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Showing posts from October, 2019

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AP-NORC Poll: Trump Approval Steady As Impeachment Rages

on October 31, 2019

AP News Capitol Hill Donald Trump Newsroom

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Twitter Bans Political Ads Ahead Of 2020 Election

on October 30, 2019

Associated Press Newsroom Social Networking Twitter

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Bolton Summoned; First Big Vote Set On Impeachment Probe

on October 30, 2019

Associated Press Capitol Hill Newsroom

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The True Strengths Of Sub-Saharan Africa

on October 28, 2019

Africa Essay Politics World View

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What Holocaust Restitution Taught Me About Slavery Reparations

on October 28, 2019

Africa Essay Modern-Day Slavery

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African Countries Rush To Sign Nuclear Deals With Russia

on October 28, 2019

Africa Russia Vladimir Putin

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Nigeria Looks Back On 20 Years Of Sharia Law In The North

on October 27, 2019

Essay Islamic Jihadists Islamic State Newsroom

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N.J. Man Has Been Detained In Nigeria For 86 Days....

on October 27, 2019

Newsroom Nigeria Press

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Masterpiece Found In French Woman's Kitchen Sells For $26.6M

on October 27, 2019

AP Artists France Paris

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AP Explains: What A Trump Impeachment Trial Might Look Like

on October 27, 2019

AP Bill Clinton Capitol Hill Donald Trump Newsroom United States

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National Assembly Adding No Value To Nigeria – Prof Pat Utomi

on October 26, 2019

Daily Sun Interview Nigeria

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Ojukwu, The Man Who Ordered My Father’s Execution Was His Friend –Prof Omigbodun

on October 26, 2019

Biafra Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Interview Punch

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Igbo Journal Review

Culture and Ideas for the Igbo Nation

Popular Posts

Isabel Allende Has A Message: History Repeats Itself

In her new novel, “The Wind Knows My Name,” the prolific author introduces characters who narrowly survive real-life events. BY LAUREN FOX If the measure of a civilization is the way in which it cares for its most vulnerable, by most standards, ours isn’t doing too well. Consider the record number of family separations at the U.S. border under President Donald J. Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy; as of February 2023, on the second anniversary of the creation of President Biden’s Family Reunification Task Force, close to 1,000 children still remained separated from their families. This travesty and tragedy is the engine of Isabel Allende’s new novel, “The Wind Knows My Name.” The deliberate cruelty of the bureaucracies that enforce the separations, and the enduring psychic wounds these ruptures inflict on children, are the novel’s foundation and its psychological backbone. All of the characters in this timely, provocative story carry the weight of painful history, and their lives converg

No Strings Attached: Brazil Nudists Get Rio Beach

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DECEMBER 5, 2014 Erica Menezes de Oliveira prepares a drink as her husband Carlos Eduardo grabs some ice on Abrico beach, recently designated as nudist after a 20-year-battle, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014. The city renown worldwide for its wild Carnival celebrations featuring near-naked samba dancers has finally gotten its first official nudist beach. Abrico beach, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of central Rio, was officially made a nudist beach last month. While Brazilian beachwear may be as close as one can get to being nude while ostensibly clothed, for Brazilians those tiny spandex triangles covering private parts make all the difference. Nudism outside of Carnival parades is widely frowned upon in Brazil. On the more than 7,400 kilometers (4,600 miles) of coastline, there are just eight official nudist beaches, now including Rio's Abrico. That's compared to over 200 nude recreation areas in the U.S. unde

Why Africa Is Turning Its Back On The Eco-Obsessed West

BY JOE KOTKIN AND BHEKI MAHLOBO The Western democracies appear united in their support for Ukraine , but they may also be losing the bigger, more consequential battle for the loyalties of the developing world. Virtually no developing country – including democracies like India, Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa – has chosen to take steps opposing Russia’s aggression (in fact, South Africa may have joined Iran in sending weapons to Moscow ). This is a stark reflection of the West’s waning influence. The West is losing not because the developing world wants to genuflect to Vladimir Putin, or to his liege lord, Xi Jinping. Instead, we are seeing a growing disconnect between Western ‘values’, including on critical issues like food and energy production, and the needs of developing countries, many of which have struggled since the pandemic. In a period of steadily rising costs, countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and India are refusing to sanction Russian oil, allowing Moscow to match its pre-

Putin Gains Influence In Oil Rich Libya As US Struggles To Oust Wagner Group

While the US ponders whether to reopen its embassy in Libya, Vladimir Putin’s new ambassador is preparing to take up his post in the capital, extending Russian influence across an oil-producing nation on the doorstep of Europe. Russia’s Wagner Group, a private military company controlled by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, already has access to key oil facilities and supported last year’s monthslong blockade that hit exports at the height of the energy crisis triggered by the invasion of Ukraine. Moscow’s decision to reestablish its diplomatic presence in Tripoli — western seat of the United Nations-backed government — is the clearest sign yet that Putin is looking to make inroads beyond his traditional support for military commander Khalifa Haftar in the east. The developments have prompted concern in the US, which has dispatched a slew of senior officials to counter Putin’s advances in an OPEC member that European governments are courting as a potential alternative to Russian energy. Th

