Author: Ira Austin Richards

Au revoir Paris, Hola LA. In a nutshell, that was the just completed ceremony of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. It was Tom Cruise leaping off the rim of the Stade de France to take the Olympic flag from LA Mayor Karen Bass and Simone Biles. As the guitar riffs of H.E.R. filled the air, Cruise then exited on a motorbike to deliver the flag to a sunny West Coast. It was the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Olympic fixture Snoop Dogg getting into the pre-recorded groove down in Long Beach. It wasn’t telling of the full scope of Los Angeles and no mention was made of Snoop’s…

U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a joint statement Monday they have recently talked about how to manage the illegal migration dilemma effectively and efficiently at the U.S.-Mexico border. The two leaders had a telephone conversation Sunday about “their continued commitment to strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation that will benefit” the people of both countries. While the statement said the two presidents “discussed how to effectively manage hemispheric migration,” and “strengthen operational efficiency on our shared border,” it did not reveal what specific steps they are taking. Biden and Lopez Obrador have “ordered…

Brussels (27/10 – 50) Just in September this year, ten “distinguished” people in Tajikistan have been awarded general ranks. The decree on conferring general ranks was signed by the country’s president, Emomali Rahmon, on September 7th. According to this decree, there are now three more generals in the Agency for State Financial Control and Anti-Corruption. The rank of Major General of Justice was awarded to the head of the Finance and Economic Department, Fazliddin Khodjazoda, the head of the Special Operations Department, Abdurakhmon Davlatzoda, and the head of the Agency for GBAO, Zoir Gafurzoda. The rank of Major General of…

Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Muhammed Matawalle has said that Nigeria would strengthen bilateral relations with United States of America on security in the fight against terrorism and other criminalities in Nigeria. The Minister made this known when he met with Congresswoman Betty McCollum and several members of the US Congress at the United States Capitol. Highlighting the significance of the longstanding friendship between Nigeria and the US, the Minister reaffirmed Mr. President’s commitment in eradicating the activities of terrorism in Nigeria through the collaborative efforts of the US in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda, with emphasis on…

Verizon Public Sector has won a $15 million task order with Navy Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) through the federal government’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract vehicle. Per the task order, the carrier will deliver voice and data services at domestic and international locations. The EIS was award in two components: voice and data. More specifically, Verizon said it will incorporate new technologies and services to support advanced voice requirements, as well as modernize data services, which includes a transition from the Navy’s Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) voice platform to ethernet. Verizon has been awarded several contracts with the U.S.…

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris has reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to the fundamental principles of press freedom, stressing its pivotal role in fostering a vibrant democracy and transparency in governance. Idris said this when he received the US Charge d’Affaires to Nigeria, David Greene, who paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday. “While we are for press freedom, we also want to call on the government of the United States to support efforts at instituting best practices in the media space, particularly fact-checking mechanisms towards reducing the spate of misinformation, fake news, and mal-information,” Idris said. Source…

After facing considerable blowback, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is walking back her declaration that all people should be required to verify their identities to use social media platforms, after previously calling anonymous accounts a “national security threat.” Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and former governor of South Carolina, said last week that, if she is elected president, social media companies would be required to authenticate people’s identity before allowing them to comment. “We’re going to say that they have to make sure every person on social media is verified … everybody gets a verifiable sign so that we know exactly who…

Berlin (06/12 – 67.67) Asliddin Sherzamonov, an activist from Tajikistan, strongly believes that the United Nations (UN) should assess the actions of the Central Asian country’s security forces during the events of 2021 and 2022 in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). Speaking at the UN session on minorities held in Geneva on December 1, Asliddin said that an independent international commission should be established to evaluate the activities of Tajikistan’s security forces. In the operations carried out by security forces in 2021 in Roshtkala and Khorog, three people died. In another operations in the spring of 2022 by the security…

The United States, South Korea and Japan have agreed to launch a high-level consultative group on countering North Korean cyber activities that they say finance its unlawful weapons programs, South Korea’s presidential office said on Monday. Anne Neuberger, U.S. deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, held talks with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Washington last week. They agreed to hold quarterly meetings under the new framework, the presidential office said. “It is aimed at strengthening the three countries’ effective response capabilities against global cyber threats, including jointly countering North Korea’s cyber activities that are abused…

Uganda on Wednesday criticised a US move to eject it and other African countries from accessing a tariff-free trade programme, saying the action was to punish African countries that are resisting the imposition of the West’s cultural values. US President Joe Biden said on Monday that he intended to end the participation of Uganda, Gabon, Niger and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program. Uganda and Central Africa Republic would be blocked because of “gross violations” of internationally recognised human rights, Biden said in a letter to the speaker of the US House…