already started casting their ballots today in crucial presidential election rerun pitting incumbent Peter Mutharika and opposition coalition leader Lazarus Chakwera.
American singer-songwriter Natalie Cole, daughter of mid-century crooner Nat King Cole, was best known for her Grammy Award-winning album 'Inseparable.'
Harold Washington, American politician who gained national prominence as the first African American mayor of Chicago (1983–87). During World War II, Washington joined the army and served as an engineer in the South Pacific. After returning home in 1946, he graduated from Roosevelt University (B.A.,
In August 2012, Prime Minister Zenawi died at age 57 after a long illness. Zenawi had been in power since 1995. He is credited with lifting the country out of famine to the point that Ethiopia began exporting food, reducing poverty, increasing economic growth, and improving infrastructure. However, Zenawi was repressive and dictatorial, arresting and imprisoning activists, journalists, and members of the opposition. Relations between the U.S. and Ethiopia improved under Zenawi, with Ethiopia helping the U.S. combat Muslim militants in Africa. The U.S. gives Ethiopia some $800 million in aid annually. Hailemariam Desalegn, the minister of foreign affairs, succeeded Zenawi.
On October 7, 2013, Mulatu Teshome Wirtu became the fourth president of Ethiopia. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Cooperation, Minister of Agriculture, and Speaker of the House of Federation. He also served as the countrys Ambassador to China, Japan and Turkey. He was elected president by Parliament. The vote was unanimous. Mulatu Teshome replaces Girma Wolde-Giorgis who could not seek re-election due to term limits.
Press Release - The ongoing and escalating violence in Nigeria must be condemned in the strongest terms. The use of military force against innocent civilians undermines human rights, democratic principles and freedom.
Sierra Leone, on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, is half the size of Illinois. Guinea, in the north and east, and Liberia, in the south, are its neighbors. Mangrove swamps lie along the coast, with wooded hills and a plateau in the interior. The eastern region is mountainous.
Constitutional democracy.
The Bulom people were thought to have been the earliest inhabitants of Sierra Leone, followed by the Mende and Temne peoples in the 15th century and thereafter the Fulani. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the land and gave Sierra Leone its name, which means “lion mountains.” Freetown, on the coast, was ceded to English settlers in 1787 as a home for blacks discharged from the British armed forces and also for runaway slaves who had found asylum in London. In 1808 the coastal area became a British colony, and in 1896 a British protectorate was proclaimed over the hinterland.
Sierra Leone became an independent nation on April 27, 1961. A military coup overthrew the civilian government in 1967, which was in turn replaced by civilian rule a year later. The country declared itself a republic on April 19, 1971.
A coup attempt early in 1971 led to then prime minister Siaka Stevens calling in troops from neighboring Guineas army, which remained for two years. Stevens turned the government into a one-party state under the aegis of the All Peoples Congress Party in April 1978. In 1992 rebel soldiers overthrew Stevenss successor, Joseph Momoh, calling for a return to a multiparty system. In 1996, another military coup ousted the countrys military leader and president. Nevertheless, a multiparty presidential election proceeded in 1996, and Peoples Party candidate Ahmad Tejan Kabbah won with 59.4% of the vote, becoming Sierra Leones first democratically elected president.
But a violent military coup ousted President Kabbahs civilian government in May 1997. The leader of the coup, Lieut. Col. Johnny Paul Koroma, assumed the title Head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Koroma began a
Sheila Sealy Monteith, Jamaica's ambassador to Belgium and permanent representative to the European Union — who also has accreditation to France, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain — confirmed to the Jamaica Observer that plans are far advanced to have a charter flight leave Amsterdam on Saturday and arrive in Kingston early Sunday morning.
This confirmed a recent tweet from Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith, who urged Jamaicans in Europe wanting to come home to book the flight.
One Jamaican in an e-mail to Sealy Monteith indicated that, while she was looking forward to the first flight coming into the island from Europe since the borders were closed on March 24, she is worried that it is landing in Kingston where there are more positive COVID-19 cases than in Montego Bay.
On Monday, officials of the Ministry of National Security said they were unable to provide details on the scheduled flight from Amsterdam, but confirmed that discussions are under way to bring Jamaicans home from several countries.
Last week, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of National Security Matthew Samuda told the Senate that more than 22,000 applications to travel to Jamaica have been received through two portals registering requests from Jamaicans wanting to return home and potential visitors since May.
[MAP] Rabat -- Morocco and the Union of the Comoros signed, Monday in Rabat, five cooperation agreements touching on diplomatic training, communities living abroad, agriculture and health, in addition to a mechanism for political consultations.
