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Faye: 15 Things To Know About 44-year-old Senegal’s President

Published

2 years ago

March 26, 2024

Bassirou Diomaye Faye has emerged as Senegal’s President-elect after an unprecedented victory at the presidential election on Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Provisional results showed the opposition candidate, Faye had about 53.7%, while former Prime Minister and ruling coalition’s candidate, Amadou Ba, secured 36.2% based on tallies from 90% of polling stations in the first-round vote, according to the electoral commission.

Giving his first acceptance speech, Faye said, “In electing me, the Senegalese people have decided on a break with a past. I promise to govern with humility and transparency.”

Both incumbent President Macky Sall and his anointed candidate, Ba have congratulated Faye.

Faye, the 44-year-old politician is set to become the fifth President of Senegal on April 2, 2024, when he will be sworn in.

Here are 15 amazing things to know about Faye:

1. Faye was born on 25 March 1980 in Ndiaganiao in the western department of M’Bour, Thies, Senegal.

2. He was the former General-Secretary of the dissolved political party, PASTEF, (Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l’éthique et la fraternité), meaning the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity, founded in 2014 by Ousmane Sonko.

3. In 2000, Faye earned his baccalaureate and successfully attained a master’s degree in law and subsequently cleared both competitive exams, enrolling at the National School of Administration (ENA) and the magistracy in 2004.

4. After graduation, he became a tax inspector in the Tax and Estates department, where he met Sonko, a fellow alum from the same school.

5. Faye and Sonko‘s friendship grew closer in 2014, in the Taxes and Estates Union, created by Sonko, and at this time, Faye campaigned to facilitate homeownership for tax and property agents.

6. Sonko, PASTEF leader and Senegal’s main opposition leader endorsed Faye as a presidential candidate in November 2023, following uncertainty over the possibility of Sonko contesting, despite the dissolution of PASTEF several months earlier.

7. Faye spent more than 11 months in prison for a Facebook post that authorities deemed subversive, and regained freedom just 10 days before the presidential election, and still won.

8. Following his endorsement by Sonko, on 15 March 2024, a day after his release from jail, Faye gathered hundreds of supporters at his first public appearance as a presidential contender.

9. Former President Abdoulaye Wade and his Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) endorsed Faye on the same day, in a boost to his chances of winning the election.

10. During the presidential campaign, Faye promised to create jobs, campaigned strongly against corruption, and vowed to reexamine energy contracts, running under the slogan “Diomaye mooy Ousmane”, which means “Diomaye is Ousmane” in Wolof, as he hoped Sonko’s charisma and popular would appeal to Senegal’s youth for his victory at the pools.

11. He was one of Sonko’s trusted allies and personal friends and also became popular with Senegalese youths who desired a breakaway from Sall’s government.

12. On April 14, 2023, Faye was apprehended as he exited his tax and property office on Rue de Thiong in Dakar, and was consequently placed under police custody for charges including “spreading false news, contempt of court, and defamation of a constituted body” following a social media post he made.

14. When Faye, Sonko, and others were released from prison by incumbent President Macky Sall on 14 March, days before the election, Faye began campaigns including vows to fight the “French economic stranglehold” over Senegal.

15. Faye is a tax inspector and lawyer by profession, and has two wives – Marie Khone and Absa, with four children.
VANGUARD

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‘Pioneer Of Cable TV News’: Key Facts About CNN Founder, Ted Turner

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

Ted Turner, the media businessman who founded CNN died at the age of 87. He died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by family, according to Turner Enterprises.

Contents

Launched 24-hour news television

Built a media network

Expanded through sports

Recognition and influence

Philanthropy and global causes

Environmental efforts

Health and later years

Early career path

Leadership and legacy

Personal life

Exit from business

Family

Below are key facts about his life and impact:

Launched 24-hour news television

Turner founded CNN on June 1, 1980, introducing the first 24-hour news channel and changing how audiences follow global events.

Built a media network

He moved from billboards into broadcasting, turning an Atlanta TV station into a national superstation in 1976. His business later grew to include CNN International, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network.

Expanded through sports

Turner invested in sports broadcasting and owned teams including the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, using television to reach wider audiences.

Recognition and influence

In 1991, he was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for his role in shaping modern news coverage.

Philanthropy and global causes

He founded the United Nations Foundation and supported campaigns against nuclear weapons. In 1997, he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations.

Turner supported conservation work, including reintroducing bison in the United States, and backed environmental education through the “Captain Planet” cartoon.

Health and later years

In 2018, Turner revealed he had Lewy body dementia. He also recovered from a mild case of pneumonia in early 2025.

Early career path

He took over his father’s billboard company at 24 after his father’s death and later expanded into radio and television, despite limited experience in journalism.

“I worked until 7 o’clock, and when I got home the news was over,” he once said. “So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.”

Leadership and legacy

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

Personal life

Turner married actress Jane Fonda in 1991, and they later divorced after 10 years, though they remained close.

“I would never love anyone like I love him,” she said. “But I just couldn’t keep moving in his world, along the surface for the rest of my life. I knew that I would get to the end of my life and regret not doing the things that I also needed to do for me.”

Exit from business

He sold his company to Time Warner in 1996 and later stepped away following its merger with AOL.

Reflecting on his life, Turner once said: “I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.”

Family

He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Headline

Iran’s Nationwide Internet Shutdown Hits 70 Days

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

NetBlocks, a monitoring group, has disclosed that an internet shutdown enforced by the Iranian regime has entered its 70th day, severing key access from swathes of the population under the shadow of war.

NetBlocks reported on Friday that the blackout has now surpassed 1,656 hours, marking more than two months since US-Israeli strikes pounded Tehran and escalated across the Middle East.

“Digital connectivity is vital in times of crisis,” NetBlocks said in a post on X. “Limiting service harms those most in need – people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public.”

According to CNN, Iran imposed a separate internet shutdown on the country’s 92 million people earlier this year, when it launched the most lethal crackdown on anti-government protesters since the Islamic Republic’s founding 47 years ago.

CNN further reports that the latest blackout has cut off another potential lifeline for Iranian residents faced with high unemployment and economic pressure exacerbated by the US-Israeli campaign.

(CNN)

Headline

Gas Prices In US Edge Down After Two Weeks Of Increases

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

The cost of a gallon of regular gas in the United States (US) has edged down a little more than a penny to $4.55.

According to AAA’s readings, this marks the first decline in the average gas price after 15 straight days of increases.

The decline is minuscule compared to the large increases in gas prices over the last two weeks.

According to CNN, gasoline costs rose an average of nearly 4 cents a day during that period and had several daily increases of between 7 and 9 cents.

Also Read: Trump insists US-Iran ceasefire intact despite recent exchange of fire

CNN also reports that based on past gas spikes, it will likely take weeks for gas prices to get down below $4 a gallon.

The report, however, states that a previous two-week stretch of gas price declines only shaved 14 cents off the average price, taking the average price to $4.02, before the recent 15-day run of increases.

According to CNN, it could take months for the average price to fall below $3 per gallon, as it did before the war in Iran.

CNN further reports that only one state – Oklahoma – now has an average price of less than $4 a gallon, and its average stands at $3.98. California has the highest average price at $6.16.

(CNN)