News

Opinion: Why US should lift South Sudan oil sanctions, By NJ Ayuk

By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber Four years have passed since the US imposed sanctions on South Sudan’s oil industry. The goal had been to prevent oil money from funding the civil war that had been raging in the country since 2013. By curtailing the ability of businesses and organizations to provide revenue for the South Sudanese government, …

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Gates Foundation optimistic about SDGs despite setbacks

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates call on leaders to keep commitments to world’s poorest and invest in innovation, ingenuity to continue saving millions of lives. Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Report Says Progress Still Possible Despite Setbacks to Global Goals The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday released its sixth annual Goalkeepers Report, noting that nearly every indicator of the …

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Sociologist seeks support for organic farming project in Togo

Tomfei Kougnon, a young sociologist who trained in biodynamic agriculture in Switzerland, is appealing for support to realise his dream of an organic farming project in his home country, Togo. Organic farming is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure and bone meal, and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation …

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Meet the three new Black Ministers in UK government

Prime Minister Liz Truss did not waste time to appoint her cabinet after taking over at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday. The new Conservative British leader named a 31-member cabinet that surprisingly includes three ministers of African origin. These are Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister), James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, and …

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“Africa has high Fever” — former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, September 7, 2022/ — Two months to the 27th global climate summit (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, African and other global leaders have rallied in Rotterdam, to highlight the urgency of climate adaptation funding for the continent. The meetings — co-convened by the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, CEO of the Global Center …

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Facebook, Instagram spotlight 10 leading content creators in Africa

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among other products and services, has announced the launch of ‘Creators of Tomorrow‘, a new campaign  that celebrates emerging talents from around the world who are inspiring a new movement of creative content online. The campaign spotlights creators in Sub-Saharan Africa from East Africa, Southern Africa and Francophone Africa. The selected …

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Nigerian diaspora praised over increase in remittances

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has commended Nigerians in the Diaspora on the rise of remittances in the first quarter of the year, by 20.3 per cent, representing the seventh consecutive quarterly increase in diaspora remittances since last quarter in 2020. In a statement by the Commission’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Dabiri-Erewa …

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Germany: Non-Ukrainian refugees from Ukraine fear for their residence status

Among those who have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February are around 300,000 third-country nationals – persons who are neither from Ukraine nor the EU, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Many of these are seeking refuge in Germany and now face uncertainty as a transitional regulation of their residency ends on 31 August …

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Germany suspends military mission in Mali

The German government has suspended its participation in the UN military mission in Mali until further notice, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported. Berlin took the decision on Friday after Malian authorities did not allow a German military plane access to the country’s airspace. “Again those in power in Mali have not allowed the UN MINUSMA mission access to its airspace. A …

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Kenya: Can a ‘hustler’ deliver on his promise?

Against the prediction of pundits, Kenya’s current deputy president, William Ruto, clinched the top job at the country’s general election albeit with the narrowest of margins. The self-styled ‘hustler’ won 7,176,141 votes (50.49%) to defeat veteran politician Raila Odinga (6,942,930 or 48.85%), to become Kenya’s fifth president since independence from the British in 1963. The 55-year-old Ruto, who calls himself …

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Kenya elections: Season of intrigues, betrayals and comic relief

In a feature on the general elections in Kenya holding on 9 August, our senior contributing editor, Mickie Ojijo, analyses democracy in the east African country and explains why the system is not delivering the expected dividends to the people — As Kenya’s general election, scheduled for 9 August 2022, enters the homestretch, horse trading and amalgamations of political entities …

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Survey shows migrants more prudent to maintain support to families in home countries as inflation rises

While rising costs of living have been globally observed, with inflation rates soaring to new highs in major economies, less-considered is the impact these costs have on migrants around the world who are often charged with financially supporting loved ones in their home countries. WorldRemit, a leading digital remittances company, conducted a multi-country study to determine the effects of the …

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New Head of the Catholic Church in Africa Elected

The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa, and Madagascar (SECAM), the association of Catholic Bishops of Africa, Madagascar, and the Islands, has elected His Eminence Richard Kuuia Baawobr of Ghana as its new President. His Eminence Richard Kuuia Baawobr is now the highest-ranking member of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa. The election took place in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday …

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