US calls for withdrawal of Eritrean forces in Ethiopia following investigation into massacre

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saturday for the withdrawal of Eritrean and Ethiopian regional forces from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, and an end to killings and human rights violations there.

His call came a day after investigations by CNN and Amnesty International into the massacre of civilians in two separate assaults in the northern Tigray region late last year.

Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military operation against leaders in the Tigray region. CNN has previously reported that soldiers from neighboring Eritrea have perpetuated many of the extrajudicial killings, assaults and human rights abuses in the Tigray region.

"The United States is gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia," Blinken said in a statement Saturday.

 "We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by several parties that multiple organizations have reported in Tigray." He added that "those responsible for them must be held accountable."

Eyewitnesses told CNN that a group of Eritrean soldiers opened fire on Maryam Dengelat church in Dengelat village, eastern Tigray, on November 30 while hundreds of congregants were celebrating mass. Dozens of people died over three days of mayhem, with soldiers slaughtering local residents, displaced people and pilgrims, they said.

Ethiopia responded to CNN's request for comment with a statement that did not directly address the attack in Dengelat. Eritrea has yet to respond to a CNN request for comment.

Amnesty International charged in a report Friday that Eritrean forces killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the city of Axum in November through indiscriminate shelling and shooting and extrajudicial killings, in what the human rights organization said could amount to a crime against humanity.

 

Members of the Amhara Special Forces keep guard at the 5th Battalion of the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Army in Dansha, Ethiopia, on November 25, 2020.

In his statement, Blinken recognized the Ethiopian Prime Minister's commitment to allow humanitarian aid to the region, adding: "The international community needs to work collectively to ensure that these commitments are realized.

"The immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray are essential first steps," Blinken said, referring to forces from Ethiopia's Amhara state, which neighbors Tigray. "They should be accompanied by unilateral declarations of cessation of hostilities by all parties to the conflict and a commitment to permit unhindered delivery of assistance to those in Tigray."

Blinken said the US was committed to working with the international community to achieve these goals and that the US Agency for International Development would send a disaster assistance response team to Ethiopia.

"We ask international partners, especially the African Union and regional partners, to work with us to address the crisis in Tigray, including through action at the UN and other relevant bodies," he added.

After seizing control of Tigray's main cities in late November, Abiy declared victory and maintained that no civilians were harmed in the offensive. Abiy has also denied that soldiers from Eritrea crossed into Tigray to support Ethiopian forces.

 

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Iran hits Trump with last-minute sanctions

In this file photo taken on November 20, 2020 US President Donald Trump looks down during an event on lowering prescription drug prices in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. – President Donald Trump came his closest yet to admitting election defeat on November 23, 2020 after the government agency meant to ease Joe Biden’s transition into the White House said it was finally lifting its unprecedented block on assistance. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

Iran on Tuesday imposed sanctions on outgoing US President Donald Trump and several of his top aides and advisers who took part in his “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic republic.

Sanctions issued on Tuesday evening — hours before Trump leaves office on Wednesday — include a travel ban as well as a freeze on financial assets they may hold in Iran.

They were issued under a 2017 law titled “Combating Human Rights Violations, American Adventurism and Terrorist Actions in the Region,” according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

As well as Trump, the sanctions target Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former Pentagon chief Mark Esper.

Also on the list are ex-CIA director Gina Haspel, Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton, as well as Brian Hook, once Washington’s administration’s pointman on Iran policy, and his successor, Elliott Abrams.

Given the arsenal of US sanctions targeting the Islamic republic and the repeated anti-Iranian invectives by the outgoing US president and those listed with him, it is unlikely any either hold assets in Iran — or that they intend to visit.

Iran and the United States cut diplomatic relations in 1980.

But decades old US-Iranian tensions escalated after Trump unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018 and reimposed, then toughened, sanctions that have hammered Iran’s economy.

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We Look Forward To Working With Joe Biden And Kamala Harris – Nigerian President

President Muhammadu Buhari has said his government is ready to work with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and hopes that a strong point of cooperation and support for Nigeria as well as the African continent will be marked. 

