WORLD

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that former President Barack Obama has joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner President Obama will help advance the league’s social responsibility efforts across the continent, including programs and partnerships that support greater gender equality and economic inclusion. In this capacity, President Obama will have a minority equity stake in the new venture, …

By Prof David Monda* On July 4th, 1776, the preamble to the American Declaration of Independence emphasized the centrality of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to the ideals of the new American nation. While America advanced lofty ideals on this day, the reality of balancing its ideals and its interests in Ethiopia, almost a century and a half later, have …

Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for killing George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, in May 2020 by a court in Minneapolis. The punishment falls short of prosecutors’ request of a 30-year sentence. Delivering the verdict on Friday, Judge Peter Cahill said he based his decision on Chauvin’s abuse of his position and the cruelty …

Finally, the verdict on the police killing of Afro-American George Floyd has been issued and was handed down on 20 April 2021, in the court of Minneapolis. The white former police officer Derek Chauvin officer was found guilty by the jury on three counts, including second-degree murder. For the first time in US history, the established jurisprudence acknowledges and acts …

Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr reminded humanity that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. The Chinese state that the journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step. The conviction of Derek Chauvin is only the beginning police reform, writes Prof David Monda from New York City. Police reform is an issue which …

Celebrities have been reacting to the guilty verdict passed on the policeman who killed George Floyd last year, sparking worldwide protests for racial justice and against anti-black racism. In an emotional statement Lewis Hamilton, the British race driver and Formula 1 world champion said: “JUSTICE for George! “The emotions I feel right now are hard to describe. Derek Chauvin has …

Sacked police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter Tuesday in the death of African-American George Floyd in a case that roiled the United States for almost a year, laying bare deep racial divisions. A racially-diverse jury of seven women and five men in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis took less than two days at the end of …

Nigerians from across the globe will gather via an online conference on Saturday, 17 April to discuss how to actualise their dream of being able to vote at elections in their home country. The conference, christened “Diaspora Voting – Panel Discussion On Nigeria’s Participation and Readiness”, will feature speakers such as Dr Bashir Obasekola, Chairman NIDO Europe; Engr Obed Monago, …

LAGOS, Nigeria, March 17, 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Eleven young enterprising Africans, among them two Nigerians, who have been named Young Global Leaders (YGL) by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for 2021, are to benefit from the Aliko Dangote Fellowship endowed to support African Young Global Leaders. The beneficiaries are among 112 persons under 40 years of age, selected as …

The security situation in Nigeria is worsening by the day as marauding bandits, camouflaging as herdsmen, roam across the country kidnapping for ransom, waylaying travellers, killing farmers and generally making the country unsafe. Added to the security troubles of the country is the possibility of inter-ethnic clashes flaring in different parts of the country caused by worsening inter-communal relationship. Members …

The World Trade Organisation has confirmed Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General. She is the first woman and the first African to lead the international trade body. According to a statement by the organisation on Monday, her term is scheduled to start on 1 March 2021. The term, which is renewable, will expire on 31 August 2025. …

 Britain’s Karim Ahmad Khan was elected on Friday by the parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the new chief prosecutor for a nine-year term starting in June. The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court held its second resumed nineteenth session on 12 February 2021 at the UN Headquarters in New York. …

President Joe Biden’s first foreign policy speech on 4 February was high on ideals but low on priorities for Africa and the developing world. It reminded me of the idealistic vision of Jimmy Carter when he came to power in 1976. Carter’s rhetoric was loaded with idealism of a world cooperating for global peace, without appreciating the limits of American …

Former Nigeria’s minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is set to become the first African, woman to lead the seat of 164-member World Trade Organisation. Coast is clear for her to emerge for the top job as the United States government under the administration of President Joe Biden endorsed her on Friday, in what was expressed as a ‘strong support’, according …

In an exclusive interview with our Moscow correspondent Kester Kenn Klomegah, a member of the newly created Public Council under the Secretariat of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, Armen Khachatryan, argues that the first Summit held in October 2019 ultimately seeks to inject a new dynamism into Russia-Africa relations. According to Mr Khachatryan, who is also Deputy Chief Executive Officer and …

Norwegian parliamentarian Petter Eide has nominated Black Lives Matter movement for the Nobel Peace Prize 2021. According to him, the movement had forced countries other than the US to face up to racism within their own societies. “Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice. They have had a tremendous achievement in raising global …

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday in New York, a UN statement said. “I was fortunate and grateful to get the first dose of my COVID-19 vaccine today,” Guterres said after getting his shot. “We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. Our world …

"Until vaccines reach everyone, new clusters of disease will keep popping up. The cycle of inequality will continue"

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday urged the world’s wealthiest countries to stop “hoarding” vaccines and called for an end to “vaccine nationalism.” In remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda event, Ramaphosa cautioned that some countries had ordered more supplies of vaccines than they needed, and that this was counterproductive to the global recovery effort. …

Newly inaugurated US President Joe Biden has reversed placed on some Muslim countries by former US president Donald Trump in January 2017. Citizens of Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen were banned from entering the United States following the ban.  “When visa applicants request entry to the United States, we will apply a rigorous, individualized vetting system. But …