Category: Africa

Africa: WHO Supporting South African Consortium to Establish First COVID mRNA Vaccine echnology transfer hub

Geneva/Johannesburg/Paris: Geneva/Johannesburg/Paris — The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners are working with a South African consortium comprising Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish its first COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub. The move follows WHO’s global  call

Africa: Tackling Illicit Financial Flows, a Matter of Survival for Africa’s Development

Addressing IFFs requires tackling imbalance in the international financial and trade systems, and confronting weak institutions According to the Economic Development in Africa Report 2020 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Africa loses about US$88.6 billion, 3.7 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), annually in illicit financial flows. The High-Level

AFRICA : Algeria forges ahead of Morocco and Mauritania in race for African Union education post

The news came as an unpleasant shock to the Mauritanian and Moroccan embassies in Addis Ababa: none of their candidates Source link

Africa: Third Wave of Covid Hits Africa

The rate of coronavirus cases is rising in many parts of Africa, where governments face alarming shortages of funds and vaccines. German Development Minister Gerd Müller is getting a closer look. German Development Minister Gerd Müller’s first stop on his weeklong tour of West Africa trip was Lome, the capital of the small country of

Africa: Reuters’ Hot List of Climate Scientists Is Geographically Skewed – Why This Matters

The Reuters Hot List of “the world’s top climate scientists” is causing a buzz in the climate change community. Reuters ranked these 1,000 scientists based on three criteria: the number of papers published on climate change topics; citations, relative to other papers in the same field; and references by the non-peer reviewed press (for example

Africa: Nigeria-South Africa Trade Hits U.S.$2.9 Billion

The volume of trade between Nigeria and South Africa hit $2.9 billion last year with expectation of it rising further with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. Nigeria’s Consul General, Malik Abdul, in a statement noted that Nigeria accounts for 64 per cent of South Africa’s trade in West Africa and is one

GHANA : France's Zodiac Milpro signs four-vessel contract with navy

The French manufacturer Zodiac Milpro has signed a contract with Accra to deliver a batch of four nine-metre long launches to the Ghana Navy. Source link

Africa: How African Union Members Came to Share Power Despite Themselves

The African Union (AU) held its first summit in 2002, establishing itself as a new international organisation. It also launched a new vision for African security cooperation. Nearly two decades later, it is worth reflecting on the process that produced that vision. It may have something to teach us about international negotiations. The vision is

Africa: Cogent, the Largest Supplier of Internet Transit to Africa, Seeks to Expand Its Presence in Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria

London — Sub-Saharan Africa is no longer the poor Cinderella of international internet markers. Growth in both supply and demand and a growing data centre ecosystem mean that international companies providing low cost, high speed internet access and private networks are increasingly having a local presence. Russell Southwood spoke to Dave Schaeffer, CEO, Cogent about

Zimbabwe: MDC Alliance Are Terrorists – Mnangagwa

President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday branded the MDC Alliance a terrorist organisation that was “pro-violence” and “anti-people”. Mnangagwa’s remarks made at the launch of empowerment programmes for war veterans in Harare invited an immediate response from the MDC Alliance, which accused the Zanu PF leader of preaching hatred. “Let us all remain astute and vigilant, aware

Africa: Aviation Stakeholders Mull Over High Cost of Air Travel in Africa

Frequent air travelers within Africa agree that the cost of air tickets is too high. So serious is this issue that top African aviation stakeholders met virtually early this year to discuss factors responsible for the high cost of airfares and to come up with suggestions on how to address such factors. At a webinar

Africa: Climate Change Is a Threat to Africa’s Transport Systems – What Must Be Done

Transportation infrastructure, such as roads and railway systems, is one of the sectors most threatened by climate change. Extreme weather events – such as flooding, sea level rises and storm surges – repeatedly wreak havoc on transport networks. In Africa, extreme weather is a threat that can cause extensive structural damage. It can also accelerate

TURKEY/AFRICA : AU keeps Ankara waiting over Turkey-Africa summit

Despite Ankara’s intense lobbying of the African Union (AU), the pan-African organisation has still not confirmed the date of the third Turkey-Africa summit, which should in theory take place in the autumn. Source link

Zimbabwe: Beitbridge Gospel Musician Gets Another Chance

The gods have finally smiled on 32-year-old Beitbridge-based upcoming gospel artiste, Rufaro Kombore. The musician has for the past five years struggled to make it into the studio and the market. Kombore, who cut his music career in 2009, but took a sabbatical in 2015 after recording three albums, is back again with three singles

Africa: Pan-African Parliament’s Woes Reflect a Crisis in Leadership

Chaotic scenes at the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Johannesburg last week have prompted a strong reaction from across the continent. African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat called for PAP activities to be suspended until the issues around electing a new PAP president and bureau were settled. The incidents have exposed an institution that,