President Buhari in a communique by his special media aide – Garba Shehu, congratulated the leaders, and the entire country on the successful transition, which marks an important historical inflection point for democracy as a system of government and for the global community as a whole.

“We look forward to the Biden presidency with great hope and optimism for the strengthening of existing cordial relationships, working together to tackle global terrorism, climate change, poverty and improvement of economic ties, and expansion of trade.

“We hope that this will be an era of great positivity between our two nations, as we jointly address issues of mutual interest,” the President added.

President Buhari and all Nigerians rejoice with President Joe Biden, sharing the proud feeling that the first woman elected Vice President of the United States has African and Asian ancestry.

 

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Joe Biden sworn in as 46th U.S president, calls on Americans to 'end this uncivil war'

Kamala Harris is sworn in as VP, breaking historic gender and racial barriers

Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via Reuters)

Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that "democracy has prevailed" as he took the helm of a deeply divided nation and inherited a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.

Biden, sworn in at 11:49 a.m. ET,  used a 21-minute inaugural address to call for unity and offer an optimistic message that Americans can get through dark moments by working together. The ceremonies were scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic, with heightened security measures arising from the Capitol riot exactly two weeks ago.

"Through a crucible for the ages, America has been tested anew, and America has risen to the challenge," Biden said early in his address. "Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause: the cause of democracy."

Biden pivoted to the challenges ahead, acknowledging the surging virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States and become a polarized issue unlike in most other countries. Biden looked out over a capital city dotted with empty storefronts that attest to the pandemic's deep economic toll and where summer protests laid bare the nation's renewed reckoning on racial injustice.

"Those 400,000 fellow Americans — moms, dads, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, neighbours and co-workers — we'll honour them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be," he said, before asking for a silent prayer on their behalf.

Biden called on Americans to overcome divisions, declaring that "without unity, there is no peace."

"We must end this uncivil war that pits red versus blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal," he said. "We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts."

There was, he said, "much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build and much to gain."

"Few people in our nation's history have been more challenged, or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we're in now."

Biden also hailed the historic achievement of his Vice-President Kamala Harris. Harris took the oath administered by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, becoming the first Black, South Asian and female vice-president.

Harris, who spent some of her teen years in Montreal, was said to be using a Bible in the swearing-in ceremony that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice. 

Biden and his wife, Jill, began the day by attending a service at Washington's Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Along with Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, those in attendance included: both Senate leaders, Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrat Chuck Schumer, as well as Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Biden is only the second Catholic president in U.S. history after John F. Kennedy, and St. Matthew's is the seat of the Catholic archbishop of Washington.

A Capitol police officer hailed as a hero for his actions during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol accompanied Harris and Biden at the west front. Officer Eugene Goodman, a Black man, confronted the overwhelmingly white insurrectionists and led them away from Senate chambers.

 

Family Bible brought out again

Prominent U.S. politicians past and present proceeded to the west front shortly before 11 a.m., with 44th president Barack Obama and wife Michelle getting a notable round of applause.  Two other past presidents arrived with their wives — Bill and Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush and his wife, Laura — while the oldest living president, 96-year-old Jimmy Carter, had sent his well wishes.

Vice-President Mike Pence was the highest-ranking official from Donald Trump's administration to attend the inauguration, but not Trump, the first outgoing president to skip the ceremony since Andrew Johnson more than a century and a half ago.

U.S. President Joe Biden embraces his daughter Ashley after he was sworn in, as Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, who spoke at the inauguration, looking on. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Biden used a Bible for his swearing-in that has been in his family since at least 1893. Several inches thick, it is the same Bible he used twice when swearing in as vice-president and seven times as a senator from Delaware.

Although the festivities were radically scaled down due to the pandemic as well as security threats, a steady stream of A-list names signed on, headlined by Lady Gaga singing the national anthem, with Jennifer Lopez singing This Land Is Your Land and America the Beautiful, and Garth Brooks performing Amazing Grace.

