Connect with us

Musings From Abroad

USA: Protests continue over killing of Congolese refugee, Patrick Lyoya by Michigan officer

Published

on

The death of a 26-year-old Congolese refugee, Patrick Lyoya, has ignited demands for Police reform as dozens of demonstrators gathered Saturday in a fresh protest in Grand Rapids, eastern USA.

The enraged protesters were chanting “there is no justice in this land” and “Justice for Patrick.”

Patrick Lyoya was killed in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 4 by a Michigan police officer with a gunshot after the officer couldn’t subdue him in a duel during a traffic stop. The death of the 26-year-old Congolese-American has ignited the protests against racism and demands for Police reform.

Prior to the shooting, he appeared to be wrestling on the ground with the officer in a video recorded by the passenger in his car.

Lyoya’s death is the latest in a grim litany of Black unarmed people dying at the hands of police. Recall that 46-year-old, George Floyd, was murdered in May 2020 in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer leading to international outrage.

Patrick Lyoya’s parents said they had fled the war in DR Congo only to have their “son killed with bullets” in the United States.

Speaking at a press conference, attorney Ben Crump described the attack as an “unnecessary, unjustifiable, excessive use of fatal force” that saw the officer “escalate a minor traffic stop into a deadly execution.”

There was nothing, he said, “to justify him reaching for his service revolver, taking it and putting it to the back of Patrick’s head, and pulling the trigger. blowing his head off. “

“If it’s wrong to shoot civilians in the back of the head in Ukraine, it is wrong for the police to shoot civilians in the back of the head here in Grand Rapids, Michigan”, he added.

Musings From Abroad

UAE’s IRH to consider stake in Zambia’s Lubambe copper mine

Published

on

A division of the International Holding Company of Abu Dhabi, International Resources Holding (IRH), has announced that it plans to submit a proposal for a share in Zambia’s Lubambe Copper Mine.

 

The deal has opened up more potential to profit from Africa’s second-largest copper producer, according to IRH, which just acquired a 51% stake in Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia.

 

 

Even after Chinese firm JCHX Mining agreed to buy the stake, it was reported on March 22 quoting sources, indicating that IRH, a division of the most valuable company in Abu Dhabi, is interested in purchasing an 80% stake in Lubambe held by EMR Capital.

 

 

“IRH’s commitment (at Mopani), has opened doors for additional investment opportunities in Zambia, including an intention to bid for a stake in the Lubambe Copper Mine,” the company said.

 

Due to the company’s interest in Lubambe, which may be among Zambia’s biggest copper mines, a bidding battle between Shanghai-listed JCHX, a mine maintenance and contracting company, and itself may result.

 

Wealthy oil companies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recently begun to follow China’s lead and engage in African businesses to acquire resources to diversify their economies and capitalize on the move to electric vehicles (EVs). In addition to making bids for mining projects, IRH stated that it was actively investigating a range of investment prospects.

 

“In the forthcoming years, our goal is to seek diversification opportunities beyond copper… (with) targeted investments in other pivotal energy transition minerals, such as cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, manganese, graphite, and the 3T minerals – tin, tungsten, and tantalum,” it said.

 

The Zambian government currently plans to increase copper production from approximately 850,000 metric tonnes to 3 million metric tonnes annually by 2032.

Continue Reading

Musings From Abroad

China, Zambia’s major creditor, cooperating on debt rework— Official

Published

on

A spokesperson of Zambia’s foreign ministry has stated that one of its major creditors, China, has remained supportive of Zambia’s debt restructuring.

The diplomat did not, however, disclose whether China approved of a planned agreement the country in southern Africa made with foreign bondholders.

On Monday, Zambia and the bondholder group announced that they had come to a fresh understanding to restructure $3 billion in foreign notes. The proposal was given the go-ahead by Zambia’s formal creditors, the largest of which is China.

On Monday, Zambia announced that it has reached a deal with a group of private creditors on the restructuring of $3 billion of its foreign notes, which is a noteworthy achievement that brings the country closer to ending its lengthy debt restructuring.

Being the first nation in Africa to miss payments on its foreign debt during the Covid-19 outbreak, they have expressed a strong desire for the debt to be restructured. Unfortunately, the protracted delays in the process have strained the local financial systems, impeded desperately needed investments, and delayed economic progress.

Zambia defaulted more than three years ago and its debt rework process has hit many obstacles, including in November when the official creditors rejected a previous bond deal because it did not offer comparable debt relief to theirs.

“China, as co-chair of the Zambian Debt Committee, has made concerted efforts with all parties concerned to promote significant progress in the disposal of Zambia’s debt,” Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a regular press conference.

“China will also continue to coordinate and cooperate with all parties concerned to steadily advance the work related to Zambia’s debt disposal,” he said when asked for China’s response to the latest bondholder deal.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

Metro1 hour ago

Egypt’s population growth declines by 1.4%

Egypt’s planning ministry has announced that the country’s population went down to its lowest rate of population increase in decades...

VenturesNow3 hours ago

Binance vs Nigeria: Court adjourns hearing on right abuses 

The office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser and an anti-graft agency— the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC)— have been...

Strictly Personal16 hours ago

Off we go again with public shows, humbug and clowning, By Jenerali Uliwengu

The potential contestants in the approaching elections are already sizing themselves up and assessing their chances of fooling their people...

Musings From Abroad17 hours ago

UAE’s IRH to consider stake in Zambia’s Lubambe copper mine

A division of the International Holding Company of Abu Dhabi, International Resources Holding (IRH), has announced that it plans to...

Sports17 hours ago

Paris Olympics: Nigeria’s D’Tigress in ‘group of death’, to battle Australia, France, Canada

Nigeria’s women national basketball team, D’Tigress, have been drawn in what many term the group of death after they were...

Tech17 hours ago

Egyptian AI-powered ed-tech startup Sprints raises $3m to scale up platform

Egyptian AI-powered ed-tech startup, Sprints, has announced raising $3 million bridge round of funding to help it scale up its...

Culture17 hours ago

Actress Yvonne Nelson lambasts Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo, labels his regime ‘8 years of lies’

Ghanaian actress and filmmaker, Yvonne Nelson, has lambasted President Nana Akufo-Addo over a viral video from the Neo-natal Intensive Care...

Metro17 hours ago

Zambia, Botswana sign cooperation instruments to enhance trade

Zambia and close neighbours, Botswana, have signed 10 instruments of cooperation aimed at enhancing trade relations between the two countries....

VenturesNow19 hours ago

Kenya, Uganda settle oil import dispute

In an effort to patch things up between the two neighbours, Kenya will permit Uganda’s landlocked state oil company to...

VenturesNow1 day ago

No plan to increase taxes, Nigeria’s revenue chief says

The head of Nigeria’s revenue agency, Zacch Adedeji, has reaffirmed that there is no plan for the introduction of new...

Trending