fbpx
Connect with us

International

Raul Castro steps down as Head of Cuba’s Communist Party

Published

on

Raul Castro

 

Raul Castro gives a speech during the celebration of 60th Anniversary of Cuban Revolution, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, on Jan. 1, 2019, in this file photo.
Raul Castro gives a speech during the celebration of 60th Anniversary of Cuban Revolution, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, on Jan. 1, 2019, in this file photo.

Raul Castro said Friday he is resigning as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, ending an era of formal leadership by he and his brother Fidel Castro that began with the 1959 revolution.

The 89-year-old Castro made the announcement Friday in a speech at the opening of the Eighth Congress of the ruling party, the only one allowed on the island.

He said he was retiring with the sense of having “fulfilled his mission and confidence in the future of the fatherland.”

Castro didn’t say who he would endorse as his successor as the first secretary of the Communist Party. But he previously indicated that he favors yielding control to 60-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded him as president in 2018 and is the standard-bearer of a younger generation of loyalists who have been pushing an economic opening without touching Cuba’s one-party system.

Biden In,Trump Out

His retirement means that for the first time in more than six decades Cubans won’t have a Castro formally guiding their affairs, and it comes at a difficult time, with many on the island anxious about what lies ahead.

The coronavirus pandemic, painful financial reforms, and restrictions imposed by the Trump administration have battered the economy, which shrank 11 percent last year as a result of a collapse in tourism and remittances. Long food lines and shortages have brought back echoes of the “special period” that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Discontent has been fueled by the spread of the internet and growing inequality.

Much of the debate inside Cuba is focused on the pace of reform, with many complaining that the so-called “historic generation” represented by Castro has been too slow to open the economy.

In January, Diaz-Canel finally pulled the trigger on a plan approved two congresses ago to unify the island’s dual currency system, giving rise to fears of inflation. He also threw the doors open to a broader range of private enterprise — a category long-banned or tightly restricted — permitting Cubans to legally operate many sorts of self-run businesses from their homes.

This year’s congress is expected to focus on unfinished reforms to overhaul state-run enterprises, attract foreign investment and provide more legal protection to private business activities.

The Communist Party is made up of 700,000 activists and is tasked in Cuba’s constitution with directing the affairs of the nation and society.
Fidel Castro, who led the revolution that drove dictator Fulgencio Batista from power in 1959, formally became head of the party in 1965, about four years after officially embracing socialism.

He quickly absorbed the old party under his control and was the country’s unquestioned leader until falling ill in 2006 and in 2008 handing over the presidency to his younger brother Raul, who had fought alongside him during the revolution.
Raul succeeded him as head of the party in 2011. Fidel Castro died in 2016. — Euronews

 

 

 

International

Kenya Mourns Loss of Defence Chief and Top Brass in Helicopter Crash

Published

on

 

Kenya’s defence chief and nine other top brass died on Thursday in a military helicopter crash in a remote area of the country, President William Ruto said.

Today at 2:20 pm, our nation suffered a tragic air accident… I am deeply saddened to announce the passing of General Francis Omondi Ogolla,” Ruto told reporters.

The president, who had convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council after news of the accident emerged, said nine other “gallant military personnel” on board were also killed while two survived.

He said the Kenya Air Force has dispatched an air investigation team to establish the cause of the crash, which took place in Elgeyo Marakwet county, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi.

The helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff from Chesegon, where he and his entourage had been visiting a school, Ruto said.

“A distinguished four-kistar general has fallen in the course of duty and in the service of the country,” he said.

“Our motherland has lost one of her most valiant generals, gallant officers, service men and woman.”

Ruto announced three days of mourning from Friday, with official flags flying at half mast.

He said Ogolla, 61, had left Nairobi on Thursday morning on an air force Huey helicopter to visit troops deployed in the North Rift area in Operation Maliza Uhalifu (Operation End Crime in Swalihi), and other sites.

Kenyan authorities have long battled insecurity in the Rift Valley region, with armed bandits and cattle rustlers rampant.

“The helicopter burst into flames after crashing and it had more than 10 senior commanders on board including General Ogolla,” a police officer had told AFP earlier.