An invocation was given by the Rev. Leo O'Donovan, a former Georgetown University president, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Andrea Hall, a firefighter from Georgia. Amanda Gorman, the first national youth poet laureate, gave a riveting address, while the benediction was given by a Biden family friend, Rev. Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Del.

Biden, Harris and their spouses paused on the steps of the U.S. Capitol while leaving to observe the procession of ceremonial military regiments. Several groupings passed by the steps, with military members saluting the new president and musicians playing traditional patriotic tunes such as Yankee Doodle Dandy.

The couples were then joined by the three former presidents and their wives at Arlington National Cemetery for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner by a brass band and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

As Biden was ushered in, congratulations poured in from around the world, including statements from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Pope Francis sent a message to the second Catholic U.S. president, saying he hoped Biden's decisions would be guided by justice, freedom and respect for the rights and dignity of every person, especially the poor, the vulnerable and those with no voice.

Long political career

Biden becomes just the seventh person to have served as senator, vice-president and president and the first to achieve that feat since Richard Nixon. While on paper that wealth of previous experience may give the impression of inevitability to his becoming president, there were two failed bids and multiple points along the way where one could reasonably doubt he'd ever become commander-in-chief.

Biden took his first oath of office as a Washington politician just over 48 years ago, in a hospital room in Delaware as his two sons recuperated from a car crash that killed Biden's first wife, Neilia, and their baby daughter, Naomi.

Vice President Kamala Harris greeted by Michelle Obama during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol. (Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images)

During his years in Congress, he earned the slings and arrows that come along with serving in the Senate — a strong reputation for bipartisan work and criticism for his handling of Anita Hill's testimony at Clarence Thomas's confirmation hearings from both parties. There were also a pair of brain aneurysms in the late 1980s, one which was life-threatening.

In 2008, he was picked by Obama to serve as his running mate. Biden, not thrilled with playing second fiddle, later wrote of being persuaded to take the VP job in no small part by his 91-year-old mother, Catherine, who impressed upon him the history of serving under the first Black president. Catherine Biden died in 2010, eight years after her husband, Joe Sr.

Biden had every intention of running for president in 2016, but was waylaid by another tragedy. His oldest son, Beau, expected to become a prominent national politician himself, died at 46 of brain cancer.

As in the past, Biden proved a survivor in the 2020 Democratic race after a slow start, winning the nomination and the general election on Nov. 3.

U.S. President Joe Biden, wife Jill Biden, vice-president Kamala Harris, and Harris's husband Doug Emhoff prepare to descend the Capitol steps as part of the inauguration ceremony. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

In addition to his wife Jill, who he married in 1977, their son Hunter, daughter Ashley and several grandchildren were on hand to watch him become the next U.S. president.

The traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue will not take place, but an inaugural parade featuring 1,391 virtual participants, 95 horses and nine dogs is scheduled. Organizers said it will be similar in nature to how convention events were conducted last August.

Trump will loom large in the early days of the Biden presidency, as the Senate plans for a remarkable second impeachment trial while holding confirmation hearings for officials in the new administration. As well, because Trump could not admit defeat and commit to a typical transition, the Biden team was not briefed on several fronts by the outgoing administration to the extent that is typical.

After 5 p.m, Biden is scheduled to sign a series of executive orders, many of which roll back Trump initiatives, and at nighttime attend the "Celebrating America" inaugural ceremony along with his wife. The multi-network evening broadcast hosted by Tom Hanks takes the place of the usual multiple inaugural balls.

 

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U.S. to sanction Turkey over Russian defense system - sources

The United States is poised to impose sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition last year of Russian S-400 air defense systems, four sources including two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, a move likely to worsen already problematic ties between the two NATO allies.

 

FILE PHOTO: A view shows a new S-400 "Triumph" surface-to-air missile system after its deployment at a military base outside the town of Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar

The long-anticipated step, which is likely to infuriate Ankara and severely complicate relations with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, could be announced any day, sources said.

