Month: March 2019

Diplomacy

Donald Trump earmarks $60 billion for Africa’s development

The US government has earmarked $60 to fund private sector US investments in Africa through a new Presidential Initiative, called “Prosper Africa,” to support U.S. investment across the continent, improve the business climate, and accelerate the growth of Africa’s middle class.

In support of Prosper Africa, President Donald Trump signed into law the BUILD Act, establishing the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, or IDFC.

US Deputy Secretary of State,
John J. Sullivan, disclosed these facts at an investment luncheon in Luanda, Angola as part of his tour of Africa.

Read the full speech here

African Politics, Politics

How Sudan’s uprising is inspiring a generation of Sudanese American teens

By Hana Baba

Nearly two dozen people are gathered for a symposium in Hayward, California, about the recent protests in Sudan. Those who come to these Sudan-related events are usually adults — first-generation Sudanese immigrants to the United States.

But it’s different tonight. The featured speakers are Sudanese American teenagers.

First up is 17-year-old Maazin Ahmed, whose mother is Sudanese and father is African American. Maazin is the president of his college’s Black Students Union in Berkeley, California, a city familiar with protests. He says he grew up seeing pictures of his mom sporting an afro in the 70s in Sudan. She told him stories about better times in her home country.

Continue reading “How Sudan’s uprising is inspiring a generation of Sudanese American teens” →

Appointments

Meet Ghana’s first African-American Tourism ambassador, Diallo Sumbry

By Michael Klugey
Diallo Sumbry, the founder of the Washington D.C. based The Adinkra Group, an African Cultural Edutainment Resource, and Consulting Company, and organizer of the Back2Africa Festival and Tour has been appointed as Ghana’s first African-American Tourism Ambassador by the Ghana Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

Mr. Sumbry will join Ghana Tourism Ambassadors including Afrobeats Star Fuse ODG, Ghanaian Rap Star, Sarkodie, Ghanaian British Singing Sensations, Reggie N Bollie, and Singer Wiyaala to transform and promote tourism as a leading sector of the economy in Ghana.

Continue reading “Meet Ghana’s first African-American Tourism ambassador, Diallo Sumbry” →

Business, News

Bank of America Merrill Lynch warns of recession in South Africa over Eskom

By Colin McClelland

South Africa will face another recession by year’s end if the Eskom load shedding debacle isn’t remedied, according to forecasts by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

GDP growth will plummet by year’s end and signal a recession, which is two quarters of sub-zero growth, Michael Jacks, head of equity research in Johannesburg at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told reporters on March 20 in the city’s Rosebank area.

Read more from source

Culture

International Mall Offers a Cultural Experience & Unique Shopping

By Lisa Hornung

Few Americans travel to Africa and even fewer have been to Somalia. But you can get a taste of African and international culture and goods right here in Louisville at the International Mall at Eighth and York streets.

A large warehouse-type building is separated into small rooms housing several businesses, including shops, tailors, groceries and even a barber, all owned by independent business owners who come together to support each other. If you’ve ever traveled to a country with a market area or medina, you’ll recognize the small stalls that use every inch of space to store and display wares. Brightly colored rugs, dresses and curtains line the walls and hang from the ceilings. There are beautiful golden tea sets, plates and stackable cookware, alongside faux flower arrangements and beautiful headscarves.

Continue reading “International Mall Offers a Cultural Experience & Unique Shopping” →

News

Google apologises for Ghanaian cedi mistake

Google has apologised to Ghana’s finance ministry and central bank for displaying a wrong exchange rate for the Ghanaian currency, the cedi, on its currency converter.

On Friday, Google’s currency converter said it took 22 cedis to buy one US dollar, when the correct rate was four times less.

Google said in a letter to the ministry and bank that the error occurred because of a “minor glitch” but was “quickly fixed”.

Nigeria also suffered a similar fate last month.

