March 4, 2022

Manchester City Announces Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner OKX

OKX becomes Manchester City’s Official Cryptocurrency Partner

Manchester City and OKX have today announced a new multi-year partnership
The partnership will span Manchester City men’s and women’s teams, in addition to the Club’s esports operations

VICTORIA, Seychelles, March 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Premier League champions Manchester City have today announced a global partnership with the world’s second largest crypto exchange, OKX, naming it the Club’s Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner.

OKX’s first venture into the world of sport and entertainment, the partnership will span Manchester City men’s and women’s teams, in addition to the Club’s esports operations.

Manchester City sign with crypto partner OKX

OKX’s fast, secure and innovative cryptocurrency exchange is trusted by more than 20 million people in more than 180 markets as a place to explore the power of crypto.

OKX and Man City believe in inspiring continued innovation, talent development and technology advancements – a key partnership alignment between both organisations.

The new partners will collaborate on a number of exclusive experiences for OKX’s global customer base, in addition to an in-stadium presence across the Etihad Stadium and Academy Stadium. The new partners will also look to explore future innovation projects together.

Roel De Vries, Chief Operating Officer, City Football Group, said: “We are pleased to welcome OKX as an Official Partner of Manchester City today as they look to venture into the world of sports. The new partnership aligns our shared values of innovation, drive for success and being at the cutting edge of our respective industries. Their broad and inclusive approach to targeting diverse audiences resonates with our approach. We look forward to working together throughout the partnership.”

Manchester City Stadium

“We are delighted to partner with Manchester City, one of the world’s best-loved and most successful teams. Football and crypto share something important; they are for everyone, they create inclusivity within society. For OKX, Manchester City is a Club that represents the effect football has to make a positive difference in people’s lives, to bring people together around a shared love of the beautiful game. We are entering the Premier League for the first time as City’s official crypto partner to celebrate this community spirit in the world of football because it’s something we both share,” said Jay Hao, CEO of OKX.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/99b1c268-b437-430e-a504-cf4d276df83a
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d63580c8-9c47-4baa-a5ea-93d724c69409
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2c7534e4-7252-4896-bc5a-f94f1ec6f423

Richard Kay
richard.kay@okx.com

March 4, 2022

Open Society Launches Fund for a Free and Democratic Ukraine

New York/Berlin/Kyiv, March 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Open Society Foundations today are pledging an initial $25 million to launch the Ukraine Democracy Fund and urge other funders to join us in supporting civil society in Ukraine in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on democracy.

This initiative builds on Open Society’s more than three decades of work in Eastern Europe to support human rights organizations, independent journalists, and other civil society groups. The aim of this fund is to join with private foundations, philanthropists big and small, and the private sector to raise $100 million over the duration of the crisis and its inevitably protracted aftermath.

“We have one simple message: we will never abandon Ukraine,” said Alex Soros, deputy chair of the Open Society Foundations. “As Putin tries to wipe the country off the map, we will do all we can for the people of Ukraine. We urge others to step forward and join us.”

“This is a defining moment for open societies,” said Mark Malloch-Brown, president of the Foundations. “Whatever the Kremlin might say, it is clear that what Putin is really afraid of is neither NATO nor nuclear weapons, but a free and flourishing democracy on his doorstep.”

The fund will advance three goals:

Support for Ukrainian civil society: Since 1990, independent Ukrainian organizations have played a vital role in the country’s democratic development—from fighting corruption to defending independent media and the rights of citizens. These groups are the sinew of any healthy democracy. During the current conflict and its aftermath, the fund will continue to support this work—now more critical than ever.
International solidarity with Ukraine: The fund will advance international efforts to defend Ukraine’s freedom and independence, to battle authoritarianism, and to enhance international accountability efforts through credible documentation of war crimes. This will include resources for investigative journalists, artists, and scholars, as well as for research and advocacy groups who speak out for human rights and the rule of law across the region.
Protecting human dignity: As of today, more than one million people have been forced to flee Ukraine, and many more are displaced within the country. Additional unforeseen threats to civilians lie ahead. The fund will support humanitarian aid for those beyond the reach of other relief efforts, as well as bolstering public health work, protecting and welcoming refugees, and eventually post-conflict reconstruction.