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC/RUSSIA : PM Ngrebada flies in style aboard Prigozhin's jet

In early June, the Central African prime minister Firmin Ngrebada, a stalwart of cooperation with Moscow since 2018, boarded the Source link

Tanzania: Botswana’s President Masisi Coming to Tanzania On Two-Day Official Visit

Dar es Salaam — Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi is expected in Tanzania on a two-day official visit from tomorrow on June 10, 2021 in a response of an invitation from President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Speaking to journalist today on June 9, 2021 Minister of Foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation, Ambassador Liberata Mulamula said President

African Development Fund Ranked Among the World’s Leading Providers of Development Assistance

The African Development Fund has been ranked second among 49 international agencies for the quality of its development assistance, underscoring its relevance to the continent’s most vulnerable countries. The African Development Fund is the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group. According to the fifth edition of the Quality of Official Development Assistance report,

ZIMBABWE/SOUTH AFRICA : Barbara Rwodzi rises from Pan-African Parliament chaos to rejuvenate Zanu-PF

The little-known Barbara Rwodzi, a member of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) of the African Union (AU), left the institution’s latest Source link

Mozambique: Unicef to Increase Support for Child Victims of Terrorism

Maputo — The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has promised to increase its support for child victims of terrorism in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado from 51 to 90 million US dollars. This promise was made by the Unicef Regional Director for Southern and Eastern Africa, Mohamed Malick Fall, who is on a

Africa Senior Athletics Championships in Limbo

Gaborone — The 22nd edition of the African Senior Athletics Championships is in limbo following withdrawal of Nigeria from hosting the competition, which was to be staged in Lagos from June 23-27. The country had agreed to host the championships after initial hosts, Algeria pulled out as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Algeria

HORN OF AFRICA : World Bank considers billion-dollar investment in electricity infrastructure for Horn

The five Horn of Africa countries – Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan – could be in line for financing to the tune of $1.035bn from the World Bank. Source link

Zimbabwe: Army Bars ED’s Appointment of Clansman As Zanu-PF Commissar – Jonathan Moyo

Exiled former government minister Jonathan Moyo has sensationally claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa was going through a tough period after senior military officials blocked him from making key new appointments into Zanu PF leadership positions. Mnangagwa announced new senior appointments in the governing party, last Wednesday, including appointing disgraced former Vice President Kembo Mohadi as the

Africa: Dams and the Technology-Development Nexus – the Case of the GERD

The business of national economic development is always multi-faceted with blurry lines, with politics, economics, technology and ecology interacting all the time. There is a peculiar additional complexity when we deal with strategic national resources such as water. This complexity is amplified when there are other stakeholders to the same resource but outside the national

South Africa: Plan to Protect Sharks Needs an Urgent Update

When great white sharks disappeared from two well-known congregation areas on South Africa’s coast recently, the possible reasons were hotly debated. The appearance of a pair of shark-eating killer whales in the area was one. Another was the decline in numbers of smaller shark species that great whites prey on. Coupled with this was the

GABON : Ahead of joining Commonwealth, Gabon sends envoy to Paris

In retaliation for not having been invited to the France-Africa finance summit in Paris on 18 May (AI, 20/05/21), Gabon Source link

South Africa: Urban South Africa Is Ill-Prepared for the Coming Climate Change Storm

South Africa is no stranger to the devastating impacts of weather-related hazards such as floods, wildfires, storms and droughts. These events have wreaked havoc on infrastructure and communities, causing devastating economic and social losses. Without urgent adaptation measures, South African cities and towns will be hard hit, leaving millions exposed and vulnerable to climate change.

Africa: New Study Reveals the Origin of African Jackals

Dr Alberto Valenciano, a former researcher from the University of Cape Town (UCT), is the lead author on new research that has found the origin of some of the most emblematic groups of African carnivorous mammals: jackals. Dr Valenciano was joined by an international group of researchers, including Dr Romala Govender from UCT’s Department of

Namibia: Genocide – Listen to the Cries of the Descendants

The unfolding debate regarding an agreement reached between Namibia and Germany over the colonial-era massacres of mainly the Nama and Ovaherero people has enjoyed prominent coverage in the mainstream media, and has been a major talking point on social media platforms. Traditional leaders from the affected communities are, however, deeply divided on the agreement and

Africa: Global Food Prices Rise At Rapid Pace in May

Rome — FAO Food Price Index posts fastest monthly increase to reach highest value since September 2011 Global food prices rose in May at their fastest monthly rate in more than a decade, even as world cereal production is on course to reach a new record high, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United