Around the World
US to stop issuing visa for Birth Tourism
The United States of America (USA) has announced its new visa rules which are aimed at restricting birth tourism in the country.
The United States of America (USA) has announced its new visa rule that restricts birth tourism in the country.
According to the new rule, foreign pregnant women, including those from Nigeria, who visit the country with the aim of giving birth so that their children can have American citizenship, will no longer be offered visas.
The announcement came in a statement released by Stephanie Grisham, the White House Press Secretary. She stated that the rule, which has been sent to the US Embassies around the world, would take effect from January 24.
“The state department would no longer be issuing temporary visitor (B-1/B-2) visas to aliens seeking to enter the United States for birth tourism – the practice of travelling to the United States to secure automatic and permanent citizenship for their children by giving birth on American soil. The rule change is necessary to enhance public safety, national security and the integrity of our immigration system.
“The birth tourism industry threatens to overburden valuable hospital resources and is rife with criminal activity, as reflected in federal prosecution. closing this glaring immigration loophole will combat these endemic abuses and ultimately protect the United States from the national security risks created by this practice.
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“It will also defend American taxpayers from having their hard-earned dollars siphoned away to finance the direct and downstream costs associated with birth tourism. The integrity of American citizenship must be protected,” the statement read.
What you should know: The US President, Donald Trump has made restricting immigration his utmost concern since the start of his administration. He has often threatened to put a stop to birthright citizenship in the past even when members of his administration warned him against such decision.
Birth tourism is a business where companies offer foreign women the chance to go to the U.S. on a tourist visa, have a baby, get medical care, get citizenship and then leave. There are also women who enter the U.S. illegally to give birth. Trump and his members refer to such babies as anchor babies.
Why this matters: With this rule, Nigerian women fond of using pregnancy to travel abroad, solely to give birth would now be turned down. Nigeria is number three on birth tourism list in the United States after Russia and China.
On Tuesday, the US announced its plans to impose fresh visa restrictions on countries, including Nigeria as reported on Nairametrics.
Around the World
Air Peace to evacuate stranded Indians from Lagos to Kerala
A list of the passengers to be attended to has already been given and the flight shall depart Lagos on May 30, 2020, to Cochin Airport, Kerala.
The management of Air Peace Nigeria has been contacted by the Indian High Commission in Nigeria to undertake the evacuation of stranded Indian nationals to Kerala, India. This was disclosed by the airline via its Twitter handle.
The airline explained that a list of passengers that would be attended to have been released and it has started reaching out to the Indians on Saturday.
It stated, “A list of the passengers to be attended to has already been given to us and we have commenced reaching out to them. The flight shall depart Lagos on May 30, 2020, to Cochin Airport, Kerala.”
The flight is not free anyway. According to the airline, payments are expected immediately and they are Economy is $1.300 and Business class is tag $1,700. “You are equally allowed to pay in Naira at N460/$,” it added.
PUBLIC NOTICE (23-05-2020) pic.twitter.com/bn0xNxnRmO
— Air Peace (@flyairpeace) May 23, 2020
However, some Indians in Nigeria has reacted with mixed feelings to the development on Twitter. While some were ready to join the flight back home, others called for the refund of ticket fare booked a week ago.
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For instance, Jayant Khamesra requested for the refund ticket fare of N568, 100, which he paid for a flight from Lagos to Delhi.
He said, “Please refund ticket fare P47812 LAGOS to DELHI. No show by Air Peace and it is been 1 week now, there has been no refund or confirmation of the same. Reference ALHN79 amount N568,100. I am sure a good world-class carrier like Air Peace won’t delay refunds purposely. Please act fast.
Pls refund ticket fare P47812 LAGOS to DELHI – NO SHOW by AirPeace and it’s been 1 week now —- there has been no refund or confirmation of the same. Reference ALHN79 Amount 568100 NGN. Am sure a good world class carrier like AIRPEACE won’t delay refunds purposely. Pls act fast
— Jayant Khamesra (@JKhamesra) May 23, 2020
Around the World
Reports: China may defer loans owed by Nigeria and others
The Chinese have always done their lending on the idea that individual projects contribute to structural transformation and economic development.
Africa has been the delight of most foreign investors and they have been taken advantage of several opportunities especially foreign portfolio investments. But when it comes to debt one country ranks top in Africa.
China is at the fore of Africa’s debt drive, making the Asian nation Africa’s largest bilateral creditor, as it has given the continent loan worth $152 billion in 18 years (between 2000 and 2018.)
With such huge loan, a lot of critics are concerned over how feasible it would be for African nations to refund the credit with the advent of Coronavirus, which has eaten deep into the fabrics of the nations.