QUESTIONS OF DEFINITION: CONFLICT IN THE WEST AFRICAN SAHEL AND IHL

LIEBER INSTITUTE, WESTPOINT BY TOSIN OSASONA This post is drawn from the author’s article-length work , “The Question of Definition: Armed Banditry in Nigeria’s North-West in the context of International Humanitarian Law” appearing in the International Review of the Red Cross. Geographically, the West African Sahel region is the semi-arid expanse of grassland lying just to the south of the Sahara desert and stretching approximately 5000 km horizontally across Africa, from east to west. It extends from the arid Sahara to the humid savannah at around 10° North. This expansive region includes a substantial part of Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, and Niger, as well as the northern borders of Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Across multiple indicators, the region is one of the most blighted in the world. The poverty rate is above 50% across all countries in the region, the area has one of the worst health outcomes obtainable globally and throughout the region, less than half of adult females are lit

A Boat Carrying 100 Rohingya Refugees Vanished. A Frantic Phone Call Helped Untangle The Mystery

In this combination of photos, relatives hold images of some of those lost when their crowded boat carrying around 180 people sank in the sea south of Bangladesh on Dec. 7, 2022. Top row from left are Muhammed Khanif; Mezanu; Majida Bibi; Dildar Ullah; Majida Bibi and Dildar Ullah; Samira Begum holding her son, Tasin Ahmed; Kabir Ahmed and Saiful. Bottom row from left are Yasmin Ara and Noor Kaida; Ziabul Hoque and Azizul Hoque; Kabir Ahmed; Asmat Ullah; Mubarak Hussain; Asma Bibi; Noor Hassan and Noor Hashim. (AP Photo) BY KRISTEN GELINEAU TEKNAF, BANGLADESH (AP) — The wind had whipped the waves to nearly three times the woman’s height when her panicked voice crackled over the phone. “Our boat has sunk!” Setera Begum shouted, as a storm threatened to spill her and around 180 others into the inky black sea south of Bangladesh. “Only half of it is still afloat!” On the other end of the line, hundreds of miles away in Malaysia, was her husband, Muhammed Rashid, who picked up the phone a

How AI Could Take Over Elections – And Undermine Democracy

BY ARCHON FUNG, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL AND LAWRENCE LESSIG, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways? Sen. Josh Hawley asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman this question in a May 16, 2023, U.S. Senate hearing on artificial intelligence. Altman replied that he was indeed concerned that some people might use language models to manipulate, persuade and engage in one-on-one interactions with voters. Altman did not elaborate, but he might have had something like this scenario in mind. Imagine that soon, political technologists develop a machine called Clogger – a political campaign in a black box. Clogger relentlessly pursues just one objective: to maximize the chances that its candidate – the campaign that buys the services of Clogger Inc. – prevails in an election. While platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube use forms of AI to get users to spend more time on their sites, Clogger’s AI wou

Florida Official Says Migrants Flown To California Went Willingly, Refutes Claims Of Coercion

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento is seen in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, June 5, 2023. Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were brought to the diocese's offices on Friday, June 2, 2023, after being flown from Texas to Sacramento. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen) BY TRÂN NGUYỄN AND OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration said Tuesday that three dozen migrants whom the state flew from the U.S. southern border to California on private planes all went willingly, refuting allegations by California officials that the individuals were coerced to travel under false pretenses. Two planes arrived in Sacramento, on Friday and Monday, each carrying asylum-seekers mostly from Colombia and Venezuela. The individuals had been picked up in El Paso, Texas, taken to New Mexico and then put on charter flights to California’s capital of Sacramento, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. He’s investigating whether any violations of criminal or

‘They are stealing what should be ours’: Chinese trawlers are emptying West African fishing grounds

As China’s global fishing net widens, artisanal fishermen off the coast of Ghana see their catches plummet and go to bed hungry BY TORBJORN WESTER ACCRA, GHANA (THE TELEGRAPH-UK) --The wooden canoe is painted with scriptures. They’re meant to bring good fortune to the craft’s fishermen and protect against the dangers of the Atlantic – sky-high ocean waves, creatures of the deep and, increasingly, industrial Chinese trawlers. “Colleagues have drowned when their canoes have capsized in the wake of trawlers. But the Chinese don’t care,” says Samuel Otoo, one of the canoe’s two crewmen. In the early hours of the morning, before the heat begins to press, the fishermen set off from Jamestown, a small port outside Ghana’s capital, Accra. They return at 3pm in one piece, having encountered several trawlers, but the fishermen fear their days in the business are numbered. This is because the Chinese vessels, far superior in size and capability than the artisanal fishermen of Ghana, are not only

