By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 28 August 2023 (IDN) — As voters went to the polls in Libreville, the capital of the oil-rich nation of Gabon, polling stations were already opening late. Scheduled to begin in the morning of August 26, many sites had failed to open as of 2 p.m. Incumbent […]
Ex-French President Charged as Influence Peddler
Held Racist Views Toward Africa By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 27 August 2023 (IDN) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has had anything but a stellar record since stepping down from office more than a decade ago. The 68-year-old has already been convicted twice, once for corruption and influence-peddling involving attempts to […]
African Staffers Sue Facbook’s Parent Company
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 27 August 2023 (IDN) — Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is facing a $1.6 billion lawsuit from content moderators in Kenya over poor working conditions, insufficient mental health support, and low pay for moderators. The content moderators told the Associated Press that their job required them to watch […]
Afropop Star Appointed ‘Special Advisor’ to Malian Junta
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 24 August 2023 (IDN) — Salif Keita, renowned singer-songwriter known as the “Golden Voice of Africa”, has been appointed one of five “special advisors” to the head of Mali’s military junta. Under a decree dated 11 August, the Afropop singer was named advisor to Colonel Assimi Goita […]
U.S. Extends Protected Status as Sudanese Crisis Worsens
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 24 August 2023 (IDN) — In a long-awaited acknowledgment of the worsening crisis in Sudan, the United States has extended its temporary protected status to Sudanese nationals for 18 months—from 20 October 2023 through 19 April 2025. Officials of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited Sudan’s […]
African Connection of Atom Bomb That Destroyed Hiroshima
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 24 August 2023 (IDN) — This month marks the anniversary of the first use of an atomic bomb, developed in the U.S. and dropped on a Japanese city to deadly effect. Little is known, however, of the African connection to this deadly weapon—namely the use of uranium […]
UN May Seek Accountability for Saudi Killings of Hundreds of Migrants
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 23 August 2023 (IDN) — The United Nations has expressed serious concern over the killings of hundreds of migrants, mostly Ethiopians, crossing war-ravaged Yemen trying to reach Saudi Arabia. “I think trying to stop migration using the barrel of a gun is intolerable,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on […]
It’s Time to End the ‘Nonsense’ in Niger
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA. 17 August 2023 (IDN) — Almost everyone, including me, seems opposed to Nigeria leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to war in Niger. In one of the most telling anti-war metaphors, a Nigerian columnist and […]
Prize-Winning Documentary Spotlights the People’s President
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 15 August 2023 (IDN) — “I’m president already. I’m president of the ghetto!” exults the subject of “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” midway through the documentary. That’s not exactly how it worked out, but directors Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo’s account of Wine’s 2021 campaign for president […]
Cold War Hawk Takes Over US Response to Expanding Niger Crisis
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 14 August 2023 (IDN) — Less than a year ago, U.S. Ambassador Johnnie Carson was the object of fulsome praises on his appointment as special representative to the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. “There is no better qualified person to serve in this important, new role,” declared Ambassador George […]