Sofonie Dala - Young Talents from Africa

Wednesday, 28 September 2022

Over 3,000 Vehicles Queue As Thousands of Russian Men Flee Being Mobilized For War Against Ukraine

Russian men are fleeing into neighbouring Georgia to avoid being called-up to fight in a war they do not believe in, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists for the conflict in Ukraine.

According to Russia’s own government statistics released by state media reported, on Sunday, September 25 the estimated wait to enter Georgia hit 48 hours, with more than 3,000 vehicles queuing to cross the frontier.

“When we found out about the mobilisation, we dropped everything at home and jumped in the car,” Dmitry Kuriliyunok told Reuters in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.

Dmitry, his wife Irina and young daughter first drove across southern Russia from Krasnodar to Mineralnye Vody in the North Caucasus, a staging post for many crossing into Georgia. There, they hired a local driver to take them through the border checkpoints and after 24 hours they arrived in Tbilisi.

“We are completely against this war. For us, like for others, it’s scary. To die and to kill others, and for what? We don’t understand. Therefore, we decided to flee,” he said.

The exact number of people who have left Russia since Putin announced what he called a “partial mobilisation” last Wednesday is unclear. But new video footage released Monday show a chaotic scene at the border.

Russians have also gone to Kazakhstan, Finland and Mongolia, which have all reported heavy queues. Russia has not closed its borders yet but reports indicated that Putin could order a border closure.

Egypt marks 200th anniversary of decoding the Rosetta Stone

Museums and archaeological sites in Egypt are free to visitors today to mark the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked the secrets of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The stele is inscribed with three versions of a decree issued about 200 BC.

One is in ancient Greek which enabled a French linguist Jean-Francois Champollion to translate hieroglyphics for the first time.

The Rosetta Stone had been found in Memphis in Egypt in 1799 by a French military officer, but was subsequently taken by British forces and shipped to England.

It was then given to the British Museum where it remains

Nigeria destroys biggest seizure of cocaine

Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency has destroyed a batch of 1.8 tonnes of cocaine, its biggest ever seizure, that was discovered last week in a warehouse in the Ikorodu area, north-east of the commercial hub, Lagos.

The bust was estimated to be worth more than $270m (£240m).

Four Nigerian men aged 69, 65, and two 53-year-olds were arrested in different parts of the commercial city. A foreign nation was also detained.

The suspects were brought to the scene to witness and sign the certificate of destruction of the 1,800 blocks of cocaine.

A small batch that was retained will be used in their prosecution.

The head of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said in a statement that the agency had made some progress in its fight against illegal drugs.

“In the past 20 months, arrested and jailed drug offenders have forfeited 249 luxury cars and we blocked 600 drug related bank accounts”, Baba Marwa said.

Nigeria has recently recorded several drug busts and secured high-profile arrests.

Prospects of World War III Keeps Me Up At Night – Says Fmr. US Prez Trump

Former US president, Donald Trump said the idea of an impending World War III ‘keeps him up at night,’ while making repeated his claim that the Ukraine war would have been avoided if he were still president.

Trump stated this during a wide-range interview where he went on a rant against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

He said that due to nuclear power, the world is the most dangerous it’s ‘ever’ been, as the former president warned that international affairs are spelling doom.

The predictions of a possible WWIII, Trump said, are based on the war between Russia and Ukraine, which started in February, and the growing feud internationally over the island nation of Taiwan and its autonomy from China.

‘I think more than anything else, I think we could end up in World War III,’ Trump said when asked by John Catsimatidis on his radio show Tuesday evening ‘what are the things that keep you up at night right now?’

‘To be throwing around the word cavalierly like nuclear is a very bad time,’ the 45th president said. ‘A very bad time for this country and a very bad and a very dangerous time for the world.’

Trump also said that if he were still the president, Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine. He said that after President Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer, Putin saw a weakness in U.S. leadership.

‘I think it was the most embarrassing and horrible moment – just about the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country,’ Trump said of the Afghanistan debacle. ‘I think Putin saw that.’

‘But he would have never done it, that would have never been a problem,’ Trump said in the hypothetical situation where he is still president. ‘He was not going to go into Ukraine, and he understood the consequences.’

‘What’s happened in Ukraine should have never ever happened,’ he added.

Trump also had some choice words for James during his interview after the New York attorney general brought fraud charges against him for his business dealings with the Trump Organization.

When discussing spiking crime in the nation’s most populated city, which he once called home, Trump went on a tangent lashing out against its ‘horror show’ liberal AG.

‘We have murderers going down – walking down the street. It’s just horrible. She’s a horror show, she’s so bad,’ Trump said of James’ leadership. ‘She doesn’t care about violent crime.’

‘She doesn’t care about anything except trying to use Trump’s name to get elected,’ he continued to 77 WABC radio show Cats at Night. ‘And she’s a disaster and everybody knows that. She’s done a terrible job.’

Tuesday, 27 September 2022

Prince William Is The Wealthiest – Astonishing Wealth of Royal Family Members Revealed

PRINCE William is the wealthiest member of the Royal Family with a net worth of around £1.05billion.

The heir-to-the-throne beats his dad King Charles III, who is worth £900million, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a combined worth of £20million. Princess Anne is worth £50million, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex are worth £10million and Prince Andrew is worth £5million.

Meanwhile the monarchy’s wealth as an institution has more than doubled in ten years from £9billion in March 2012 to £18.3billion in March this year.

The figure covers the wealth from land and buildings on the Crown Estate, worth around £16.5billion, and the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
Read Full Story …. thesun >>> :

British Pound Plummets to Record Low Against the Dollar

The British pound fell to a new record low against the US dollar of $1.035 on Monday, plummeting more than 4%.

The slide came as trading opened in Asia and Australia on Monday, extending a 2.6% dive from Friday — and spurring predictions the pound could plunge to parity with the US dollar in the coming months.

The unprecedented currency slump follows British Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng’s announcement on Friday that the United Kingdom would impose the biggest tax cuts in 50 years at the same time as boosting spending.

The new tax-slashing fiscal measures, which include scrapping plans for rising corporation tax and slashing the cap on bankers’ bonuses, have been criticized as “trickle-down economics” by the opposition Labour party and even lambasted by members of the Chancellor’s own Conservative party.

Former Tory chancellor Lord Ken Clarke criticized the tax cuts on Sunday, saying it could lead to the collapse of the pound.

“I’m afraid that’s the kind of thing that’s usually tried in Latin American countries without success,” Clarke said in an interview with BBC radio.

The pound has been hammered by a string of weak economic data, but also the steep ascent of the US dollar, a safe haven investment that sees inflows in times of uncertainty.

The euro also hit a 20-year low of 0.964 per dollar.

But the economic outlook in the UK means the pound is suffering more than most, in the face of a disastrous energy crunch and the highest inflation among G7 nations.

The previous record low for the British pound against the US dollar was 37 years ago on February 25, 1985, when 1 pound was worth $1.054.

“Should there be any escalation to the war in Ukraine…we would see further sharp downside in the Pound as well as the Euro,” said Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, an Australian brokerage firm.

“One should not underestimate the crisis that is all of Europe at the moment and the Pound is more vulnerable than most,” he said.

The soaring US dollar also sent major Asian currencies tumbling today

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Africa Must Act Decisively To Eradicate Poverty, Promote Inclusiveness And Equality – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on corporate individuals and organisations to become part of Africa’s change makers for prosperity on the continent.