Continue reading “Google apologises for Ghanaian cedi mistake” →

Asylum, Immigration

Canada ramps up border security to stop the flow of asylum-seekers coming from the US

By Breck Dumas

Canada announced Tuesday it will boost spending on border security in an effort to clamp down on asylum-seekers crossing into its country from the U.S.

The Canadian government is committing an additional $902 million over the next five years in an attempt to stem the flow of asylum-seekers from nations like Nigeria and Central American countries who are swarming its border from the U.S.

Continue reading “Canada ramps up border security to stop the flow of asylum-seekers coming from the US” →

Uncategorized

Ghanaian president to deliver speech at Harvard University

Ghanaian president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to head an impressive list of speakers at this year’s Africa Development Conference, at Harvard University on March 29, 2019.The Ghanaian president will deliver the Executive Keynote address at the Forum hosted by Harvard Kennedy’s School’s Institute of Politics and the Center for African Studies of the University.

Read more fŕom source

Festivals, Movies

Watch out Hollywood, Nollywood is coming to town for a festival of African film

By Jeffery Fleishman

In the early days of Nigerian cinema, directors and actors wandered cities and tribal lands shooting movies straight to VHS tapes that were sold in kiosks and bartered in villages.

Those times of on-the-fly editing and pocket-change financing have since grown into one of the largest film industries in the world, a quicksilver business that is as attuned to juju priests as it is to the love affairs and nightclubs of the new rich.

The reach of what is known as Nollywood often strikes Kemi Adetiba, one of its most acclaimed directors, when she’s in Jamaica or New York. A taxi driver will invariably say, “Oh, God, I love Nigerian films” while waxing on about how those stories connect him to ancestors who centuries before had been uprooted from Africa by slavery and colonialism.

Continue reading “Watch out Hollywood, Nollywood is coming to town for a festival of African film” →

Climate

U.S. indoor climate similar to that of west central Kenya

By Mick Kulikowski

What do you do to remain comfortable in your home?

If you’re like the American citizen scientists who reported information about their home climate, you make it as close as possible to the outdoor climate of west central Kenya, according to a new North Carolina State University study.

The survey of U.S. indoor climate preferences in 37 states shows that, on average, Americans keep their home climate similar to the outdoor climate of northeast Africa, with outdoor conditions in west central Kenya the most similar to conditions in American homes. That generally means that it’s warm inside with low humidity.

Continue reading “U.S. indoor climate similar to that of west central Kenya” →

Movies

7 Nigerians putting Nollywood on the world map

The movie industry in Nigeria (Nollywood) has come a long way from catering to just its local audience.
These days, Nigerian movies are gradually going global and being appreciated in various parts of the globe.

After spreading around Africa through the Africa Magic Channels of Multichoice, Nigerian movies are beginning to find their way to global platforms like Netflix.

The artists helping this global push are spotlighted in this report by Pulse.com

Read from more source

Business

Can Ethiopia’s Long Love Affair With Boeing Survive the 737 Max Crash?

By Selam Gebrekidan

Last week, a brand-new Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff in Ethiopia. Five months earlier, an identical Boeing model crashed in Indonesia. With investigators looking into the possibility that a design flaw played a role in both disasters, the company is in a harsh spotlight.

Like Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines has long been held in high regard. It maintains a young fleet, and it operates a respected aviation school.

The airline has been intertwined with Boeing for six decades. It was the first African airline to buy its jets, with a loan from the American government. And over the years, it has maintained such close ties with Boeing that it did not purchase planes from rival Airbus until three years ago.

Continue reading “Can Ethiopia’s Long Love Affair With Boeing Survive the 737 Max Crash?” →

African Politics, Diplomacy

Algerian Envoy Seeks to Explain Unrest at Home to US Authorities

By Natalie Liu

Diplomacy always involves delicate balancing acts, but seldom more so than for Algeria’s ambassador to the United States, Madjid Bouguerra.

As ever-larger crowds march through the streets of his homeland demanding an end to the rule of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the veteran diplomat — who has served in Washington since 2015 — finds himself trying to reconcile his role as the president’s envoy with his feelings as a self-declared Algerian patriot.

