Tag: US

The world is watching Nigeria till after 2019 elections, says US

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date May 6, 2018

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and US President, Donald Trump. Photo/BBC

The world is watching Nigeria till after 2019 elections, says US

The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, W. Stuart Symington has said the whole world is paying attention to Nigeria, till after the 2019 election.

The envoy made the remarks on Saturday while delivering a goodwill message at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Award Night.

He said given the strategic importance of Nigeria to Africa’s economy, “There is no person in the world who is not paying attention to Nigeria”.

Symington said there is no other place in the world like Nigeria where a huge number of people with diverse religion and culture are bounded under one national creed.

He said the future of the West African would depend on how conscientious the journalists would be in the coverage and reportage of events before, during and the after the 2019 elections.

He encouraged journalists to continue to fight for freedom for the people: “It is important to say that we need good leaders. But it is more important to say that we are the leaders. You can build the future of your choice from today. There is nothing so important to the democracy of this world than trust; and trust is built on two factors: fact and communication”, he said.

The NUJ gave awards to deserving individuals and organisation such as: This Day, Daily Trust, The Nation, The Guardian and Vanguard newspapers, The Nigeria Television Authority, the Africa Independent Television, Silverbird TV, Channels and TVC News.

Others are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB); News Agency of Nigeria (NAN); National Human Rights Commission; UNESCO, US Embassy and the Nigerian Press Council (NPC).

Individuals who received award include: Chief Executive of the Channels TV, John Momoh (Lifetime Achievement Awards); Senators Shehu Sani, Speaker Yakubu Dogara Umar Garba Danbatta, Isa Ali Pantami, and Gov Umar Ganduje of Kano State (Friends of the media Awards) Femi Falana, SAN, Festus Keyamo, SAN, Richard Akinlola, Agha Ukapi Agha, Edetean Ojo, Ugochukwu Ezikiel Hanks, Inuwa Bwala, Waziri Mamman, Lanre Arogundade, and Oliva Okpala got Defender of Press Freedom Awards.

Journalists who distinguished themselves in the practice were also rewarded: Lemmy Ughegbe, Luka Binniyat, Victorson Agbenson, Emmanuel Ogbeche, Desmond Utomwem, Akin Orimolade, Jacob Onjewu, Emmanuel Antswen, Dapo Olorunyami, Evelyn Okakwu, Olajide Ayodeji, Sunday Nwakamma, Chidi Asonye, Boniface Okoro, Friday Ogungbemi, Yomi Olomofe, Mohammed Abdulkadir, Lawal Ogienagbon, Ikechukwu Ibe, Lawal Muhammed, Charles Otu and Alifa Daniel.

Tags Nigeria, US

Nature

Former U.S First Lady, Barbara Bush, dies at 92

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date April 19, 2018

In Photo: Barbara Bush
Her pearls sparked a national fashion trend when she wore them to her husband’s inauguration in 1989. The pearls became synonymous with her. Barbara Bush later said she selected them to hide the wrinkles in her neck. The candid admission only bolstered her common sense and down-to-earth public image. Credit/VoA

Former U.S First Lady, Barbara Bush, dies at 92

Barbara Bush, former U.S. first lady and mother of former U.S President George W. Bush, has died at 92. A family statement said she died Tuesday evening with her family beside her.

“My dear mother has passed on at age 92,” former President George W. Bush said in a statement. “Laura, Barbara, Jenna, and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was. Barbara Bush was a fabulous first lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions. To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end. I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.”

The Bush family gave few details on her health, but said the former first lady suffered in recent years from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She declined to seek further medical treatment as her condition worsened in recent days.

In a statement from the White House, President Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania Trump praised Barbara Bush’s dedication to literacy.

“As a wife, mother, grandmother, military spouse, and former First Lady, Mrs. Bush was an advocate of the American family. Amongst her greatest achievements was recognizing the importance of literacy as a fundamental family value that requires nurturing and protection. She will be long remembered for her strong devotion to country and family, both of which she served unfailingly well.”