“This has been a time of horror in Ukraine,” said Oleksandr Sushko, executive director of our Kyiv-based International Renaissance Foundation. “At the same time, I feel great pride in seeing how Ukraine, Europe, and much of the world are standing against Putin’s aggression. We will keep defending freedom and the pillars of democracy here and across the globe.”

Founded by George Soros, the Open Society Foundations are the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights. Open Society has been working in Ukraine through the International Renaissance Foundation since 1990.

Office of Communications
Open Society Foundations 
212-548-0378
media@opensocietyfoundations.org

March 4, 2022

US Calls for Greater African Support After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

The U.S. government says more African voices are needed to challenge Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This week, most African countries voted in favor of a U.N. resolution condemning the conflict in Ukraine waged by Russia. But experts say African nations will likely say little about the war and protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Speaking to an African journalist online Thursday, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee said Ukrainians need African support.

“The United States believes strongly that African voices matter in the international community, that your voices matter in the global conversation. We believe that it is critical at this moment in time that the entire international community demonstrates unity and speaks with one voice against this aggression and in support of principles, timeless principles. These include sovereignty, territorial integrity, peaceful resolution of disputes, and protection of civilians,” Rhee said.

On Tuesday in the United Nations General Assembly, 141 countries condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine. Eritrea was the only African country that voted against the resolution and 16 countries from the continent abstained.

Kasaija Apuuli, a political science professor at Makerere University, says Africa has many internal problems and cannot engage itself in a foreign issue.

“We always have our internal problems in Africa. I don’t think it will be advisable for us to engage in matters of course, it concerns us in the sense that these are matters that affect international peace and security, but I don’t think Africa can craft a role in for itself in this kind of arrangement, and moreover we do have [the] European Union which is a premier regional organization in Europe which is engaged in the matter. I don’t think [an] African Union intervention will be welcomed,” Apuuli said.

Russia launched an offensive against Ukraine last week, a decision that has the world condemning Russia and calling on it to withdraw its forces. The United States, European countries and others have hit Russia with economic sanctions.

Wale Olosola, an expert in international politics, says Africa won’t take sides in the conflict, but it needs to stand for respect of international law protecting the rights of the states.

“It makes more important sense to continue to shape the discourse and narratives in terms of helping to preserve, helping to promote the framework of the current global order that stresses the need for countries to respect their equal status under international law. The need for, regardless of size, history, political structure or resources, it needs to protect the interests of all states,” she said.

Phee said her government would help manage the war’s economic impact in countries.

“We see the rise of fuel prices, commodity prices, and we know that this disruption is doubly hard given the earlier impact of the COVID pandemic. But we are already engaged in efforts to promote stable energy and commodity prices, working on supply chains, and you saw this week that President Biden joined other international leaders in releasing strategic oil reserves in an effort to manage fuel prices,” Phee said.

The U.S. government has assured the African governments the conflict in Europe will not affect its engagement with the continent.

Source: Voice of America

March 4, 2022

At Least 27 Soldiers Killed in Central Mali Attack

A militant attack on an army base in central Mali on Friday killed at least 27 soldiers and wounded 33 more, the government said.

Seven soldiers are still missing following the attack in the rural commune of Mondoro, which involved car bombs, according to a government statement.

Seventy militants were killed in the military’s response, the statement said, without specifying which militant group was responsible. Affiliates of both al-Qaida and Islamic State are active in central Mali.

Mali has been facing an Islamist insurgency since al-Qaida-linked militants seized its desert north in 2012, forcing former colonial power France to intervene to drive them back the following year.

The militants have since regrouped and seized vast swaths of the Malian countryside, while also expanding into Niger, Burkina Faso and other neighboring countries.

France has maintained thousands of troops across the region since 2013 but announced last month that it would withdraw its forces from Mali as relations with the ruling military junta soured.