“I am ambassador of Algeria in the U.S. But most importantly, I am an Algerian citizen and certainly part and parcel of my people. And I wish as an Algerian to see my country succeeding in this transition,” Bouguerra told VOA in an interview, adding that his diplomatic duty dictates that he explain the happenings back home to the host country.

Continue reading “Algerian Envoy Seeks to Explain Unrest at Home to US Authorities” →

Diplomacy

Pompeo salutes Tunisians on National Day

US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, has sent the regard of the United States Government to the people of Tunisia on the occasion of their 63rd independence anniversary.

He commended the Tunisian people for their dedication to peaceful dialogue, consensus building, and reform through democratic means.

Pompeo pledged that the United States will continue to support Tunisia’s efforts to strengthen its security and develop its economy.

Continue reading “Pompeo salutes Tunisians on National Day” →

Diplomacy, Military

AFRICOM Commander engages with African leaders in Washington

The top U.S. commander in Africa met with African leaders in Washington D.C. recently to discuss U.S. Africa Command’s role in the new National Defense Strategy and the value of partner capacity.

Marine Corps Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser engaged with 21 defense attachés and the African Union Ambassador to the U.S. in a wide-ranging discussion at the Africa House, addressing various strategies and common challenges on the continent, Africa Command said.

Continue reading “AFRICOM Commander engages with African leaders in Washington” →

Giving Back

Nigerian-American Student donates classrooms to father’s alma mater

Nigeria-American, Uyi Omorogbe, a 21-year-old Senior Economics Major at Colgate University has two driving passions – To bring African fashion to the world and improve educational facilities in Africa.

He started a fashion brand NaSo and a Kickstarter campaign to promote both dreams.

His campaign must have succeeded because Uyi Omorogbe has just donted four classroom blocks that were equipped with facilities and furniture to Okosa Primary School in Urhokhosa, Uhunmwode Local Government area of Edo State, a school his Nigerian father attended as a child.

Uyi Omorogbe has shown that Africans in America always remember their ancestry.

Diplomacy

Lots of ‘misinformation’ in US about ‘complex land issue’ in SA

The complexity of the South African land reform process, including the continuing national dialogue about expropriation, has not travelled well across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States and there is some “misinformation” about what it actually entails.

This is according to John Sullivan, the US deputy secretary of state, who visited the country last week to strengthen bilateral relations with South Africa.

He met representatives from a range of local and US businesses, students that are part of American scholarship programmes, and senior officials from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation during his three-day official visit.

Continue reading “Lots of ‘misinformation’ in US about ‘complex land issue’ in SA” →

Policy

4 things discussed during the US land expropriation talks in South Africa

A number of top US officials recently visited South Africa at the request of President Donald Trump as part of an investigation into the country’s land expropriation process.

The delegation, which included US Deputy Foreign Secretary John J. Sullivan, met with AgriSA, Grain SA, and ANC officials on Friday (15 March) to discuss how the land expropriation process may impact property rights in the country.

In a statement released on Monday, AgriSA outlined what was discussed in the meeting and the issues that were raised.

Continue reading “4 things discussed during the US land expropriation talks in South Africa” →

Uncategorized

Burger King restaurants keep losing money in South Africa – but a whole lot more are due to open anyway

By Phillip de Wet , Business Insider SA

Burger King outlets are losing it an increasing amount of money, the chain’s South African parent company Grand Parade Investments (GPI) said on Monday morning – but it is not backing down on plans to roll out a lot more of them.

A month ago GPI announced that it will liquidate Dunkin Donuts and the American ice cream brand Baskin Robbins in South Africa, after it could not make them profitable nor find a buyer interested in taking them over.

But things will be very different with Burger King. In interim results for the last half of 2018, GPI said it will roll out 15 new Burger King outlets every year for the next three years, which will increase its footprint by exactly half, to 135 stores.