The sanctions would target Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industries and its head, Ismail Demir, sources have said. Several sources said they were expecting the announcement on Friday but one said it could come any day and perhaps as soon as Thursday.

The Turkish lira weakened following the news. U.S. sanctions could harm a Turkish economy already struggling with a coronavirus-induced slowdown, double-digit inflation and badly depleted foreign reserves.

A senior Turkish official said sanctions would backfire and hurt ties between the two NATO members.

“Sanctions would not achieve a result but be counter-productive. They would harm relations,” the official said.

“Turkey is in favour of solving these problems with diplomacy and negotiations. We won’t accept one-sided impositions,” he said.

To be sure, the U.S. State Department could alter its plans and widen or narrow the scope of planned sanctions against Turkey, a NATO ally for decades.

However, sources said the announcement of the sanctions in their current form was imminent and suggested the United States -- after long waiting for Turkey to change course in the face of U.S. warnings about sanctions requirements under the law -- was out of patience and finally ready to act.

The Pentagon referred questions on any potential sanctions to the State Department. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia delivered the ground-to-air S-400s last year and Turkey tested them as recently as October. Ankara said they would not be integrated into NATO systems and pose no threat, and has called for a joint working group on the issue.

But the United States has stressed that the S-400 poses a threat regardless, and went so far as to announce last year that it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program over Ankara’s decision.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter jet is the most advanced aircraft in the U.S. arsenal and is used by NATO members and other U.S. allies.

 

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US removes visa fees for Nigerians

The statement

The United States government has announced the removal of visa reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens with effect from December 3.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made this announcement in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Ferdinand Nwonye in Abuja on Saturday.

According to the statement,  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the United States Government removed all visa reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens seeking visas to the United States.

“The positive development is in line with the removal of the excess visa application process and biometric fees to United States citizens applying for a Nigerian visa by the Nigerian government.

“The United Government has, therefore, eliminated reciprocity fees for Nigerians citizens with effect from December 3.

“Prospective Nigerian travellers to the United States are, hereby, advised to visit www.travel.state.gov for details,” the statement added.

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US offers aid to South Africa to help fight the coronavirus

The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is donating up to 1,000 ventilators and accompanying equipment to South Africa to assist with its national response to Covid-19.

The donated ventilators, which were produced in the United States, reflect state-of-the-art and in-demand technology, the US Embassy said in a statement on Tuesday (12 May).

It said that the ventilators are compact, deployable, and support both invasive and non-invasive applications.

“For more than a half-century, the United States has been the largest contributor to global health security and humanitarian assistance.

“These ventilators are another example of the American spirit of generosity as we battle this virus at home in the United States and together abroad with our partner countries,” said US ambassador Lana Marks.

Marks said that the ventilators will give South Africa flexibility in treating those patients affected by the virus. life-saving ventilator units alone are valued at $14 million (R255 million), with the accompanying equipment, service plans, and shipping totalling over $20 million (R364 million).

The embassy noted that the ventilator donation is in addition to our previously announced support to South Africa for Covid-19.

Previously the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $13.2 million (R240.6 million) in funding, along with $8.4 million (R153 million) in assistance through the U.S. Department of Defense which provided the first in a series of donations of personal protective equipment.

Altogether, this brings the total US, government financial commitment to South Africa’s Covid-19 response to over US$41.6 million (R767 million).

Additionally, through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States is supporting up to 5,400 community healthcare workers to assist with the South African government’s community Covid-19 screening campaign and provide HIV treatment support on the front lines.

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COVID-19 will disappear without vaccine – US President, Trump insisted

 

US President, Donald Trump has said the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic is going to “end without a vaccine.”

Trump told the press during his daily briefing at the White House at the weekend, “This is going to go away without a vaccine, it’s gonna go away, and we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.”

He added, “You may have some flare-ups, and I guess I would expect that.”

As at Friday, the deadly virus had infected at least 1.2 million people in the US killing more than 76,000.

