SADC Leaders Praise Zambia For Peaceful Polls And Transition

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August 18, 2021

Southern Africa’s regional bloc has praised Zambia for overseeing a peaceful transition of power after a veteran opposition politician won a landslide victory at the ballot box.

Launching a summit of southern African leaders Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, said the pattern of peaceful transitions of power they have seen in the region in recent years with Zambia being the latest member to embody that, are worthy of global acclaim.

Hakainde Hichilema was declared winner on Monday after roundly defeating Edgar Lungu, who had been in power for six years.

It is the third time that power has changed hands to the opposition in Zambia since 1991, on a continent where incumbent leaders often hold on to power for decades.

Chakwera, himself a former opposition politician, came to power last year after the re-election of his predecessor Arthur Mutharika was scrapped for vote rigging and the ballot re-staged.

He told the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) that regional peace and security depended on democratic norms being sustained and on the protection of human rights.

Lungu had claimed the election was not free or fair, while votes were being counted at the weeked. But on Tuesday, hours after the vote was declared, Lungu conceded defeat and promised to peacefully hand over power.

A few hours later he met Hichilema in the presence of former leaders — Zambia’s Rupiah Banda, Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete and Sierra Leone’s Ernest Bai Koroma.

2.8 Million Libyans Sign Up To Vote But Polls Uncertain

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Zoe Maven

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August 18, 2021

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Libya’s elections commission has closed its online voter registration portal ahead of national polls set for December, but beset by growing doubts despite a months-long pause in fighting.

Commission head Imad al-Sayeh told journalists in Tripoli that some 2.83 million people in the North African country had signed up to vote, and invited citizens overseas to register from Wednesday onwards.

Libya which is home to some seven million people, has made tentative steps since last summer towards ending a decade of violent fragmentation initially sparked by the overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

A UN-brokered ceasefire signed in October between warring eastern and western camps has largely held.

Parallel political negotiations have installed a transitional government tasked with leading the country towards national elections set for December 24.

But in spite of months of relative peace, Libyans remain at odds over when the elections should be held, which elections, and on what legal basis.

Libya has been without a constitution since Kadhafi scrapped it in 1969.

The 75 delegates selected by the United Nations to guide the political transition have yet to agree on a constitutional basis for the December polls.

Last week at a virtual meeting they again failed to reach a compromise despite pressure from the UN.

Sayeh said Tuesday that the commission was waiting for a new electoral law to be passed in order for candidates to begin signing up.

Afghan President Ghani In UAE As France Steps Up Evacuations

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Zoe Maven

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August 18, 2021

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The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that it is hosting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani “on humanitarian grounds” after he fled his country amid the Taliban’s takeover.

A brief statement said the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds.

Ghani fled Afghanistan on Sunday as the Taliban reached Kabul, saying he was doing so to avoid bloodshed.

In the meantime, the French military is taking people out of Kabul on military planes to Abu Dhabi, from where they are to be flown on passenger aircraft to Paris. A first contingent of 41 French and foreign nationals arrived in France on Tuesday.

President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet, nearly 200 Afghans who worked for France or who are under threat have just been evacuated from Kabul, as well as French and foreign nationals, adding that the operations would continue.

The French foreign ministry said 216 people were on board the flight, including 25 French, 184 Afghans “from civil society in need of protection” as well as seven other foreign nationals.

It said that this operation meant that most people, both of French and Afghan nationality, who had taken refuge at the French embassy in Kabul, had now been evacuated. The French embassy is now working out of the airport.

10-Year-Old Texas Boy Works To Collect 500,000 Books For Those In Need

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Koko Lawrence

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August 18, 2021

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In an extraordinary act of kindness, a young Texas boy has embarked on a mission of collecting 500,000 books for those in need.

At 10 years old, Fort Worth’s Orion Jean already has a heart for service. Having collected more than 500 toys for a children’s hospital last August and securing over 100,000 meals for people experiencing food insecurity in November, Jean is now working to collect 500,000 books for kids who don’t have access to their own.

An avid reader, Jean says he saw a statistic stating that two out of three kids living in poverty have no books of their own. He decided to collect 500,000 books for disadvantaged children. So far, he has gathered some 40,000 books and hopes to have the rest by the end of August, after at least two more book drop-off events he’s scheduled in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we believe with the support of the community and hopefully the country, that we can reach this goal and help kids get books that they might not have had otherwise,” he says.

Christian Teachers Sue District Over Transgender Policy

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Koko Lawrence

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August 18, 2021

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Two Virginia public school teachers are suing their school district over a new transgender policy that requires employees to use the chosen pronouns and names of students who identify as transgender.

The policy was adopted by the Loudoun County School Board last week and applies to teachers and students. Under the policy, all employees and students must use the “chosen name and gender pronouns” of students, even if it conflicts with their biological sex. The new policy also allows students who identify as transgender to use their preferred restroom and locker room.

“Plaintiffs believe, based on scientific evidence, that children do not have a fully developed capacity to understand the long-term consequences of their decisions,” the complaint, filed in Virginia state court, says. “Plaintiffs want to protect children from making potentially irreversible and life-changing decisions that they may later regret.”

The two teachers are Loudoun County High School history teacher Monica Gill and Smart’s Mill Middle School English teacher Kim Wright. Both are seeking to join a lawsuit filed in June by Tanner Cross, a Leesburg Elementary School teacher who was suspended for speaking out against the policy. All three are professing Christians.

They are represented by Alliance Defending Freedom.

“Teachers shouldn’t be forced to promote ideologies that are harmful to their students and that they believe are false,” said ADF senior counsel Tyson Langhofer. “Loudoun County Public Schools is now requiring all teachers and students to deny truths about what it means to be male and female and is compelling them to call students by their chosen pronouns or face punishment.