Continue reading “Burger King restaurants keep losing money in South Africa – but a whole lot more are due to open anyway” →

Uncategorized

Feds Investigate Oregon Company’s African Rainforest Hardwood Products

By and
Roseburg Forest Products, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of particleboard and plywood, has ended production and sales of certain lumber products in the midst of a federal investigation into whether the wood came from the illegal logging of African rainforests.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed to OPB that its Homeland Security Investigations division has an ongoing investigation into illegal imports of okoumé, a wood used for plywood and veneer siding. The Lacey Act prohibits the trade of plants and wildlife taken, stored or transported illegally.

Okoumé hardwood trees grow in the rainforests of west-central Africa, where the deforestation of habitat for endangered species is drawing the concern of conservationists and scientists alike. Okoumé is used in some of Roseburg’s Real Wood Siding products, which are sold by major retailers including Home Depot and marketed as “environmentally friendly.”

Continue reading “Feds Investigate Oregon Company’s African Rainforest Hardwood Products” →

Culture

Celebrity chef, Marcus Samuelsson, films in Houston with West African community

By Eric Sandler

Chef Marcus Samuelsson spent this past weekend in Houston filming for his PBS reality series No Passport Required. Slated to air later this year, the episode will focus on Houston’s West African community and its rapidly growing presence on Houston’s culinary scene.

Houston will be one of six cities featured in season two. The show will also cover Filipino food in Seattle, Italian food in Philadelphia, Armenian food in Los Angeles, Chinese food in Las Vegas, and Brazilian and Portugese food in Boston.

Samuelsson tells CultureMap that he visited a few spots in Houston to complete his tour, including Safari, the Nigerian restaurant that’s operated in southwest Houston for 30 years.

Continue reading “Celebrity chef, Marcus Samuelsson, films in Houston with West African community” →

Music

The club of 8 Ghanaian stars to have entered Billboard Chart

By Nasiba Yakubu
Despite the gloomy commentary Ghanaian music receives, there are twinkle, twinkle little Ghanaian stars in the global music sky that must leave us with satisfaction that Ghana is doing something right to keep the global night bright.

Ghanaian artistes and their counterparts in the diaspora have made impressive strides with their unique talents over the years.

The constant growth witnessed in the industry has pushed Ghanaian music unto one of the world’s renowned music grading charts, The Billboard Charts.

Continue reading “The club of 8 Ghanaian stars to have entered Billboard Chart” →

Movies

Nigerian actress, Amanda Ebeye, shoots directorial debut in Canada

Nigerian actress, Amanda Ebeye, recently visited Canada where she went to shoot her first movie, a short film titled, “Horrors”.

The movie marked her directorial debut and is centred on single mothers.

On her experience while filming in Canada, Ebeye said,

“It was actually amazing filming a movie in Canada. Canadians are about the nicest people in the world. And just like Nigerians, they are very welcoming to filmmakers.”

“It was a beautiful experience, from the owners of the locations we used, to the cast and crew, and onlookers that cheered us on.”

Continue reading “Nigerian actress, Amanda Ebeye, shoots directorial debut in Canada” →

Obituary

Okwui Enwezor, Curator Who Remapped Art World, Dies at 55

By Jason Farago

Okwui Enwezor, an influential Nigerian curator whose large-scale exhibitions displaced European and American art from its central position as he forged a new approach to art for a global age, died on Friday in Munich. He was 55.

The cause was cancer, said his partner, Louise Neri.

In ambitious, erudite, carefully argued exhibitions staged in Europe, Africa, Asia and the United States, Mr. Enwezor (pronounced en-WEH-zore) presented contemporary art against a backdrop of world history and cultural exchange.

