Money – Sector.Africa

Congress Put the Brakes on Cuba Relief to Protect Front-Line Democrat

August 7, 2020August 7, 2020 Sector.Africa AdministratorBank, Banks, Coal, College, Coronavirus, Cuba, Democrats, Disease, Economy, Florida, Health, Health care, IG, Illinois, Law, Lawyers, Life, Medical equipment, Medicine, Money, Organizations, Pandemic, president, Tourism, Trump, Trump administration, Virus0 comment

several House Democrats quietly killed an attempt to roll back aspects of the Trump administration’s sanctions on Cuba, which have exacerbated the economic fallout of the pandemic and hit the country with severe food and medicine shortages to protect a front-line Democrat. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill had proposed two Cuba-related amendments to the appropriations bill, aimed at alleviating the Trump administration’s efforts to strangle the country’s economy and returning to Obama-era policy. One of the measures would have prohibited officials from blocking food and medicine exports to Cuba, while the…

North America

How Costa Rica Slowed, Stopped, Then Reversed Deforestation in Their Rainforests

August 5, 2020 Sector.Africa AdministratorAgriculture, Business, climate change, Culture, Deforestation, Energy, Farm, Forestry, IG, Lima, Money, Rainforest, Tourism, Tropical agriculture, UN0 comment

In the 1970s and 80s, Costa Rica had the highest deforestation rates in Latin America but the next few decades saw the country halt her forest loss, initiate replanting and conservation efforts, and regrow almost all of her lost tree cover. Their methods have set up the most successful forest management model on earth. Leading the way in the fight against human-accelerated climate change, Costa Rica’s success story of sustainable forestry was strengthened by a simple strategy of valuing forests by paying for their restoration, through their Payment for Environmental…

Oil and Gas

Nigeria in $1.5 billion oil prepay deal with traders Vitol, Matrix

August 1, 2020 Sector.Africa AdministratorAfrica, Bank, Banks, Barrel, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Finance, Loans, Lockdown, Money, Niger, Nigeria, NIgerian, OPEC, Over, package, Pandemic, Port Harcourt, project, Standard Chartered, Trade, UN, Virus0 comment

Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC has signed a $1.5 billion prepayment deal led by Standard Chartered and backed by oil traders Vitol Group and Matrix Energy, two sources close to the matter said, the first such agreement since the coronavirus pandemic. The deal provides OPEC-member Nigeria with much-needed cash after its finances were hit by the oil price crash in April as COVID-19 lockdowns erased nearly one third of global oil demand. The financing package called Project Eagle was also backed by African Export Import Bank (Afrexim) and United Bank…

Financial Services

Niger Delta Ministry Ex-finance Director Sentenced To Prison For Embezzling N60m

July 31, 2020 Sector.Africa AdministratorAbuja, Bank, Central bank, Central Bank Of Nigeria, COVID-19, Crime, Delta, Federal Capital Territory, Fence, Finance, Government, IG, Law, Money, Niger, Nigeria, Over, Oyo State, Prison, project0 comment

A former Director of Finance of the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, Mr Ayinla Abibu, has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment for embezzling N60m belonging to the government. Hon Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, who presided over the case, also ordered the forfeiture of two plots of land in Kubwa and Bwari in Abuja. Abibu was arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission for embezzling the money through the use of a front company, Zeocat Nigeria Limited, in March 2014. The ICPC…

Covid19 North America

Canada backtracks on travel ban exemption for international students

July 31, 2020 Sector.Africa AdministratorCanada, College, Government, Health, India, International relations, International student, internet, Labor, Money, Quarantine, Safe, Safety, Student, students, Travel, UN, Website, who0 comment

Earlier this year, Canada announced that international students would be exempt from a travel ban as long as they had a valid study permit or had been approved for a study permit prior to March 18, 2020. “Seeking entry for the purpose of studying in Canada would generally be considered discretionary/optional” However, these rules have now changed, with the Canadian government now saying that students who had a study permit prior to March 18 will only be exempt from the travel restrictions if they travel for a ‘non-discretionary or non-optional’…