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☆ African cities sitting on ‘keg of gunpowder’ as growing youth anger fuels unrest
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Nimi Princewill | Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Military and police personnel arrest protesters during the anti-corruption protest in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on July 23, 2024. Those protesting are angry about widespread government corruption in the country, which loses an estimated Sh. 10 trillion ($2.7 billion) in public funding to graft annually, according to Ugandan anti-corruption body the Inspectorate of Government (IG). In the preceding months, Ghana, Senegal’s fellow West African state, saw days of anti-government protests as demonstrators railed against economic hardships and unemployment. “All over Africa, we are… sitting on a keg of gunpowder,” he said in a recent interview with CNN affiliate Citizen TV.

Persons: Z –, William Ruto, Fabz, Anita Annet, Yoweri Museveni, Inibehe Effiong, ”, Bola Tinubu, Edward Buba, ” Mugano, Mamadou Thior, ” Thior, Thior, Macky Sall, Sall backtracked, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Olusegun Obasanjo, There’s, … unempowered, Obasanjo Organizations: CNN, Military, Xinhua, Security, of Government, World Bank, South Africa’s Durban University of Technology, ”, Citizen TV Locations: Kenya, East, Kampala, Uganda, Ugandan, United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria, West, Africa, West Africa, Senegal, Ghana

☆ Presidential portraits: Kehinde Wiley’s secret, decade-long project painting African leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Perhaps not, supposes Kehinde Wiley in his latest collection, “A Maze of Power,” which, in the artist’s own indelible style, casts plenty of light of its own. We’re now learning that before and after that commission, he had been on a secret, decade-long odyssey across the African continent, painting its current and former heads of state. This series narrows the gap further, with subjects commanding a similar power to some of Wiley’s artistic reference points. Tanguy Beurdeley/© Courtesy Kehinde Wiley and Galerie TemplonHery Rajaonarimampianina, the former president of Madagascar, sits astride a horse in one painting. Some might wrinkle their nose at seeing certain heads or former heads of state depicted in such triumphant fashion.

Persons: Kehinde Wiley, Wiley, Barack Obama, We’re, Jacques Chirac, Obama, Sarah Ligner, Black, Old, Olusegun Obasanjo, Paul Kagame, Tanguy, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, Alpha Condé, –, ”, Rajaonarimampianina –, “, “ it’s, Andy Warhol’s, Mao Organizations: CNN, Old Masters, Democratic, Wiley Locations: Africa, Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, Los Angeles, Senegal, Nigeria, New York, Paris, France, Rwanda, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ Tucker Carlson's new Twitter show could spell doom for Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For Twitter owner Elon Musk, a Fox News-style show on Twitter could cause problems. Tucker Carlson's sudden exit from Fox News last month has fueled weeks of speculation about his next move. Particularly as Musk said "Twitter has not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever" with Carlson. And if Carlson is on board, that paves the way for other, equally provocative creators to go big on Twitter. Musk faces a real risk that a growing number of Twitter users will feel the same way.

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —A Nigerian senator, his wife and a doctor were on Friday jailed in the UK over an organ harvesting plot, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement. Senator Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice and Dr. Obinna Obeta were sentenced at the UK’s Old Bailey court to nine years and eight months, four years and six months, and 10 years in prison respectively. Some of the country’s political class wrote to the UK court appealing for leniency ahead of his sentencing, including Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Ekweremadu served as speaker of the ECOWAS parliament between 2011 and 2015. But the calls for clemency failed to hold sway over the UK court and some in Nigeria questioned why high profile politicians were using their influence to advocate for a convicted criminal.

☆ Nigeria: Clemency pleas for senator found guilty of organ harvesting plot in UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Nigerian MP Ike Ekweremadu will be sentenced in the UK Friday after being found guilty of an organ harvesting plot, but fellow lawmakers in his country have joined growing calls for leniency in his case. Many of the country’s political class have written to the UK courts appealing for leniency during his sentencing, including Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo. … The conviction has already been done but we are seeking clemency because this is the first time our colleague is getting involved in this kind of thing,” Lawan said. Ekweremadu served as speaker of the ECOWAS parliament between 2011 and 2015. But the calls for clemency are unlikely to hold any sway over the UK court and some in Nigeria have raised eyebrows that high profile politicians are using their influence to advocate for a convicted criminal.

☆ Ethiopia combatants sign deal to start implementing truce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The deal will be put into effect "immediately", mediator Olusegun Obasanjo told a news conference before the signing. Both sides said they were committed to the declaration, stressing it was the only way to restore peace and stability. One of TPLF's representatives, General Tadesse Werede, said the declaration on implementation had given them hope that the suffering of the people in Tigray would end. The two sides agreed to a permanent cessation of hostilities in an unexpected diplomatic breakthrough in South Africa on Nov. 2. Reporting by Ayenat Mersie, Writing by Duncan Miriri and Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Clelia OzielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The truce has raised hopes humanitarian aid can start moving back into a region where hundreds of thousands face famine. Representatives of Ethiopia's military and government and forces from Tigray are in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to discuss how to begin implementing the ceasefire, with the talks set to last three or four days. Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigray authorities, said the talks were to figure out implementation of the agreement. In a statement on Monday, the AU said it expected the outcomes of the talks to "include modalities for silencing the guns, humanitarian access and the restoration of services in the Tigray region". The ceasefire agreement says Ethiopia's army will safeguard the country against "foreign incursion" but analysts are worried about whether Eritrea - the TPLF's sworn enemy - will listen.

