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CNN —A United States convoy was attacked in Nigeria on Tuesday killing four people, including two personnel from the US consulate and two police officers, and kidnapping three others, according to local police and US officials. “No US citizens were involved and therefore there were no US citizens hurt,” said John Kirby of the US National Security Council. “We are aware of some casualties, perhaps even some killed.”When the assailants saw security forces “they made away with two police operatives and a driver of the second vehicle in the convoy,” Ikenga Tochukwu, deputy superintendent of police, said. “No US citizen was in the convoy,” he added. Police said that joint security forces “have embarked on a rescue and recovery operation in the area.”A State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that “Mission Nigeria personnel are working with Nigerian security services to investigate.”They continued: “The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organizing trips to the field,” they continued.

☆ US imposes election-related visa restrictions on Nigerians
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —The United States has imposed entry restrictions on more Nigerians for undermining the democratic process during the African nation’s 2023 election cycle, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. The action is the latest in a series of visa restrictions imposed on Nigerian individuals in recent years. Nigeria’s election tribunal this month was to begin hearing opposition petitions challenging president-elect Bola Tinubu’s victory in the disputed February presidential vote, court records showed. Tinubu, from the ruling All Progressives Congress party, defeated his closest rivals Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who have alleged fraud and have launched a court challenge. Atiku and Obi want the tribunal to invalidate Tinubu’s victory, arguing that the vote was fraught with irregularities, among other criticisms.

☆ Seun Kuti: Nigerian musician in court after arrest for alleged police assault
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Nigerian singer and saxophonist Seun Kuti, youngest son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, appeared in court on Tuesday following his arrest for allegedly assaulting a police officer. A Lagos court denied a request by prosecutors to detain Kuti for 21 days, his lawyer Femi Falana told CNN. Seun Kuti Getty ImagesKnown for his music activism and outspoken criticism of the government, Kuti has been a vocal advocate against police brutality. Together with his late father’s former band, Egypt 80, which he now leads, Seun Kuti has performed for audiences worldwide, touring extensively in the United States, France, Japan, and the UK. With his brother Femi, Kuti has carried forward the Afrobeat legacy of his father who died in 1997.

☆ Rich world has three ways to win over global South
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Another reason to care about developing countries is that their actions will help determine whether the planet fries. Even rich democracies in temperate regions will feel the consequences, mainly in the form of mass migration unlike anything they have yet experienced. THREE P’SThe rich democracies’ goal should not be to pull the global South into their camp in advance of a possible clash with China. When it comes to promoting prosperity, rich democracies are similarly vulnerable to accusations of double standards. As one developing world observer told former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers: “When we’re engaged with the Chinese, we get an airport.

☆ Why Some Countries Find It Hard to Move Away From Fossil Fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Clifford Krauss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is one of the largest producers of fossil fuels in the Western Hemisphere, and more than a century of drilling has left its mark. The major highways on the main island are clogged by traffic and lined with industrial warehouses. If Trinidad seems to be zigging and zagging on climate change policy, it is hardly the only one. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are also building large solar farms while exploring for new oil gushers. Industrialized countries are still producers and users of fossil fuels and have failed to put up the $100 billion a year they had pledged to a green fund for poor nations starting in 2020.

☆ U.S. imposes election-related visa restrictions on Nigerians
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - The United States has imposed entry restrictions on more Nigerians for undermining the democratic process during the African nation's 2023 election cycle, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. "These individuals have been involved in intimidation of voters through threats and physical violence, the manipulation of vote results, and other activity that undermines Nigeria’s democratic process," Blinken said in a statement. The action is the latest in a series of visa restrictions imposed on Nigerian individuals in recent years. Nigeria's election tribunal this month was to begin hearing opposition petitions challenging president-elect Bola Tinubu's victory in the disputed February presidential vote, court records showed. Atiku and Obi want the tribunal to invalidate Tinubu's victory, arguing that the vote was fraught with irregularities, among other criticisms.

☆ Return of Benin Bronzes delayed after Nigerian president's decree
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But an official gazette signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 28 said the Oba of Benin was the rightful owner of all returned Benin Bronzes and was responsible for the management of all places where the artefacts were kept. The commission has in the past signed agreements to return looted artefacts, including from Cambridge college and Germany. The University of Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. There have been questions on whether Nigeria has capacity to safely keep artefacts returned from abroad. The palace has previously said it planned to build a museum to house returned artefacts.

☆ Fact Check-UN is not calling for decriminalization of sex with children
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It does not advocate for adult sex with children or with other vulnerable individuals, independent legal experts told Reuters. “The 8 March Principles do not call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor do they call for the abolition of a domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex,” the statement reads in part. The ICJ report “did not call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor did it call for the abolition of the age of consent,” Dujarric said. “The International Commission of Jurists report set out legal principles to guide the application of the international human rights law to criminal law across a range of issues. The report does not call for the overall decriminalization of sex with children, as claimed online.

