Category: LATEST NEWS

Sheynnis Palacios made history when she became the first Nicaraguan to wear the Miss Universe crown.

Palacios who holds a degree in social communication succeeded late Saturday night to R’Bonney Gabriel, Miss USA.

The 23-year-old beauty pageant said she wants to work to promote mental health after suffering debilitating bouts of anxiety herself.

Palacios appeared to secure the win in El Salvador, when she confidently answered the question of which woman’s shoes would she like to spend a year in by saying Mary Wollstonecraft.

The 18th-century English writer and philosopher was an advocate of women’s rights.

Palacios said she wants to work to close the gender pay gap so that women can work in any area.

Miss Thailand, Anntonia Porsild, was first runner-up and Miss Australia, Moraya Wilson, the second runner-up.

The last African contestants, Miss Cameroon Issie Princesse, Miss Namibia, Jameela Uiras, and Miss South Africa Bryoni Govender, didn’t make it past the top 20.

Eighty-four women competed for the crown in the 72nd edition of the competition.

The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who was removed from office in June, was on Friday (Nov .17) charged with procurement fraud at a local court, which remanded him in prison pending his bail ruling.

In amended charges, the Nigerian goverment said Godwin Emefiele illegally awarded contracts for dozens of vehicles during his time as the governor of the apex bank in Africa’s largest economy, according to court documents.

The charge sheet alleged that Emefiele used his position as the bank’s governor to “confer a corrupt advantage” on another member of staff by awarding the contracts to a company with links to that staff member, thereby breaching Nigeria’s procurement laws.

Appearing in court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges, which could land him in jail for at least five years if convicted. He has been in custody for most of the time since he was removed from office.

Regarded as one of the most powerful government officials in Nigeria when he led the bank, Emefiele’s nine years of overseeing Nigeria’s monetary policy affairs was ended by Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, shortly after he took office in May.

The Nigerian presidency had said his suspension was to enable an investigation into the central bank’s affairs as part of new reforms in the financial sector, though it did not surprise many because of some of the bank’s policies had been seen as controversial such as Nigeria’s failed currency swap program.

Some of his monetary policies also appeared different from the agenda of Tinubu while he was running for president — which matters in a country where the presidency has a huge influence on how the central bank operates.

His prolonged detention and investigation had complicated his case, leading him to sue Nigeria’s secret police for allegedly breaching his fundamental rights by detaining him longer that the period provided by the law. He was later released on court orders.

The court is expected to rule on his bail application.

An opposition activist in Zimbabwe has been found dead after being abducted while campaigning ahead of by-elections, his party announced on Monday.

This is the third incident in recent weeks denounced by the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), the country’s largest opposition group, which accuses the ruling Zanu-PF party of conducting a vast campaign of intimidation against its supporters.

At the end of October and beginning of November, the CCC announced that one of its MPs and a former MP had been kidnapped in Harare, tortured and then found naked and wounded in the case of the former, and with his head shaved in the case of the latter.

The CCC said on Monday that the body of Tapfumanei Masaya, kidnapped in broad daylight by armed men last Saturday in Harare, had been found on the outskirts of the capital.

“We call on the police to investigate this heinous crime and bring the perpetrators to justice”, the party said on X (formerly Twitter).

The police confirmed that a body had been found without confirming its identity, which they said had yet to be established.

Contested elections in August returned President Emmerson Mnangagwa to power.

Parliament has since declared vacant the seats of 15 elected CCC MPs, who denounced the decision as “fraudulent”, and by-elections are scheduled for December to fill them.

Tapfumanei Masaya was campaigning for a CCC candidate in Mabvuku, a suburb of Harare, when he was forced into a vehicle, according to his party.

The “illegal” and “fraudulent” cancellation of the elections for our MPs “led to (his) death”, the CCC wrote on social networks. In August, CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, 45, was defeated by President Mnangagwa, 81, in general elections that also gave Zanu-PF a majority in parliament.

According to international observers, these elections failed to meet democratic standards. The forthcoming by-elections could hand Zanu-PF, which has been in power since independence in 1980, a two-thirds majority in parliament, which is needed to amend the Constitution.

According to some analysts, Zanu-PF could take advantage of this to allow Mr Mnangagwa, who came to power after a coup that overthrew President Robert Mugabe in 2017, to remain in power beyond 2028.

Suella Braverman has been removed from her position as Home Secretary after defying the directives from No 10 by publishing an article that accused the Metropolitan Police of displaying bias in their handling of protests.

Her actions were criticized for exacerbating tensions in the lead-up to protests in London.

James Cleverly has been named as her successor, while the unexpected appointment of former Prime Minister David Cameron as the new Foreign Secretary has raised eyebrows.

Mrs. Braverman expressed that serving as Home Secretary had been “the greatest privilege of my life.”