☆ Ethiopia: Warring parties agree to a truce in two-year civil war. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was lauded as a regional peacemaker. A year later, he launched a conflict that spiraled into a brutal civil war, spawning one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. In November 2020, Abiy ordered a military offensive in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and promised that the clash would be resolved quickly. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Tigray conflict has its roots in tensions that go back generations in Ethiopia. For months at the start of the conflict, Abiy denied that civilians were being harmed or that soldiers from Eritrea had joined the fight.

☆ Ethiopian government and Tigray agree to end fighting after 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Eritrea, which has fought alongside neighboring Ethiopia, was notably not part of the peace talks. Eritrean forces have been blamed for some of the conflict’s worst abuses, including gang-rapes, and witnesses have described killings and lootings by Eritrean forces even during the peace talks. Forces from Ethiopia’s neighboring Amhara region also have been fighting Tigray ones, but Amhara representatives are also not part of the peace talks. The conflict began in November 2020, less than a year after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with Eritrea, which borders the Tigray region. In a speech Wednesday before the peace talks’ announcement, Ethiopia’s prime minster said that “we need to replicate the victory we got on the battlefield in peace efforts, too.

☆ Nigeria's Obasanjo clinches unlikely Ethiopia truce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Former Nigerian president and African Union envoy Olesegun Obasanjo arrives for the signing of the AU-led negotiations to resolve the conflict in northern Ethiopia, in Pretoria , South Africa, November 2, 2022. Summary Obasanjo stepped down as Nigeria's president in 2007Now aged 85, he took up peace-making in retirementMediated in crises from Ivory Coast to MozambiqueJOHANNESBURG, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Olusegun Obasanjo has had mixed results as a mediator of intractable conflicts across Africa since he stepped down as Nigeria's president in 2007, although he has never tired of trying. Obasanjo stepped down from Nigeria's presidency in 2007 and presided over elections that marked the first handover of power from one civilian head of state to another in Nigeria since it became independent from Britain in 1960. The test now is whether Ethiopia's conflict is on track for a permanent peace deal or just a temporary respite. After Abacha's death in 1998, Obasanjo was released and was elected as civilian president in 1999.

[1/3] A destroyed tank is seen in a field in the aftermath of fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces in Kasagita town, in Afar region, Ethiopia, February 25, 2022. Earlier on Wednesday, the AU had invited media to what it described as a briefing by Obasanjo. It was only when the event began, about three hours behind schedule, that it became clear a truce was about to be signed. Implementation of the peace agreement signed today is critical for its success," said Obasanjo, adding that this would be supervised and monitored by a high-level AU panel. Neither Eritrea nor the regional forces participated in the talks in South Africa and there was no mention at Wednesday's ceremony of whether they would abide by the truce.

☆ Ethiopia, Tigray: Warring parties agree on 'permanent cessation of hostilities'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Bethlehem Feleke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels will eventually be disarmed and demobilized, according to the statement. “This is not the end of the peace process but the beginning of it,” Obasanjo said. ‘Horrific’ tollThe peace process has been fitful until now. Renewed peace talks began on October 24, marking the first time the two warring parties had met publicly since the conflict erupted. In a separate statement, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also celebrated the conclusion of the talks saying, “our commitment to peace remains steadfast.

☆ Reaction to the agreement for a cessation of hostilities in Tigray
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NAIROBI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed on Wednesday to cease hostilities, a surprise diplomatic breakthrough after nearly two years of war. "This moment is not the end of the peace process. Implementation of the peace agreement signed today is critical for its success." The lasting solution can only be dialogue." We must be true to the letter and to the spirit of this agreement."

☆ Bono Is Still Trying to Figure Out U2 and Himself
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +28 min

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk Bono Is Still Trying to Figure Out U2 and HimselfThere are different Bonos to different people, including the man himself. You say, “But you’re U2 — you don’t need that.” What’s interesting is that we want that. But I also wrote the book to try to figure out what was going on with U2. They sound like U2 songs. Do they sound like U2 songs?

☆ Most metaverse users don't even make it a month, WSJ reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Internal documents show Meta's Horizon Worlds platform is struggling to retain users, WSJ reported. Most metaverse users don't return to the Horizon Worlds platform after the first month, WSJ reported. Internal documents show Meta has fallen far short of its goals for regular monthly users, WSJ Journal reported. Most users generally don't return to the app after the first month, while more than half of Quest 2 headsets are out of use within six months WSJ reported. "Currently it's unclear where the metaverse fits in the investment framework," WSJ reported Dare Obasanjo, lead product manager for Horizon and the metaverse platform, wrote in a memo.

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