Musings From Abroad

UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, elected new Prime Minister

Published

2 years ago

September 5, 2022

The United Kingdom has elected Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, as the new Prime Minister in a tight election held on Monday, defeating former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.

Truss defeated her opponent with 81,326 or 57.4% of votes cast to 60,399 or 42.6% of the votes. She will now succeed Boris Johnson who was was forced to announce his resignation in July after months of monumental scandals that rocked his cabinet.

With the victory, the 47-year-old Truss has now automatically become the leader of the Conservative Party and the third female to occupy the office of the British Prime Minister.

She was announced by the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who said the first thing Truss needs to do is to tackle the cost of living crisis that has been pushing millions of people into poverty.

“The first act of Liz Truss’ premiership should be taking immediate action to tackle the cost of living crisis that is pushing millions into poverty — this must be a wealth tax and bringing energy companies, water, mail and rail into public ownership,” Corbyn said.

After her announcement as the new UK Prime Minister, Truss said:

“I’ll deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy, on the energy crisis and long-term issues on energy supply and National Health Service….and we’ll deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024.”

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Musings From Abroad

Brazilian meatpacker JBS invests $2.5 billion in Nigeria, builds six facilities

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Brazilian meatpacker JBS says it has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government for a $2.5 billion investment plan that will include the construction of six new plants in the African nation.

Three of the plants would deal in poultry, two in beef, and one in pork, according to a statement from JBS.

In accordance with the memorandum of understanding, JBS stated that it would develop a five-year investment plan in Nigeria, which would include budget estimates, feasibility studies, and an action plan for the development of the local supply chain.

The Nigerian government would then guarantee the sanitary, regulatory, and economic conditions required for the project’s viability, JBS continued.

Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi meets with Morocco’s Crown Prince

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s official media reports that Chinese President, Xi Jinping, visited Morocco briefly on Thursday.

According to Morocco’s MAP, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan welcomed Xi in Casablanca. The visit demonstrated the close ties of camaraderie, collaboration, and solidarity between the Moroccan and Chinese peoples, it said.

China’s official broadcaster, CCTV, said that Xi and Hassan had a “cordial conversation” at the airport after being received by the Crown Prince and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

After attending the G20 Summit in Brazil, Xi paid the visit.

In recent years, China has increased its investments in Morocco’s rail and infrastructure. Morocco is desirable for Chinese electric car battery manufacturers because of its proximity to Europe, free trade agreements with important EU and US markets, and an established automotive sector.

Morocco was chosen by Chinese EV battery company Gotion High Tech in June to establish Africa’s first gigafactory, which will cost $1.3 billion in total.