Connect with us

Musings From Abroad

US lawmakers want US/Africa Summit moved from South Africa. Here’s why

Published

on

Pressure is mounting from some lawmakers in the United States to move the US/Africa Summit scheduled to hold in South Africa to a new venue.

The lawmakers in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and other senior officials, suggested South Africa was in danger of losing its benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) —Washington’s flagship trade programme.

The call is in response to what lawmakers regarded as the country’s “deepening military relationship” with Russia.

“We are seriously concerned that hosting the 2023 AGOA Forum in South Africa would serve as an implicit endorsement of South Africa’s damaging support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the letter stated.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was signed into law on May 18, 2000. The Act provides tangible incentives for African countries to continue their efforts to open their economies and build free markets.

South African government officials have reacted to the letter. The foreign ministry’s spokesman, Clayson Monyela stated that, “the State Department/White House has made no decision to relocate the AGOA Forum from SA.”

On its part, the South African Department of Trade and Industry, which manages the country’s trade relations with the United States, stated that it had no plans to publicly respond to the letter.

Defence relations between South Africa and Russia have been on the rise in recent years. In February, South Africa held a joint military exercise with Russia and China which was criticised by opposition figures, and the United States, with claims that the collaboration amounted to an endorsement of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Musings From Abroad

Prince Harry, Meghan treated to street-style dances in Nigeria as their trip winds down

Published

on

On Sunday, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were treated to street-style dances in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, where they announced a partnership between their Archewell Foundation and the non-profit Giants of Africa, which utilizes sports to empower young people.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are making their first visit to Nigeria, where they were welcomed by the country’s chief of defence staff. The couple watched basketball practice at Ilupeju Senior Grammar School on Lagos Mainland, where Harry participated in ball-bouncing drills and shot a hoop.

“What you guys are doing here at Giants of Africa is truly amazing,” he said. “The power of sport can change lives. It brings people together and creates community and there are no barriers, which is the most important thing.”

The couple watched basketball practice at Ilupeju Senior Grammar School on Lagos Mainland, and Harry stepped on the court for some ball-bouncing drills and to shoot a hoop.

Former Toronto Raptors star Masai Ujiri, president of Giants of Africa, wished Meghan a happy Mother’s Day and said his organization was uniting communities and uplifting young people through sport, especially. Archewell Foundation and Giants of Africa will construct a basketball court in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

“Talk about full circle again – never did I think we would be able to be here all those years later supporting the expansion of this incredible organization,” she said.
Harry and Meghan were set to round off their Lagos trip by attending a reception for a local charity. The couple live in the United States with their two children after Harry gave up working as a member of the royal family in 2020.

Continue Reading

Musings From Abroad

Binance accuses Nigeria of setting dangerous precedent with detention of its executives

Published

on

After its executives were invited to Nigeria and subsequently arrested as part of a crackdown on cryptocurrencies, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, warned that the African nation was creating a dangerous precedent.

The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, and two of its executives are being tried separately for tax evasion and money laundering, charges that the business is contesting.

CEO Richard Teng declared in a statement that it was time to voice opposition to the imprisonment of a US citizen and head of financial crime compliance at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan.

Former executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan who works as a regional manager for Africa, escaped detention in Nigeria last month. While in Nigeria, Anjarwalla and Gambaryan were arrested by the country’s anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after arriving on February 26, after which the country banned several websites that traded cryptocurrencies.

In a follow-up meeting on February 26, he stated that the authorities had declared the Binance concerns to be matters of national security and that they wanted the exchange to remove the naira from its site and disclose “granular-level” information on every Nigerian user. After that, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were taken into custody.

“To invite a company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide,” Teng said, in his strongest comments yet since the case started in February.

“For spurious reasons,” Teng said that Gambaryan had been detained in Nigeria for almost two months. Early in March, Binance declared that it will no longer be accepting any new naira transactions.

“Our hope when we took this drastic step was that our colleagues would be released and Binance could continue to work with the Nigerian government to resolve any further concerns. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” said Ten.

He stated that Gambaryan ought to be permitted to return home while Binance and the Nigerian government work out any kinks. “We will continue engagement with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on resolving potential historic tax liabilities,” he said.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

Sports6 hours ago

Super Falcons star Nnadozie wins best goalkeeper in France

Super Falcons of Nigeria goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, has entered the history books as she became the first female African player...

Metro11 hours ago

Chipata youth calls for stronger media protections amid concerns over media independence

Alepha Banda, a programmes officer at the Youth Development Foundation (YDF), says Zambia’s existing laws do not adequately safeguard journalists,...

VenturesNow18 hours ago

Nigeria’s Petroleum Regulator begins bidding round for 12 oil blocks

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has announced the start of the bidding process for 12 oil blocks recently put...

VenturesNow18 hours ago

Ecobank’s $183 million impairment losses highlight hazards in sovereign bonds

Ecobank, a pan-African banking group, has more than doubled its impairment losses on Ghana’s problematic Eurobonds to $183 million, highlighting...

Metro18 hours ago

Nigeria may need to raise supplementary budget to be able pay minimum wage— IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the Nigerian government may need to raise a supplementary budget to be able to...

Politics18 hours ago

Niger’s Prime Minister claims Benin’s oil export blockage breaches accords

Niger’s Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, has claimed that Benin’s suspension of Niger’s oil shipments, imposed in reaction to...

Tech1 day ago

Cut to undersea cable causes internet disruptions across East, Southern Africa

Internet services across East and Southern Africa have suffered outages following undersea submarine cable cuts on Sunday. According to the...

Culture1 day ago

Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie fires shots at Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Asake in new single ‘Brag’

Ghanaian rapper, Michael Owusu Addo, popularly known as Sarkodie, has sparked a new round of storm after he fired shots...

Sports1 day ago

Tobi Amusan sets world-leading time at Jamaica Athletics Invitational

World 100m hurdle record-holder, Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, was the cynosure of all eyes as she stole the show at...

Metro2 days ago

Aspiring journalist offers insights on media freedom and information access in Zambia

Ireen Mundia, a student journalist, has contributed to the discourse on media freedoms, drawing from her internship experience at Byta...

Trending