NEWSBRIEFS

Photo: Nikita Pearl Waligwa. Source: MyClallamCounty.com

Uganda's Queen of Katwe Star Dies of Brain Cancer

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Nikita Pearl Waligwa, who starred as the friend of chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi in the 2016 Disney film "The Queen of Katwe", passed away on February 15 after a valiant struggle with cancer. She was 15 years of age.

The film, which starred David Oyelowo as the chess teacher, Lupita Nyong'o as Phiona’s mother, and Madina Nmwanta as Phiona, was based on a true story about the young Mutesi. She learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master after her victories at World Chess Olympiads.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 February 2020

Photo: Abidjan shaves a district to secure its airport. Courtesy of FR24News

Shantytowns Housing Thousands Demolished in Ivory Coast

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Bulldozers have begun demolishing homes built in the shantytowns of Abidjan, the commercial capital of the Ivory Coast, leaving thousands without shelter as authorities carry out plans to build a buffer zone around an international airport.

This comes as large numbers of Ivorians are leaving remote farms and villages for a better life.

The demolitions even destroyed the neighborhood mosque, charged Imam Issa Sankoudouma.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 February 2020

Image: Blast mine - American M14, Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Trump Administration's Landmine Policy a Dangerous Misstep

By J C Suresh

TORONTO | WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) —In yet another move to reverse former President Barack Obama’s strategies for a more humane world, the Trump administration is poised to rescind his predecessor's 2014 directive to no longer “produce or otherwise acquire any anti-personnel landmines,” known as APLs, according to several media reports. APLs are small explosive devices placed under, on, or near the ground. The new policy would reportedly lift current restrictions on deploying landmines outside the Korean Peninsula.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 30 January 2020

Photo: Denise Butler (right) embraced Nelima Sitati Munene on January 4 in Brooklyn Park as they celebrated a new federal law giving Liberians in the U.S. a path to citizenship. Credit: Evan Frost | MPR News

Liberians Rejoice Over A Promised Path to U.S. Citizenship

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the Trump administration turns down an ever-growing number of applications for asylum, it surprised many that some 5,000 Liberians in the United States have been granted a path to citizenship.

In fact, it was the product of decades of effort by the Liberian community and its allies.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 08 January 2020

Photo: Graduation Ceremony at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Africa. Credit: CMU

Ugandan Writer Discovers Many Reasons for Africa To Be Happy

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – While its soundtrack may have been grim and pessimistic, Africa has more than a few reasons to be happy, asserts prominent author, journalist and former editor of The East African, Charles Onyango-Obbo of Uganda.

“There are many good stories in East Africa,” he begins. “East African citizens continue to travel in record numbers in the region, embracing the sinful joys of music and other festivals”.

: Global Information Network; Africa; 31 December 2019

Photo: Bisi Silva, Nigerian contemporary art curator based in Lagos (2012) CC BY-SA 2.0

‘Season Africa 2020’ Recalls Much Loved Nigerian Curator

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – One of the more ambitious exhibits of African art to showcase French-speaking, English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Africa, including North Africa, is scheduled to open June 2020 and run for six months.

The occasion will also mark the passing this year of Bisi Silva, an adventurous curator who, with her own money, founded a nonprofit art gallery and education center in Lagos, Nigeria, that has nurtured the growth and recognition of contemporary African artists. Silva died on February 12 in a hospital there. She was 56.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 30 December 2019

‘The Eco’ Replaces West Africa’s Colonial Era Currency

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A decades-old reminder of the years of colonial French rule finally ended this month with the renaming of the colonial era currency – the CFA franc – to a name of independence – the Eco.

The announcement was made in Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. It was seen as an effort by France to reshape its relations with its former African colonies.

: Global Information Network; Africs; 25 December 2019

From Protecting Nature to Greenand's Raid Melt and Australia's Bushfires

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A young environmentalist in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invented robots to help protect nature, reports the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Asked about the role of children in creating a positive impact on the environment in the UAE, 11-year-old Sainath Manikandan said: “The backbone of a nation is its youth.”

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 16 December 2019

Photo: Manikandan at the "INNOVATOR 2018" event in Abu Dhabi, UAE in February 2018. His innovation, the Marine Robot Cleaner, won the first place as Best Technology Project. Credit: UN Environment.

News Briefs on Climate Action and Climate Emergency

By J Nastranis

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 14 December 2019

Photo: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela House. Source: @NathiMthethwaSA (Official twitter account of the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa.)

Home of Struggle Icon Winnie Mandela Is Now a Museum

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | BLOEMFONTEIN (IDN) – The modest home of the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Brandfort, Free State, where she was forced to live when banished in 1977, has become a museum.

The Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Brandfort House Museum in Majwemasweu, Brandfort, is now complete, according to the national Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.