“Public employees,” Langhofer added, “cannot be forced to contradict their core beliefs just to keep a job. Freedom – of speech and religious exercise – includes the freedom not to speak messages against our core beliefs.”

If the teachers were to be forced to follow the new policy, they would be communicating “a message they believe is false – that gender identity, rather than biological reality, fundamentally shapes and defines who we truly are as humans, that our sex can change, and that a woman who identifies as a man really is a man, and vice versa,” the complaint says.

Further, the teachers argue, children should not be encouraged to “undertake social or medical transition” because of their inability to assess long-term consequences of such treatments as puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and sex-reassignment surgery.

International Fund Recoveries Not Governed By Local Laws, Malami Clarifies

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Koko Lawrence

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August 18, 2021

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International recovery of funds is governed by ‘conflict of laws principles and not local legislation in view of multiple sovereignties involved, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Gwandu, yesterday, the minister asserted that the recoveries were governed by international conventions, negotiations, and agreements of parties. It is never a straightjacket application of local legislation, he said.

He noted: “Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission Act has nothing specific on funds recovered from indicted public officials. It merely mentions accruals and disbursement of revenue from the federation account. So, other relevant laws appropriately deal with the question of recovery of stolen funds from indicted public officials.

“It is, therefore, misleading to give the impression that such recoveries and usage of stolen funds and stashed abroad are provided for by the RMAFC Act.”

Malami said one could not situate rights and entitlements on looted funds and recovered assets with a myopic understating of concepts of the application of local legislations.

He stated that looted funds could only be applied within the context of mutual understanding and negotiation of international and multifaceted jurisdictional and territorial legislative issues.

According to him, the recovery and subsequent deployment of stolen assets are subject to agreements between affected countries, thereby bringing the conflict of laws into contemplation.

The repatriated funds, he said, are based on cooperation and mutual agreements, especially the United Nations Convention against Corruption and Implementation of the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) Principles on the Repatriation of Stolen Assets. The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocols on recovery of illicit funds are equally relevant when it comes to the role of Nigeria in relation to its other partners.

He said: “As a member of the committee of nations and a respectable international partner, Nigeria must always strive to fulfil its international commitments in the repatriation and use of stolen funds and assets.

“For example, the Federal Government of Nigeria has entered into numerous agreements such as the one with the United States and the Island of Jersey in 2020. Where the agreements assume an international character, the specifics often dictate the trajectory of recovery, sharing, transfer, and implementation.

“However, some elements misunderstood the issue of international recoveries and locally-generated funds in relation to money belonging to the Federal Government that are locally generated.”

He added: “It is not to be confused with stolen funds and assets domiciled in foreign jurisdictions whose recovery and subsequent repatriation are based on international legal arrangements between Nigeria and the foreign custodians of these funds.

“It needs to be further noted that even recoveries of local assets are in most cases regulated by the applicable legislation and judicial pronouncements associated with these legislations and not RMAFC Act exclusively. One can cite, for the purpose of clarity, recoveries are done by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices, and other related offences Commission (ICPC).”

Nigeria Moves To Declare National Day For Senior Citizens

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Koko Lawrence

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August 18, 2021

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Minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, has given assurance that a special national day for senior citizens would be declared soon.

Farouq gave the assurance when the management team of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) led by its director-general, Dr Emem Omokaro paid her a visit in Abuja.

Earlier, Omokaro appealed for the declaration of a national day of older persons in Nigeria within the months of August and early September 2021 to herald the first-ever national senior citizens day celebration in October 2021.

Cincinnati Open: Johanna Konta knocked out in first round by Muchova

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Koko Lawrence

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August 18, 2021

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British number one Johanna Konta was beaten 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 by Karolina Muchova in the first round of the Cincinnati open.

Konta, 30, won the first set in an assured start before rain interrupted the second set in Ohio.

After the resumption, Czech Muchova, 24, claimed the second set in a close tie-break.

The world number 23 took the deciding set and will face former U.S. open champion Bianca Andreescu in round two.

Konta has had a troubled season, with no back-to-back wins and long injury breaks before she won the Nottingham open this summer, her first title since winning the Miami open in 2017.

U.S. Agencies Scrub Websites In Bid To Protect Afghans

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Koko Lawrence

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August 18, 2021

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Multiple United States agencies that operated in Afghanistan and worked with Afghan citizens have been hastily purging their websites, removing articles and photos that could endanger the afghan civilians who interacted with them and now fear retribution from the Taliban.

The online scrubbing campaign appeared to begin late last week when it became clear that the afghan security forces had completely collapsed.

The concern is that the Taliban or its supporters would search the websites and identify Afghans who had worked with the Americans or merely benefitted from their services.

Book On Nigeria At 60 Set For Launch August 19

By

Koko Lawrence

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August 18, 2021

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The public presentation of a new book titled Remaking Nigeria: Sixty Years, Sixty Voices will hold on Thursday, August 19, at the Yar ‘Adua Centre, Abuja.

Edited by Chido Onumah, the 437-page book is a collection of 60 essays by 60 young Nigerians to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence. “These essays by young and articulate professionals drawn from across the country critically examine the realities of Nigeria’s social, economic and political situation and suggest the options open to us as a nation and how to achieve them,” said Onumah, Coordinator of African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL).

The event, with the theme “Towards A Viable Union: A National Dialogue on Remaking Nigeria, will feature a panel discussion of six of the contributors to the book. They are, Amina Salihu, Tope Fasua, Idayat Hassan, Dike Chukwumerije, Chris Ngwodo and Majeed Dahiru, all progressive voices in the quest for a better Nigeria. Using the book and their essays as anchor, the panelists will examine the crisis of nationhood that considerably impedes national development and proffer useful solutions.