The leading expert on infectious diseases on the US COVID-19 task force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, had repeatedly said a vaccine is still at least a year to 18 months from being produced.

Meanwhile, President Trump insists he relies on what doctors tell him, adding that doctors believe COVID-19 will go away but did not say if it was going to be this year.

“It doesn’t mean, frankly, it’s going to be gone before the fall or after the fall, but eventually it’s going to go away.

The question is whether we will need a vaccine. At some point, it will probably go away by itself.”

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WHO says no proof from US on ‘speculative’ Wuhan lab virus claims

 

The World Health Organisation, WHO, said Monday that Washington had provided no evidence to support “speculative” claims by the US president that the new coronavirus originated in a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

“We have not received any data or specific evidence from the United States government relating to the purported origin of the virus, so from our perspective this remains speculative,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a virtual briefing.

[AFP]

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Trial of coronavirus vaccine underway as participants get first dose

By Chioma Obinna

A coronavirus vaccine trial in the United State, US, has given a dose to its first participant. The study aims to enroll a total of 45 healthy adults over a six-week time frame.

Each will receive two injections about a month apart in varying doses, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says.

The study, which is a Phase I trial, is meant to establish that the vaccine is safe and induces a desired response from participants’ immune systems.

Proving that the vaccine is effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, however, will require follow-up studies involving many more participants – which will take many more months, experts say.

“Finding a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection with [the novel coronavirus] is an urgent public health priority,” NIAID Director Dr Anthony Fauci said in a statement.

“This Phase I study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal.”

The trial is funded by NIAID and run out of the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle.

The vaccine, which uses genetic material called messenger RNA, was developed by NIAID scientists in collaboration with the biotech company Moderna.

The agency has credited the speed with which it began a Phase I trial to its prior studies on related coronaviruses SARS and MERS. Scientists had previously worked on an experimental MERS vaccine targeting a protein on the virus’ surface, which gave them a “head start for developing a vaccine candidate to protect against COVID-19”, the statement said.

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Trump commutes corrupt former politician’s sentence

Donald J Trump

United States President, Donald Trump, on Tuesday, commuted the sentence of a former state (Illinois) governor jailed for corruption, as well as pardoning a New York City police chief imprisoned for tax fraud.

Pardons were also handed out to Edward DeBartolo Jr, a former owner of the San Francisco 49ers football team, and Michael Milken, a well-known financier dubbed the “junk bond king” who pleaded guilty in 1990 to securities and tax fraud.

The flurry of clemency actions — 11 in total — raised expectations that Trump is considering wielding his power in more controversial cases involving close former associates, including Republican consultant Roger Stone.

The most notorious of the current crop is Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was removed from his governor’s post in Illinois in 2009.

He was later convicted of essentially selling the senator’s seat that had been vacated when Barack Obama won the US presidency in 2008.

Trump, a Republican who has often campaigned on his claim to be fighting corruption in Washington, was vague about his reasoning for freeing Blagojevich, who was sentenced to 14 years.

The president noted that he’d once performed with Blagojevich during the TV reality show “The Apprentice” and said he “seemed like a very nice person,” but added: “I don’t know him very well.”

“He served eight years in jail. He has a long time to go. Many people disagree with the sentence,” Trump told reporters.

Trump pardoned Bernard Kerik, who was NYPD commissioner at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Kerik pleaded guilty in 2009 to tax fraud but was released from prison in 2013.

Speculation has been building that the president will issue pardons to Stone and fellow Trump associate Paul Manafort, both caught up in the wide-ranging investigation into Russia’s attempt to influence the 2016 election.

Either one would stir more controversy than Tuesday’s cases and Trump gave only a hint when asked if he is planning to pardon Stone.

“I haven’t given it any thought,” he said. “But I think he’s being treated unfairly.”

Discussion of the Stone pardon, in particular, is fueling concerns that Trump — himself the subject of multiple legal and congressional investigations — is attempting to weaken the independence of the Justice Department.

Stone was convicted in November last year of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to cheat in the 2016 election.