Barbara Pierce Bush was born June 8, 1925, in Rye, New York. Her father was the publisher of McCall’s and Redbook magazines. Her mother, Pauline Pierce, was the daughter of an Ohio Supreme Court justice and was dedicated to conservation efforts as a chairwoman of the Garden Club of America.

Barbara Pierce married George Herbert Walker Bush on Jan. 6, 1945. They had six children and have been married longer than any presidential couple in U.S. history. George H.W. Bush was the country’s 41st president from 1989 to 1993.

Barbara Bush was one of only two first ladies in history who was also the mother of a president — George W. Bush, the country’s 43rd commander in chief. The other first lady was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the nation’s second president, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president.

As first lady, Barbara Bush made literacy her main focus and became involved in a number of reading organizations. She established the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy decades ago, promoting reading skills across America, particularly for young children.

Tags US

AU is “a force for good” for Africa’s integration, says US.

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date March 9, 2018

The US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson

AU is “a force for good” for Africa’s integration, says US.

The U.S. has lauded the African Union Commission for its efforts at Africa’s integration, describing it as “a force for good”.

U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, after his meeting with Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Mahamat, at the Commission’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, said he was in Africa ‘to listen”

Mr. Tillerson said “the purpose of my trip to this continent is to listen. I think it is important that we listen to what the priorities of the countries here on the continent are.

“And see where there is good alignment between their priorities and our areas of greatest interest as well. And I think we’ve already found there are many”.

He applauded the Africa Centre for Disease Control, saying it has been quite successful in tracking and responding to disease outbreaks on the continent adding, health security also advanced national security, economic development, and political stability.

On trade, Mr. Tillerson said U.S. supported AU’s economic regional integration efforts to lower intra-trade barriers on the continent and boost more intra-regional trade.

He said U.S. appreciated AU’s very strong statements on South Sudan at the recent AU summit, adding U.S. truly calls on all parties to abide by the cessation of hostilities and be open to compromise for the good of the South Sudanese people.

Mr. Tillerson commended the AU’s Mission in Somalia, saying it is clearly an example of countries coming together to counter terrorism, promote stability, and enable delivery of much-needed aid to the Somali people.

He also discussed ways to ensure the G5 Sahel forces have the necessary resources to continue their fight against terrorism, and how we can put in place more sustainable funding models so they have greater certainty around how to plan the future fight against terrorism in the Sahel region as well.

Mr. Tillerson said fighting corruption was another area of common cause between Africa and U.S. adding, we’re very pleased to see that the African Union has named 2018 as the year for winning the fight against corruption.

“From high-level secret deals to petty bribes on the street, corruption really does steal the precious resources from job creators and entrepreneurs and others who would promote benefits to the greater society and to the citizens of those countries.

“Good governance and transparency are essential to creating the conditions for economic growth and prosperity, and we look forward to continuing our joint efforts with the African Union to improve the business environment on the continent.

“But transparency really is an essential requirement for good business conditions and will attract greater investment and economic activity as well.

“That includes supporting greater intra- and global-trade investments in Africa as the environment creates competitive conditions,” he stressed.

Mr. Tillerson reiterated U.S. desire for more African nations to apply concrete diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea, noting the global maximum pressure campaign, which has been supported by multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

Mr. Mahamat, in his remarks, said his discussions with the U.S. envoy was fruitful, noting the visit was taking place at a time when Africa was firmly embarking on the path to integration and reform.

Tags Tillerson, US

US Warns Africa Against Chinese Loans

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date March 8, 2018

The US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson,

US Warns Africa Against Chinese Loans

The United States, US, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has continued to take a dig at Chinese investments in Africa. on Tuesday, shortly before he left for Africa for his first official trip since Trump Presidency, Tillerson cautioned that Chinese interest in Africa encourages African dependency.

On Thursday the US Diplomat told African countries to be wary of the Chinese government and its loan facilities adding that Washington was not trying to keep Chinese investment away from the continent.

Mr. Tillerson, a former Exxon Chief Executive, is seeking to bolster economic and security alliances on a continent increasingly turning to China for aid and trade.