☆ Opinion | If the Pandemic Is No Longer a Public Health Emergency, Then What Is It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( David Quammen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Is malaria an emergency? Is tuberculosis of international concern? I’m neither a public health expert nor a scientist, so I offer a citizen’s opinion: Yes, it’s time to cease calling Covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern. Therefore, Covid is still certainly a public health situation of international concern. We will need to keep improving laboratory techniques and manufacturing capacity for potentially ever-revised Covid vaccines.

☆ After Seizures, the Met Sets a Plan to Scour Collections for Looted Art
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Robin Pogrebin | Graham Bowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Cambodian officials have said in recent years that at least 45 artifacts at the Met were stolen from ancient sites there. Instead, the Met has requested evidence from Cambodia demonstrating that the works were stolen. The British Museum has been in talks with Greek officials, who have long sought the return of the Parthenon marbles. The Vatican announced last year that it would give fragments of the Parthenon that were long held in the Vatican Museum to the Greek Orthodox Church. Some critics want museums to do far more than simply ensure that ancient objects were not stolen.

☆ Global push to tackle maternal and newborn deaths has stalled, WHO report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Annually since 2015 there have been about 290,000 maternal deaths, 1.9 million stillbirths, and 2.3 million newborn deaths within a month after birth, the report said. Countries need to ramp up investment in primary care to see different results, said Anshu Banerjee, the WHO's director of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and ageing. Only 12% of 106 reporting countries have fully-financed maternal and newborn health plans, it said. The report also found that only 61% of reporting countries have systems for keeping track of stillbirths. The report found that 10 countries with the highest maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths account for 60% of all such deaths globally.

Now, according to an internal U.N. estimate obtained by Reuters, 5 million additional people in Sudan will require emergency assistance, half of them children. Even before the latest crisis, U.N. humanitarian appeals for Africa faced a $17-billion funding gap this year, risking leaving millions without lifesaving assistance. Last year, it spent a third of its overseas aid budget housing refugees inside the UK, a British aid watchdog said in March. Sudan was hosting over 1 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Syria, before the outbreak of fighting last month. Aid workers have been killed, food aid looted, and WFP says it's running out of stocks.

☆ Zipline: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But with the release of its latest drone, Zipline is spreading its unmanned wings far beyond medicine. Zipline also has relationships with medical providers in the country, and in recent years has conducted long-range medical drone flights in challenging geographies including the Appalachian regions of North Carolina. In 2022, Zipline became the first company to receive FAA Part 135 approval for long-range drone delivery in the U.S., a huge step towards greater domestic expansion. From lunch deliveries with Sweetgreen to health prescriptions from Walmart, Zipline can maneuver peak order times by creating its Zips in a way that automatically redistributes the drones from dock to dock for loading and launching. Zipline has already completed 540,000 deliveries to customers, which is more than what Alphabet and Amazon have delivered combined.

☆ Why Do American Diners Have Such a Limited Palate for Textures?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ligaya Mishan | Esther Choi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

What of the worlds that lie between slime and velvet, collapse and refusal, succulence and desiccation? Not only does English lack a robust vocabulary for food textures but, whether as corollary or coincidence, English speakers also tend to value a narrower range of textures. In a survey by the American sensory scientist Jeannine F. Delwiche conducted at Ohio State University in 2002, respondents considered texture significantly less important than taste and scent in its impact on flavor. It is often defined as a confluence of taste, scent and memory, yet other senses intrude. Studies have shown that diners have difficulty identifying flavors when foods are dyed different colors, for example.

Prince William honored his father with a few words during Sunday night's concert - the first ever to be staged at Windsor Castle, home to monarchs for almost 1,000 years. Royals dance the night awaySeveral members of the royal family got their groove on throughout the concert. Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesMesmerizing drone displayA fabulous drone display lit up the sky over the coronation concert, earning audible gasps from the crowd below. Crowds watch illuminated drones creating a light display above Windsor Castle. But when Miss Piggy, dressed in a cerise pink evening dress and glittering necklace, recognized “Downton Abbey” star Bonneville she had other things in mind, thinking he was a real lord.