The president caused a stir when he tweeted that the proposed tough sentencing of Stone was a “miscarriage of justice.”

Shortly after, Attorney General Bill Barr’s Justice Department proposed a lighter sentence and the prosecutors on the case resigned in apparent protest at the intervention. Stone is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

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CNN states why Nigeria should be excluded from Trump’s travel ban

By Tope Templer Olaiya

A report by Zakaria on the immigrant visa ban imposed on Nigeria by the Donald Trump administration trended yesterday on social media.

A top American journalist with CNN, Fareed Zakaria, has analysed why the recent decision of the United States government to impose immigrant visa restrictions on Nigeria “does not make sense.” 

The US government had justified the restriction on the basis of national security concerns, claiming that the affected countries have gaps in their security protocols surrounding travel which exposed the US to terror threats. 

A report by Zakaria on the immigrant visa ban imposed on Nigeria by the Donald Trump administration trended yesterday on social media. The presenter of a weekly programme on CNN, GPS, made a case for Nigeria, saying US authorities justified the ban with national security concerns but data available proved otherwise.

Citing CATO institute, Zakaria said four of the six countries listed in the ban – Nigeria, Myanmar, Tanzania, and Eritrea – had no records on terror-related deaths caused by foreign-born attackers between 1975 and 2017. “The argument does not really make sense”, he said. 

He added that Nigerians are the most educated immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in the US of which 59 per cent aged 25 and older have at least a bachelor’s degree, according to migration policy institute, which is nearly doubled the proportion of the Americans born in the US (33 per cent).

Zakaria argued that if the government was truly worried about security from the countries, it would ban all visas, not just immigrant visas. He said the government’s decision to target only permanent visas, leaving the temporary visas, suggests something else is going on. According to him, when Trump unveiled the new immigration plan in 2019, he said he wants English speaking immigrants who could assimilate easily and give back to the country. 

Zakaria said if that is what Trump wants, Nigerian immigrants who make up the largest group of Sub-Saharan Africans in the US as of 2017 “check all those boxes. They are some of the most educated immigrants in America. Nigerian immigrants tend to work high skilled jobs, 54 per cent are in largely white-collar positions in business, management, science, and the art compared to the 39 per cent of people born in the US,” he added.

This, according to Zakaria’s analysis, means that Nigerian immigrants have significant spending power. 

The American journalist also cited a new report by the New American Economy, which states that Nigerian immigrants in the US in 2018 made more than $14 billion and paid more than $4 billion in taxes. The report also states that Nigerian diaspora around the world sent back almost $24 billion in remittances, contributing to the Nigerian economy that is “more dynamic than many people, including Trump himself realise”.

According to the journalist, the Centre for Global Development reported that Nigeria is a country where the middle-class is increasing in education and aspiration. It is also America’s second-largest trade partner and the US wants to double its investments and trading in Africa. 

President Donald Trump had some weeks ago extended the country’s controversial travel ban list to impose visa restrictions on six more countries. Nigeria, which happens to be the largest economy in Africa and the most populous nation on the continent, was included in the list. While the Trump administration included Nigeria on the travel ban list to keep America safe from terrorists, CNN report concluded that the decision was not smart.

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U.S. awaits China’s approval to send in experts as part of WHO team

U.S. experts on infectious diseases, including government officials, are awaiting approval to enter China to help fight the coronavirus epidemic, having been included on a list proposed by the World Health Organization, a U.S. embassy spokesman told Reuters on Saturday.

China agreed to allow WHO to form a team of experts to travel to China to learn about the virus and find solutions to the outbreak, the spokesman said.

“The United States appreciates China’s efforts and continued coordination with public health officials across the globe,” he said in an e-mailed statement.

“These U.S. experts have extensive experience working with the World Health Organization on a range of infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics including Ebola, avian influenza, and SARS,” he added.

A WHO source in Geneva said that the agency was waiting to hear back from China on the proposed team, while a WHO spokesman said on Saturday he had no further update on the mission.

China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it understood that the National Health Commission was in close communication with WHO on the specific arrangements for the team’s visit to China.