The U.S. diplomat is also believed to be seeking smooth relations with African countries after President Donald Trump reportedly dismissed some African nations as “Shithole countries” in January, a comment he later denied.

The trip is his first to Africa, which has since turned to China in trade and investment agreements.

The Chinese government has pumped billions into infrastructure projects across the continent, although critics say there is often little gains for local economies because Chinese firms and nationals build the roads and rails.

On Thursday, the U.S diplomat told a news conference in the Ethiopian capital that African leaders need to carefully consider their agreements with China.

“We are not in any way attempting to keep Chinese ‘dollars’ from Africa,” he said, “(but) it is important that African countries carefully consider the terms of those agreements and not forfeit their sovereignty.”

Mr. Tillerson said that Chinese investments “do not bring significant job creation locally” and criticised how the country structures loans to African governments, saying if a government accepts a Chinese loan and “gets into trouble”, it can “lose control of its own infrastructure or its own resources through default.”

Mr. Tillerson arrived Ethiopia on Wednesday and visited the African Union headquarters, built by China, on Thursday.

He was due to meet with Ethiopian officials on Thursday afternoon before flying to tiny Djibouti, host to sprawling military bases owned by the U.S, China, Japan, France, and Italy.

Tags Africa, US

Africa Latest News US

I am not a racist, I tell the truth—President Trump

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date January 15, 2018

I am not a racist, I tell the truth—President Trump

Despite his consistent uncomplimentary remarks about Africa and Haiti and his stance on immigration, United States President, Donald Trump has denied has he is a racist.

Anger boiled over last week when Trump labelled African countries and Haiti “shit-hole countries”. Although Trump did not expressly deny the shit-hole remarks, he has expressly said that he is not a racist and he has always said the truth.

BBC reports that the President told White House reporters at his Florida golf resort on Sunday : “I am not a racist. I’m the least racist person you have ever interviewed.”

It is the first time the president has responded directly to the racism accusations.

He made the denial to White House press pool reporters at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in Florida on Sunday night.

The shit-hole row broke out after lawmakers from both parties visited the president on Thursday to work on a proposal for a bipartisan immigration deal.

Reports later emerged in US media that Mr Trump had asked during the meeting: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”

Mr Trump was said to have told them that instead of granting temporary residency to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, the US should be taking in migrants from countries like Norway.

Leaders of African countries like Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo and the African Union have condenmed Trump’s stance on Africa, calling him a racist.

The African Union on Friday demanded that the US president apologise expressing their “shock, dismay and outrage” at the “clearly racist” remarks.

The UN human rights spokesman, Rupert Colville, told a Geneva news briefing: “There is no other word one can use but racist. You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as ‘shitholes’.”

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) accused the president of falling “deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of racism and xenophobia”.

Several Democratic representatives have said they intend to skip the president’s State of the Union address later this month over the comments, accusing the president of racism.

US Senator, Dick Durbin said “Trump said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly”

Media captionDick Durbin: “Trump said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly”

Several senior Republican lawmakers at the meeting, including Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, have said they do not recall Mr Trump making the remark.

But another Republican senator who was there, Lindsey Graham, did not deny the comments were made.

“Following comments by the president, I said my piece directly to him yesterday. The president and all those attending the meeting know what I said and how I feel,” he said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a senior Republican, said that Donald Trump’s immigration comments were “very unfortunate” and “unhelpful”.

Asked on Sunday on whether he thought the comments had made it harder to achieve any immigration deal, Mr Trump responded: “Have you seen what various senators said about my comments? They weren’t made.”t

Tags Trump, US

News US

Trump May Name Jerusalem Capital of Israel Wednesday

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date December 6, 2017

President Trump, family visit Jerusalem’s famous Western Wall

Trump May Name Jerusalem Capital of Israel Wednesday

United States President, Donald Trump may name Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel on Wednesday to fulfil his campaign promise to evangelicals and ardently pro-Israel American Jews.

Trump’s advisers said on Tuesday that the President was ready to make good his promise on Wednesday although some US foreign officials have warned moving Israel’s capital from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem may spark violence.

