Europe By Erinn Kerr BBC News NI 16 December 2018 Share this with Facebook Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share this with Email Share this with Facebook Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share Share this with These are external links and will open in a new window Email Share this with Email Facebook Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Messenger Messenger Share this with Messenger Twitter Share this with Twitter Pinterest Share this with Pinterest WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp LinkedIn Share this with LinkedIn Copy this link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46565564 Read more about sharing. These are external links and will open in a new window Close share panel A family from Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland are facing Christmas without their father after he was … [Read more...] about Dad of six deported to South Africa
Africa
Looking out for West Africa’s migrant children
Jacques wanted to start working when he was 10. His father refused so he left his home in Tema, Ghana, to live in nearby Benin, like many young children in search of a better life. "I got on a bus to Cotonou sticking to a lady as if I were her son," says the relaxed young man, as if travelling several hundred kilometres alone at such a young age was no big deal -- even if it was to his mother's native country. Seven years later, Jacques is living in the cosmopolitan but down-at-heel neighbourhood of Placodji in Cotonou, where he has trained as a cook. He is considering another move east to Nigeria, the economic giant of West Africa. Josephine, a 16-year-old girl from Togo, left Nigeria in February. She had lived there since she was a child with her mother, who remarried a man from the town of Badagry, near the border with Benin. But the teenager decided to leave Africa's most populous country of 190 million people to live in Seme-Krake, Benin. "If I've got a job I can take care of … [Read more...] about Looking out for West Africa’s migrant children
Pitbull covered Toto’s classic song Africa and the internet has opinions
American rapper Pitbull has recorded a cover version of Toto’s classic ballad Africa, to the bemusement of hundreds of listeners online.The cover, titled Ocean To Ocean, features on the soundtrack to new Marvel move Aquaman and is believed to be a reference to the film’s water-based hero and Pitbull’s regular claim to be “Mr Worldwide”.Why Africa was chosen as the musical basis remains unclear, although some online comments have suggested the chorus lyric about “rains in Africa” could be a tenuous link back to the film.Rather than covering the original word for word and note for note, Pitbull finishes the song in less than three minutes, delivering three rapped verses between rushed choruses by singer Rhea.“I’m the living Great Gatsby” Pitbull says at one point, referencing the story of a conman and criminal who tricks those around him into believing he is wealthy.While the original reached number one in the US and number … [Read more...] about Pitbull covered Toto’s classic song Africa and the internet has opinions
Pitbull reimagines Toto’s ‘Africa’ as a rap song in ‘Aquaman’
Carly Mallenbaum USA TODAY Published 10:02 PM EST Dec 14, 2018 Mr. Worldwide has blessed the rains down in Africa, which is either a blessing or a curse for us all. It depends on how you feel about cringe-worthy rap songs. In a track on the new "Aquaman" soundtrack, Pitbull re-imagine's Toto's delightfully-cheesy song "Africa." Compared to the original, the new song has instrumentation that's similar, a beat that's faster, a name that's sillier, singing that's louder and a heart that's blacker. On "Ocean to Ocean," Pitbull shares a message of, um, water and overcoming obstacles (?) with what seem like off-topic references to Banksy, "The Great Gatsby" and Tupac. He spits rhymes like: "From ocean to ocean, sea to sea. I'm something that you gotta see." Singer Rhea belts the hook. And everyone listening busts out laughing. Or crying. Those seem the only appropriate reactions to the reworking of a beloved 1982 classic that was also just covered by Weezer … [Read more...] about Pitbull reimagines Toto’s ‘Africa’ as a rap song in ‘Aquaman’
New Africa Strategy Pits US Against China, Russia
The United States unveiled a new Africa strategy Thursday designed to prioritize American interests and challenge efforts by China and Russia to develop economic, political and security partnerships across the continent. In prepared remarks, National Security Adviser John Bolton outlined a three-part policy that largely continues the United States’ existing approach to its military, trade and aid initiatives in Africa. What’s new is a more explicit commitment to pursuing programs that unambiguously advance U.S. interests, and an emphatic desire to prevent Beijing and Moscow from making moves in Africa unchallenged. The result is a strategy that emphasizes American needs and bilateral relationships, while downplaying African concerns, Jennifer Cooke, the director of George Washington University’s Institute for African Studies, told VOA. “This sounds like a real return to the policies of realpolitik during the Cold War, when allies were based on their opposition … [Read more...] about New Africa Strategy Pits US Against China, Russia