Foreign News
Nigeria, Ghana Other African Countries Urge USA to Hands- Off Cuba
By Gom Mirian, Abuja
Four African nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Gambia on Monday converged on Abuja to join their voices in demand for the lifting of sanctions imposed on the Republic of Cuba by the United States of America(USA).
The president of the Nigerian labour congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba said this at the opening ceremony of the 6th Solidarity with Cuba meeting held at Yar’Adua Centre, to pressure the USA government to lift its over 50-year blockade on Cuba.
The three days event is expected to end on Wednesday, September 25, with a solidarity protest march to the USA Embassy in Nigeria with the demand to the USA government to ‘Hand Off Cuba”.
According to Comrade Waba, the celebration of Cuba and its friendship with the African people cannot be complete without speaking up strongly for them.
He said motivation for the meeting was to affirm international support and solidarity with Cuba and to demand respect for Cuba’s right to self-determination and sovereignty.
“For the umpteenth time, we call on the United States and its western allies to lift the economic blockade against the people of Cuba.
“The thought that Cuba will collapse after a few years has now been debunked by the resilience of the Cuban people these past sixty years and counting.
“We believe that if the Cuban people and government could build such great education, health and public service institutions in spite of decades of blockade, Cuba will compete with the most advanced countries of the world if the prison doors are opened.
“We also call on western countries to quit interfering in the sovereignty of nations.”
Wabba added that Africa was not in true solidarity with Cuba if she fails to show love to other Africans.
He noted that the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa would not have happened, if the region truly share in the Cuban ideals of a shared humanity.
Also speaking, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, noted that Cuba had made efforts in times past to help African countries in their time of need.
Onu said the NLC has shown commitment with the solidarity mandate, thanking the union for efforts to raise consciousness about the sacrifice of Cuba for independence of some countries.
The Minister noted that during the Ebola pandemic, Cuba sent no fewer than 400 doctors to African countries to curb the spread, calling on Nigerians to imbibe culture of patriotism and self reliant.
“Nigeria must do more to lead Africa and other countries globally, we must put the Xenophobic attack from South Africa aside and provide the needed leadership for liberation of Africa.
” When we do this, it will help to provide leadership, a new civilisation to rise, stronger and respected all over the world.
In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Dipo Fashina, said “we have to cement our belief that Cuba must be defended. Cuba must surmount the revolution there.
US President Donald Trump announced he will be seeking $1bn (£730m) in damages from Harvard University in his administration’s ongoing feud with the institution.
The news comes after the New York Times reported that the Trump administration had to backtrack from its demand for a $200m payment in negotiations with the university.
Trump cited the story in a Truth Social post late on Monday, blaming Harvard for “feeding a lot of nonsense” to the New York Times.
Trump officials have accused Harvard of not doing enough to tackle antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests. Harvard has rejected the accusation.
Harvard has been a central target in the White House’s campaign to stamp out what it calls “woke” and “radical left” ideologies on American campuses.
In April last year, Trump revoked around $2bn in research grants to Harvard and froze federal funding.
The university sued the Trump administration over the move, saying no government “should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue”.
A US federal court later overturned the billions in funding cuts, ruling the government had violated university’s free speech rights.
The White House vowed to immediately challenge the “egregious decision”, saying Harvard remains “ineligible for grants in the future”.
Before Monday’s announcement, the government had been in discussions with Harvard over a potential deal to unfreeze federal funding.
“We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University,” Trump wrote on Monday.
He accused Harvard of “serious and heinous illegalities”, but did not clarify how he believed it had broken the law.
Trump has previously threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status and take control of the university’s patents stemming from federally funded research.
Three other Ivy League universities, Columbia, Penn and Brown, struck deals with Trump to preserve funding that was at risk due to similar claims by the administration, rather than go to court.
Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s Prime Minister, said on Tuesday at the World Government Summit in Dubai that access to social media for minors under 16 would be banned.
Sanchez added that all platforms will be required to implement age verification systems.
“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone.
“We will no longer accept that.
We will protect them from the digital Wild West. ”He added that his government would also introduce a new bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hateful content.
Australia in December became the first country to ban social media for children under 16.
It’s a move being closely watched by other countries considering similar age-based measures, such as Britain and France.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to sue Grammys host, Trevor Noah after a joke he made about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on stage.
Trump blasted the comedian as a “total loser,” adding: “It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.
C., and suing him for plenty of dollars. ”Trump criticised Noah’s joke, made after the song of the year gong was handed out at the ceremony on Sunday night.
Writing on Truth Social, in a post strewn with uppercase words, Trump said: “Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!!
“I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media.
“Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast.”
He added: “Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you!”
Trump also blasted the ceremony saying: “The Grammy Awards are the WORST, virtually unwatchable! CBS is lucky not to have this garbage litter their airwaves any longer.”
This was an apparent reference to Disney taking over the broadcast rights for the award ceremony starting in 2027.
He has also engaged in legal action with the New York Times, Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal.
Last July, U.S. media giant Paramount, which owns CBS, agreed to pay Trump 16 million dollars to settle a lawsuit over a 2024 CBS interview with Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
Noah, 41, is a South African-born comedian and TV personality who hosted “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central in the U.S. for seven years.
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