The New York Times reports that if Trump made such a move, it could spark demonstrations or violence by Palestinians or by Muslims around the world, in part because of the sensitivity of the Jerusalem site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif

“The site includes the al Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, and the golden Dome of the Rock. It was also the site of an ancient Jewish temple, the holiest place in Judaism.

Israel seized East Jerusalem, which includes the area, during a 1967 war. However, the Waqf, a Muslim religious body, manages the Islamic sites within the compound”

But a senior U.S. official told Reuters last week that Trump was likely to make the announcement on Jerusalem’s being Israel’s capital on Wednesday, though his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner on Sunday said no final decision had been made.

President Trump plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American Embassy there, upending nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and potentially destroying his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr. Trump’s decision, a high-risk foray into the thicket of the Middle East, was driven not by diplomatic calculations but by a campaign promise. He appealed to evangelicals and ardently pro-Israel American Jews in 2016 by vowing to move the embassy, and advisers said on Tuesday he was determined to make good on his word.

Mr. Trump spent Tuesday morning explaining the policy change in telephone calls with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel; Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president; and to Arab leaders who warned him that it would disrupt the peace process, perhaps fatally, and could unleash a new wave of violence across the region.

Tags Israel, Trump, US

Africa Business

US Stakes $45.5 million to Refloat Nigerian Economy

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date November 20, 2017

United States of America Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan (L) and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama stands for both country’s national anthem during the Nigeria-United States Bi-National Commission meeting in Abuja, on November 20, 2017. The US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan led interagency US delegation to a meeting of Nigeria and the United States Bi-National Commission in Abuja. / AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

US Stakes $45.5 million to Refloat Nigerian Economy

The United States, US, has linked the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria to the country’s spluttering economy; and has promised to assist the country with a new tranche of $45.5 million.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan made the promise today in the Nigeria-United States Bi-National Commission meeting in Abuja.

Sullivan — the most senior Trump administration official to visit Nigeria this year — said the US was “committed to helping the Nigerian people provide their own security” but said military might alone was not enough.

“Nigeria’s success… requires improvements to the economy and governance off the battlefield as well,” he said at a meeting of US and Nigerian officials.

As part of that, he pledged an additional $45.5 million through USAID to support “stabilisation and early recovery efforts” to help those affected by the violence to recover”, said The Guardian.

The US also called for “transparent and credible” inquiries into violations, stating that prosecutions were needed to help heal wounds in the battle-scarred region.

“This is essential to deepening the people’s trust of the government, strengthening security efforts in the northeast and improving the United States’ ability to partner with Nigeria,” he said on a visit to Abuja.

Nigerian troops have been repeatedly accused of abuses against Boko Haram suspects and civilians, including arbitrary arrest, torture and extra-judicial killings.

The military has consistently denied the claims but concern about the army’s record has limited direct foreign involvement in the fight-back against the jihadists.

A $593-million (503-million-euro) deal agreed under the Obama administration to sell Nigeria 12 Super Tucano A-29 ground attack aircraft was announced in May 2016.

But it was halted after at least 112 people displaced by the conflict in northeast Nigeria were killed in January this year in a botched air strike against the Islamist militants.

The State Department finally approved the sale in August.

US troops have been providing help to Nigerian and regional forces fighting Boko Haram, running an unmanned surveillance drone operation from a base in northern Cameroon.

Washington and other Western powers have also provided training for Nigerian troops.

At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million made homeless since 2009, while chronic food shortages have left hundreds of thousands starving.

Cases against hundreds of Boko Haram suspects opened in October but the prosecutions are being held behind closed doors at a military facility, with press and public barred, the paper reported.

Tags US

Science US

‘US SpaceX Zuma Satellite Has Nothing with South Africa’s Zuma’

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date November 17, 2017

SpaceX

‘US SpaceX Zuma Satellite, Has nothing with South Africa’s Zuma’

It is expected that SpaceX will launch the United States Government’s top-secret Zuma mission satellite this evening.