Long before he became a minister, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket, Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), and founder of the Rainbow Coalition…
By Henry Mhara The shiny limousines and ramshackle taxis that share Zimbabwe’s roads have one thing in common — both sets are among thousands of vehicles that are smuggled into the country annually, prejudicing the treasury millions of dollars in taxes. With the local car assembly industry hardly operating, Zimbabweans have been forced to import cars, and figures from the government statistics office ZimStats shows that more than US$5 billion has been spent on vehicle imports since 2009. But some of the cars are brought into the southern African illegally by corrupt importers who undervalue their cars in connivance with clearing agents, law enforcement agents and government officials, according to recent court records. An expert in the sector says Zimbabwe is losing about US$5 million dollars every year to smuggling, under-invoicing of car imports, money which could be used to procure national essentials such as drugs. “We are struggling economically and in these desperate times, we could be using this money for COVID-19,” said the official from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), who declined to be named. Zimbabwe is battling to finance its already ailing health sector to deal with coronavirus as local cases continue to rise. In a letter written in June to the World Bank, IMF and the African Development Bank, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said Zimbabwe needed at least US$200 million to fight the pandemic. Official statistics show that, on average, 4 000 new and pre-owned vehicles imported from countries such as Japan, Britain and South Africa are cleared for entry through Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge border post every month with Zimra collecting at least US$8,5 million dollars in taxes. Zimra is currently charging up to 96% duty for used car imports so on average, a modest vehicle attracts import duty of between $2 500 and $5 000. Beitbridge on Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa, is southern Africa’s biggest inland port. While Zimra officials were available to discuss details of vehicle smuggling, recent high profile court cases involving a top government official and a businessman give as insight into the magnitude of the problem. Former Principal Director for State Residences in the Office of the President and Cabinet Douglas Tapfuma was sentenced to four years in prison in June after being convicted on three counts of criminal abuse of office for importing duty-free eight vehicles through the use of forged documents. Wealthy businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure, who has a collection of top-of-the-range sports cars, was recently convicted of under-declaring the price of a Bentley Continental GT that he bought in South Africa last year, and paying US$81 000 in import duty instead of nearly $140 000. This scam was a classic case of trade under-invoicing, which is responsible for a substantial proportion of illicit financial flows around the world. According to US based Global Financial Integrity (GFI), trade misinvoicing cost Zimbabwe US$1 billion over a ten-year period indicating the in adequate detecting systems i
U.S. Department of State Background Note
Although Haiti averages about 302 people per square kilometer, its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. About 95% of Haitians are of African descent. The rest of the population is mostly of mixed Caucasian-African ancestry. A few are of European or Levantine heritage. Sixty percent of the population lives in rural areas.
French is one of two official languages, but it is spoken by only about 10% of the people. All Haitians speak Creole, the countrys other official language. English is increasingly used as a second language among the young and in the business sector.
The dominant religion is Roman Catholicism. Increasing numbers of Haitians have converted to Protestantism through the work of missionaries active throughout the country. Much of the population also practices voudou (voodoo), recognized by the government as a religion in April 2003. Haitians tend to see no conflict in these African-rooted beliefs coexisting with Christian faith.
Although public education is free, the cost is still quite high for Haitian families who must pay for uniforms, textbooks, supplies, and other inputs. Due to weak state provision of education services, private and parochial schools account for approximately 90% of primary schools, and only 65% of primary school-aged children are actually enrolled. At the secondary level, the figure drops to around 20%. Less than 35% of those who enter will complete primary school. Though Haitians place a high value on education, few can afford to send their children to secondary school and primary school enrollment is dropping due to economic factors. Remittances sent by Haitians living abroad are important in paying educational costs.
Large-scale emigration, principally to the U.S.--but also to Canada, the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas and other Caribbean neighbors, and France--has created what Haitians refer to as the Tenth Department or the Diaspora. About one of every eight Haitians lives
Heads of state in the South African Development Community have committed to support the government of Mozambique in countering a terrorism threat.
Donald McHenry is a diplomat, scholar, corporate governor and educator who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (UN). Because the hospitals of his home town, East St. Louis, Illinois, where he would grow up, were segregated, McHenry was born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 13, 1936. After his parents divorced he and his two siblings were raised by their mother.
McHenry received his bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University in 1957, and his master’s degree from Southern Illinois University in 1959. He found his niche in diplomacy and international affairs between 1963 and 1971, while working at the U.S. Department of State in its Office of Dependent Area Affairs. While there, he received its Superior Honor Award in 1966.
From 1971 to 1973 McHenry served as a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and scholar at the Brookings Institution, and in 1973 he worked on humanitarian policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He joined President-elect Jimmy Carter’s Presidential transition team in 1976, and in 1977 President Carter sent him to the UN where he served for two years as Deputy Representative to the UN Security Council. He was then appointed as U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN with rank of Ambassador, a position he held as part of the President’s Cabinet from 1979 to 1981.
Ambassador McHenry has served on numerous corporate boards, commencing in 1981 when he became the first African American to be appointed to the board of the Coca-Cola Company. As the inaugural chair of Coca-Cola’s Public Issues and Diversity Review Committee, McHenry also led corporate efforts to improve internal opportunities.
Because of Ambassador McHenry’s leadership and diplomatic experience, President Bill Clinton appointed him as Special Envoy to Nigeria from 1994 to 1996, where he led efforts to mediate unrest in that country. In 1998 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan tapped Ambassador McHenry to join a delegation to travel to Algeria to gather information and provide guidance on the
On Saturday, in response to a looming ban on U.S. downloads of the Chinese owned apps, TikTok and WeChat, China... View Article
The post Amid TikTok ban China announces new regulations targeting foreign companies appeared first on TheGrio.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office has announced that he was replacing his defence minister.
