Category: Africa

.com | Gambia’s Barrow flies to Mali for crisis talks

West African leaders flew out of Banjul late on Friday with The Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow, en route to Mali for crisis talks with regional heavyweights in hopes of ending the nation’s political impasse. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari led a three-nation delegation to Banjul earlier in the day, which his foreign minister admitted had not succeeded in getting longtime Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to step down.

Italy expels Tunisian with indirect link to Berlin attacker

Italy says it has expelled a Tunisian who allegedly was in contact with an Islamic State group member with links to the Berlin attacker. The Interior Ministry said Friday that the 32-year-old Tunisian, who was living in Ancona, Italy, praised IS on his Facebook page and was in contact with a fellow Tunisian who is an IS member.

Nigeria should consider asylum for The Gambia’s Jammeh: MPs

Nigeria should consider giving asylum to The Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh as a way of ending the political crisis in his country, lawmakers said on Thursday. A motion passed in the lower chamber House of Representatives gave members’ backing to regional efforts to resolve the dispute, sparked by Jammeh’s refusal to accept election results.

Increasing investment flow gave rise to forex crunch: PM

The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, said that the country’s forex crunch is driven from the increasing investment flow, which has created huge mismatch between the demand and supply for foreign currency. This remark came in the PM’s address made today to the 12th regular session of the House of people Representatives .

Sudanese opposition group says U.S. work to maintain Bashir’s regime

The opposition National Consensus Forces Saturday accused the United States of leading an international plot through the African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki to maintain the regime of President Omer al-Bashir. The alliance of left parties which comprises the Sudanese Communist Party and several small groups rejects the ongoing efforts by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel for a negotiated settlement to end the war and achieve democratic reforms in Sudan.

Carter: Guinea worm disease reported in 3 countries in 2016

Former President Jimmy Carter, who has been working for decades to eradicate Guinea worm disease, says only 25 human cases of the illness were reported worldwide in 2016. When The Carter Center joined the battle to eliminate Guinea worm disease in the mid-1980s, there were about 3.5 million cases in 21 countries, the former president said Wednesday.

Nana Akufo-Addo, another Doyen: A message from JB Danquah

The final countdown to the inauguration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo heralded a new era of hope; a positive change far from the “changing lives, transforming Ghana” mantra touted by losers and schemers of a past government known majorly for chronic deficiency in wisdom, lack of vision, lost mission, and an urgent need to be taught the art of writing speeches given the rules of engagement that allow for quoting others without acknowledgement. After all, English is not a mere language of convenience, but a medium of artistic expressions with flexible borders whose elasticity can be employed depending on the extent of stretch needed to make a point.

5 suicide bombers die, kill 3 near Nigeria’s Maiduguri city

Five suicide bombers trying to infiltrate Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri have died in explosions that killed at least three civilians, police said Monday, blaming Boko Haram Islamic extremists. Sunday night’s blasts occurred more than 10 kilometers apart on the city’s eastern outskirts, deputy superintendent Victor Isuku said.

Tom Hiddleston is criticised for making thank you speech about…

‘No wonder Taylor Swift ended things!’ Tom Hiddleston ridiculed on social media for making thank you speech about South Sudan a plug for his Night Manager miniseries He should have been riding the crest of winning his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, in The Night Manager. But Tom Hiddleston’s thank you speech on Sunday has come under fire after he launched into a tale about visiting South Sudan.

‘We have made mistakes,’ South Africa president tells party

South Africa’s scandal-ridden president said Sunday the ruling party has made “mistakes” and is determined to root out the corruption that is destroying the country’s democracy, as a shaken African National Congress begins looking for a new leader before the next election in 2019. President Jacob Zuma tried to rally the ANC at its 105th anniversary celebration after a year in which the party saw its worst election showing since taking power a generation ago at the end of white minority rule.

Zumaa s ex-wife given boost in South Africa leadership race

The chances of South African President Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, becoming the next leader of the African National Congress were given a boost on Saturday with the endorsement of the ruling party’s women’s division. The ANC will pick a new leader at a conference in December and, given its national dominance since coming to power at the end of apartheid in 1994, the winner is likely to go on to be South Africa’s next president when elections are held in 2019.

West Africa leaders to continue Gambia mediation

West African leaders are still pursuing mediation to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in Gambia where President Yahya Jammeh refused to accept defeat in an election last month, Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said on Saturday. Sirleaf told reporters after a meeting among regional leaders in Ghana’s capital Accra that regional bloc ECOWAS did not yet intend to deploy its standby military force in Gambia.

.com | Mugabe blows $36m on foreign, domestic trips – report

Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe has allegedly grabbed two more properties from a Lebanese businessman, despite the court ordering her to vacate the three houses that she initially seized in a botched $1.3 million diamond ring deal. Cape Town Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 92, reportedly spent at least $36m on foreign and domestic trips in the first 10 months of 2016.