Continue reading “Okwui Enwezor, Curator Who Remapped Art World, Dies at 55” →

Uncategorized

This Israeli-Ethiopian woman brings the food of her cultures to Harlem

By Josefin Dolsten

At Tsion Café in Harlem, visitors can order a vegetable injera, an Ethopian sourdough flatbread topped with vegetable, lentil and chickpea stews. There is traditional shakshuka, a dish common in Israel and the Middle East where eggs are cooked in a hearty tomato sauce. And then there’s the scrambled eggs with caramelized onions and lox.

The assortment of menu items — random as it may seem — tells the story of the eatery’s owner, Beejhy Barhany, an Ethiopian Jew who moved here by way of Israel.

Tsion Cafe, which is located in the historic Sugar Hill district of the Manhattan neighborhood, represents all of Barhany’s identities.

“It’s a celebration of the Ethiopian, Israeli and American [cultures], so we are encompassing and celebrating all of these together,” she said last month.

Continue reading “This Israeli-Ethiopian woman brings the food of her cultures to Harlem” →

Uncategorized

U.S. congress delegation visits Sudan as demonstration against Bashir increases

A U.S. congress delegation is visiting Sudan to meet with government officials and opposition leaders, ahead of the start of a second phase of dialogue between the two countries.

Sudanese lawmaker Mutwakil Ahmed said in a statement the U.S. delegation, led by Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, a Republican from Florida, met with Salah Gosh, the head of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services and other officials on Saturday.

A report by the state-run SUNA news service said Gosh told the delegation about “the positive results of the President Al-Bashir recent decisions to maintain the country’s national security and cohesion.”

Continue reading “U.S. congress delegation visits Sudan as demonstration against Bashir increases” →

Diplomacy, News

US insists relations with South Africa can survive differences

By Peter Fabricius

Washington says major disagreements between the United States and South Africa on issues such as Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iran, land reform and trade tariffs will not diminish America’s commitment to helping this country.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said, as he ended a trip to South Africa last week, that relations between the two countries were strong enough to overcome these differences.

And indeed it seems that relations will need to be strong as more differences could be looming, on possible increases in US import tariffs on South African vehicles and over Washington’s request to Pretoria to extradite the former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang.

Continue reading “US insists relations with South Africa can survive differences” →

Black History

New African Children’s Museum Set To Open In Baltimore, First In The Country

By Devin Bartolotta

A new children’s museum in the works for northwest Baltimore is hoping to shed light on a sometimes-forgotten chapter of black history.

“Mama Kiki” Armstrong, originally from Ghana, wants to feature music, drumming and dancing that have influenced American pop culture at the Sankofa Children’s Museum, and bridge the gap of missing history.

“This should help them appreciate the culture,” Armstrong said. “We’re not just talking about African-American kids. We’re talking about all the kids in the community.”

Continue reading “New African Children’s Museum Set To Open In Baltimore, First In The Country” →

Diplomacy

New US envoy seeks empoyerment of Kenyan youth

By Okilipa Saviour

The new United States of America (USA) Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter has taken sides with Kenyan youth after he remarked that their is need to support them through empowerment programs.

In a post on his official Twitter account, the US envoy who replaced Robert Godec, said empowering the youths will assure the country to its security as they form a critical part of the country’s economy and peace.

“We must empower youth with opportunity to address the security of the nation and ensure a bright future for a prosperous Kenya..,” tweeted McCarter.

Continue reading “New US envoy seeks empoyerment of Kenyan youth” →

Uncategorized

African-Americans in Ghana remember their African roots

The African American Association of Ghana celebrated their roots in Africa with an event during last Black History month.

The celebration dubbed “Black Migration: Exploring Our Roots and Beyond” focused on the 400 years anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the United States in 1619 and the next wave of returnees to their homelands took place in Accra.

This year has been recognised in Ghana as the “Year of Return”, and Ghana is the first African country to organise a concerted effort to commemorate the 400 years anniversary.

Mrs Stephanie S. Sullivan, the United States (US) Ambassador to Ghana, who launched the program said, she was proud to join the Government of Ghana and other officials to celebrate the event as it signified the bond between the two countries.

Continue reading “African-Americans in Ghana remember their African roots” →