AFRICA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua |  Ethiopia’s first private telecom firm Safaricom Ethiopia has officially introduced its mobile financial service, M-Pesa, three months after the telecom company received the payment instrument issuer license from the National Bank of Ethiopia. In preparation for the launch, M-Pesa has undergone a rigorous three-month …

Nairobi, Kenya |  Xinhua |  Africa can become a major participant in global supply chains by harnessing its abundant minerals that are needed by high-technology sectors, the UN said in a report released in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, on Wednesday. The report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development …

Khartoum, Sudan | Xinhua | Sudan’s Civil Aviation Authority reopened air traffic airspace in the country’s eastern sector. “The Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority issued a notice to open the airspace for air traffic in the country’s eastern sector as of today,” said a statement by Khartoum International Airport on Tuesday. …

Johannesburg, South Africa | THE INDEPENDENT | Absa Group reported resilient results in an increasingly challenging operating environment during the first half of 2023. Headline earnings increased 2% to R11.2 billion from a high base a year earlier, as strong revenue growth of 16% offset 60% higher credit impairments. “With …

Africa’s fashion industry is tapping an apparel market that will be worth US$69 billion in 2023, driven by a surge in women’s spending power, innovative design scene and production efficiency in textiles. SPECIAL REPORT  | BIRD AGENCY | Africa’s bright and dynamic fashion industry is finding itself if the spotlight, …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |  Xinhua | The Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives (HoPR) on Monday ratified a six-month state of emergency rule in the northern Amhara region amid the prolonged conflicts between the military and local militiamen. In its extraordinary session, the HoPR, the lower house of the Ethiopian parliament, …

COMMENT | TIGUSHAMWA AYEBARE |   The recently concluded Russia-Africa summit was-in many ways-only but a curtain raising act for the Ugandan delegation. On account of government reportage in Uganda, Moscow was only a pit stop on a trip destined for a much smaller capital in Eastern Europe, Belgrade. It …

Luanda, Angola | Xinhua | President of Angola Joao Lourenco has inspected a dam under construction by Chinese company Sinohydro, which will alleviate water scarcity in the country’s southern region upon completion. Lourenco praised the Chinese company’s professionalism and operational efficiency, saying he is satisfied with the progress of the project, …

Ivory Coast’s remarkable surge in rubber production has the country poised to secure its place among the world’s top three producers. With the country’s farmers cashing in, international buyers are climbing in too. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Côte d’Ivoire is on a roll with its rubber production, with …

A landmark project in Uganda empowering 108,000 farmers signals of a sea-change in the use of irrigation in Africa. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | With irrigation-fed farming the norm in much of north Africa as well as parts of southern Africa, there have long been calls for more irrigation …