.com | Vrrr pahs continue causing mayhem

One would have thought that drivers of high-performance cars or “vrrr phas”, as Transport Minister Dipuo Peters calls them would behave on the roads this festive season. But it seems the zero-tolerance message failed to reach some speedsters.

Akufo-Addo to be sworn in as Ghana’s new president

Nana Akufo-Addo is to be sworn in as Ghana’s new president on Saturday after beating incumbent leader John Dramani Mahama in elections last month. The 72-year-old former human rights lawyer will take the oath of office at a ceremony in Independence Square in central Accra before more than 6,000 guests and members of the public.

.com | Grace Mugabe ‘grabs more houses’ in $1.3m diamond ring dispute

Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe has allegedly grabbed two more properties from a Lebanese businessman, despite the court ordering her to vacate the three houses that she initially seized in a botched $1.3m diamond ring deal. Harare High Court judge Clement Phiri on December 21 ruled against President Robert Mugabe’s controversial wife after she forcefully took ownership of three properties belonging Lebanese tycoon Jamal Ahmed, and gave her 24 hours to pack her bags and allow Ahmed’s employees to return to the seized houses.

Wike, Ayade pledge support to Nigerian Army, commend gallantry

G overnor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, yesterday pledged his government’s support to the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army towards strengthening the security architecture of the state and its environs, even as Cross River State governor, Professor Ben Ayade, commended the Army for reclaiming all areas previously captured by Boko Haram insurgents in the North East. Governor Wike also advised officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army 6 Division against the politicisation of crime, noting that security was vital to the actualisation of all developmental programmes.

Forex rubbishes N304bn Health budget for 2017

Due to continuous depreciation of Naira to other foreign currencies, stakeholders in the health sector have raised an alarm over inadequate budgetary provision of N304 billion for the Federal Ministry of Health in the 2017 national budget. The stakeholders on the platform of Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PACFAH, disclosed that the proposed health budget was cumulatively lower than that of 2016 due to foreign exchange challenges in the value of naira to the dollar.

Uganda: Gulu District Runs to Museveni Over Debts

Burdened by the several legal battles filed against the district by former employees and service providers over failure to pay outstanding debts, indebted Gulu District Local Government leaders have resolved to petition President Museveni to come to their rescue. During the fourth full council meeting at the District Council Hall on Thursday, councillors unanimously resolved to meet President Museveni for a possible bail out.

Ethiopia: Court Sentences 20 on Terror Charges

The federal High Court 19th criminal bench has today sentenced19 defendants under the file name of the first defendant Kedir Moahmmed Yusuf to five years a six months each while one defendant in the same file was sentenced to four years and five months. On Dec. 21 2016 the federal court found all the 20 defendants guilty of terrorism related charges and violating the country’s penal code.

a A timeline of DRC’s chase for democracy

Power play: Violence erupted over President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to hold elections and step down. Photo: Eduardo Soteras/AFP Hopes are high that a landmark power-sharing deal between Democratic Republic of Congo’s political opponents will bring an end to a crisis two years in the making.

How Manx money is helping Zimbabwe

Congratulations, you’re now registered! Let us know what news and updates you want to hear about and we’ll send them straight to your inbox. Christian Aid regional co-ordinator Louise Whitelegg travelled across Zimbabwe in December on a self-funded trip to see for herself a number of the projects funded by the charity and the Manx government’s International Development Committee.

Non-OPEC Voluntary Cuts Unraveling Before They Even Start

With much fanfare, OPEC held a press conference on December 10th at its headquarters in Vienna to announce that an agreement had been made with various non-OPEC producers: Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and Republic of South Sudan commit to reduce their respective oil production, voluntarily or through managed decline, in accordance with an accelerated schedule. The combined reduction target was agreed at 558,000 barrels a day for the aforementioned producers.”

Penis-Proud Former Energy CEO With Ties To Platinum Partners Pleads Guilty To Tax Fraud

Well, the the wacky Aussie with a proclivity for pulling his pecker out at the dinner table and a very intriguing link to Platinum Partners seems to have found himself in another pickle . The former chief executive officer of a company linked to troubled hedge fund manager Platinum Partners was convicted of criminal tax fraud on Wednesday, New York’s attorney general said in a statement.

Citi FM’s Hello Kigali trip attracts dozens of private businesses

The Hello Kigali Trip, involving Citi FM and private sector delegation, is to expose businesses to a first-hand experience of how a country with a recent genocide history, has turned around its story making it an investment hub within sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the impact of Rwanda’s genocide story on the country’s political and socio-economic fundamentals, major reforms have made it one of the most sought after economies in Africa and around the globe.