Wales’ first Black leader is a testament to Britain’s political diversity, but racism persists
LONDON—Vaughan Gething’s election as the next leader of Wales marks a milestone: For the first time, none of the U.K.’s four main governments is led by a White man. It’s a striking moment in a country still grappling with racism and the legacy of empire. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has Indian heritage and is Britain’s first Hindu leader. Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf—who, like Gething,...
The unexpected announcement of a prime minister divides Haiti’s newly created transitional council
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—A surprise announcement that revealed Haiti’s new prime minister is threatening to fracture a recently installed transitional council tasked with choosing new leaders for the gang-riddled Caribbean country. Four of seven council members with voting powers said April 30 that they had chosen Fritz Bélizaire as prime minister, taking many Haitians aback with their declaration and unexpected political alliance. The...
British weapons used to kill thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza: Oxfam
The chief executive of London-based charity organization Oxfam has censured the UK as “intellectually and morally incoherent” over supplying arms to Israel while attempting to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. “Whether you say they are components or whole weapons is a moot point, because individual components collectively constitute these devices that are killing so many innocent people,” Halima Begum said in...
Putin meets Azerbaijani president in Baku to strengthen ties as regional tensions persist
BAKU, Azerbaijan—Russian leader Vladimir Putin held talks on Aug. 19 with his Azerbaijani counterpart as part of a two-day trip to secure Moscow’s under-pressure trade routes and shore up ties in the South Caucasus. Business links were high on the agenda as Putin and President Ilham Aliyev met in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, with Aliyev announcing that $120 million had been earmarked to...
The myth of Western economic development
Brazilian economist Celso Furtado’s classic 1974 book, “The Myth of Economic Development,” he argues the very idea of Latin America and Africa someday enjoying a similar livelihood as Western Europe and North America is “unrealizable in practice.” He writes that any attempt to generalize, or use as a model, the lifestyles of the world’s well-to-do would lead to a collapse...
Mugabe urges stronger African unity
HARARE, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe recently urged closer ties among African countries to counter-balance growing military unilateralism by Western powers. Opening a new Parliamentary session, the Zimbabwean leader accused big Western powers of preying on divided weaker nations in the Third World, citing the Iraq war as an example. Pres. Mugabe said the conflict in the Persian...
Nigeria moves to tackle food crisis
Could the global food crisis impact America? (FCN, 04-30-2008) ABUJA, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria has announced plans to import 500,000 metric tons of rice and release an additional 11,000 metric tons of grains from its strategic reserve to cushion the effect of the global food crisis. Already, the government has allocated about $678 billion for the massive rice importation. The decisions...
World’s food supply in jeopardy
(FinalCall.com) - The diversity of the world's food supply is being jeopardized by genetically engineered crops, according to some advocates and experts. The consequences of GE crops is that they eliminate diversity, say critics. “Once the product interacts with the environment and crossbreeds with similar or related species, all acquire the introduced dominant traits and the wide varieties previously...
Africa Among Top 10 Fastest Growing Markets For Air Travel
GINNEWS (GIN)–Airline industry and ministry officials attending Aviation Festival Africa and Airports Show Africa heard some good news and some not so good news. First, according to the International Air Traffic Transport Association (IATA), the top 10 fastest growing world markets for air travel over the next 20 years will be in Africa. The top 10 fastest growing markets are: Benin,...
Israel uses Trump administration to get diplomatic ties with Morocco and Sudan
President Trump’s closing foreign policy initiatives have included a major effort to convince and coerce African and Asian nations to “normalize” relations with the state of Israel in exchange for promised U.S. financial, military and possibly diplomatic assistance. In recent past, Israel has been on a mission to strengthen and exploit its ties with Africa. Not only has Israel made...