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BREAKING: Trump survives impeachment as Senate acquits US President

US President, Donal Trump is off the impeachement hook.

US Senators on Wednesday voted that he was not guilty of abuse of power. The vote was 52-48.

Sen. Mitt Romney was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump.

Romney entered history books as the first senator in US history to vote to convict a president from the same party in an impeachment trial.

Democrats had wanted Trump out of office and impeach him at the House.

They accused him of asking Ukraine to dig up dirt on his political rival, Joe Biden, and withholding military aid as pressure.

The US president was also alleged to have obstructed Congress’ investigation of the affair.

Trump repeated accused the Democrats of trying to reverse his 2016 election election victory.

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Boko Haram: US announces additional N14.5bn aid to Nigeria

By Wale Odunsi

The United States has announced an additional $40million (N14 billion) aid to Nigeria as to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency.

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, made the announcement in Washington DC on Tuesday.

Pompeo spoke during a joint media briefing with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, after the U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission (BNC) meeting hosted by the Department of State.

“The foreign minister (Onyeama) and I also discussed today the massive humanitarian crisis that the conflict with Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa and other religious and ethnic violence.

“We know that these issues are hard. We know that they’re complicated.

“But I strongly encouraged the Nigerian government to do more to protect its civilians, including religious communities and the humanitarian organisations seeking to assist them.

“To aid in this effort, I’m pleased to announce today an additional 40 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to Nigeria, adding to the nearly 350 million dollars that we provided last year,’’ he said.

Pompeo disclosed that the two-day meeting also featured discussions on security cooperation between both countries, especially Nigeria’s “recent purchase’’ of 12 U.S.-made A-29 fighter planes worth 500 million dollars.

Onyeama, in his remarks, said: “Of course, we are faced with other security issues within Nigeria, and we know that some of them cause disquiet amongst our partners and we are addressing a number of those.

“And in addressing those internal challenges, and especially in the security area, we absolutely make it clear and strive to uphold human rights.

“We have the greatest interest in protecting and respecting the human rights of our population and we do that.”

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UPDATED: US optimistic on lifting Nigeria visa ban, says Pompeo

The United States and Nigeria voiced hope Tuesday that the Trump administration would soon lift onerous visa restrictions slapped on Africa’s most populous country, which said it was “blindsided” by its ally.

On a previously scheduled visit to Washington, Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said he sought more information on President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown announced last week which targeted Nigeria and five other countries.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meeting Onyeama, said that Trump took action partly due to the “terrorism threat” in West Africa, where Nigeria has fought alongside the United States against Islamist extremists.

Nigeria remains a “strategic partner” but Trump restricted visas as it has “room to grow in sharing important national security information.” 

“I’m optimistic that’s going to happen,” Pompeo told reporters.

Striking a diplomatic tone, Onyeama said his talks were “very gratifying” but acknowledged, with a smile, that Trump’s move caught Nigeria off-guard.

“We were somewhat blindsided by the announcement of the visa restrictions,” Onyeama said.

He said that Nigeria had already been looking to address US concerns, such as providing information on suspected terrorists and embedding electronic data into passports.

“We know, and the US officials have also confirmed, that we have been able to tick most of those boxes,” he said.

The lingering problem, he said, involved how to handle lost and stolen Nigerian passports.

He said Nigeria was putting in place a system that would make data from such passports “immediately available” to all members of Interpol, the global law enforcement body.

“We hope to have that up and running very soon,” he said. “Hopefully, once that has been achieved, we look forward to being taken off this visa restriction list.”

Trump came to office vowing to impose border restrictions and notoriously was quoted as using a vulgar epithet for African and other developing nations that send immigrants to the United States.

Unlike a controversial order days after he took office that essentially banned entry to citizens from a number of Muslim-majority countries, the latest restrictions primarily involve foreigners who seek to immigrate rather than visit.

Along with Nigeria, Trump imposed the curbs on nationals from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudan and Tanzania.

AFP

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