This move marks the beginning of a significant cabinet reshuffle orchestrated by Rishi Sunak as he seeks to reshape his top team in preparation for the upcoming Autumn Statement next week.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson stated, “This reshuffle is aimed at assembling a unified team under the Prime Minister’s leadership to bring about the necessary long-term changes for our country.”

Back in July, Mr. Cleverly had humorously remarked that he would have to be forcibly removed from his role as Foreign Secretary, leaving “nail marks down the parquet flooring.” However, on Monday, he expressed that it had been a “huge privilege” to serve as Foreign Secretary and emphasized that being Home Secretary was also a “fantastic job.”

He declined to comment on whether he would distance himself from Mrs. Braverman’s tenure in the Home Office, stating, “I intend to carry out this role in the manner that I believe best safeguards the interests of the British people and our nation.”

The sixth edition of the annual Paris Peace Forum got underway on Friday in the French capital, with the aim of tackling a wide range of global challenges from climate change to migration.

But is also offered a unique platform to discuss the crucial role that artificial intelligence can play in development.

This is particularly true in Africa, despite challenges such as the high cost of connectivity and low internet penetration on the continent.

For Sally Bilaly SOW from the organisation Guinea Check, there is no need to wait until internet penetration is 100 per cent to understand how AI works.

“We need to adopt it now, integrate it into our daily practices, but also and above all – raise awareness of its positive aspects,” he said.

Cameroonian Steve MengnHe said artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in Africa’s development, but there is still a long way to go to before the benefits reach many remote villages.

“In the rural areas, in the villages where we live every day, there are no networks, there is no light. So, how do you expect AI to have an impact,” he said.

In connected regions, AI has the potential to transform Africa with significant advances in areas of health and agriculture through applications tailored to specific needs.

Vilas Dhar is president of the Patrick J McGovern Foundation, an organisation that focuses on artificial intelligence and data solutions.

He said he was inspired by the work that is happening in the field across the continent.

“In places as far flung as Morocco, South Africa, and Senegal, where the government recently rolled out a new national AI strategy that acknowledges that AI is something that could drive meaningful social and economic progress.”

The Paris Peace Forum highlighted the essential role of artificial intelligence and its impact on development.

But countries will need to work together to strike a balance between technological innovation and responsibility.

The Kenyan government declared Monday a public holiday to encourage residents to plant 100 million trees across the country, a call to which hundreds of people in Nairobi responded.

President William Ruto has pledged that 15 billion trees will be planted by 2032 to boost Kenya’s forest cover following the Horn of Africa region’s worst drought in 40 years.

Civil servants, students, and families gathered at various locations in the capital Nairobi on Monday to plant trees despite torrential rain.

“I planted about 50 trees today. I think this is a powerful and necessary initiative for the planet, especially after experiencing a dramatic drought for several consecutive seasons,” government official Joan Kirika told Africanewsguru.com.

“I hope we will continue to celebrate this day every year, not necessarily as a public holiday but as an annual reminder to take care of the environment and think about the planet,” he added.

William Ruto claims to care about climate change but drew the ire of environmental groups after announcing in July that logging would resume after a five-year ban.

At the time, he claimed that the resumption of logging was aimed at creating jobs and developing sectors of the economy dependent on forest products and that it only concerned mature trees in forests planted and managed by the state.

Last month, a Kenyan court suspended this decision to lift the logging ban but authorized the felling of 5,000 hectares of mature trees.

The forestry industry contributed 1.6% to Kenya’s GDP last year, according to official statistics, which also indicate that forests will cover 8.8% of the country by 2022.

The timber industry employs around 50,000 people directly and 300,000 indirectly, according to government figures, in this East African country hit by unemployment and inflation.

Floods caused by torrential rainfall have killed at least 31 people in Somalia, authorities said Sunday (Nov. 12).

The previous death toll stood at 29.

Various parts of the east African country including Hiran state in the centre or Gedo region in the south, have been affected.

Since October, floods have displaced nearly half a million people, Daud Aweis told reporters in the capital Mogadishu.

Water has also caused extensive damage to infrastructure notably.

The lives of some 1.6 million people in Somalia could be disrupted by floods during the rainy season that lasts until December, with 1.5 million hectares of farmland potentially being destroyed, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

In a statement unveiled Thursday (Nov. 09), OCHA warned of “a flood event of a magnitude statistically likely only once in 100 years, with significant anticipated humanitarian impacts.”

The organization released $25 million to help mitigate the impact the natural disaster.

“While all possible preparatory measures are being pursued, a flood of this magnitude can only be mitigated and not prevented,” OCHA said, recommending “early warning and early action” to save lives as “large-scale displacement, increased humanitarian needs and further destruction of property remain likely.”