☆ Nigerian president to commission Dangote refinery in two weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, May 7 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will commission the multi-billion dollar Dangote oil refinery in two weeks, a presidency spokesperson said on Sunday, setting up the plant for its first production since construction started in 2016. Spokesperson Bashir Ahmad said Buhari will commission the refinery, near Lagos, on May 22, a week before he is due to leave office after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution. A spokesperson for Dangote confirmed the timing of the commissioning but did not give details. The Dangote refinery's cost grew to $19 billion from initial estimates of between $12 billion and $14 billion, after years of delays. Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ After 35 years in flight, the US military says it's done buying one of its most unique and controversial aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Since its first flight in 1989, the V-22 Osprey has provided a unique capability to the US military. One of them is the V-22 Osprey, a unique and controversial aircraft that has carried conventional troops and special operators around the world for two decades. US Navy/Vernon PughIn the three decades since its first flight, the V-22 Osprey has brought a distinct capability to the US military's aviation fleet, despite its troubled development. Conventional and special-ops missionsUS Air Force special tactics operators fast rope from a CV-22B during an exercise in the UK in April 2021. In August 2022, Air Force Special Operations Command grounded its CV-22s over issues with its clutch, which had caused several "safety incidents."

☆ Why Nearly All the King’s Realms Want to Say Goodbye and Good Riddance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Damien Cave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For countries still constitutionally joined to the crown, Charles’s coronation arrived with little fanfare, and some cringing discomfort. In the wave of decolonization that followed World War II, dozens of independent countries climbed out from under British rule, including India, Pakistan and Nigeria. The 14 nations yet to do so stretch from Australia and Papua New Guinea to Canada and Jamaica. In some places that call the new 74-year-old sovereign their king, like the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, there seems to be little interest in severing royal bonds. Oaths of allegiance have already been switched from queen to king in the courtrooms of remote capitals where wigs are still worn as if in 1680s London.

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.

☆ Best rice dishes: 20 delicious specialties from around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

And while famous rice dishes such as sushi, fried rice and paella are among the most prominent in the global spotlight, there are so many more rice recipes out there to put on your radar – and seek out on your travels. Wali wa kukaanga, KenyaWali wa kukaanga is Kenya’s answer to fried rice, and translates to just that in Swahili. So it’s no surprise that the Polynesian island country’s most popular rice dish, alaisa fa’apopo, has ties to the coconut, too. Thai fried rice (Khao Pad), ThailandThai fried rice uses the layering of flavors that's characteristic of the country's cuisine. ArenaCreative/Adobe StockWhen it comes to fried rice, the Chinese version tends to steal the spotlight.

☆ 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.

CNN —Sudanese actress Asia Abdel-Majid was killed in crossfire during fighting in the capital Khartoum on Wednesday, amid clashes between two warring factions that have devastated Sudan and led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians. The 80-year-old was killed after shells hit her home in Bahri, north of the capital, in fighting between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army, her nephew told CNN. It is unclear if it was the RSF or the army that fired the shot that killed Abdel-Majid. The kindergarten is next door to Abdel-Majid’s home, where she was alone when the shelling took place. ‘Torn apart’Smoke rises over Khartoum during clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army on April 17, 2023.

☆ Nightmare in Sudan: African expats struggle to find way out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Thousands piled into buses and trucks for the 800 km (500 miles) journey by road from Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea to board ships. He had to wait four more days for transport to Port Sudan, an overnight trip. After a week, word reached them that there would be transport leaving from their embassy for Port Sudan. RSF fighters stopped the family along the way but let them pass when he said he was looking for food for his son. From Port Sudan, they travelled via cargo ship to Saudi Arabia.

☆ Nigerian hijab-wearing chef seeks to break stereotypes about Muslim women
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAGOS, May 4 (Reuters) - Nigerian Sherifah Yunus Olokodana looks like any Muslim woman with a veil that only exposes her eyes, but the entrepreneur who has carved a niche as a chef in Lagos is seeking to break stereotypes about hijab-wearing women in the country. Nigeria is almost evenly divided between the largely Christian south and mainly Muslim north, where cultural norms often discourage women to get into business. Olokodana, a Yoruba Muslim from the southwest, has been a pastry chef for nearly two decades and sells food spices, but she said she still faced prejudice. "Women in hijab continue to get negative vibes from people. Reporting by Seun Sanni; writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Universal Studio Group’s UCP teams up with Nigeria’s Comic Republic in new TV series deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Aisha Salaudeen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In the Vanguards Universe, heroes come together as humankind’s first line of defense, protecting the people of Lagos from members of the first race seeking to punish them. Since its inception 10 years ago, Comic Republic has created and conceptualized dozens of comic book characters and stories. Through his studio, Mad Massive Entertainment, Hinds will work with UCP and the Comic Republic team to execute the production. “I’ve always wanted to show that you can provide quality output out of Africa, because at the time we started, there wasn’t any such thing coming out of the continent,” said the Comic Republic CEO. He added that Comic Republic is well-suited for this deal because the company has worked hard over the past 10 years to build an interconnected superhero universe in its comics.

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