Ghana’s VP touts economic acumen as election campaign beginsWed, 07 Feb 2024 18:54:43 GMT

Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the ruling party’s presidential candidate for December’s election, opened his campaign on Wednesday touting his economic management record, digitalisation programme and promises for job creation.Ghana’s presidential election is set to be a tight race between Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s first Muslim candidate, and former president John Mahama of the …

Ghana’s VP touts economic acumen as election campaign beginsWed, 07 Feb 2024 18:54:43 GMT Read More »

Senegal opposition caught between desire to fight and fear of arrestWed, 07 Feb 2024 18:51:58 GMT

Ndeye Fatou Fall picked up her phone and logged into Facebook to follow the latest developments in the crisis rocking Senegal, triggered by President Macky Sall’s postponement of the presidential election.  “The arrests are starting again. They’re arresting everyone. In this case, it’s MP Abass Fall who’s just been arrested,” said the activist, better known as …

Senegal opposition caught between desire to fight and fear of arrestWed, 07 Feb 2024 18:51:58 GMT Read More »

US says vote delaying Senegal presidential poll not ‘legitimate’Wed, 07 Feb 2024 16:36:12 GMT

The vote to delay Senegal’s presidential election until December “cannot be considered legitimate”, the US state department said, after the move plunged the normally stable West African nation into its worst crisis in decades.The reaction is the most critical to date from one of Senegal’s major international allies, after the delay to the February 25 …

US says vote delaying Senegal presidential poll not ‘legitimate’Wed, 07 Feb 2024 16:36:12 GMT Read More »

Sudan’s warring sides agree to meet on aid access: UNWed, 07 Feb 2024 15:14:28 GMT

Sudan’s warring sides have agreed to meet for talks on enabling desperately needed aid delivery in their conflict-torn country, the United Nations said on Wednesday.The UN also appealed for $4.1 billion to help civilians impacted by the brutal 10-month civil war in Sudan, warning the conflict had fuelled “epic suffering”.The brutal conflict that erupted in …

Sudan’s warring sides agree to meet on aid access: UNWed, 07 Feb 2024 15:14:28 GMT Read More »

Deal signed to export DR Congo copper via US-backed corridorWed, 07 Feb 2024 12:02:54 GMT

Two firms, Singapore-based Trafigura and Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines, signed a major deal on Wednesday to export copper along a US-backed rail route from the Democratic Republic of Congo.The corridor to the Angolan port of Lobito has been part-funded by Washington as part of its efforts to help Western companies compete with China for access to …

Deal signed to export DR Congo copper via US-backed corridorWed, 07 Feb 2024 12:02:54 GMT Read More »

The election pitch of South Africa’s white ZuluWed, 07 Feb 2024 06:56:04 GMT

Chris Pappas doesn’t look like a typical politician in South Africa’s key electoral battleground, the populous province of KwaZulu-Natal.Thirty years after democracy was won, South Africa’s leadership is still dominated by black veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle.Pappas, however, is a young-looking 32, born more than a year-and-a-half after Nelson Mandela was released from prison — …

The election pitch of South Africa’s white ZuluWed, 07 Feb 2024 06:56:04 GMT Read More »

Ghana struggling with tsunami of secondhand clothesWed, 07 Feb 2024 03:56:58 GMT

It takes Nii Armah and his crew of 30 fishermen hours to haul their weighty nets to shore on the bustling Korle-Gonno beach of Ghana’s capital Accra. Finally, their catch emerges — a colossal barracuda and a less welcome bounty of bundles of discarded clothing.Where once nets teemed with fish, they are now tangled with tonnes …

Ghana struggling with tsunami of secondhand clothesWed, 07 Feb 2024 03:56:58 GMT Read More »

Senegal plunged into crisis as opposition blasts ‘democratic bankruptcy’Tue, 06 Feb 2024 22:59:39 GMT

Senegal’s opposition on Tuesday denounced a “constitutional coup” after parliament voted to delay the presidential election by 10 months, plunging the country into its worst crisis in decades.West African bloc ECOWAS said it “encourages” Senegal, a member state, to urgently restore the electoral timetable, adding it was following events “with concern”.Lawmakers backed postponing this month’s …

Senegal plunged into crisis as opposition blasts ‘democratic bankruptcy’Tue, 06 Feb 2024 22:59:39 GMT Read More »

Senegal crisis dents both democracy and business, say Dakar residentsTue, 06 Feb 2024 18:42:18 GMT

Sitting atop piles of second-hand clothes in Dakar’s teeming Colobane market, salesman Assane Fall said he was “hurting” after the parliament’s decision to postpone Senegal’s presidential election.Like many residents of the capital interviewed by AFP on Tuesday, Fall was proud of his country’s long-cherished democratic principles, making it a peaceful outlier in coup-hit West Africa.But …

Senegal crisis dents both democracy and business, say Dakar residentsTue, 06 Feb 2024 18:42:18 GMT Read More »

Nigeria’s Osimhen declared fit for AFCON semi-finalTue, 06 Feb 2024 18:24:50 GMT

Nigeria superstar Victor Osimhen is available to play in Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against South Africa following a fitness scare, the team confirmed.”Victor Osimhen has been declared fit and available for selection in the semi-final clash against South Africa on Wednesday. He has joined the team in Bouake and has trained with the …

Nigeria’s Osimhen declared fit for AFCON semi-finalTue, 06 Feb 2024 18:24:50 GMT Read More »