But against speculations that the Zuma in the SpaceX project has something to do with South African President, Jacob Zuma, Fortune has said they have no relationship.

Thursday launch became impossible but the firm did not categorically say that launch will be Friday.

According to documents obtained by Wired last month, the Zuma mission involves carrying a Northrop Grumman-made satellite into low-Earth orbit for the U.S. government. That’s pretty much all we know about it—it’s not even apparent which government branch or agency is the client here.

Elon Musk’s firm was originally supposed to launch the Zuma payload on Thursday evening. However, SpaceX said in a couple of tweets that it was delaying the launch so it could more closely look at component-test data relating to another mission.

Fortune writes that it still has a slot for Friday evening but will take as long as it needs to examine the data.

“Specifically, the company is looking at data relating to the nose cone—known as “fairing”—that protects the payload. The Zuma mission’s fairing will be jettisoned to expose the satellite once SpaceX’s Falcon 9 clears the Earth’s atmosphere.

Northrop Grumman (noc, +0.17%) is itself in the process of buying a spaceflight firm called Orbital ATK, which serves the International Space Station and will bring the weaponry and aerospace giant into competition with SpaceX.

A couple months ago, the digital firm launched a “miniature space plane” for the U.S. Air Force.

A SpaceX delivery of a satellite for Israel’s Space Communications went horribly wrong last year after the Falcon 9 rocket exploded. However, SpaceX signed a new deal with the Israeli company last month to launch another two satellites into orbit”

Tags US

U.S Bomber Drills Unsettles North Korea Ahead Trump’s Visit to Asia

Post author By Kings UBA
Post date November 3, 2017

U.S. aircraft flew across the Korean Peninsula and practiced attack capabilities by releasing live weapons at a training area/ Photo credit/AFP

U.S Bomber Drills Unsettles North Korea Ahead Trump’s Visit to Asia

United States (U.S) President, Donald Trump is billed to make his first presidential trip to Asia on Sunday. Ahead of that visit, two US bomber jets have conducted drills over South Korea, a move that has unsettled the North Korea.

The goal of Trump’s visit to Asia will be to increase international support for efforts to deprive North Korea of resources as leverage to coerce it to give up nuclear weapons, U.S. officials said.

“The president recognizes that we’re running out of time (to deal with North Korea) and will ask all nations to do more,” White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters at a briefing in Washington.

News of the drills was first reported by North Korean state news agency KCNA on Friday, which said the exercises involving South Korean and Japanese fighter jets were a “surprise nuclear strike drill”.

“The reality clearly shows that the gangster-like U.S. imperialists are the very one who is aggravating the situation of the Korean peninsula and seeking to ignite a nuclear war,” KCNA said.

Reuters said Trump arrives in Asia on Sunday, “beginning his first trip to the region as president in Japan before heading to South Korea and China, then Vietnam and the Philippines”

President Trump has seen a series of missile tests by North Korea and its sixth and largest nuclear test as threats and fueling the most critical international challenge of his presidency.

McMaster said Trump, who has approved a variety of sanctions against North Korea while pressing China to do more, is at the beginning of his drive for Pyongyang to give up nuclear weapons. Trump has warned he would “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatened the United States.

“I think we have to be a little patient here for at least a few months to see what more we and others can do, including China,” said McMaster. “I don’t think we need to reassess our strategy now. I think we have to give it a couple of months, a few months, and then see what adjustments we might need to make.”

China’s influential state-run tabloid the Global Times said in an editorial on Friday that pressing China will not help solve the Korean peninsula nuclear crisis.

“The complexity of the nuclear crisis means that all sides may have to make some concessions to reach a peaceful solution. China is playing the most difficult role in the process, and is the real hope of peacefully addressing the crisis. Neither side should press China in an extreme way,” it said.

Seoul held a National Security Council meeting on Friday to discuss possible unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang, and may announce the measures ahead of Trump’s arrival in South Korea, a presidential official said.

“The United States has wanted the South Korean government to take further steps to sanction the North. Unilateral sanctions by South Korea wouldn’t have much practical impact but it has a symbolic importance,” the official said.

Tags US