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Head, China Africa Research Initiative, Johns Hopkins University, Deborah Brautigam, explained that in a Bloomberg article that it is likely for China to agree to delay but not forgive its $152 billion of loans, an approach at odds with prior forbearance plans from groups including the Paris Club. Her reason:
“The Chinese have always done their lending on the idea that individual projects contribute to structural transformation and economic development. Those projects might be good projects and viable projects to get countries to a new stage where they might be in a position to repay the loans.”
The $152 billion loans: The loans include facilities made between 2000 and 2018. While many have been repaid on schedule, she explained that it shows how much China’s lending has grown in Africa amid a push for political and economic clout through an overseas infrastructure investment plan, which was started by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
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China will also provide $2 billion over two years to support the fight against the pandemic, especially in developing countries, Xi said in a speech to the World Health Assembly.
“The good news is that China is typically willing to negotiate payment extensions. Usually, it’s not that difficult to lengthen the payment period or lengthen the maturity of loans. China has backed the G-20 plan, although it hasn’t participated in previous global debt relief initiatives. All told, according to IIF data, China’s outstanding debt claims reached $5.5 trillion last year,” she added.
Nigeria owes China about $3.1 billion more than 10% of the $27.6 billion external debt stock. Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed in February that the Federal Government decided to go for a $17 billion loans from China as the World Bank and the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) failed to show much interest in Nigeria during the recession.
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The minister explained that the global lender, AfDB, and other lending institutions failed to show much interest in the nation during the recession period, which lasted for a year, as this made it requested the loan from the China-Exim Bank.
She disclosed to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Loans that 70% of the loan, which is about $17 billion, would come from the China-Exim Bank as Nigeria is in need of $22.8 billion to balance the $29.96 billion loan request. Meanwhile, the remaining loan would be sourced from other lending institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank.
Around the World
Africa’s richest woman claims decision to freeze her assets was based on “fake passport”
As Nairametrics reported in January, Africa’s richest woman’ assets were frozen following allegations that she embezzled over $1 billion from Angola’s diamond marketing firm, Sodiam, as well as from Sonangol.
Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, is still fighting hard to exonerate herself and reclaim her assets which were frozen earlier this year by the Angolan Government. In her latest defence, she claimed that the probe against her was based on a fake passport that was signed by late popular Hollywood actor, Bruce Lee.
In a statement that was made available to the press yesterday, the embattled businesswoman explained that the Luanda Civil court and a magistrate of the Supreme Court, accepted the fake passport as evidence. It was based on that that a court order was given to freeze her assets.
The cornerstone document used as evidence in a global attempt to freeze my Angolan and Portuguese assets was a forgery – a fake passport signed by Bruce Lee. Here is my statement, issued today: Link : https://t.co/hlCFFHoDwh
— Isabel Dos Santos (@isabelaangola) May 12, 2020
“The Angolan state used the fabricated evidence in an exparte court claims – meaning Ms dos Santos and her lawyers were not present to contest the allegations. The forged evidence was relevant and material in supporting the case.
“The Angolan Prosecutor went to the Luanda Civil Court and a magistrate of the Supreme Court in order to obtain the judgements, based on this fraudulent procedure. Those judgements were automatically enforced in Portugal without review by the Portuguese judiciary, a result of a convention between Portuguese speaking countries and judicial treaty,” the statement said in parts.
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Apparently, dos Santos and her lawyers were only granted access to the court documents and evidence by the end of May. It was then that they came across the fake passport.
The facts and images speak for themselves. The truth today comes to light about the fraudulent court process and freezing order, based on forged evidence and fake documents. There are no arguments against facts. A “False Passport” was used and accepted by the Court as being mine. pic.twitter.com/kpik3sO2GL
— Isabel Dos Santos (@isabelaangola) May 12, 2020
Based on the latest revelations, Nairametrics understands that an internet fraudster posing as a representative of Isabel dos Santos had entered into talks with a Japanese company named Synapse Corporation Inc. The fraudster had sent the fake passport of dos Santos to the Japanese and even made a loan offer. Prosecutors used these as evidence that dos Santos was tryingto negotiate the sale of her stakes in Unitel in order for her to flee from Angola.
READ ALSO: 3 things critics of Dangote won’t like about Dangote Cement’s latest results.
An entirely fake transaction was concocted, a false passport sent by Angolan Embassy in Japan was authenticated by the angolan Intelligence Services and used by the Attorney General In Court.The judge awardede a Freezing order based on the fake passport as proof. pic.twitter.com/BXPMbU7SPl
— Isabel Dos Santos (@isabelaangola) May 12, 2020
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As Nairametrics reported in January, Africa’s richest woman’ assets were frozen following allegations that she embezzled over $1 billion from Angola’s diamond marketing firm, Sodiam, as well as from Sonangol. Isabel dos Santos, who was Chairwoman of Sonangol for some years, had immediately denied the allegation.
