By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — On its web page titled U.S. Relations with Sierra Leone, the State Department gushes with warmth and affection for the African country—once called the ‘Province of Freedom’—which remains among the world’s poorest countries, ranked 180th out of 187 countries in the United Nations’ Human Development […]
Sierra Leone Teacher Activists Arrested for Demanding ‘Living Wages’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | FREETOWN (IDN) — Schoolteachers in Sierra Leone say they’ve had enough after the arrest of Mohamed Salieu Khan, interim chair of the Teachers Solidarity Movement (TSM). On April 26, he was grabbed by police outside the popular AYV TV station after speaking about the dismal plight […]
German Deal with Namibian President on Hold Because Herero and Nama Were Left Out
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Reparations—a system of redress for egregious injustices—are not a foreign idea imposed from the outside on the United States. On the contrary, the U.S. has given lands to Native Americans, paid $1.5 billion to Japanese Americans interned in the U.S. during World War II, and […]
Whistle Blower Reveals U.S. Role in Zuma’s Corruption Inquiry
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Business consultant Athol Williams said he witnessed high-level corruption under the presidency of Jacob Zuma—but a good portion of it emanated from a U.S. company with connections to U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, according to a new report.
Explosion At Illegal Oil Refinery in Southeast Nigeria Kills Scores
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — In one of the deadliest explosions in years, fire and blast shook south-eastern Nigeria, Imo state, possibly the result of illegal oil refining of stolen crude or “kpofire”. News reports described charred bodies left scattered among burnt palms, cars and vans after the weekend explosion […]
Former Kenyan President Kibaki Leaves Mixed Legacy
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Kenya’s former president Mwai Kibaki leaves a mixed legacy of economic reforms and a new constitution alongside a controversial election which led to deadly violence and entrenched corruption. His death at 90 years of age was announced by his successor, President Uhuru Kenyatta. A British-educated […]
African Woman Writer Scoops Major Fellowship Prize
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Fellowships to 180 exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form were announced on April 7 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Chosen from a rigorous application and peer review process out of almost 2500 […]
Kenyan President’s Bid to Rewrite Nation’s Laws Rebuffed
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — While political leaders around the world jockey for comebacks, to extend their terms in office or merely to ignore a no-confidence vote, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was scheming to make sweeping changes to the constitution which, critics say, would have expanded his powers and create […]
Statue For Ghanaian Cancer Scientist Is Erected in U.S.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Danielle Twum, a cancer immunologist from Ghana, West Africa, has been honoured in the United States with a life-size statue for her research contributions. Twum was one of over a hundred women honoured by the Smithsonian during Women’s History Month. The Smithsonian’s “#IfThenSheCan—The Exhibit,” features […]
IMF Returns to Mozambique After Six Years
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW | MAPUTO (IDN) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) returns with a set of new funded programmes to Mozambique, six years after the lender halted its previous deals in the wake of a financial scandal involving three fraudulent security-linked companies, and two banks—Credit Suisse and VTB of Russia, on the […]