Foreign News
Nigerian Economist Okonjo-Iweala Becomes First Female, First African WTO Chief
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) members on Monday elected Nigerian economist, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to be the next director-general of the organization.
She will be the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.
“WTO members have just agreed to appoint Dr Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General of the WTO.
The decision was taken at a special meeting today of the organisation’s General Council.
“Dr Okonjo-Iweala will become the first woman and the first African to head the WTO,” the WTO said in a statement.
Okonjo-Iweala will assume duties on March 1, while her term will expire on Aug.
31, 2025, but it could be renewed, the organisation noted.Fellow female leaders, such as European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, have already congratulated Okonjo-Iweala on the appointment.
“This is an historic moment for the entire world. I’m so glad to see a woman from Africa at the head. Europe is fully behind you.
“We support the reform of the WTO and will help you protect the rules-based multilateral trading system,”Von der Leyen said on Twitter.
Lagarde noted that she has “known Ngozi for many years. Her strong will and determination will drive her to tirelessly promote free trade to the benefit of people worldwide.”
Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment follows months of deadlocked discussions between the WTO members on who should be chosen as the next director-general since former chief Roberto Azevedo stepped down in August, a year earlier than his second four-year term was set to end.
The delays in the appointment of WTO chief reportedly stemmed from the reluctance of former U.S. President Donald Trump to approve the Nigerian economist’s candidacy.
The Trump administration favoured South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee.
However, after Joe Biden assumed presidency, the South Korean minister decided to quit the race paving the way for Okonjo-Iweala’s selection.
The economist and expert in international finance and development is regarded as a skilled negotiator and consensus builder, having gathered experience in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.
The 66-year-old chairs the GAVI Vaccine Alliance and sits on the board of Twitter.
She was recently appointed African Union Special Envoy for the continent’s access to the COVID-19 tools accelerator.
Okonjo-Iweala spent 25 years as a development economist at the World Bank, during which she quickly rose through the ranks to become managing director of operations.
She spearheaded several World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries during both food and financial crises, generating more than 40 billion dollars for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s grant and soft credit arm.
Okonjo-Iweala twice served as Nigerian finance minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and briefly acted as foreign minister in 2006. She was the first Nigerian woman to hold both positions.
She earned an economics degree from Harvard University (1976), graduating magna cum laude, a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received 15 honorary degrees from universities across the world.
Okonjo-Iweala is the author of numerous books and articles on finance and economics.
Transparency International named her one of eight inspirational female anti-corruption fighters in 2019, while Fortune Magazine called her one of the 50 greatest world leaders in 2015.
In 2014, Time Magazine listed her among the top 100 most influential people in the world.
Okonjo-Iweala is married with four children and has three grandchildren. (Sputnik/NAN)
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation on Wednesday evening banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States.The countries affected are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Nationals from these countries will be “fully” restricted from entering the U. S., according to the proclamation. Similarly, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted.The proclamation is effective on June 9, 2025 at 12:01 am EDT (5:01am Nigerian time).Trump said the move was needed to protect the U.S. against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on X.The U.S. President said the list could be revised and new countries could be added.He said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbour a “large-scale presence of terrorists”.He alleged others failed to cooperate on visa security and had an inability to verify travellers’ identities, inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the U.S..“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump said.Trump’s directive is part of an immigration crackdown that he launched at the start of his second term, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security”.Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the U.S. to detect national security threats.That order directed several cabinet members to submit a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient.”During his first term in office, Trump had announced a ban on travellers from seven countries, a policy that generated so much controversies before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.However, former President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.” (NAN)
“Do not threaten Israel with sanctions” as it will continue to build a “Jewish state” on the ground,” Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, warned on Friday.He also rebuffed a call by French President Emmanuel Macron for establishing a Palestinian State.In open defiance of international law, Katz claimed that world powers may recognize a Palestinian state “on paper.
”Katz made the remarks during a visit to Sa-Nur, an illegal outpost in the northern West Bank that the Tel Aviv government recently decided to officially designate as a settlement for illegal Israeli settlers. In a direct message, Defense Minister Israel Katz targets French President Macron and European allies.He also dismissed the potential international consequences.He said: “They will recognise a Palestinian state on paper, while we will build the Jewish Israeli state on the ground.“Don’t threaten us with sanctions. You will not make us bow.“The State of Israel will not kneel before threats.”His comments came hours after President Macron stated that recognising the State of Palestine was a “moral duty”.Macron also reiterated that France may move toward official recognition during an upcoming international conference focused on the two-state solution.Earlier this week, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli Security Cabinet had secretly approved the establishment of 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.In response, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now issued a statement Thursday, revealing that 12 of the newly approved settlements were previously unauthorised outposts and farming sites established in recent years.According to Peace Now, there are currently 156 illegal settlements and 224 outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with over 736,000 illegal Israeli settlers living on occupied Palestinian land.The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law.The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.(AA/NAN)
British comedian and actor Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault.
The 49-year-old appeared in the dock at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Friday flanked by two officers, where he stood stock-still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas.
He is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room while she attended a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, and grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and orally raping her after dragging her into a male toilet.
Brand is also alleged to have grabbed a radio station worker’s face, pushing her against a wall and kissing her before groping her breasts and buttocks.
The final charge alleges the actor indecently assaulted another woman after grabbing her forearm and attempting to drag her into a male toilet.
The allegations against Brand are said to have taken place against four women between 1999 and 2005.
The defendant, of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, who faces one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, is due to stand trial on June 3 next year at the same court.
As Friday’s hearing finished, the comedian replaced his sunglasses before exiting the dock and calmly walked past reporters.
He was charged following an investigation by Channel 4 and the Sunday Times newspaper in which several women made allegations against him.
Brand previously told his 11.2 million followers on X that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.(dpa/NAN)
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