Source: Voice of America

March 4, 2022

Russia-Ukraine conflict: 17 African countries abstain from UN vote to condemn Russia invasion

UNITED NATIONS— Seventeen African countries on Wednesday abstained from voting as the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, signalling further international pressure on Moscow.

The UN General Assembly, which was this week sitting under an emergency session, a rare sitting occasioned only by a serious threat to international security, voted to condemn what a motion said was “aggression against Ukraine” following Russia’s February 24 invasion of its neighbour.

The vote, which is mostly politically symbolic but lacks legal strength, means the UN has declared Moscow’s decision a violation of the UN Charter, especially on issues of territorial integrity.

Voted by 141 of the 193 member states of the UN, the vote became only a first in 40 years when the General Assembly has sat and passed a resolution to reprimand a member’s aggression.

Kenya, Ghana, Gabon, Rwanda, Djibouti, Congo, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo voted yes.

Some 35 countries abstained from the vote, including Russia and China, and African states – Burundi, Senegal, South Sudan, South Africa, Uganda, Mali, and Mozambique.

Ethiopia did not take part in the voting, but Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria voted against the resolution.

Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, claimed neutrality was behind his country’s refusal to vote.

“As incoming Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) neutrality is key. Uganda will continue to play a constructive role in the maintenance of peace and security both regionally and globally,” he said.

Though Uganda has not formally stated its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the President’s son and commander of Land Forces suggested that Russia had valid “security” reasons to invade Ukraine.

“The majority of mankind (that are non-white) support Russia’s stand in Ukraine. Putin is absolutely right! When the USSR parked nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba in 1962 the West was ready to blow up the world over it. Now when NATO does the same they expect Russia to do differently?” he tweeted on Feb 28.

The Ukrainian invasion has also raised concerns about the plight of black students caught in the chaos.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his government had established an emergency line, +380934185684, to help stranded foreign students.

“We are working intensively to ensure their safety and speed up their passage. Russia must stop its aggression which affects us all,” he said but did not refer to the claims of racism.

The EU had earlier said its member states were accepting foreign students fleeing the war without condition.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

March 4, 2022

UN: Human Rights Violations in Eritrea Continue Unabated

A report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council Friday finds a lack of progress in the human rights situation in Eritrea.

Investigators said that dissenting voices are being violently and systematically crushed by the government.

U.N. special rapporteur Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker said those most at risk include political opponents, activists, journalists, religious leaders, and draft evaders. He said they are subjected to prolonged arbitrary detention in inhuman and degrading conditions, in some instances amounting to torture.

Babiker said thousands of Eritreans have been arbitrarily detained and held in prison since 1991, stripped of their legal rights.

“Some have died over the years,” Babiker said. “The whereabouts of others remain unknown. I urge this Council to extend the maximum possible pressure on the Eritrean authorities to release all prisoners of conscience. A comprehensive reform of the justice sector is also urgently needed to re-establish the foundations of the rule of law.”

The U.N. investigator says the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia is worsening the already dire situation of forced conscription in Eritrea. Babiker said the government justifies its indefinite extension of the national service as necessary to defend the country against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

The rebel group from Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which borders Eritrea, has been at war with the Ethiopian government since November 2020.

Babiker said the national service program is akin to forced labor and is one of the key sources of human rights violations in the country.

“Conditions for conscripts are extremely harsh, and sexual harassment, severe punishments and inhuman or degrading treatment are common, Babiker said. “The program also has severe impacts on the rights to education and to the decent work of thousands of Eritreans, as well as on their families who cannot survive on the meager pay received by conscripts.”

Babiker said the conditions continue to push thousands of young Eritreans to flee their country every year. He calls on the government to engage in a constructive dialogue to improve human rights in the country.

Ambassador Gerahtu Tesfamicael in Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said his country has been the target of politically motivated resolutions and mandates of the U.N. Human Rights Council for years.

He said this latest report presents unsubstantiated allegations of violations and ignores the positive developments made in areas of social justice and human rights. While his government faces human rights challenges, the ambassador said there is no systematic human rights crisis in the country.

Source: Voice of America