Burna Boy gave a politically charged performance at the BET Hip Hop Awards, Kim Kardashian slammed for time deaf party, Barcelona president resigns. Stay in the know with our Rave News Digest which summarizes five of the hottest global news you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala WTO.
Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been voted as the new head of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She secured 104 out of 164 votes beating South Korea’s Yoo Myung-Hee to become the first African and first female to head the World Trade Organization. Member countries in the European Union and ECOWAS all endorsed her candidacy. The global trade organization now has its first female director-general in its 25-year history.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will succeed Brazilian Roberto Azevedo at the WTO had previously served as Nigeria’s finance minister on two occasions and once as a foreign affairs minister. She also served as former managing director of the World Bank and as a chairperson at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.
UPDATE: The United States has told a meeting of the World Trade Organization that it does not back Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next WTO leader, despite cross-regional support for her. The move could undermine the global trade body as it seeks to select a successor. The decision to propose the next head requires a consensus among the 164 WTO members, meaning any of them could block her appointment.
Here is a rundown of five of the hottest news topics…
1. Burna Boy gave a politically charged performance at the BET Hip Hop awards
Last night at the 15th annual BET Hip Hop Awards, Nigerian artist Burna Boy gave a politically-charged performance of “Monsters You Made,” his single with Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Burna Boy was backed by a full band while Martin sang his parts remotely.
During the performance for the BET awards, Burna Boy sang in front of protest footage while his band wore shirts that read #StopPoliceBrutality. As the song ended, Burna Boy once again called for an end to police brutality and stood with his associates as they held their fists in the air. The performance was followed by a list of innocent Nigerians killed by SARS.
2. Kim Kardashian slammed for ‘tone-deaf’ 40th birthday do-over
Reality TV star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian faced a backlash on Tuesday after chartering a private jet to fly her entourage to a remote tropical island for a lavish 40th birthday celebrations during the coronavirus pandemic. Kardashian and her “closest inner circle” spent last week dancing, kayaking, and swimming with whales on a private isle where they could “pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time,” she tweeted.
The glamorous festivities were immediately condemned as “disgustingly tone deaf” by social media users at a time when coronavirus has killed more than 226,000 Americans. Kardashian said her guests had been asked to quarantine for two weeks before departure and had undergone multiple “health screens.”
3. South Africa: AKA rants about Reebok again
South African rapper AKA seems to still have a grudge against apparel and footwear retailer Reebok. It was reported last week that Adidas was preparing for the sale of the Reebok brand. AKA’s collaboration with the brand was mentioned in the report and the rapper didn’t take it lightly.
Taking to his Twitter page on Monday, AKA kicked his rant off by posting a screenshot of the article with the caption “interesting.” Replying to a Twitter user who said that Reebok isn’t doing well, the “Fela In Versace” rapper replied: “Shame. They should have let me design my own range and give me royalties. Maybe they wouldn’t be in the shitter.”
Earlier this year, AKA accused Reebok of not paying him any remuneration for his SneAKA collaboration. The SneAKA range was launched in October 2019 and with only 600 pairs available, the long-awaited limited edition collaborative sneaker sold out in just 10 minutes via Reebok’s online store.
4. Ghana: Government to buy Airtel Tigo as Bharti Airtel exits
Bharti Airtel’s board has cleared the sale of its Ghana joint venture – Airtel Tigo – to the Ghana government. It is taking an impairment charge of about $25million for the transaction. It was gathered that the plan for Bharti Airtel’s exit has been in the pipeline for some time now.
The proposed deal would result in the government of Ghana acquiring 100% shares of Airtel Ghana Limited, also known as AirtelTigo, along with all its customers, assets, and agreed liabilities.
5. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigns
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has resigned under increasing pressure but said he had accepted proposals for the club to join a European Super League. Fans had been trying to remove Bartomeu, who became president in 2014 and had fallen out with Lionel Messi. He stood down on Tuesday, along with the entire board of directors. In a leaving speech, Bartomeu said Barca had begun proceedings to join a Super League to help its financial future.
Bartomeu was due to step down in March, having served the maximum two terms as president, but was facing a vote of no confidence. More than 20,000 club members signed a motion to remove him. Resentment had grown against his leadership over the past year because of worsening finances and Barca’s decline on the pitch and their failure to win a trophy last season.
Our Week Day News Digest brings you a summary of five of the hottest news topics across the world, including celebrity news from Hollywood to Nollywood, the latest trending global headlines, the Nigerian news today, top African news, and sports stories. 2020
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