Supreme Court Is Poised To Dismantle An Integral Part Of LBJ’s Great Society – Affirmative Action

BY TRAVIS KNOLL, UN IVERSTY OF NORTH CAROLINA , CHARLOTTE Of all the civil rights policies enacted by U.S President Lyndon Johnson, affirmative action is arguably one of the most enduring – and most challenged. Johnson made it clear during a commencement address at Howard University on June 4, 1965, where he stood. In his speech, “ To Fulfill These Rights ,” Johnson argued that civil rights were only as secure as society and the government were willing to make them. “Nothing in any country touches us more profoundly, and nothing is more freighted with meaning for our own destiny than the revolution of the Negro American,” Johnson said. In my view as a scholar of the history of affirmative action, Johnson’s speech and the legal structure it helped produce directly contradict those who would dismantle affirmative action and besmirch diversity programs today. As the Supreme Court looks ready to strike down affirmative action in college admissions, it’s my belief that unlike the court’s

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: 2015: Leadership and Sins of Nd'Igbo

Click on image to read full story and analysis

FROM THE ARCHIVES: BIAFRA: Relative Discourses

I signed up because I had little experience in Africa, after having served in the United Nations forces in Congo. Also upset about what happened in Biafra and Czechoslovakia, I did not want to stand next to and just watch.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: JULIUS KPADUWA

The problems that confront Imo State are really not unique. It is the same problem that confronts almost every state in Nigeria, and it's one of economic development. The primary thing or my clear vision for the people of Imo State will be getting all the able-bodied men and women back to work, so that we can begin to have the quality of life that has so far eluded the people of Imo State.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Where We Met

But seeing a Nigeria headline on my screen it then occurred to him I must either be a Nigerian or perhaps a curious minded fellow who is reading to find out about the notorious Boko Haram, if they have captured more of their victims, or if there's an ongoing battle between the insurgents and the nation's security forces. Elevating my head up and starring at each other, I told him I was Igbo

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Otokoto Saga Interview

Now, the main question is about eleven year old Ikechukwu Anthony Okonkwo whose head was found dripping with blood with the convicted murderer Innocent Ekeanyanwu on a police tip-off inside a traveling commercial bus at Eziama in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE AMBROSE EHIRIM-CHIKA UNIGWE INTERVIEW

Every writer has to be able to live in the head of her characters. I had to make myself a blank blackboard for the characters to inscribe their lives on me. I had to wipe off that board every time a new character had to be created and totally surrender myself to that new character.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: THE SYLVESTER MENSAH STORY

The idea of writing a book had always engaged my thoughts based on reflections and the desire to share my experiences. The motivation was however triggered after reading the book of a gentleman l consider the busiest in Ghana, H. E. John Dramani Mahama

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: DR. APOLLOS NWAUWA

Contrary to what many think, the Igbo Diaspora is not really a homogenous, coherent group. Like other ethnic nationalities in the USA, the Igbo Diaspora consists of peoples from all walks of life separated by everything and only united by the fact that they are all Igbo. Serious social class disparity exists between them; therefore, presenting a united front in influencing or engineering actions at home continues to be a challenge.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: OZO'S KENI SAINT GEORGE

It was indeed a very boisterous, purpose driven, well-to-do Royal family. I come from a lineage of Royals and a well groomed family unit. My Father, Chief George Ozuloke, was a Court Judge for all of 18 years. He was both a Christian and Animist. He had 7 wives of which my mother was the first. I went to St. Martins Primary School and later to a wonderful School – Abbot Secondary Grammar School in Ihiala, my town. I even did a stint in Ihiala Seminary trying to be a Catholic Priest

Sovereign National Conference: A Symposium

A sovereign nation is born when, out of civilization, any such populations of human assemblage pledge loyalty and confide their trust to a governing body which they elect to oversee to their security, welfare and yes, to their happiness. The ensuing system of governance thrives and becomes sustainable by the wishes of the people whose interests it caters for.

ARETHA FRANKLIN (1942-2018)

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Aburi Accord Plays On

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Nchamere Nd'Igbo: Evidence of Anti-Igbo Pogrom

Obafemi Awolowo's orchestrated "Economic Blockade" denies food and medicine to Children of Biafra during Yakubu Gowon's-led genocidal campaign against the Igbo Nation. CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW ALL PICTURES

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Inside Nigeria's Fourth Republic: Nothing But A Messy 14 Years

In the fourteen years of said democracy, things that never happened in the past - the way it had now turned out - started happening at an alarming rate and spooky by its nature.......Click on image to read full story

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