Sir Keir Starmer, New UK Prime Minister's First Speech at 10 Downing Street on July 5, 2024

From the beginning of the year 2024  to the days leading to July 2024, across the  World, general elections have been held.  In most countries, people are expecting changes, while in some, the situation has not improved and tough days may be coming. AfroAmerica Network has focused on a few elections held or planned in 2024. Controversial elections  in Rwanda and UK were scheduled for July 2024.   Now, during in the July 4,  2024 general elections, the Conservative party has suffered a major defeat. The Labour party had a landslide victory after the votes counts on  July 5, 2024 with  412 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons and  Sir Keir Starmer has become the UK's new Prime Minister. On his first day as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that the Rwanda deportation scheme was "dead and buried."

Paul Kagame and Wife Jeannette in Kigali in February 8, 2023

On Thursday February 1, 2024, US President Joe Biden and top U.S. leaders gathered in Washington DC, for the National Prayer Breakfast. The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual event attended by leaders from the government institutions, including the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Judiciary system, and the government. The event was organized by the nonprofit National Prayer Breakfast Foundation and is open to all faiths. As the event was happening,  a new drama involving the Rwandan dictator General Paul Kagame unfolded and has fueled unanswered questions and speculations about his waning relevance  as a political leader and about the power struggles in Rwanda.  His speech has raised  concerns about whether he is the president of an oligarchy of Tutsis or the president of a unified and reconciled nation that includes Hutus, Tutsis, and Twas.

Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye sworn in on June 18, 2020

On January 11, 2024, the government of Burundi closed its borders with Rwanda after accusing its neighbour of funding  the attacks by Red Tabara, a burundian militia allegedly founded, funded, and reinforced by Rwandan Defense Forces. The border closing comes as tensions between Rwanda on one side and DRC and  Burundi, on the other, have been rising, with the possibility of a regional war including EAC and SADC countries.

Elon Musk and Mansa Musa

Africa is largely believed to be the birth place of the humanity, the area where anatomically modern humans appeared, around 200,000 years ago. Now, a new fact often overlooked  has appeared in the last months:  Africa is the home and origin of the two richest people in the World, historically and today. The two people are  Mansa Musa, the late Emperor of the West African empire of Mali and the current CEO of Tesla, Elon Reeve Musk, from South Africa. Mansa Musa is the wealthiest person in the  World history, while Elon Reeve Musk is the wealthiest person in the World, today.

African continent ranked at the bottom with the unhappiest countries

The 2021 annual report published by the World Happiness Report is out. Without surprise, the top happiest countries as of 2022 remain the same, as those in the 2020 annual report published in 2021.  At the same time, the list of the most unhappiest countries has slightly changed.  The lists are widely reliable as The World Happiness Report uses rigourous statistical methods on Gallup polling data to come up with the results. The top 5 happiest countries are:  Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, and Netherlands. The three worst,  unhappiest countries are Afganistan, Zimbabwe and Rwanda. These three countries were the worst even in 2020 report. The question now is: what is unique among the top happiest and in the worst unhappiest countries. 

US -Africa Summit convened by US President Barack Obama, 2014

The 2021 Summit for Democracy will be virtually held by US President Joe Biden on Thursday and Friday,  December 9 and 10, 2021. The virtual event will focus on  President Joe Biden's campaign pledge of  “renewing democracy in the United States and around the world”.  The invited guests are presidents of countries considered to  having built solid democratic foundations or leaders of countries cleary on the path to solidifying democratic institutions.  Among the uninvited leaders are the known brutal dictators in Africa. The questions now are about what will be the implicatiions of the Summit on the countries not invited,  now considered to be led by dictatorships.