They were in the area on a security mission because there are KDF (Kenya Defence Forces) soldiers deployed in the region,” he added.

Continue Reading

International

DICAN Hails Tuggar’s Leadership As Minister Celebrates 57th Birthday

Published

on

Ambassador Tuggar

 

The Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria (DICAN) has extended its felicitations to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yussuf Tuggar, on his 57th birthday anniversary.

Tuggar, who comes from a distinguished political background in Bauchi State, has had an impressive career serving the country. His father, a prominent figure himself, served as the Organizing Secretary of the Northern People’s Congress before and after Nigeria’s independence in 1960, and later became a Senator.

Tuggar has held various notable positions. He served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany from 2017 to 2023. Prior to that, he was a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, representing Gamawa. He also contested for the governorship of Bauchi State on two occasions.

Chairman, Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria, DICAN, Comrade, Idehai Frederick specifically highlighted Tuggar’s contributions in securing crucial partnerships for Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs played a key role in the conceptualization of the Siemens Power deal, which aimed to significantly expand Nigeria’s electricity grid capacity.

“He is also instrumental in attracting significant funding from German institutions for the Kano-Maradi rail line project,” DICAN Chairman said.

The Association however, wished the Minister a happy 57th birthday and many more fruitful years of service to fatherland and humanity.

Meanwhile, DICAN is an association of journalists covering Diplomatic related beats in Nigeria.

Continue Reading

International

Open Letter To The President of The United States,Joe Biden-Ibrahim Khalil

Published

on

President Joe Biden

 

176 Kabara, Kano State, Nigeria. November 5, 2023 Mr. President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

HUMANITY FIRST

Sir! With due respect, Mr. President, we humans should not be killing ourselves for political, economic or religious reason in the messianic age. We are now living in the Messianic age; I am the Messiah, Messiah “Son of David” alias Imam Mahdi (“The Guided One”); and I am, however, not the Hidden Imam whom Mr. President talked about, but the real Imam Mahdi. Mr. President, this is not the time when world leaders should be divided between the two sides of the Israeli-Hamas war. Why should human beings – civilians and military officers alike, and especially women and children – be killed daily

Mr. President, Allah [swt] – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – granted the Holy Land to the Patriarch Prophet Abraham [as] and blessed it for the nations so that Messiah “Son of David”, the 2nd anointed King after HM King David [as], the King of Israel, will establish a world government, which will establish real justice and peace for the Peoples of the World. The Holy Land wasn’t meant to be a war zone or graveyard for the descendants of Abraham: Arabs and Jews.

Mr. President, a 9-Year Global Project (Re-Establishment of the Throne of David in Zion) was predestined to begin in 2023 AD/1444 AH for the creation of a world government, world economy and world religion. This was 126 years after Theodor Herzl founded the World Zionist Organization; 79 years after the creation of the IMF and the World Bank; and 1954 years after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It is a righteous deed par excellence; and it would be undertaken by the Believers among us whom Allah [swt], the lord of the worlds, promised to bless to rule the world under King Messiah (Melekh haMashiach), the ultimate prince and King of the World.

Mr. President, I already addressed the Royal Proclamation to the United Nations, calling for the Re-Establishment of the Throne of David in Zion; the prophet Muhammad [pbuh] did prophesy the 9-year rule of Imam Mahdi (“The Guided one”) as the Caliph of the promised Caliphate: Seat of King David on Earth; and hence, I call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to save humanity regardless of race, religion or nationality throughout the world.

Thank you. Yours Sincerely, Ibrahim Khalil (+234 913 615 3018)

Cc:
President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Norman Albanese President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau President of the Peoples’ Republic of China, Xi Jinping President of France, Emmanuel Macron President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo

President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella President of Japan, Fumio Kishida President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador President of Russia, Vladimir Putin King of Saudi Arabia, HM King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud The Crown Prince, HRH Muhammad ibn Salman President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan King of the United Kingdom, HM King Charles IIIPrime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu President of European Union, Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi The Pope, Francis I UN Secretary General, Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres GCC GCL President of the UNGA, Dennis Francis President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga

Continue Reading

Trending